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

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.