Could work, though do many people not attend state league matches due to prices? What prices are we looking at? I have no team in my local area so I don't really have that draw.

The system as it stands provides options for anyone who wants to play - and the best do find their way to the top very quickly.

The issue of increased attendance, as I said before, has been a focus because your initial post on the issue (in the other thread) was about crowd numbers. It's easy to see where confusion might creep in.

I have to stand by the notion that second tier support will always be low because it appears to be the case in the majority of leagues and the majority of codes around the country - and indeed, in the majority of the world. Once you get away from the elite, crowds drop, once you divorce from the elite, they virtually disappear.

Exactly what i said. Lesser teams was based on getting the best model to improve the development edge of the league to get the a-league interested and i think interest will benefit from having a senior mens comp covering the majority of the state.

It wasn't suggested that merging would automatically get people coming out overnight like you said. Your opinion is that no one will support second tier and that's why we'll never agree.

Then what's the issue?

Well it was never suggested there would be a sudden increase based on that.

I've focussed on crowd numbers because that was the original point you raised as an indicator of interest.

Participation levels are already high.

Lesser teams was based on getting the best model to improve the development edge of the league to get the a-league interested and having a senior mens comp covering the majority of the state. Aussie rules a more popular sport was the example used which adopted this method and it appears to have been successful i.e. it had nothing to do with gaining an immediate increase in crowds like you've attempted to suggest.

We go round and round, but I ask again... If we have 10 sides, each representing and drawing from a geographical section of the city/state, why would you expect any more supporters to turn up to watch?

You don't have to be einstein to realise that 2nd tier gets lesser support. That doesn’t meant that there can be factors to increase or decrease levels of secondary support, at the moment the second tier appears to be particular disconnected and the result is unnecessary bitterness.

No. You suggest a way to restructure the leagues - you haven't suggested anything that will make it more popular. You can look at any second tier competition, in any sport, anywhere around the country, and you will see the same result. Nobody wants to watch second tier.

You were being an ass because it's already been discussed in a topic i created and you're still posting in it. I suggested the state leagues needed a greater purpose to generate a-league interest [a development edge] and a direct link with juniors, the mechanisms to achieve that i copied from other sports.

Your contribution to that topic was to suggest that no links were needed as apparently everything was fine because the league was 'self supporting' and no one supports second tier sport, incorrectly citing non-ethnic unconnected clubs as examples. For the mechanisms that were suggested you gave reasons such as 'football is different' as to why they wouldn't work for us.

Your sincerity on that topic was summed up when you gave arthur's 'plan', a word for word plagiarised version of the NSL report, a big tick of approval acting as if it was his own work. You're incapable of having an unbiased evidence based discussion on this topic.

Exactly... FNSW raised prices from $12 to $15 this year and it certainly didnt impact our crowds. The same fans will always be there whether it's free, $10 or $30.

What the clubs should be doing is encouraging their juniors to come to games. Give one of the parents a free season pass or something. That may result in a small increase of revenue as people who usually wouldnt go might decide to take their kid every now and then.

If the fee was abolished, the clubs would have to find another way to find the 12 buck entry fee. I already buy a coffee and a pie there, i dont know how else I will spend the entry fee to reimburse the club for the free entry.. if you like the state league you will go to it regardless of the price to be honest

People who want to go to State League games will go whether it's free or not.

Devaluing the product by giving it away for free will not bring extra people through the gates, IMO. At least not to the extent where they will make up for the lost revenue from ticket sales

I'm not playing dumb. I'm asking a question. You're extremely good at saying what you think needs to be done, but very rarely seem to offer any suggestions of how to actually do it.

The question remains - how do we create a greater sense of identity between supporters and teams in order to generate larger crowds at a local level?

lol i'm unsure why you think playing dumb is smart, most people would consider it as insincere.

How do we create connections?

We've discussed this before. Usually you confuse geographical meaning non-ethnic, when i’m saying connected v non-connected. It makes sense to have a league connected and give it a purpose, then decide how much support there is for a secondary tier, rather than just declaring from the start that there is no support.

As for Qld, i'm unsure whether you know anymore than me, they appear to be producing more players than us, but from what i can gather from on here, their competition was created on top of their existing leagues and is equally as unconnected as ours, as well as spread out over a much larger state.

:lol: I come from the Gene Simmons school of thought:

"My point of view is "Earth," that's not such a cool name for the planet. "Planet Kiss," now you've got something. If every inch of ground is KISS ground, and the air you breath is KISS air and the food you eat is KISS food, then we've got something. Brand everything. And you should pay us for every step along the way.....I don't believe in anything for free... Last time I checked, KISS is not a charity. I will let you know when I want to give my stuff away for free. I don't want you to determine that."

Geno's always good for a laugh.

You should go into business. You'd make a killing.:lol:

I'm of the opinion that in most cases you should never give away your product for free.

If state league clubs allowed free entry, i don't think it will make a single bit of difference to increasing attendances. It will only hurt an important revenue stream and devalue the product. People who WANT to go, WILL go.

Also there are some venues that just make bad food. I've pretty much got a list of clubs where i will and won't eat, so the idea that it will encourage people to spend more on food i think won't work.

IMO there is a case that suggests the games are too expensive. Most Super League (ie Premier League equivalent) clubs charge $9 entry. I think $5 is about right, but there are teams who have good viewing facilities and should charge more (for maintenance purposes). Whilst there are others who have no elevated viewing and should be charging nothing (or less).

Reasonable idea but local clubs need every dollar they can possibly muster. 500 paying customers means around $5k revenue which goes a long long way for most clubs. Most grass roots fans that attend SL games understand how hard it is to run a club and don't mind paying to watch, buying food and drinks from the canteen etc. Really for around $25 you get a decent day out, a good feed and a good laugh usually.

Maybe have a one off community round where entry is free and clubs/FFV can organise stuff like farmers market stalls, kids entertainment, appearances from HAL players etc.

NSWPL varies at different grounds some charge $10 others charge $15 for adults
$5 or $10 for concession depending on the different venues.
U-16s are free

Upset DDK.

i know that, u didnt tell me what u did u imbred bush rat.

I'm a heartless troll that should spend more time working.

What's the price break down is NSWPL? In Victoria, VPL is $12 adult, $8 concession.

what u do?

I'm banned mate. Pour out some Ouzo for me.

u16 for free in NSW.