Melbourne is not Sydney.
There is a reason the AFL moved its main stadium from Waverley to the CBD.
There is a reason why the AFL forced all Melbourne clubs to abandon their surburban crap holes (many of them relatively inner city) to play ALL games in the CBD.
So yes, it's true that Melbourne City doesn't really get enough to warrant staying in the CBD, but playing permanently out at Dandenong (a faraway crap hole of a place) guarantees that they can never aspire to play in front of more than 7,500 fans.
Similarly, with Western United, a permanent home in Tarneit would basically assign them to a long term audience of about 5,000 fans (if they're lucky).

There is also the issue of the city fans that live in the west and the north. I know quite a few people that live in the west and north who support city (by support I mean go to games). They aren't likely to travel all the way to Dandenong to watch a game. They will likely abandon the club if they move east. Not sure what percentage of their fanbase this would effect. I live in the northern suburbs and when there is a Melbourne Derby on there are no shortage of MC shirts on my train ride in. It doesn't matter where you're from in Melbourne, everyone is happy to travel to the CBD and no-one wants to travel to the opposite side. As long as city remain competitive and win silverware, the fanbase will grow. It will be a slow growth but it will happen.

You are underestimating peoples change of habits due to COVID. People are more likely to stay local as opposed to travelling to the city.

You also have the anger from sports fans in the SE over the closure of Waverley Park.  That’s a market City can tap into... "Live sport on your doorsterp." You also have people in West Gippsland and the Mornington Peninsula that are more likely to travel to Dandenong.

As for Tarneit… it’s the fastest growing region in the country. That speaks for itself.

Melbourne is not Sydney. But let’s compare:

If City played in Dandenong, would they match WSW? I think it would depend to how well WSW were travelling because they are just about the most fickle fans in the league.  I think they would match WSW most seasons.

When WU plays out of Tarneit, would they match or beat Macarthur? I think they would beat them easily.

As for Victory v Sydney… No contest.

To be fair, WSW have been properly shit on the pitch for 6 years straight. I don't think any other AL team has been that consistently poor ever. Most teams have at least 1 good season over the span of 6 years.
21/22 - 10th
20/21 - 8th
19/20 - 9th
18/19 - 8th
17/18 - 7th
16/17 - 6th (lost elim final)
It's a big shame because the league was definitely more exciting when WSW were competitive.

MC on the other hand have been top 5 (top 4 more often than not) for 8 straight seasons. Along with two premierships, 1 championship and an FFA cup. Yet the fans don't show up. If any other club in the league had that level of consistent competitiveness, I guarantee they would be getting more than 7.5k on opening round.

Why would disgruntled AFL fans start following the "Sokkah"? The ones that have already jumped on board and watch both have already done so, this magical pool of "sports" fans doesn't exist. Especially not the "fastest growing region in the country" with newly arrived immigrants mainly from countries that don't even now what soccer is let alone have the time and energy to detract them from their aim of establishing a life in an increasingly un-affordable new country.

next time you go for a shit, try using your anus instead of your mouth

Id rather use your mouth but I gather you may try and lick my sphincter and not sure if I know you well enough to let you....

WTF was that comment about BTW? I gather you still think, despite nearly 2 decades of proof otherwise, that people are sitting around at home thinking "Gee I wish I could go and consume some "sports", don't care what it is as long as it is 5 mins away?"

7,890   in   Brisbane  apparently  ?

Gee ,   it  sounds    poor  ...

For about 8 of 12 clubs the attendances are falling solidly and consistently within that 7,000 to 9,000 range.
Throw in occasional 15k+ crowds, and at the other end throw in occasional 5k crowds, and you can see the average attendance for the season falling in at around the 8,000 mark.
That might sound low, but it actually breaks 8 consecutive seasons of declining attendances, so it should probably be viewed positively.

No, it sounds like the Roar needs a boutique stadium but are a lazy club to get proactive. This does not mean to go to Morton Bay either.
Play at an NPL stadium and add friggin lights.

Shut up paul

That you Paul, really?

Far out I hate this approach to things. How about they do the exact opposite and invest into growing awareness of the competition and club, so as to grow attendences. They know from past experience that the supporter base is there to play out of Suncorp. Actually start running the club decently and grow those crowds back to the levels they should be. 

First few weeks are always highest before the also-rans become apparant

Don't assume it will stay steady.based on 2 rounds

Newcastle v Perth     7,089

Victory v Wanderers     18,017

Very   disappointing    to   say    the   least .

AFL is not a good comparison: all its Melbourne clubs were founded 100+ years ago and have identities based on the inner city (Hawthorn and St. Kilda are as far out as it gets). Waverley was crap and nowhere near a train station.

The A-League has an option to have a real geographical carve-up of the city, with west, central and south-east based clubs. What will guarantee Melbourne City remains with a small fanbase is if they permanently play out of the same ground as a much bigger club. Even the years where they have been overwhelmingly dominant over Victory have failed to change this.

But if you're a kid living in say Pakenham, Cranbourne or Frankston and there's a team playing next to Dandenong station with a clearly established SE Melbourne identity then it does start to make sense for you to adopt them. The area has a population of ca. 1.5-2m people, and not top-level football team of any kind playing beyond Richmond. It's ripe for the picking.

Wouldn't the floods in Victoria have affected the attendance at AAMI Park?

Newcastle v Perth is somewhere near the recent averages for Newcastle home game. 

We could say so much more.

MV' s    opening   home    game    of   the    season   and   only   18k ?

Have    recent    averages   for   Newcastle    been   good ??

18k is still a very good attendance for the A-League.

What's your solution Paul?

Wellington v Mariners   7,089

The   Question  needs   to   be  asked ... what   is   the  APL   doing  ??  Surely   this   is   not    good   enough   for   Australian   football ?   They   are    the   ones   getting   paid  to   run    the   league .. . it' s   their   job !

Macarthur v Adelaide   3,213

You clearly have the answers pauly. What are they?

There are no answers. That chance has come and gone. There will be no TV rights renewal after the current deal as there will be no interested parties.
im sure you can join the dots on that one

just   Embarrassing   to    have    been    dumped    from   the   main   channel    after    just   one   season ...

Code	Week	Day	Date	Time	Home	Away	Venue	Crowd	Capacity	%Capacity
ALM	2	Fri	14/10	1915	Brisbane	Melbourne City	Suncorp Stadium	7,890	52,500	15.03%
ALM	2	Sat	15/10	1630	newcastle	Perth	McDonald Jones	7,089	30,000	23.63%
ALM	2	Sat	15/10	1915	Melbourne Victory	Western Sydney	Aami Park	18,017	30,050	59.96%
ALM	2	Sun	16/10	1230	Wellington	Central Coast	Sky Stadium	7,089	34,500	20.55%
ALM	2	Sun	16/10	1430	Macarthur	Adelaide	Campbelltown	3,213	17,500	18.36%
ALM	2	Sun	16/10	1630	Western United	Sydney FC	Aami Park	3,427	30,050	11.40%
							Total	46,725	194,600	24.01%
							Average	7,788
							Season Total	101,896	404,209	25.21%
							Season Average	9,263

*edit - wow didnt think that would work lol

@ The_Wookie

Doesn' t    bode    well   for    the   rest   of  the   season , does  it ?