Dazz
Years ago
City arenas vs dedicated basketball venues
Since the old (70's) "Entertainment Centre" became unviable, Perth did not have a decent venue for anything. Concerts were either performed at the Burswood Dome (with shite acoustics) or they would cram 5 concerts into 2~3 days at somewhere like Challenge Stadium. For a long time Perth was deadsville, and we simply missed out on a lot of touring acts. Our reputation as a cultural backwater was well-deserved.
The governments first attempt to redress this was the "Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre." Variously referred to as either "The Shed," or "The Cockroach," both are overly complimentary.
Not complaining, just don't want this to be seen as a "Perth is great Ra, Ra" thread.
The Arena is butt ugly form the outside, but you get used to it. Inside, its a big compromise.
As part of the deal to keep The Hopman Cup, it has an opening roof. This means that it tends to be a big "bowl" and "upper tiers" are only on one end and a long way back.
Also, since it must function as a concert venue, it almost 3-sided with limited seating at one end.
I am fortunate to be able to afford good seats, when I look up at the "nose-bleed" seats I can only imagine the binoculars I would need to watch the game.
For any negatives, it is a nice venue and we are bloody lucky to have it.
The LOCATION is first rate. EASY access by car, train, or bus, plenty of parking, easy walk out of the CBD after work, and adjacent to Northbridge for meals, drinks, or clubbing afterwards.
There can be no doubt that this venue is a HUGE part of the Cat's current financial surplus. It's probably reasonable to argue that without the Arena, last season might have looked different.
And we have the government to thank, especially for the location.
Now, my POINT, is what would have been the alternative? There were huge limitations to what could have been accomplished further at Challenge.
Perhaps with Bendat's backing they could have built a dedicated Basketball Venue SOMEWHERE.
Probably they would have kept it to under 10k capacity, and if it were in Joondalup or Cockburn, struggled to fill it. Make no mistake, being designed as a premier concert venue, means Perth Arena is a good night out. Comfortable seats, plenty of lounges and bars.
Transplant the same game back out to a venue like Challenge and I guarantee the attendance falls.
And such a venue would never make money, in fact it would probably struggle to cover costs.
If the government hadn't stumped up the cash (and land) to build the Arena, I doubt it would be making money either. (I imagine its profitable, but ROI would be abysmal.)
I have never been to games interstate, so I don't know what your venues are like. This isn't a "we're so great" thread, its meant to be an examination of alternatives.
I think its relevant to teams like Sydney, who (just like the Cats) are being forced to move to an outlying venue, and are praying for a New "tennis" venue so they can move back to the City.
The Wildcats had the luxury of offering up more "nickel" (cheap) seats because there are so many seats in the Arena. Some people say that attendance will fall if the Cats struggle on-court, but they also would not get these numbers to a Shed in the boonies. To be blunt, I attend only a few Eagles games each season because there are limits to what Ibuprofen can do to make Subi oval liveable. Yes, I'm getting old and crabby, and I don't know how much longer I could have tolerated Challenge Stadium. Its different with AFL because I can watch every game on the tube, but you get the idea.
And what about Brisbane? Sure lets get The Bullets going again, but where will they play and how GOOD is the venue?
I know that Melbourne has some big capacity venues, but how convenient & comfortable are they?
And its not just about "bums on seats," its about how much those "bums" are willing to pay. Some people will pay a premium for good seats in a good venue.
Sure the die-hards and "true" fans will go wherever and whenever. But "pandering to softies, bandwagoners, and 'social attendees'," puts bums on seats and MONEY in the coffers.
