Durban's Stadium Generates R4m

[bwana]

NMB: Getting a little use already I think, Kings in S15 might help that. PE is always going to be a tough one though.

I think NMBS is actually doing pretty well. Besides the Kings they host a few PSL matches though out the season as well as HSBC Sevens and next year we're a AFCON host city. Add in the occasional concert and expo as well as international tests . . . tbh we needed that stadium more than most.

I expect there will be much better crowds during the S15 as fans flock in the hopes of seeing their favourite team thrash the Kings . . .

 

[ToxicBunny]

I expect there will be much better crowds during the S15 as fans flock in the hopes of seeing their favourite team thrash the Kings . . .

I think that is the only drawcard the Kings will have next year...

People will be watching the match to see how badly they get thumped.

 

[bwana]

I think that is the only drawcard the Kings will have next year...

People will be watching the match to see how badly they get thumped.

Of course the kings aren't going to have a stellar performance their first season - I'm not kidding myself here - but I do hope they have a strong enough team to avoid being relegated after just one season.

 

[cr@zydude]

How many of those stadiums actually draw crowds that make them financially viable? Green Point, Moses Mabhida & Peter Mokaba all struggle to pay for themselves. These are multi-million rand stadiums that attract a few thousand fans every other weekend.

Ellis Park, Loftus, Bloemfontein, Kings Park & Newlands are all fine. In the case of Ellis Park, that ground was paid for ages ago.

It would have been far better to renovate and modernise the existing rugby grounds. Ground clashing would hardly be a problem anyway. In Jo'burg alone, if Ellis Park was abandoned, we have Soccer City, Orlando Stadium, Rand Stadium and the Johannesburg Athletic Stadium. With 3 major PSL clubs and one Currie Cup union/Super Rugby franchise it is pretty easy to accomodate home games for all of them in a single day; Swallows can utilise Rand Stadium, Pirates can utilise Orlando Stadium, Chiefs can utilise Jo'burg Stadium and the Lions can use Soccer City.

Truth is we have way too many underutilised grounds. PSL clubs do a horrible job of pulling crowds. According to the Sowetan the PSL average 5,000 fans per game. Even the Lions could draw more than that for a Super Rugby match, in which a severe beating was almost guaranteed. There is no way we can justify most of the new grounds we built. Sure they look nice, but they are underutilised.

EDIT: Last weekend 1,000 people pitched up to watch Black Leopards play SuperSport at the Peter Mokaba Stadium. One. Thousand. Capacity; 41,733.

While 1,000 people where up there, 2,000 folks barely squeezed into the Moses Mabhida stadium to watch AmaZulu lose to Ajax. Capacity: 54,000

Conversely 3,000 people watched Wits at the Bidvest Stadium. Capacity: 5,000

I agree that the PSL attendances are bad, but it's not like the Currie Cup is drawing in fans. For 2012 only 6 matches have crowds over 20 000. If we look at the Currie Cup First Division, we'd see many games under 1 000 people.

Ellis Parks, Loftus and Free State Stadiums are paid for now, but would they have been considered viable? Without big events like Springbok tests, what use do the GLRU have for a 60 000 seater?

For CT, Newlands can't be upgraded, it's a residential area, and it's cramped enough as is.

 

[Mars]

4 mil? wow, did they sell it for scrap?

 

[LazyLion]

4 mil? wow, did they sell it for scrap?

The 4 mill was two years ago.
It is not earning enough to be viable these days. This was a thread necro just to prove a point.

 

[thestaggy]

I agree that the PSL attendances are bad, but it's not like the Currie Cup is drawing in fans. For 2012 only 6 matches have crowds over 20 000. If we look at the Currie Cup First Division, we'd see many games under 1 000 people.

Ellis Parks, Loftus and Free State Stadiums are paid for now, but would they have been considered viable? Without big events like Springbok tests, what use do the GLRU have for a 60 000 seater?

For CT, Newlands can't be upgraded, it's a residential area, and it's cramped enough as is.

In the case of Newlands then the WPRU should have been brought in on a relocation and Green Point should not have been built so fancy to reduce costs. Ajax only fill it when Chiefs or Pirates come to town, much like every other stadium only draws a a decent crowd when either of those two teams are present.

During the 2011 Super Rugby tournament the Lions - the eternal whipping boys - averaged 20,603 fans. And I guarantee the location affects attendance. I needed less than 1.5 hours to get to Soccer City for the Germany-Ghana World Cup match, and that time includeed leaving my house, driving to a parking space and catching a bus. For the Lions-Sharks Currie Cup final I spent an hour sitting in traffic outside the stadium. Then you have the general area, which is not fun to walk around. It is a terrible place to go to. If you place them in Soccer City you will attract more people due to ease of access, safer location and proximity to a demographic rugby is accused of ignoring.

The 2011 Currie Cup Premier Division average attendance was 15,119. Of all the major rugby tournaments around the world only the Super Rugby drew more, with 15,873. And that involved SA teams anyway. SA rugby teams draw a higher average attendance than the French Top 14 and the English Aviva Premiership. Our larger stadiums may be a contributing factor in that though.

Using those averages, the average Currie Cup Premier Division crowd is 3 times larger than that of the average PSL crowd. I'm sorry but longterm the World Cup stadia should have involved the rugby unions. They draw more money by way of suites and they draw larger crowds. When Ellis Park was reduced from 80,000 to 60,000 by adding 88 boxes behind the posts the Lions actually increased their revenue, regardless of the suites being full for every game. Fewer seats, essentially the same crowd average yet more revenue, even when the boxes were empty because of the rental/sponsorhip fees that go with selling of the boxes.

The milk is spilt, so nothing much we can do now except maybe try and get the rugby unions to move into the stadiums; WPRU/Stormers to Cape Town Stadium, GLRU/Lions to Soccer City and the Sharks to Moses Mabhida.

 

[McSack]

.../snip....

+1
Take into account the difference in price between soccer and rugby tickets and your argument is even stronger
Ticket price for MTN8 QF = R40
Ticket price for Currie Cup "A" match = R80 - R100 (and you're in for R370 to get into the final at Kings Park this weekend)