Editorial | The benefits weren't just financial
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THE three parties who combined to underwrite the gate takings for the historic Manly-Canberra rugby league game at Lavington Oval last Saturday are bracing for a small hit after the crowd figure fell short of pre-match expectations.
Albury Council, Albury Thunder and the Commercial Club helped deliver the game to Albury by agreeing to guarantee the Sea Eagles’ $180,000 in gate takings.
The official crowd of 6436 people was the smallest of all NRL round 5 matches played over Easter and was about 4000 below predictions it would attract 10,000-plus.
Albury mayor Kevin Mack said final figures were still being crunched, but he said the combined shortfall faced by the council, the Thunder and Commercial Club could be in the vicinity of $7000.
Forecast rain in the days leading up to the game is being put down as the single biggest reason the crowd fell short of expectations.
“My initial thoughts are it is going to be a bit light,” Cr Mack said.
“But it won’t be substantial.
“You’ve got to balance that with what it brought to the region.
“Quest and Atura (motels) are two examples where they were only 40 per cent full before the NRL game was announced, but were chockers on Friday and Saturday night.”
The NRL game was the first time the council had agreed to be party to an underwriting deal for the fixture.
The recent AFL pre-season game and last year’s A-League soccer match for points didn’t require a similar deal.
More than 8000 attended last month’s Richmond-Port Adelaide game and scorching temperatures reduced the crowd for the Melbourne-Perth A-League game to 6000.
“No doubt we’ve been unlucky with the weather for both the soccer and rugby league,” Cr Mack said.
“But what can you do?”
A total of 3500 tickets were pre-sold.
The council paid for ground preparation, security and traffic control on the day.
Costs were higher than for the NRL game compared to the AFL and A-League due to the Easter public holidays.
Cr Mack said discussions were already under way with Manly about bringing another game to Albury as early as next year.
“A lot of discussions were being had before, during and after the game,” he said.
“Two weeks either side of Easter would have been perfect.
“A 2pm game on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon would probably work better.”