Low Crowds

[Coaster]

The whole thing reminds me of a joke.
A man approaches a young girl operating a lemonade stand and asks how much for a glass. She replies "$1000." The man replies, "you can't expect to sell too many for that price." She says, "I only have to sell one."

haha nice one. I like it

[DIEHARD]

I don't know if anyone remembers, but there was a cheap ticket called "sand"... what happened to it?

It's a Membership only category.

[Blazertaser]

I don't know if anyone remembers, but there was a cheap ticket called "sand"... what happened to it?

I thought "sand" membership was still around?

[DIEHARD]

I thought "sand" membership was still around?

It is available as a Membership, it isn't available as a casual match ticket.

I believe it should be sold, at a lower price point.

[Steelers]

Was down on the Gold Coast last night for a mates 22nd birthday party. Almost everyone there were casual Titans fans who to be honest don't follow much sport. They have been to a few games a year in previous years but said they wouldn't be going to any games as the 'Titans are s**t this year'. None of them knew who Jamal Idris were either.

[TITAN PETE]

Was down on the Gold Coast last night for a mates 22nd birthday party. Almost everyone there were casual Titans fans who to be honest don't follow much sport. They have been to a few games a year in previous years but said they wouldn't be going to any games as the 'Titans are s**t this year'. None of them knew who Jamal Idris were either.

You need to find new Friends

[Coaster]

You need to find new Friends

Haha sorry Steelers but Pete is right, what is this world coming to, when young men spend more time doing there hair then studying RLW

[TitansFan2020]

in reference tothe low crowds titans need a good tv add campaign also theme nights seem to have a effect on how good the mood is within the stadium cause always have fun and thats what going to the footy is all about

[Steelers]

You need to find new Friends

Haha sorry Steelers but Pete is right, what is this world coming to, when young men spend more time doing there hair then studying RLW

For the record the only one of these Titans fans I knew was the birthday boy. Us folk on the other side of Brisbane read our RLW while we get our hair done

[Toads]

There's no doubts that the over priced food and beverage outlets at Skilled Park (and other Stadiums/grounds) would be spooking a few. But I think ticket prices also play into it as well.

For instance, us fans generally wouldn't think that the ticket prices or season passes are beyond most folk. But to your average joe that's not that into Rugby League quite possibly thinks $30-40 for a ticket to one match is a bit much. Especially by the time they do buy a few snacks.

In general, I'd like to see a few NRL Clubs take a leaf out of Tinklers/Newcastle Knights books. If I recall correctly, I did hear mention that for the rest of the season, they were offering family passes to 4 matches for around the $190 mark. I'm not quite sure how true it is, just something I heard being bantered around.

[DIEHARD]

Yep. Tinkler is offering subsidised season memberships at amazing prices. Well done to him to be in such a position to offer it. It would allow families to not just attend a few games but to commit to a season.

It has crossed my mind to actually purchase two memberships. So I can always be guaranteed the opportunity to enter and wave my Titans flag! Because he might just get 25,000-30,000 Members!

[Steelers]

Source: www.couriermail.com.au

THE Titans are a club under siege.

It was worrying enough that the Titans crashed to a dismal 36-12 loss to the Sharks last night, their worst ever defeat at Skilled Park.

And then came the killer blow, with AFL rivals the Suns turning up the heat after attracting 16,149 home fans yesterday - 3152 more than the 12,997 spectators who watched the Titans capitulate 10km away at Robina.

The Suns and Titans are locked in a turf war for the hearts and minds of the local public and Gold Coast league fans would have shuddered at the sight of another woeful display from John Cartwright's troops.

The rival codes went head-to-head for the first time on the glitter strip yesterday. The Titans have had a five-year headstart on the Suns, but alarm bells should be ringing at NRL headquarters after the AFL emphatically won the battle of the spectators on the Gold Coast.

Doubtless, they picked a terrible day to tender a lacklustre performance. The 24-point drubbing was the last-placed Titans' 11th loss of the season and Cartwright's side must now win all nine remaining games to be a mathematical hope of making the finals.

It is an incomprehensible slide by the Titans, who just 12 months ago powered to the finals and ultimately finished one game shy of the NRL grand final.

"We are going through something we haven't been in before as a group and from the outside looking in, you can write what you like, but I can see the effort going in," Cartwright said. "We really are getting punished for our mistakes, you start playing the scoreboard and it gets away from you. I don't think we deserved to be on the end of that scoreline, but it is what it is."

Despite the absence of key veterans Preston Campbell (wrist) and Luke Bailey (knee), the Titans started well and looked in control when David Mead crossed in the seventh minute. But the Sharks fought back to claim a 12-8 half-time lead and they consigned the Titans to a second-half pounding when NSW Origin skipper Paul Gallen crossed twice in five minutes after the break.

"His confidence is at an all-time high. Every now and then as a sportsman you get in a zone and he's in the zone at the moment," Cartwright said of Gallen.

Foundation forward Anthony Laffranchi urged Titans fans to stick by the club.

"It (the Suns) is not a concern at all," he said. "There's two good teams and we have our own supporter bases, I'm sure the Gold Coast people can support two national teams."

[Chaos]

Yep. Tinkler is offering subsidised season memberships at amazing prices. Well done to him to be in such a position to offer it. It would allow families to not just attend a few games but to commit to a season.

It has crossed my mind to actually purchase two memberships. So I can always be guaranteed the opportunity to enter and wave my Titans flag! Because he might just get 25,000-30,000 Members!

Tinkler would be looking long term...more people get to see live games becoming stronger fans and therefore building the fan base and the sport itself...also players get to play in front of a larger home crowd and possibly extra points at home during the year.

[Steelers]

Skilled Park ticketing error reveals Gold Coast Titans crowd crisis is worse than originally feared

Gold Coast Titans' crowds crisis could be worse than originally feared.

Stadiums Queensland is about to launch an investigation into a ticketing error that led to almost 14,000 extra fans being added to the club's total attendance at Skilled Park during the past 12 months.

The last-placed Titans insist they have not posted any deliberately inflated attendances.

A malfunction in ticket-scanning machines is believed to be responsible for the error.

As the Titans and AFL's Suns wage a cross-code battle for fans on the Gold Coast, a probe of Stadiums Queensland's most recent annual report uncovered major irregularities in the Titans' official home crowd figures.

The 95-page government report, detailing the activities of Queensland's nine big sporting stadiums for the 2009-10 financial year, showed:

* None of the Titans' home crowds announced at 14 games matched the attendances printed in the annual report.

* Thirteen of Gold Coast's 14 games featured inflated attendances.

* The greatest discrepancy was an extra 2209 fans for the Titans' home clash against Newcastle Knights last year.

* Brisbane Broncos' crowd figures at 11 games were identical to those in the annual report.

* Nine of North Queensland Cowboys' 12 games matched crowd figures in the report. Surprisingly, the club twice underquoted crowds.

In the 12-month period, the Titans' total crowds for their 14 home games, according to the annual report, was 237,527.

Yet the club's total attendances based on game-day announcements was 251,324.

The extra 13,979 spectators equates to a beefed-up attendance of nearly 1000 fans, on average, per home game.

On five occasions, the Titans' game-day crowd announcement exceeded the relevant annual report figure by more than 1500 fans.

A Stadiums Queensland spokesman said the organisation would look into the reasons for wildly fluctuating crowd figures at Titans home games.

"The figures are provided by the venue management (Skilled Park) and we've been alerted to the discrepancies in these figures," the spokesman said.

A Titans spokesman attributed the crowd irregularities to faulty scanners at the state-of-the-art, $152 million Skilled Park complex.

"The discrepancies of between as little as 27 at one game and as high as 2209 at another have come about because there are issues with the equipment that scans the number of people in the venue," the club spokesman said.

"There was even one instance where the Skilled Park figure was actually higher than the Titans figure. We believe that Skilled Park and its contractor are working to rectify the discrepancies."

The Broncos, who hire Suncorp Stadium, another SQ-controlled venue, were found to have no discrepancies.

Broncos commercial operations manager Terry Reader said the Broncos paid fees on the crowd they announced - "so you can bet your bottom dollar it is pretty close to the mark".

"We pay a transport levy on the crowd that is announced. The stadium gives us a crowd figure for every game and then we make the announcement," he said.

"We're a publicly listed company, we have an annual report that outlines everything in detail about what we get through the gate, so we're a very transparent club."

Of the Cowboys' 12 home games in the 2009-10 financial year, one featured an inflated crowd of 180, against Canberra in June last year.

"I don't know why a few games didn't match up. We had a problem at the start of the year with Ticketek that we resolved. Four of their scanners weren't working properly, but we adjusted those," Cowboys chief executive Peter Jourdain said.

Source: www.foxsports.com.au

[eelectrica]

Seems like Stadiums Queensland has a lot to answer for.

The Titans are simply one of many organisations using the stadium. Surely it's up to Stadiums Queensland to ensure the equipment's working. Especially given how much they're screwing the Titans over!

I just wonder how long it will be before the Titans export a couple of home games to other locations as other clubs have started doing.