A-League expansion

[Tancred]

I can see Western Sydney having the highest attendances in the league.

20-22,000 average for season one if they offer cheap ticket prices.

Egan, have you ever lived in Sydney? How much time have you spent in Western Sydney?

[Egan]

Yes, I have been to Western Sydney.

Heck I am putting my nose out for a great average crowd in Western Sydney, especially if Australia does well in the World Cup.

I think they will surpass Sydney FC's crowds easily...

[beastjim]

They should wear a plain red jersey. That way all the kids will be able to wear their Man U jerseys to the games. Seriously the Man U section at Rebal Sport Penrith is only slightly smaller then the whole area given to NRL. Have fun finding the Sydney FC gear though (and this was around Xmas time so hardly out of season).

[wolves and victory man]

I think they will get good crowds in their first season. Probably around 14k which would be boosted by the home derby.
Parramatta will look awesome for football.
It would be almost definate that Lucas Neill will play for this side next season (hes only on a 1 year deal) and he has already stated he will play for a minimum wage for a stake in the club surely Lucas and another proper marquee would be good drawcards.

[Waz]

Seriously the Man U section at Rebal Sport Penrith is only slightly smaller then the whole area given to NRL.

Sickening...

[Egan]

Seriously the Man U section at Rebal Sport Penrith is only slightly smaller then the whole area given to NRL.

Sickening...

QFT

[deejaybee]

Seriously the Man U section at Rebal Sport Penrith is only slightly smaller then the whole area given to NRL.

Sickening...

[Soaks]

[quote=
Parramatta will look awesome for football.
[/quote]

That would be an ideal ground for an A league side to use but how would it work around the clash between the two comps?Would the two governing bodies be able to sit down and sort out the fixtures?

[gyfox]

[quote=
Parramatta will look awesome for football.

That would be an ideal ground for an A league side to use but how would it work around the clash between the two comps?Would the two governing bodies be able to sit down and sort out the fixtures?[/quote]They do now at SFS, EAS, Suncorp, Skilled Park and Dairy Farmer's stadiums o I don't see why Parramatta Stadium is any different. The ground is owned by a Trust not by the NRL.

[Soaks]

If it's a viable option,It's got my vote.I think it's a great ground with good facilities for an A league side.Plenty of Round ball minded people in the area too.

[beastjim]

It pretty much works like this. NRL has their season fixtures in place and so for when the A-League starts they have to work around NRL (to a certain extent because of the stupid NRL thing of only 6 weeks in advance for the exact fixture). Then A-League has a clean run through the summer months, before we go back to clashes and the NRL has to fixture around the A-League. (although it's only a couple of weeks really). Really it's first in best dressed.

[Nines]

The ground is owned by a Trust not by the NRL.

Wouldn't matter if it was .
Most organisations love the extra income .

.

[the crow]

maybe if they win the premmiership this year they can burn down parramatta stadium like they did with cumberland oval in what 86? and rebuild bigger again!


Paramatta oval is a great ground and deserves the Western Sydney nod ...if they all could could get their act togeather.

[Chuq]

I noticed this thread languishing down the bottom and thought it needed an update - these articles are all from a couple of weeks ago:

http://www.tasmaniaunited.com.au/news/post/TUFC/ (press release)

Survey shows strong support for Tasmanian A-League club
2010-02-03 01:56:38

Tasmania United Football Club Inc. (TUFC) today released a survey of 1,000 Tasmanian adults conducted during January that demonstrated a high level of support for a Tasmanian based team in the national football (soccer) league, the Hyundai A-League.

The ‘Public Sentiment’ survey was conducted by the respected research company EMRS on behalf of TUFC and follows on from the Tasmanian Government funded feasibility study released in 2009.

Some of the key results are:

* 39% of respondents were aware of the potential bid for a Tasmanian based A-League side
* 75% of respondents supported the bid for a Tasmanian based A-League side; support was consistent and strong through all age groups and regions of the state, with support strongest among those aged 18-24 years
* 16% of respondents would be likely to become a member of TUFC if Tasmania had an A-League side, with support strong throughout the 15-54 age groups
* 53% of those likely to become a member would have a personal membership and 43% would have a family membership
* 23% of respondents would be likely to attend a home game in Hobart (35% of respondents in the south of the state)
* 25% of respondents would be likely to attend a home game in Launceston (45% of respondents in the north and 35% of respondents in the north west and west)

TUFC Chairman, Mr John McGirr, said that the results of the survey demonstrate strong support for a Tasmanian based A-League side and that Tasmanians would support a side by becoming members and attending home games.

“The survey results confirm our belief that a Tasmanian A-League side would be strongly supported by the people of Tasmania. Tasmanians do not just love playing the game, are also hungry to see international standard football on a regular basis.

“What is especially pleasing is the strong support throughout the state. This confirms the findings from the feasibility study that sharing home games between Hobart and Launceston would be the right strategy and maximise involvement by all Tasmanians. It is also fantastic that young Tasmanians are so supportive and would be likely to get involved by becoming a member of the club and attending home games.

“From the proportion of respondents that were very likely to become a member of the club, we could estimate approximately 18,000 potential members if Tasmania had an A-League side,” said Mr McGirr.

Mr McGirr also said that the release of the survey results is the next step of an ongoing strategy to secure a licence for a Tasmanian based A-League side.

“A lot of hard work has gone into developing the concept of a Tasmanian based A-League side by a group of volunteers who share a passion for the game and this State.

“The support of the Tasmanian Government has been very important. The Government funded a $40,000 feasibility study which confirmed the potential for a Tasmanian based A-League side. The study highlighted that Tasmania is fortunate to have two facilities (Bellerive Oval and Aurora Stadium) that would be well placed to host A-League matches.

“But there is a lot more work to do. The survey results, combined with the results of the feasibility study, clearly demonstrate that there is merit in developing a full business case to present to the FFA with an application for an A-League licence. The business case will particularly focus on the best model to ensure financial sustainability.

“Timing is of the essence. Australia now has a successful national football league and there is a clear opportunity for Tasmania to be part of any future expansion.

“The TUFC committee will now sit down with the corporate sector and the Tasmanian Government to discuss how we can proceed with the development of the business case”, said Mr McGirr.

It is hoped this website will be able to publish more detailed results shortly.

Followed by the raw statistics:

http://www.tasmaniaunited.com.au/news/p ... -released/

Survey Report Released!
2010-02-04 05:33:08

Tasmania United FC Inc have released the summary from the EMRS 'Public Sentiment Survey' report, reproduced here in full.

1000 respondents were interviewed between the 12th and 15th January 2010, to asses the community’s views regarding a Tasmanian A-League team, and to gauge the following the team may bring to the league. 280 respondents were from the North and North East of the state, 220 from the North West and west and 500 from the South of the state to get a representative sample of Tasmania.

Spectator or Participant in Local Soccer

Respondents were asked an initial question as to whether they play or follow any local soccer in Tasmania. Overall, 13% of respondents follow local soccer in Tasmania, 2% play local soccer in Tasmania, and an additional 2% both follow and play soccer in Tasmania, however the vast majority (83%) however neither follow nor play any local soccer in Tasmania.

Younger respondents were more likely to have followed or participated in local soccer, with respondents aged 18 to 24 years being more likely than any other demographic group to have either participated or followed local soccer in Tasmania (30%). As might be expected, males were more like than females to have done so (23%, compared to 12% of females).

Awareness of the Football A-League

Overall, half of respondents were aware of the Football A-League, while 46% were unaware and 4% were unsure. As might be expected, males were far more likely to be aware of the Football A-league than their female counterparts (67%, compared to 34% of females). Respondents living in the North and North East were more likely than any other region to be aware, while those from the North West and West were least likely.

Respondents aged 45-54 years were more likely than any other age group to be aware of the league (59%).

Awareness of Tasmania Based A-League Side Bid

39% of respondents were aware of the Tasmania based A-League side bid, while 59% were unaware and 3% were unsure. Again males were far more likely to be aware of the Tasmanian based A-league side bid than their female counterparts (50%, compared to 28% of females). Respondents living in the North and North East were more likely to be aware of the bid than those in the North West and West, and South.

Older respondents were slightly more likely than the younger age groups to be aware of the bid.

Tasmania A-League bid Taskforce – Research Report – January 2010| EMRS 2

Support for the Tasmanian Based A-League Side Bid

Overall, three quarters of respondents support the bid for a Tasmanian based A-League side, with over one third who “strongly support” it. Only 8% of respondents oppose the bid, while 18% were unsure.

Support was high in all demographic groups, with each group having no less than two thirds supporting the bid. Support was highest amongst respondents aged 18-24 years (87%).

Likelihood of Becoming a Member of Tasmania United if Tasmania had an A-League Team

16% of respondents (165 respondents) claimed that they would be “very likely” or “quite likely” to become a member of Tasmania United Football Club if Tasmania had an A-League team. Just over one quarter claimed that it would be “not very likely” and over one half (53%) said it would be “not at all likely”. 1% of respondents were unsure.

Respondents aged 18 to 24 years were more likely than any other demographic group to become a member of Tasmania United if Tasmania had an A-League team. Males were again more likely than females (22%, compared to 12%) and respondents from the South of the state were more likely to become a member than those from the other regions of the state (18%, compared to 15% each from other regions).

Type of Membership

Over half (53%) of respondents who were likely to become a member of Tasmania United Football Club if Tasmania had an A-League team would have a “personal membership”, while 43% would have a “family” membership and 4% were “unsure”. Males were far more likely to be interested in a “personal” membership when compared to females (67%, compared to 31% of females), while females were far more likely to be interested in a “family” membership (59%, compared to 33% of males).

Respondents aged 18-24 years were more likely to be interested in a “personal” membership than any other demographic group (84%), while respondents aged 35-44 years were more likely to be interested in a “family” membership than any other group (65%).

The 76 respondents who claimed that they would be interested in a family membership were asked if this would include any attendees under the age of 18. 71% of these respondents (54 respondents) claimed that this would include under 18 attendees, while 29% (22 respondents) claimed that it would not.

Likelihood of Attending Home Games in Hobart

Overall, just under one quarter of respondents (227 respondents or 23%) claimed that they would be “very likely” or “quite likely” to attend home games in Hobart. Respondents aged 18 to 24 years were more likely than any other demographic group to attend home games in Hobart (42%). As might be expected, respondents from the South of the state were more likely to attend games (35%) than those from the other regions (10% each).

Likelihood of Attending Home Games in Launceston

Overall, one quarter of respondents (240 respondents) claimed that they would be “very likely” or “quite likely” to attend home games in Launceston. Respondents aged 18 to 24 years were more likely than any other demographic group to attend home games in Launceston (38%). As might be expected, respondents from the North and North East and the North West and West were far more likely to attend games in Launceston than in the South of the state (45%, 35% and 8%, respectively).

Males were again more likely to attend a home game in Launceston than females (29%, compared to 19% of females).

Conclusions

The important conclusions to draw from the research are that overall, three quarters of respondents support the bid for a Tasmanian based A-League side, with over one third of respondents claiming they “strongly support” it. Around one quarter of respondents each claimed that they would be likely to attend a home game at either Launceston or Hobart.

It may also be interesting to observe that 5% of respondents said they are “very likely” to become a member of the Tasmania United Football Club if Tasmania had an A-League side. Projecting from these results, it could be estimated that approximately 18,000 residents of Tasmania may consider membership of the Tasmania United Football Club, so long as there was a Tasmanian Based A-League side (total population of Tasmania’s adult population at the 2006 census was n=361,975).

Males and respondents aged 18-24 years were more likely to be involved, interested in more involvement and memberships and attend home games in Launceston and Hobart than any other demographic group.

and then:

http://www.tasmaniaunited.com.au/news/p ... -dig-deep/

State Government Dig Deep!
2010-02-11 02:24:13

Tasmania United today issued the following media release:

"The Tasmania United Football Club taskforce gratefully acknowledge the ongoing funding from the Tasmanian government.

"Today’s announcement of $80,000 funding for the completion of the business case, as required by the FFA/A-League, will do much to help achieve our goal. Thanks to the continuing generosity of the state government the reality of Tasmanian A-League participation is an important step closer."

The State Government has now contributed $120,000 towards the bid and it is hoped the business case will be completed within the next six months, and that a formal presentation be made to the FFA by the end of the year.

[yob]

The only way I see this working is if they advertise it in the Sydney Tower elevator.