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Gavel / Hell hath no fury like a fan spurned

HELL hath no fury like a Brumbies’ member wronged! Over the years, I have seen it on a few occasions.

Tim Gavel.
Tim Gavel.
A memorable instance was when there was an aggressive brand restructuring during Rob Clarke’s reign as chief executive.

In a bid to embrace the region, the ACT logo disappeared and the team simply became known as “the Brumbies”. Gone was the “ACT” association.

It upset many who believed we should be proud of the Territory’s link with the team and this should be recognised.

In response, some fans said they wouldn’t support the team unless the ACT was restored to the name. I am not sure whether that collective threat ever eventuated or had such force as to impact significantly on overall numbers to games.

Around that time, between 2003 and 2005, there was also a ticket-price hike to bring the Brumbies in line with other Australian Super Rugby franchises. There was an outcry over that, but again it is hard to tell whether it directly impacted on crowd numbers.

If nothing else, it highlights the need for management to tread warily when dealing with Brumbies’ supporters.

Now it seems the membership has been unsettled again; this time over a change to the seating arrangements at Canberra Stadium.

Some long-time supporters and members, who have been going to games at Canberra Stadium over the years, have called to say they are upset after being told their allocated seats, where they have sat through many a winter’s night to support the team, had been reallocated.

The Brumbies tell me only a small number of supporters are affected and the change came about to recognise the “true value” of the seating arrangement. This clearly suggests that some seats have been undervalued through the years.

There has also been a change to the Brumbies’ Foundation membership.

But the Brumbies’ management believes that the cutbacks in some areas will be more than compensated for in others.

The risk for the Brumbies is the affected supporters, however small in number, may feel they are not being listened to and walk away.

However, the management firmly believes that with prices for some seats actually cheaper next year, more people will be attracted to Canberra Stadium.

They say they need to make their operation viable by “correctly” pricing the seating and that it is becoming more and more expensive to run the operation.

But to make it viable, they must keep the existing supporter base while attracting more people to home games. With more people selecting the comfort of home to the atmosphere of a stadium, the Brumbies have to think of ways to make the gameday experience a worthwhile one.

The Brumbies are discovering just how tough a juggling act that can be.

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Tim Gavel

Tim Gavel

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One Response to Gavel / Hell hath no fury like a fan spurned

Thomas says: 7 October 2015 at 10:20 am

As one of those small number of fans affected by the price hike/reclassification to our seating, I have decided not to renew my tickets for 2016. Each year I have struggled to justify the cost of going to games and now it’s become clear that the Brumbies probably don’t care about my opinion, so that’s fine by me.

I have been a member since inception and watched the crowd numbers dwindle while the stadium has hiked its prices on every facet of the experience. There has been no noticeable improvements to either the game day experience or the facilities in this time and as a fan who is content to brave the ridiculous car parking prices, the overpriced food and the lovely Canberra cold weather, I’ve finally had enough. Spending close to $1000 a year on supporting a team who quite honestly gives little back to the community is now a waste of money to me.

Sorry Brumbies, you had me for a long time but there’s only ever been one side to this relationship and while I’ll still be watching on and supporting you, it will be from the comfort of my own home.

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