Sky-high NRL ticket prices keeping Sydney fans away from finals … or are there other reasons?

Early in the second half of Sydney Swans AFL preliminary final against Port Adelaide at the SCG, Channel 7 commentator Brian Taylor had a cheeky whack at the NRL.

As the broadcast switched to the high shot, showing the cricket ground side by side Allianz Stadium, where the Sharks were hosting the Cowboys in the Friday night semi-final, there were empty seats everywhere.

“Lovely scenes here, SCG of course for the prelim finals … next door is an NRL game that looks half empty with about 10,000 people and the SCG is absolutely packed out,” BT said in commentary during a brief stoppage in the AFL game.

“Give some attention to Aussie Rules up here, it’s going pretty well I reckon.”

While many league fans may have taken offence to that or brushed it off being a bit of cross-code banter, he does make a really good point.

Is it too much to expect that NRL finals games would be sell-outs? If not, very close to it especially in its home city, where the NRL wouldn’t dare switch the grand final.

It could be argued that one of the teams was from North Queensland, and flights down from Townsville were well documented in the week leading up to the game, with few seats and high prices. On the other hand, the Sharks – while being a Sydney team – have one of the lowest membership numbers in the competition.

According to the membership section of the NRL website, there are just 16,511 fans who are part of the Cronulla club, the lowest of those displayed – albeit not every team’s figures have been disclosed. So direct fan support may have been dwindling for those two particular sides.

But the week after, when the Sharks played Penrith at Accor Stadium, a stadium with a capacity of 83,500, the attendance was only 33,753. Again, to be fair and balanced, there was rain about in Sydney throughout the day, but this is the grand final qualifier – two of the best four teams left in the competition.

Penrith fans should be flying high on the back of three premierships, most of who live just a 25-minute drive down the Great Western Highway or easy access by train and chasing a historic fifth grand final berth. Tickets were available for under $50.

Compare that to Melbourne the night before at AAMI Park, on AFL grand final weekend, a stadium where the official website lists the capacity at 30,000, there were 29,213 people there to watch the Storm beat the Roosters – an almost full stadium.

Just two of the finals in Sydney have reached close to selling out Panthers-Roosters (in Penrith with 21,483 out of a 22,500 capacity) and Roosters-Manly (at Allianz Stadium with 40,818 out of a capacity of 45,500). Even Bulldogs-Manly at Accor Stadium reached 50,714 but that was just over half full.

Has the NRL made it too easy for Sydneysiders to choose to sit at home and watch games on television or at the pub, rather than have the hunger to experience the atmosphere at a game?

Have they priced fans out of games, and is there any interest in going to a game where you have no club loyalties?

If you read the 2023 NRL Annual Report, you’d think it’s all sunshine and roses – and new record highs. An average of 19.6k attended each game throughout last season, and there was a 25 per cent increase in attendance from the year before.

Sounds like the game is heading in the right direction …but is it enough to just sit back satisfied?

I remember back to my childhood days, attending games that were at least 75-90 per cent attended – if not full houses on soggy and freezing July nights. You also got three games from all grades for the ticket price, not just first-grade NRL.

But back then, I also reminisce, tickets were under $20 and a bucket of chips and a can of coke were $2-3 each. Even in the 1990s, a young teenager could afford it on his weekly allowance.

Seats in the nosebleed section for this weekend’s grand final have skyrocketed around the $209 mark – almost as expensive as a Taylor Swift ticket. While a regular season game at Penrith this year, set you back $40+ to just stand up on the hill, with no seat.

Despite all the marketing and research that the NRL does, there are some direct questions it needs answers for, from the fanbase – to find out in the real world why people are not attending.

1. Where is the game’s real priority?

There is no doubt that the broadcast dollar brings in the most money to the game, and they do need to be looked after, but it seems that all the emphasis has been on pleasing the TV/radio stations, and game-day crowds seem to have become neglected as just an afterthought.

It’s good to publicise when the numbers are up, but not too concerned about rectifying when they drop.

Maybe more attention should be placed on working out why there are so many empty seats, rather than being satisfied by marginal increases on a spreadsheet based on demographics.

So, while the broadcasting dollars are vital to growing the game, how about the NRL looks at ways of making the game more affordable and accessible to people not just for one-off events or rivalries but the whole season long?

2. Is it too costly to go to the footy?

The cost of a regular season game at a number of clubs was around $35-$50 for the cheapest non-concession adult ticket in either general admission or cheaper bays, including handling fees.

If you want to take a family, it’s higher and then you have the cost of food and drink when you get in. A family day out can easily reach $200-300.

Maybe the NRL needs to look at taking control away from the clubs and standardising prices. Make 40-50 per cent of the stadium general admission; $20 for regular season games and $30 for finals. Clubs can then stagger the premium seating at a fair price.

The game could also look at getting control of food and beverage deals. Instead of contracting out to third-party companies, maybe form a wing of the NRL that can handle the hospitality. A total of 15-20 chips in a cardboard container is not worth $7.

This would allow for some extra-value deals for fans. An example, on a recent US trip, there was a certain stadium that not only had a $20 ticket, but the first 5,000 people through the gate also got a soft drink and hot dog.

Things like this helped attract people on mid-week nights of a 100+ game baseball season.

3. Is it too tough and time-consuming to logistically get to a game in Sydney?

One of the differences between the NRL and AFL stadiums is that it is all spread out in NSW.

Melbourne has two main venues for the Victorian clubs, with the exception of Geelong: Marvel Stadium and MCG. These are in the city and well-serviced by public transport.

Sydney, however, is a little trickier. There are grounds spread from Manly to Cronulla, right out to Penrith – not to mention Allianz Stadium in the middle of the city (who wants to battle inner city traffic on a busy Friday night?) and Leichhardt where parking is a nightmare.

Adding onto the cost of the ticket and in-venue prices is the cost to get there.

Some tickets may have public transport costs included – but if you live in Cronulla or Manly, travelling to Penrith or even Homebush could take well over an hour by bus and train – and take several connections.

By car, you have the tolls and gridlock – especially in peak times – and then have to work out where to leave your car.

Is travel hassles a disincentive?

4. Is there value in an NRL ticket alone each week?

Particularly for a ‘neutral’ fan, what would attract you to a game rather than dinner and drink at home or the pub with friends and family – or a night watching a movie – for entertainment value?

Are there too many things to do at the weekend that the footy has just become checking highlights or a score update?

If you didn’t have a team playing, would you consider just going to watch a game across town because of your love for rugby league?

If the game relies on fans and members of each individual club who are playing on the day to pack out stadiums it may take a long way to catch up, given the Australian population, the growing list of alternative entertainment options to choose from and the fact the competition is expanding diluting the fan pool.

State of Origin and even the Matildas showed people will make the effort and get behind special ‘events’ – but how to sustain that interest all season long, for 30+ weeks?

5. Should the game look at playing multiple matches on the day?

The day could feature a triple header featuring juniors, NSW Cup or NRLW. That would give three games for the one-ticket price like the ‘good old days’.

6. Is there a need for more work in the NRL membership space?

The AFL relies heavily on memberships transferring to attendance. If you have a membership ticket, you may as well attend to get your money’s worth.

Are there enough people in Sydney who are able to afford or even want to commit to season-long memberships in the NRL?

Clubs do their own marketing and advertising for memberships, but the game as a whole, probably needs a cultural change.

To put the two codes in context, the Broncos are the highest of the clubs listed on the NRL website for membership with 40,207. Three AFL clubs have over 100,000 members – with Brisbane’s NRL members only beating two AFL clubs – Gold Coast and GWS.

What’s stopping you from being a member and attending games for the club you support weekly?

If you look at the population growth in Sydney and vacant seats there is a huge opportunity for the game to attract more crowds. Finals should be a drawcard for the season, tickets should be in high demand and Sydney is meant to be the home of rugby league.

Yet, the game’s administrators will point out the marginal upward trend, or the odd games here and there that have sell-outs or attendance records. But they are a bit misleading when you invert the equation and look at who’s not there rather than who is – particularly how many empty seats are visible.

If they ask the above questions, more than likely, the NRL will find out they need to make an adjustment to game day and ticket prices to take into account all the intricacies in the market as mentioned above and the cost of living crisis. Give fans a reason to want to put down the remote or tablet device and venture back to the footy regularly.

The NRL needs to prioritise getting stadiums full again regularly, rather than settling, complacently, for the broadcasting dollar.

What is the main reason that is keeping you away from attending (more) NRL games?