Simon Hill’s recent article about the A-League’s failure to create an emotional connection received a pretty emotional response online.
Hill’s comments about bricks and mortar club assets in particular, pose an interesting problem for many of the League’s relatively young clubs.
With some creative thinking though this can be solved as soon as next season if clubs are actually willing to invest in their members.
The problem
Simply put, A-League fans don’t have a place to call their own. Home stadiums are generally rented and some clubs are yet to even establish long term training facilities at all!
Even clubs with established training facilities fear of isolating fans in different areas of the city. This seems to have prevented them from making their house a home.
A-League clubs can build homes for their fans though, by renting out commercial real estate in the central areas of their cities!
Leases are a fixed cost that can be scaled per club budget but even annual investment the cost of one player salary would enormously add to member value, club identity and fan culture.
The vision
Club houses in the cities near home stadiums can serve multiple purposes at once.
They can create new value:
- Merchandise stores at the front as a new income stream
- Host small club events like regular trivia nights and live broadcasts of away games
- Add value to memberships by making the club house exclusive to members.
They can be used for member activities
- Fan lounges accessible to members during the day
- Studio space for club podcasts, fanzines and webshows
- Creative space for fan banner making
They can be used to establish the club in the community
- Trophy displays and Museum for members and the public
- Physical visible city presence open all year round
The best thing about having a space is that it is flexible to the needs of clubs – and also flexible per a pres elected budget.
Cost
Searching quickly on Commercial Real Estate sites gives us an idea of how much this kind of space would cost clubs.
We searched for retail rentals with about 200 square meters of space. This space would allow seated events of about 100 people.
- Sydney CBD 100k p.a.
- Perth CBD 60k p.a.
- Melbourne CBD 90k p.a.
- Adelaide CBD 45k p.a.
- Brisbane CBD 100k p.a.
This option can scale per club budget, is cost effective, multi purpose and can even generate alternative income streams without a huge financial commitment.
For the cost of a squad back up player A-League clubs could radically improve their club culture and membership experience.
Club with self managed training facilities don’t even need to pursue this! Melbourne City, Brisbane Roar, Western Sydney and Central Coast have excellent facilities but simply need to create a space for their members to use.
Open the doors! Show off your trophies! Create spaces for your members and they will return the favour with eternal loyalty!
It’s time A-League clubs built a home for their fans – and for clubs that already have houses, it’s time they opened the doors to their families.
The Beautiful Game 