Quasi
Years ago

Members - what are we paying for?

Let me start by saying that our family of five has forked out for season tickets for years, which is significant money spent. Why? Because we love the game and love our team.
Our experience so far this season:
- we weren't aware of the Members Day until a couple of days before it was on and only found out through a Facebook update (an email at least would be nice)
- our season tickets were sent in the mail, addressed to our youngest child
- One of our children had their name printed on two of the season passes, with one child missing out
- I bought a carpark pass (costing a further $100 on top of the hundreds already spent - this should have continued to be part of the members package as it's not as if they're short of parking in front of the stadium) and was told that our name was on the guest list as we enter. Upon entering, we were told at the gate that there is no list and we'd need to circle the block to come in at the front. Was there a list at the front? Of course not, but one of the workers said that many people had said this and let us go through anyhow.
- Picking up membership packs at the door: nothing is prepacked and ready to go, lanyards haven't arrived yet (no big deal, but really with 6 months to have this organised?)
- T-shirts are not on chairs ready to go as reported or prepacked in bags, but needed to line up for 30 minutes even though our T-shirt sizes were on the membership form submitted months ago. Plus all colours were not the same once we had them. No child sizes either.
- Both scoreboards are not working properly for the first game of the season (again, 6 months to rectify a problem that has existed for seasons)

If the club can't look after members properly who spend hundreds of dollars a season to support the team, how on earth can they expect to maintain memberships as well as increase the supporter base? I can't imagine any other sport where these sort of unprofessional incidents would happen. If we weren't diehard fans, we would be considering cancelling our memberships. I know that a lot has been posted about organisation and communication to fans, but our experience so far this season in particular has been painful to say the least.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Seems like some of these are minor, but sloppy

The small things matter

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Baller#3  
Years ago

The professionalism of the club has taken a huge hit compared to a couple of years ago, and even then it wasn't perfect. So many minor problems that are easily fixed but just aren't.

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Adrian  
Years ago

Has anyone even looked at the pricing for the Apollo Restaurant? Now a Buffet at $40.00 or $30 for a child. There is no way that our family is going there to pay those prices for a get in and out meal. They don't seem to want to cater for their biggest market for the last few years which obviously was families

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Before anyone else complains about scoreboard, it is dead and currently not having any money spent on it. I think they are currently looking for the scoreboard that Groves supposedly ordered years ago when he owned the venue.

There will be no fixing of the current scoreboard.

Somewhat sloppy affair though that is for sure

I have had season tickets for every year at the Powerhouse/Dome/Arena/Stadium and have never had free car parking as a part of the package

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36ersNayshun  
Years ago

I've been a member for a number of years now and this off-season was probably one of the worst. I think there was more strife behind the scenes this year than we realised. That's the only explanation I can think of because it has been a total social media blackout up until a month ago.

Two years ago when we got to the Grand Final should have been the springboard. That season was one of the best I've seen as far as fan engagement goes. There were various serial videos on Youtube from the club and players. There were the Boti Nagy wayback articles accompanied by archive footage. They had Mitch on the Facebook and Twitter accounts from time to time. They set that standard and from then on that should have been the bare minimum. We got to a GF we should have kept the off-court momentum going to keep attracting fans that were sparked up by our on-court performance. Of course last year we went back to absolutely nothing. What a let down.

The game-night entertainment has been a bonanza of mediocrity for years. As an outsider I look at the club staff and see that the person responsible has about 10 other jobs on their position description and there's little wonder why nothing much happens at half time. That said though, all it takes is a couple of new ideas and a phone call or two to a local community group or something and suddenly there's something marginally better that may not leave 4500 fans yawning and lolling about in their seats like the patrons of a narcolepsy convention.

This year shows the continued disorganisation in the back office. No doubt woefully understaffed. On the upside, the relaunch of the NBL has seen our social media presence come back from the dead, with all popular platforms (except Youtube) in regular use. The graphics have even come into the 21st century.
One the downside, my member passes came out in separate envelopes (wasteful and unnecessary) with hand-written addressing (wasteful and unnecessary...learn to mail-merge) with a short letter, the passes, and a $20 merch voucher. The letter mentioned that the members packs would be available for collection 2 or 3 rounds in (that's surely a joke, right? How hard is it to organise a lanyard and a fridge magnet?) but no real instructions on how that transaction would occur (no members pack vouchers included like previous years).
The free tshirts, I believe provided via the NBL not the club, were a great idea on paper but we were presented with a blue shirt which was so dark it's practically black, thus defeating the intended purpose of providing a colourful spectacle of united home fans. At least make them Royal Blue so they'll fit in amongst the fans wearing actual club merch and singlets.
The scoreboard is knackered as per usual and i don't think anyone is arguing for it to be fixed either. It should have been taken out into the paddock and torched about 10 years ago. It needs to be replaced and despite murmurs from Stadium ownership about that happening when they purchased the Arena, nothing much seems to be happening. Replacing it with actual video screens will not only service NBL games in a professional manner, it further adds to the usefulness of the stadium as a multi-purpose venue, which it truly now is.

I know it's easy to say as an outsider and a fan, but given the quality of product we've been seeing over the past few years there's not a lot that needs to happen to provide an improvement. Improvements can be made for little or no money and that's what is most frustrating as a fan. Hopefully with the NBL now having a bit of money sloshing about something will filter through to allow clubs to expand the product they offer. That was the promise anyway!

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Wilson Sting  
Years ago

on the plus side, your team won by 20

Reply #553023 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Don't get me wrong, I love how this league is getting run & loving the changes & talent in the league but the Sixers need to pick up their game...

-Upgrade the scorebard or Get the scoreboard working...
-T shirt (sea of colour) idea is great & used in the NBA etc but how hard is it to get the right colour of the shirt... some of our group had dark blue & some had black... fyi sixers management, we wear royal blue..
-instead of having empty wall space on the west wall, why not have large pictures of the current players like many other teams do...

Simple things which won't cost much.
Every season I buy my membership & walk into the building & hoping for changes but deep down know that it will all look the same. Also got excited by the image of seeing royal blue t shirts on all of the seats in the lower level. Until I walked into chaos with people fighting for black t shirts by the entry door...

still love the sixers & will keep going regardless however.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

The only problem with a video scoreboard I can think of besides cost, is what's going to happen to the scoreboards for the outer courts for other games?

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Was wondering about the members packs. Did not realize that the people at the front were for them, i was there very early this game and just saw the NBL shirts and got one of those but had no idea.

Hated the scoreboard being out but why not just use one of the replay screens to put stats up? how hard is that. I may be a minority here but i really rely on them to follow how the game is flowing.

As everyone has said, this season in particular communication has been horrible.

As people have mentioned these are all small things but you should sweat the small things as this is what people get angry about and speaks to the professionalism and care of the team managers.

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Bulldog  
Years ago

In regards to the t shirts they were not from the club. The Hard Ball t shirts were made up by the NBL with 5000 for each team. Therefore they were for anyone in attendance, not just members. As per note that came with season tickets the rest of members pack available at a later date.

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XY  
Years ago

I sympathise with some of the concerns stated, and agree there are numerous areas where the club could pick up its game.

That said, I hate the sense of entitlement some members think they get for being a member.

Seriously, what you get for your membership is guaranteed seats to every game of the season and priority seats to finals at a cost equivalent to or less than the cost of paying full price to every game, with some minimum and low cost bonuses thrown in (such as a $20 voucher off merchandise, and maybe a sticker).

Why should you get something more than that? Everyone wants something for nothing. The last owners went broke running the club on its current financial model, someone needs to pay for the product on the floor.

Sixers fans are frankly some of the worst whingers.

Certainly membership never came with a car park unless you had a corporate box/platinum seating IIRC.

I would love the scoreboard to be fixed/replaced. We should buy the one that was installed in the Gold Coast stadium which is now presumably not used. But that cost, from memory, $1.5 mil or something, which is more than the value of the whole club, which was just saved from insolvency.

Can't see any solution to the scoreboards being less than $100k minimum. If you know any good sponsors who want their logo up for the next 20 years, get on to them to buy one for the club!

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Anonymous  
Years ago

As said above for a temp solution just use a replay screen for the stats.

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koberulz  
Years ago

I would love the scoreboard to be fixed/replaced. We should buy the one that was installed in the Gold Coast stadium which is now presumably not used.
Wollongong beat you to it a couple of years ago.

What happened to the scoreboard they replaced, I don't know.

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BettyLeadfoot  
Years ago

Above all though my team must be worth watching and it seems like they are.

All I expect is a seat and reasonable amenities and that they are in good working order. Working scoreboard is more important to me than any members packs. I really missed it last night. Just the ability to look and quickly see the overall stats for the game.

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KingJames  
Years ago

"As said above for a temp solution just use a replay screen for the stats."

That is a good idea but should only be shown when there isn't a replay which might get a bit tricky to handle.

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Wwizard  
Years ago

I found the scoreboard without figures and at least names on it very disturbing. The music wasnt up to scratch and the half time break somewhat boring however, i look forward to it.

My $390 gold membership is my Christmas present every year from my immediate family. They know I live for basketball and indeed the 36ers.

The members day I did hear was woeful however I am no child and i dont have children, so i wont comment.

Car parking is what is has always been. There is a choice, enjoy the fresh air and walk a mile and get swooped by the plovers/magpies or pay to park close by.

Im all for whinging but surely the topic could have had a few good points. Its like travellers who whinge about everything, i switch off after the first 3 bad reviews.

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Dazz  
Years ago

I sympathise, and I think most of the above complaints are valid.
I know its hard, running an NBL team is expensive and most lose money, but this is supposed to be a professional league.
This isn't the AFL, there is no money in TV, so the only formula for success is BUMS on SEATS.

Challenge stadium was a crap venue for NBL, but the Cats did everything they could to make it liveable.

NBL teams need to accept that MOST people are not going to put up with shit service. Relying on the few die-hards, who will keep coming nomatter what you through at them, is not going to pay the bills

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Sounds very amateurish and no wonder they are the 3rd team nearly broke.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

It sounds like the Dome is what Perth used to have with Challenge i.e. mid tier stadium in the suburbs middle of nowhere. Yet they made it work. Sixers on the other hand are really going through the motions of late. Wishing for a new consortium of owners and move into the city to Entertainment Centre.

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BettyLeadfoot  
Years ago

A move to the city would be a good outcome. Somewhere near the Adelaide Oval in a purpose built stadium that can be used for other sports.Our Entertainment Centre is not suitable for Basket Ball sadly but a good location on the city fringe.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

If the league organised the T Shirts, then how did they get our colour wrong??? small issue but if you are going to do it, do it right

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Annoz  
Years ago

I wasn't at the game but watched it on Fox. It was disappointing that the crowd wasn't a sea of royal blue. That feeling was compounded when watching the game from Cairns last night where their crowd was a sea of orange. It made for a much better backdrop to the game. Other then that though its pleasing to see the games live and to see that the NBL is putting some effort into branding and promoting the league.
It can only improve over the course of the season.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

car parking has NEVER been part of memebership

score board won't be fixed would rather have the team on the floor than be complaining about a scoreboard if you need to bring stats up on your phone.

Team has been bought by two not for profit organisations they will rely on grants to fix things this year it was the lighting.

when the stadium is in 3 court mode the scoreboard above the court will reflect the different courts.

if you want to know how many fouls the player has look for foul bat being held out our listen for the court announcer to tell you.

TEAM ON FLOOR AND WE ALMOST DIDN'T HAVE ONE before we complain about things that are luxury to some other teams.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

I can see both sides - some things just reeks of the OP being a whinger (lanyards, shirts, carparking), but there is one thing that is a must - a professional looking i.e. WORKING scoreboard. Look at the paddles? Pfft. Certainly doesn't get me thinking of forking out my hard earned to go to a game!

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Quasi  
Years ago

I recognise that alone some of these things are not a big deal and wouldn't be worth mentioning. But when you experience minor issues at pretty much every contact point with the club, that's what's frustrating.

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XY  
Years ago

I understand your gripes with the club and the service levels provided. But that has nothing to do with your membership. I still don't understand what you think your membership entitles you to that you are not receiving.

In a perfect world every person coming into contact with the club should be made to feel special, whether they are a sponsor, a member or a walk up one time only customer. Over time, that is what is going to make the difference.

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Matthew  
Years ago

Perhaps this is some of the stuff that needs to be 'legislated' by the NBL. To present a product maybe they SHOULD include in the rules for the NBL that every venue played at has a working scoreboard of a certain dimension.

Again a working scoreboard has nothing to do with the 36ers. They simply rent the venue (as do the Wildcats with Perth Arena and Kings with their Entertainment Centre). The Scoreboard is the property of the company who owns the arena/ stadium in question in this case, and that has been stated that these are 2 Not for profit organisations in the Scouts and SA Church Basketball (?? No clue what this is).

So its on them to replace the Scoreboard. You can tell the 36ers management all you want, but they can only say to the Arena management 'Hey... what gives.. this is costing us some reputation and fans'. Is there another location in Adelaide currently that could provide the same or better level of access to fans with a working scoreboard?

It might come to the point where the NBL codified where the minumum standards where NBL basketball can be played (and there already is to an extent in regards to the dimensions of keys and court size etc). It couple simply read 'Needs a Scoreboard (digital) of such and such size and brightness'. If that happened then the 36ers would have to move from where they are to a place that qualified.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Please - it would have in your rent agreement that the following things need to be working - of which scoreboard would be one. They need to force the issue otherwise the landlord will just keep taking the money without doing anything.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

dump the Dome it is horrible

people keep saying Adelaide Entertainment Centre isn't suitable but they had netball there?

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Anonymous  
Years ago

The Entertainment Centre is no better - it is not central either.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

It would feel way more professional and not in the sticks. Slightly out of the CBD = not central. LOL!

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joshuapending  
Years ago

Yes but as far as im aware the seating to court design is not good so you have less "feel" at the games.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

it would also the club cost A LOT more and significantly reduce the revenue coming in each game. Availability would be limited. There would be at least $1m cost to get set up there before game one.

Oh and the fact the owners of the Arena now own the Sixers might be a factor too.

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paul  
Years ago

It costs a lot, has poor atmosphere unless there's a big crowd, is not really central because you can't really walk from the city centre and PT is limited. What are the pros again?

Ill take the purpose built stadium with a great atmosphere any day. Until there's something suitable in the city centre so should the 36ers.

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joshuapending  
Years ago

I really don't mind the powerhouse but location does suck. I just wish we had a working scoreboard and decent sound system. After that i would work on chairs but. Side note i hate how the key colourways are universal at the games now.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Exactly joshua. Also with this great HD coverage most courts look sexy except the Dome. It looks so outdated now, looks exactly the same as when it opened back in the day. The worst is the wasted space used up by the aisles, never understood that. Also the really odd sponsor corp boxes which aren't really boxes but just seats with the company logo? Why not put corp boxes in that infinite amount of unused space behind both baskets? Space is really wasted at the Dome.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

What a load of rubbish. The Arena own the Sixers now so they are the only people that control getting it fixed.

As for not for profits Scouts is worth millions and don't buy a team if you are not prepared for what comes. Maybe they bought them to protect the Arena more than the club ??

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Dazz  
Years ago

if you want to know how many fouls the player has look for foul bat being held out our listen for the court announcer to tell you.

Bwahahahahaha
oh that's gold

I'm just waiting for the "when I was a boy, we had to trudge 5 miles through the snow to watch an NBL game, and it were uphill both ways..."

Thing is the ONLY way an NBL club can earn money is by selling tickets (and then also by selling merchandise) and people won't buy either if the product is shit.

If people want to watch amateur hour in bad seats, they'll go to their rec centre and watch their local SBL team play, or watch their kids play.

And the thing is that investing for the future only works in ONE direction.
People aren't going to fork out good money for shite, in the hopes that eventually some of their money might actually improve the service. You don't keep going back to a bad restaurant in the hopes that your patronage will drive them to improve.

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Marcus Camby  
Years ago

Having a kickass stadium does not guarantee financial success either.

The Wildcats made a loss last year despite crowds of 12k.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

I am a member and if it hadn't been for this thread, I wouldn't have even known there was a wait on membership packs. I had just assumed they were extra stingy, deciding not to bother with them this season.

Then again, I too only learnt of the members day thanks to Facebook so I'm not sure why I'm surprised the club failed to inform us of, well, anything.

The changes in regards to the Apollo Bistro bewilders me. Last season I ate there before a number of games; this season I have no intention of wasting my money there when I can get a decent feed before the game over at Bad Boy Burger for half the price. I can't see how any family would possibly be able to afford a pre game meal at the bistro, especially not on a regular basis.

Some of the recent management decisions made behind the scenes in the lead up to this season seriously have me questioning why they seem so intent on discouraging current members from renewing next season.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

I can't even get them to reply to my emails. Must be struggling bad for cashflow as apparently they are short staffed and doing every on the cheap/overcharging.

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