Arenas

[dexter]

Nov 20, 2024 15:05:11 GMT LTfan said:

Nov 19, 2024 23:24:29 GMT dexter said:

OK I'm not quite following the strategy. London Mavericks have 2 home games at Wembley Arena; 3 at the University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield; one at Brentwood Centre, Essex; and one at the Brighton Centre. So they've called themselves London but they play right across the Home Counties.

London Mavericks are playing a home game at the Brighton Centre?! I understand the strategy the Netball Superleague are adopting here (I'm not sure if I think it's a good one though), but I challenge anyone to argue that Brighton is in any way part of London. 

London Pulse and London Mavericks both cover London and the Home Counties. But London Pulse play all their home games at the Copper Box Arena, whilst London Mavericks play most of their games around the Home Counties with a couple of games at Wembley Arena.

[LTfan]

Nov 20, 2024 20:39:19 GMT dexter said:

Nov 20, 2024 15:05:11 GMT LTfan said:

London Mavericks are playing a home game at the Brighton Centre?! I understand the strategy the Netball Superleague are adopting here (I'm not sure if I think it's a good one though), but I challenge anyone to argue that Brighton is in any way part of London. 

London Pulse and London Mavericks both cover London and the Home Counties. But London Pulse play all their home games at the Copper Box Arena, whilst London Mavericks play most of their games around the Home Counties with a couple of games at Wembley Arena.

Which is fine, I guess, but Brighton is most definitely not in any Home Counties of London by any stretch of the imagination.

[dexter]

Nov 20, 2024 21:18:47 GMT LTfan said:

Nov 20, 2024 20:39:19 GMT dexter said:

London Pulse and London Mavericks both cover London and the Home Counties. But London Pulse play all their home games at the Copper Box Arena, whilst London Mavericks play most of their games around the Home Counties with a couple of games at Wembley Arena.

Which is fine, I guess, but Brighton is most definitely not in any Home Counties of London by any stretch of the imagination.

A lack of arenas. There are not any large or medium sized indoor arenas in the Home Counties. Across England Netball Superleague will use most of the arenas including all three London Arenas.

[silverbirch]

Nov 20, 2024 21:57:21 GMT dexter said:

Nov 20, 2024 21:18:47 GMT LTfan said:

Which is fine, I guess, but Brighton is most definitely not in any Home Counties of London by any stretch of the imagination.

A lack of arenas. There are not any large or medium sized indoor arenas in the Home Counties. Across England Netball Superleague will use most of the arenas including all three London Arenas.

Its the same issue for basketball or any indoor sport (volleyball, handball, etc) is the lack of larger venues.

London has The O2, Wembley Arena and Copper Box (potentially throw in Crystal Palace but its a bit dated now) and then that is it.

There is clearly a desire for basketball to establish itself in Surrey for example but with just 1,000 ish seats at the Sports Park where do they go to grow other than spending ~£20m on their own venue. There is an absolute dearth of suitable venues in the South East for sport.

[cosbyrider]

Nov 20, 2024 15:05:11 GMT LTfan said:

Nov 19, 2024 23:24:29 GMT dexter said:

OK I'm not quite following the strategy. London Mavericks have 2 home games at Wembley Arena; 3 at the University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield; one at Brentwood Centre, Essex; and one at the Brighton Centre. So they've called themselves London but they play right across the Home Counties.

London Mavericks are playing a home game at the Brighton Centre?! I understand the strategy the Netball Superleague are adopting here (I'm not sure if I think it's a good one though), but I challenge anyone to argue that Brighton is in any way part of London. 

Yeah it’s nonsense. The 100 is a prime example of trying to do this and it fails. Worcestershire fans will never ever support anything Birmingham for example. Sport is tribal in the UK

[cosbyrider]

Nov 17, 2024 13:26:33 GMT dexter said:

Nov 17, 2024 0:46:01 GMT cosbyrider said:

But those fans in Coventry and Worcester are alienated by supporting a team branded Birmingham

I doubt it. The Worcester team was called Severn Stars (sounds like a Chinese restaurant) and the Coventry team was part of Wasps, which is currently dormant but is expected to re-emerge in Kent without the netball team. I suspect the fans were more interested in having a netball team to support than any loyalty to the name of that team. I expect the people who are more annoyed are the brummies who thought they were getting a team only to discover they're only getting two home games.

Your last sentence is exactly it. No continuity. Very little season ticket sales as a result. Difficult to build up an identity unique to a city

[silverbirch]

Nov 21, 2024 22:41:06 GMT cosbyrider said:

Nov 17, 2024 13:26:33 GMT dexter said:

I doubt it. The Worcester team was called Severn Stars (sounds like a Chinese restaurant) and the Coventry team was part of Wasps, which is currently dormant but is expected to re-emerge in Kent without the netball team. I suspect the fans were more interested in having a netball team to support than any loyalty to the name of that team. I expect the people who are more annoyed are the brummies who thought they were getting a team only to discover they're only getting two home games.

Your last sentence is exactly it. No continuity. Very little season ticket sales as a result. Difficult to build up an identity unique to a city

I think with just 7 home games they aren't thinking about season tickets but instead 7 distinct events, hence why a different arena / venue each time and geographical spread. Can they have a ton of fans across a whole area going to 1 or 2 events rather than less going to multiple.

It is a tactic, not one i would choose as i think its very short sighted and all you are creating is spectators and not fans, but perhaps in these formative first couple of years of the new netball league structure perhaps they are just driving for lots of numbers and eyeballs rather than building fandom and loyalty?

[johnjack]

Nov 22, 2024 8:47:34 GMT silverbirch said:

Nov 21, 2024 22:41:06 GMT cosbyrider said:

Your last sentence is exactly it. No continuity. Very little season ticket sales as a result. Difficult to build up an identity unique to a city

I think with just 7 home games they aren't thinking about season tickets but instead 7 distinct events, hence why a different arena / venue each time and geographical spread. Can they have a ton of fans across a whole area going to 1 or 2 events rather than less going to multiple.

It is a tactic, not one i would choose as i think its very short sighted and all you are creating is spectators and not fans, but perhaps in these formative first couple of years of the new netball league structure perhaps they are just driving for lots of numbers and eyeballs rather than building fandom and loyalty?

Its more like a traveling circus in a way and is a pitfall of the "franchise" system where rather than teams being from a certain place they are a just brand at the end of the day
Each game is an entertainment event which feels more American (dare I say) than British, I think this is something that 777 got seriously wrong with the way they operated and partly why they weren't that successful overall.

For my team Jets/Phoenix they are my home town team even the way they play and the teams attitude like Dave Forrester mentioned a few weeks ago on SNB, the sort of underdog, chip on the shoulder attitude, often overlooked and under estimated by the higherups (and had a motorway slammed through the middle of our town) is very Ellesmere Port. It wouldn't be right if they played anywhere else. Most of the fans have an emotional bond to the club and the area. (though I do find it funny when certain Americans mention Ellesmere Port as such a marvellous place to be :-) . We are an old industrial town with a car factory and an oil refinery.

[tallerman]

There are 7 leagues with 12 teams and a very long waiting list for Plymouth netball and no top flight team. That leaves over a thousand adult players with no club to follow as such. We won’t be the only city. Holding events rather than building a fan base isn’t a terrible idea as you’re selling to people who like the sport but perhaps don’t have the commitment or want the commitment.

[dexter]

Are there any other examples of other sports leagues doing this?

[LTfan]

Nov 22, 2024 18:54:56 GMT dexter said:

Are there any other examples of other sports leagues doing this?

Not that I’m aware of, at least not this widespread.
The new owners of the London Lions have said that whilst the Copper Box will remain their primary home venue they’d also host games at other venues around London (presumably Wembley Arena and maybe Crystal Palace NSC?), but there’s been no further evidence of them actually doing that. And of course all games would still be in London, so it’s a far more understandable strategy than what’s planned for netball.

[tallerman]

Lots of football clubs ground share in different arenas. Truro played games in plymouth, Taunton, Torquay and Gloucester last season but that's a very different kettle of fish

[dexter]

Nov 22, 2024 20:37:56 GMT tallerman said:

Lots of football clubs ground share in different arenas. Truro played games in plymouth, Taunton, Torquay and Gloucester last season but that's a very different kettle of fish

Isn't that just called being homeless?