Membership Growing

[H_T 3,049]

Wow, big jump from the Queens Birthday clash. Good to see. Go Dees!! Saints are 31,930. I think they've got us covered for 2009.

[Guest]

The club needs to set a new target!!

33-34K would be an amazing acheivement.

[beelzebub 23,390]

31268!!! am happy enough if it goes beyong my prediction of 31500... who'd da thunk ..pretty impressive...ut we need to back it up again next year...and the next... and.....

in fact we need to get to 35000...am informed that makes the purse a much healthier thing and relieves a bit of pressure.

[Keepin up with the Joneses 48]

31268!!! am happy enough if it goes beyong my prediction of 31500... who'd da thunk ..pretty impressive...ut we need to back it up again next year...and the next... and.....

in fact we need to get to 35000...am informed that makes the purse a much healthier thing and relieves a bit of pressure.

Imagine how we will be when we actually start winning?

I know 2 or 3 'supporters' whose balls I have been BUSTING to sign as members, and I know that as soon as we start looking promising again, they will sign up. We are renowned for coming out of the woodwork

[beelzebub 23,390]

I could very well envisage a sort of Hawthorn effect should we see real success. Given a steady climb upwards with sustained results the notion of 40-45000 is entirely approachable. I have no doubt such 'numbers" occasionally enter teh minds of Stynes et al. SHould the club realise the potential of becoming the classic world stage club it could be then who knows where membership could go.

We're a unique club with unique potential

[Rogue 585]

I know that as soon as we start looking promising again, they will sign up. We are renowned for coming out of the woodwork

Are we any different to other sporting teams? As a general rule I'd say sporting teams are more popular when they're successful.

This sentiment is thrown around a bit on here but I'm not sure Melb supporters are any different to others.

We've smashed our membership record in consecutive seasons where we've been cellar dwellers.

It certainly seems true of AFL sides and if we have more supporters who want to come to games when their side's going well, or more supporters who feel they'll get value out of a membership when the side's going well, are we any different to most other AFL teams?

[Adam The God 30,602]

Are we any different to other sporting teams? As a general rule I'd say sporting teams are more popular when they're successful.

This sentiment is thrown around a bit on here but I'm not sure Melb supporters are any different to others.

We've smashed our membership record in consecutive seasons where we've been cellar dwellers.

It certainly seems true of AFL sides and if we have more supporters who want to come to games when their side's going well, or more supporters who feel they'll get value out of a membership when the side's going well, are we any different to most other AFL teams?

What you're saying is true, Rogue. We're no different from any other. That said, I don't actually think we'll gain that many more new members (maybe 5,000 more, or 10,000 if we get an NT deal going), once we start to win, however we will certainly draw bigger crowds. I'd expect our current numbers to grow by about 10-15,000 with a winning formula and if we were to win a premiership early on in the peace, like the Hawks did, I believe we could probably go very close to the 50,000 members mark.

[popskill 0]

What really matters in terms of membership numbers (and other revenue sources) is our relative position compared to the leader(s) - i.e. we're around 60% of the Hawks membership total (the current leaders on this measure) and would need to improve on that comparison over time to really make headway.

[H_T 3,049]

[e25 5]

What really matters in terms of membership numbers (and other revenue sources) is our relative position compared to the leader(s) - i.e. we're around 60% of the Hawks membership total (the current leaders on this measure) and would need to improve on that comparison over time to really make headway.

Mate, do a bit of research before posting something that glaringly obvious...

[H_T 3,049]

Update: 18/6/2009: -

1. Hawthorn 52,458

2. Adelaide 48,720

3. West Coast 47,728

4. Collingwood 45,286

5. Carlton 41,736

6. Essendon 40,527

7. Geelong 36,663

8. Richmond 36,589

9. Fremantle 36,000 (approx.)

10. St Kilda 31,930

11.Melbourne 31,294

12. North Melbourne 30,231

13. Port Adelaide 28,333 - hasn't updated since 10th May

14. Western Bulldogs 27,064 - game day members (29,991 total)

15. Brisbane 25,735

16. Sydney Swans 25,000* (approx.) last years total 26,721

* Sydney reportedly down by 10% on memberships on last year - Ch 9 report 18/6/09.

Next update will be final tally after cut-off date for memberships.

[Trisul 674]

10. St Kilda 31,930

11.Melbourne 31,294

Staggering.

[titan_uranus 25,174]

14. Western Bulldogs 29,991

Sad for them. They deserve more. But at least it looks like they'll pass 30,000.

[Rogue 585]

What you're saying is true, Rogue. We're no different from any other. That said, I don't actually think we'll gain that many more new members (maybe 5,000 more, or 10,000 if we get an NT deal going), once we start to win, however we will certainly draw bigger crowds. I'd expect our current numbers to grow by about 10-15,000 with a winning formula and if we were to win a premiership early on in the peace, like the Hawks did, I believe we could probably go very close to the 50,000 members mark.

I do agree that a turnaround on-field is likely to be reflected more in crowds than memberships. I'd be staggered (in a good way) if your membership projections for when we start winning are accurate. Hawthorn have had a massive boost but some other clubs with success, like North, haven't had the same increase in memberships. I'm not sure we have a huge dormant supporter base, and I'd guess that if success was going to lead to more supporters it might more likely impact on youngsters, and therefore that wouldn't be reflected in significant membership increases for a while.

A couple of quick comments on other clubs -

WB and St. Kilda tallies are disappointing, particularly given their on-field fortunes. St. Kilda's never talked about as being 'in the gun' but they were bust a few years back and they've played the 'save our saints' card a couple of times now, haven't they?

On a positive note, North's membership tally has held up better than I expected it to.

[H_T 3,049]

[H_T 3,049]

UPDATE!!!

[QueenC 74]

Ok quick quetsion for those in the know more than me.......

Is the membership cut off at the end of June, or some other time after that?

Thanks !!!

[MelbournePassion 7]

Whens the membership cut off? I predict 31,495 members by the cut off.

[beelzebub 23,390]

as far as i recall cut off is the 30th June

and I had 31500 :D

[H_T 3,049]

as far as i recall cut off is the 30th June

Correct. Tues, 30th June.

[H_T 3,049]

UPDATE!!!

[Gorgoroth 13,184]

60 off so far HT, looks like a great guess.

[Adam The God 30,602]

I do agree that a turnaround on-field is likely to be reflected more in crowds than memberships. I'd be staggered (in a good way) if your membership projections for when we start winning are accurate. Hawthorn have had a massive boost but some other clubs with success, like North, haven't had the same increase in memberships. I'm not sure we have a huge dormant supporter base, and I'd guess that if success was going to lead to more supporters it might more likely impact on youngsters, and therefore that wouldn't be reflected in significant membership increases for a while.

A couple of quick comments on other clubs -

WB and St. Kilda tallies are disappointing, particularly given their on-field fortunes. St. Kilda's never talked about as being 'in the gun' but they were bust a few years back and they've played the 'save our saints' card a couple of times now, haven't they?

On a positive note, North's membership tally has held up better than I expected it to.

I still believe we have heaps of 'supporters' out there, who haven't signed up for memberships this year. But, once it's the in thing to do, I could see us gaining an extra 5-10,000 members. The Hawks proved this. All we need then is to get an NT contract, similar to Tasmania with the Hawks and like I said before, we could add another 5,000. 50,000 might be asking a little too much, but in 5 to 10 years, 45,000 is very doable. Add, Casey Melbourne supporters over the next 15 to 20 years and all of a sudden the 50,000 mark could be very attainable.

[Rogue 585]

Add, Casey Melbourne supporters over the next 15 to 20 years and all of a sudden the 50,000 mark could be very attainable.

Fair enough. I didn't get the impression you were talking about 20 years into the future when you said this:

I'd expect our current numbers to grow by about 10-15,000 with a winning formula and if we were to win a premiership early on in the peace, like the Hawks did, I believe we could probably go very close to the 50,000 members mark.

It's not impossible but it'd be a big ask. We'd want to get some success, and sustain it, ASAP.

[Adam The God 30,602]

Yeah, it'd have to be a sustained period. And obviously, we the club couldn't survive another 45 years without a premiership. We need one soon and we need to be a top 8 side consistently for the next 10 to 20 years.