The Meeting Place > The Sports Club > Sporting passions is on the wane

Sporting passions is on the wane

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6 yrs ago

Sporting passions is on the wane in much of Australia, ­according to New Research 

The malaise can be seen in crowd attendances. The NRL’s average crowd figure has dropped by nearly 2000 from last season. The AFL’s numbers are steady on last season but down by nearly 5000 over the past decade. Super Rugby has nosedived from an ­average of 21,233 10 years ago to 11,434 this season. Test and one-day cricket attendances have fallen. The crowd of 54,846 to see the Wallabies take on the All Blacks on Saturday night was the lowest for a Bledisloe Test at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium.

3 comments
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invisible sock
6 yrs ago

There is a very simple reason for this decline - sports betting!

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Polly Esther
6 yrs ago

yes 'sport' as such has now lost its true meaning I believe. It has become business, big business. When we were young sport spelt pleasure and win occasionally, now it spells ruthlessness and win everytime and at all costs. So sad.

Yes the professionalisation of sport has brought about sledging and thuggery and creation of false heroes for our kids. 

I would prefer to watch my daughters play netball, touch and soccer than to watch the gladiators .

On betting it is far to available in Australia with pokies in every pub and lotteries daily . 

Gambling is an activity undertaken by many Australians. Over 80% of Australian adults engage in gambling of some kind, which is the highest rate of gambling in the world.[1] This number includes some 4% of the adult population who play the pokies once a week, accounting for some 62% of locals’ annual 

Gambling is a significant public health issue, with around 80,000 to 160,000 (or 0.5 - 1.0%) of Australian adults experiencing significant problems from gambling and a further 250,000 to 350,000 (or 1.4 - 2.1% of adults) experiencing moderate risks that may make them vulnerable to problem gambling.[3] The social cost of problem gambling to the community is estimated to be at least $4.7 billion each year.


 

Revenue

Edit

In 2007-08 the states collected about $3 billion from poker machines, and $4.9 billion from all forms of gambling, accounting for 9.1% of their total revenue.[4] The NSW government receives about $1 billion from poker machines, and $1.6 billion from all forms of gambling. [4]

Total Australian gambling revenue in 2008-09 was just over $19 billion and the share of household consumption was 3.1%[3]

Wiki 

 

I think crowd attendances are also dropping due to increased ticket pricing, the high cost of food and drink at many venues (plus not being allowed to take your own), parking restrictions and the availability of TV/internet coverage to see the action better and cheaper at home or a local pub/club.

In my case these issues have also 'put me off':

• betting ads on TV.
• too many competitions, e.g. cricket.
• highly paid players and too many club transfers (hard to keep loyal).
• stubborn administrators and admin corruption, e.g. Olympics.
• player egos and off-field scandals.
• continuous influence of ‘drugs in sport’, e.g. Tour de France.
• so many other things freely available to watch or to become involved in these days.

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