TOPIC:

As reported in thewest online and the Sunday Times.
EF v EP 5200
SF v WP 2370
SD v P 2000
S v C 1100

Yes these are estimates and can be inaccurate but given that there was no AFL for our local sides these figures are a little disappointing. Although I think that the attendance at the EF v E P game at Domain last night was reasonably pleasing.

We will have to wait for the official figures when they posted on the WAFL website to see how accurate these estimates are!

On the basis of the figures you quoted it would be fair to say that they were disappointing in the extreme given the context of the supposed increase we were led to expect from all the publicity that the move to channel 7 was purported to bring to the WAFL competition.

It is of course difficult to gauge the mix of the crowd at Subiaco Oval last night from the TV broadcast; it did seem to me that the majority were supporting East Freo.

Given the good weather and no competition from the AFl how do others interpret the crowd figures?

I would have thought the crowd at Leederville was closer to 2000? Either way it was disapointing

the opening round should be getting at least 15,000 all up. hopefully the commercial TV deal kicks in down the track and people start to know about it again. That's what it boils down too. Give it time, its early days

The oval at Subiaco for the East Fremantle match was encouraging with the attendance figure given. All up, rnd 1 gives a total attendance of approx. 10,600. That is a good start because it's the highest round 1 crowd figure for many years. Last seasons round 1 total attendance being 8,402. Being an increase in numbers of about +2270. Would be great if all the rounds had similar total attendances.

Overall, these figures are pretty good. The 5000 figure was against the TV broadcast, we must not forget.

the Fremantle crowd was slightly above average

the Bassendean crowd was okay

the one at Leederville was a wee bit low, but when have Subiaco and Claremont attractted large crowds?

But don't forget that the match at Subiaco was virtually free entrance with double passes being given away as a promotion.

Could that have inflated the crowd attendance?

I did not know that -- yep, certainly would have influenced things

The WA Football Commission is open to scheduling more WAFL matches at Domain Stadium in coming seasons after pulling the league’s biggest round-one crowd in a decade.

About 5200 supporters were at the Subiaco venue on Saturday night to see East Fremantle dismantle last year’s grand finalists East Perth by 55 points in a showcase match to launch the new broadcast deal with commercial television.

Ratings for the three-hour telecast on 7Mate peaked at 49,000 and averaged about 40,000.

It was an encouraging first-up result for the move to Channel 7, which is part of Seven West Media with The West Australian .

The attendance was the biggest crowd for a round-one WAFL match since Claremont drew 7812 people for a one-point thriller over West Perth at the Showground in 2005.

Viewer numbers were higher than the estimated 39,000 that tuned into last year’s WAFL grand final on previous broadcaster ABC.

The match is understood to have cost more than $20,000 to host at Domain Stadium, with the WAFC picking up most of a tab that included extra lighting, security and cleaning expenses.

A standard home-and-away fixture typically costs the hosting WAFL club up to $12,000.

WAFC chief operating officer Nick Sautner was delighted with the crowd.

“Saturday night was a trial. I’m sure some of our other WAFL club presidents and CEOs may be interested in hosting fixtures at Domain Stadium,” he said.

“I’d certainly be open to having those discussions based on Saturday night’s outcome.”

Sharks chief executive Todd Shimmon said the launch had been invaluable exposure for the club’s four major sponsors.

“If they’ve covered their costs and we get a financial return which we think is good enough, I would absolutely recommend to anyone to do it,” Shimmon said.

“It was a bit of hype, a bit of excitement, even for East Perth who were playing us.

“For the first time in 15 years I’ve seen WAFL on actual bus stops, on cars, on TV adverts promoting the first game. It’s great to see that promotion of our local footy.”

Royals chief executive Dean Turner said the only disappointment had been his club’s poor on-field showing.

An estimated 6000 attended the other three matches of the round at Steel Blue Oval, Fremantle Oval and Medibank Stadium.

The clash between Subiaco and Claremont in Leederville attracted 1644 — the round’s lowest turnout.

Sautner cited the 4.15pm start and heavy promotion for the televised match as potential contributing factors.

Despite the low crowd, Lions chief executive Peter Capes said the club had made an above-average financial return.....from TheWest Online!

Custodian wrote:
The clash between Subiaco and Claremont in Leederville attracted 1644 — the round’s lowest turnout.

Sautner cited the 4.15pm start and heavy promotion for the televised match as potential contributing factors.

why do clubs persist with these stupid start times?
2.15pm is perfect. It you have an evening engagement, it gives you time to get home and organized. And lets face it many people have things on in the evening. At 4.15pm you basically have no option than to simply give the footy a miss. That start time doesn't allow enough time for people to get ready if they have an evening engagement. It is just a pointless and ridiculous start time for footy. No benefit whatsoever, I don't get it.

clubs need to think about these things, its basic planning