General interest in the Swans in Sydney

[Mug Punter]

I think the average Sydneysider wasn't as aware about the game on Thursday night because their primary focus is usually on NEAFL games.

Yes, my office at work was abuzz yesterday about the Sydney Uni v Aspley game

[Mug Punter]

For those who live in Sydney, what kind of general interest do you think the city has in the swans at the moment?

We got a good crowd against the Cats (37k) however the free to air TV ratings for the game was only 46k which is pretty low, especially considering there was no NRL game up against it.

Beyond our core of rusted on fans, is there much awareness / interest these days?

From afar it seems that the interest is less than during the Plugger era and '05-06 era.

Any thoughts?

It is a constant battle but I think a sellout against Port will get the bandwagon rolling.

Sydney is such a fickle market and I think the reality is that we will always have a large number of supporters of a casual nature

[neilfws]

Here's what I find strange. After the 96 and 2006 grand finals, you can see we had a substantial crowd spike. Not so after 2005 and 2013. Any thoughts on why?

There's certainly a big spike following 1996. Post-2005 is interesting; the median crowd (50% of games had that crowd or less) rises in 2006, but then drops right down in 2007. You can also see that in 2007, the median line is way down at the bottom of the box. That's because the data are skewed by big crowds at ANZ. The 3 ANZ games in 2007 all pulled in more than 60000, whereas the SCG games were all around the usual 25000 or so.

I think we're seeing a steady and less-skewed rise post-2012; 2014 is of course incomplete just now.

[Zlatorog]

What people also need to understand is that the cost of tickets and memberships had gone up and it's probably one of the most expensive in the country. If somebody has any stats they might compare the price rise of the tickets with the attendance drop. They might match.

[stellation]

Here's what I find strange. After the 96 and 2006 grand finals, you can see we had a substantial crowd spike. Not so after 2005 and 2013. Any thoughts on why?

We've managed to luck into SCG redevelopments falling smack bang around both of our premierships, with significantly limited capacity for any potential new fans (or at least new game attendees) to regularly trot along to.

[Gezball]

What people also need to understand is that the cost of tickets and memberships had gone up and it's probably one of the most expensive in the country. If somebody has any stats they might compare the price rise of the tickets with the attendance drop. They might match.

That's a good point. When I last lived in Sydney -in the late 90's - it was quite cheap to go the footy. Often the general admin tix included public transport. Now it seems a lot more expensive.