Phoenix games on Sky rate extremely poorly so Sky won't pay decent money for the broadcasting rights - so I think its a bottom line dollar decision for the Australians.
bruce
Contributor
The same school of thought did/does still apply. It is the TV rights that guarantee us a team and also means we will only ever get one team because that is all they need for TV rights. So the Warriors are very safe and Welllington can dream on. Geez if they can bend over backwards to let a dysfunctional outfit like Cronulla survive Wellington have no chance.
mt.wellington
Warriors Orange Peeler
Besides paying their fees to the head office in Oz what do the Phoenix actually add?
Do they top the competition in merchandise sales? Do they have a high viewership in NZ? Do they sell out Australian stadiums because of the extra interest from expats? Does NZ provide a hotbed of talent that the Australian A League teams enjoy?
If like me you answer no to all those questions then I think David Gallop has a sound case for kicking the club out.
On the flipside Id answer yes to all of those questions in regards to the Warriors. Juju summed it up perfectly...
I've seen a lot of articles or heard a lot of talk back on how hard it is to get people in Wellington out to support sports teams. Before this Super Rugby season there was the same talk about the support for the Hurricanes; things picked up once they started winning.
I recall hearing on talk back one year how the Phoenix were getting some of the best crowds in the A-League.
Both of those are different sports but it does show the challenges a new NRL club based in Wellington will have. Would another NRL club in NZ bring in more broadcasting money from Sky? The head of Sky has said they don't see the demand; but it's in his interests to keep their payments down. But if he thought another NZ team would bring in more ratings I'm guessing he'd be more vocal and behind it.
I think the last figure I heard was $20 million was needed a year to be competitive in the NRL. A portion of that needs to come from crowds week to week.
Look don't get me wrong I'd love another NZ side in the NRL especially with the derby match vs. the Warriors but it will be a huge challenge. Firstly they are behind the Aussie favourite locations in Brisbane and Perth and then there are the challenges in getting it up and running. Remember the Warriors haven't had a smooth history business wise.
I recall hearing on talk back one year how the Phoenix were getting some of the best crowds in the A-League.
Both of those are different sports but it does show the challenges a new NRL club based in Wellington will have. Would another NRL club in NZ bring in more broadcasting money from Sky? The head of Sky has said they don't see the demand; but it's in his interests to keep their payments down. But if he thought another NZ team would bring in more ratings I'm guessing he'd be more vocal and behind it.
I think the last figure I heard was $20 million was needed a year to be competitive in the NRL. A portion of that needs to come from crowds week to week.
Look don't get me wrong I'd love another NZ side in the NRL especially with the derby match vs. the Warriors but it will be a huge challenge. Firstly they are behind the Aussie favourite locations in Brisbane and Perth and then there are the challenges in getting it up and running. Remember the Warriors haven't had a smooth history business wise.
of course they don't, but gallop could void the licence of every a league team using those criteria, except for about 3 of them. The Phoenix don't actually take anything away from the a-league either, they are just kind of a nothing outfit.
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mt.wellington
Warriors Orange Peeler
TBF the Warriors are the same in terms of crowd support. Numbers swell when the team start winning. To key difference is that the club have a 10,000 fan base that will show to home games whether the team win or lose. Not going to have the club swimming in cash but at the very least they break even.
Minus bandwagon supporters whats the base number for Wellington teams? Most would be losing money wouldnt they???
Couldnt agree more...
When I wrote that I was wandering why the media highlight Wellington but it is a New Zealand thing where we tend to support winners. There is also a lot of discussion on talk back about getting crowds to rugby matches besides All Blacks matches and finals. The Warriors 10,000 base is pretty good by New Zealand standards.
With the A League, the thing that is grating people the most, is they are a well run business who need no help from the league. Brisbane and Newcastle are shitters of clubs, and have been topped up by A League several times, and are now run by the league. The Phoenix aren't causing any problems being in the competition, they are generally competitive, and with a league of only ten teams, there is no real need to boot them out.
Are they adding much money into the A Leagues pockets? Na. That's all they care about at the end of the day, and it's a shame. They are well liked in Wellington, and provide virtually the only pathway to professional football in New Zealand. On that alone, they are crucial to the sport in NZ. Do Australian Football care about that? Of Course not.
Are they adding much money into the A Leagues pockets? Na. That's all they care about at the end of the day, and it's a shame. They are well liked in Wellington, and provide virtually the only pathway to professional football in New Zealand. On that alone, they are crucial to the sport in NZ. Do Australian Football care about that? Of Course not.
Someone did some figures a couple of seasons back and the Warriors were the best supported NZ club in any sport - I seem to remember the Crusaders having a higher average but the Warriors season total was more due to playing more games?
Westpac Stadium is one of the few stadiums in NZ to produce attendance figures;
https://westpacstadium.co.nz/our-events/events/2015/
https://westpacstadium.co.nz/our-events/events/2015/
Bit of Phoenix hate on here but like blain said
Like SBW said when asked at rugby world about English Soccer "I'm a Wellington Phoenix supporter myself" all jokes aside i mean what do most people know about soccer football in nz that they identify with Highligts of Phoenix on news or crowd goes wild 1st thing id think about. They are financially solvent give A league link to extra 4.5 million people, they have hardcore fan base of 6-7k. Only local pro pathway for youth!
Like SBW said when asked at rugby world about English Soccer "I'm a Wellington Phoenix supporter myself" all jokes aside i mean what do most people know about soccer football in nz that they identify with Highligts of Phoenix on news or crowd goes wild 1st thing id think about. They are financially solvent give A league link to extra 4.5 million people, they have hardcore fan base of 6-7k. Only local pro pathway for youth!
RL over here in Perth is so so small. No junior grades, pretty sure it goes U18, reserves, prems. They're trying hard to grow it, but never gonna really amount to anything. Massive AFL stronghold.
bruce
Contributor
God I'd love a Wellington NRL team.
The advantage to the NRL being It's own thing is it will do what's best for the comp. As opposed to A league where they have teams that not pay their players and the financially stable team is the one they look to boot because its not Strayan.
The advantage to the NRL being It's own thing is it will do what's best for the comp. As opposed to A league where they have teams that not pay their players and the financially stable team is the one they look to boot because its not Strayan.
In a time of Super League when Murdick decided he wanted a Melbourne team at the expensive of Perth
tajhay
🏉
If you think Auckland has a hard time attracting players from Australia to come play for the Warriors, wait till you see what happens if/when Wellington comes into play. They will have to throw up big cash for old, average NRL players on long term deals....
Its important that any new NZ city wanting an NRL licence in the future has its shit together when it comes to development and pathways for the younger generation. Just because you build, doesnt mean they will come. Hate to say it, but IMO NZ is not ready for a second NRL side and wont be for a while.
