Quote: orangeman "
Have a look at the video on Youtube for the highlights of AFC V Portsmouth from early September. The far stand is empty, the terrace at one end is empty, the away fans at the other end is 1/4 full at best.....so even if the stand where the cameras are placed was full, they are looking at 3k maximum.
so, if only 2,700 Wimbledon fans can be bothered (I know it was a cup match) to see their side back at their spiritual home, how the hell are we going to get families from the borough to games?
5.. The papa Johns cup match video clearly shows that 50% of the stadium wasn't open to the public. It also shows that the away fans numbers 300 at best.....AGAIN...unless you've seen or read elsewhere that this isn't the case, then by all means share with the group.
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Re point 5 you asked! Sticking to Youtube take a look at another video from a lady called Windie at her second ever AFC Wimbledon match.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EwDn39k9MY&t=206s
Forward to 3:30. Note Windie is sitting beyond the goal line. Then pause at 3:45. Between the two “tunnels” are 1,136 away seats. Are there really only 300 Portsmouth fans there? There are a further 329 Away seats to the left of the “tunnel” that which also had Portsmouth occupation. I think the figure of 835 from Portsmouth themselves is far closer (there will be no shows plus those at the bar/toilets)
Next pause at 3:50. Not many empty seats in the only area of the ground made available to AFC Wimbledon supporters (3,264 lower tier seats I believe). Remember where Windie is seated at that point (she does seem talented at moving around the ground mind!) so most seats are in her video
The tier above has Hospitality. It was limited availability for this match, but was sold out. The empty seats in the distance are for Away fans.
Season Tickets were not valid for this match. A lot of regulars boycott the competition on principle. I’m not aware of any advertising for the match. The two stands weren’t closed due to slow sales. The closure existed at the point the tickets went on sale.
Windie was lucky to get a ticket, rarely is that approach likely to work again. There were empty seats where she sat, but her video clearly shows a crowd of around 4K in my opinion. To close for me to say 4K+ with any certainty.
A good game to illustrate the demand in Wimbledon really is there; that was not only a big crowd for Wimbledon in the Papa John’s Trophy group stage, but would also be for most clubs.
I’m not on this forum to big-up AFC Wimbledon. The opening post in this thread attempts to prove the lack of local interest in the football and is used as proof why there is little hope of support for the Broncos. Maybe there won’t be enough support, but it’s misleading to suggest it’s because there isn’t even enough interest for the football.
Rather I’m interested and excited at the prospect of watching the London Broncos. I can see there is a lot of upset over the direction of the club in recent years. If the Broncos move to Plough Lane (and I suspect it’s 50/50 they stay at Ealing) then local support will be essential. The suggestion that little more than 200 fans will continue to follow the Broncos highlights that. AFC Wimbledon fans is just an easy entry into that local support, they will need to capture other local fans also..
New fans don’t need Superleague quality. We need to be entertained and have a level of competitiveness. Whilst I suspect the potential league structure re-orgs / reduced financial distribution is going to create some mismatches, it doesn’t suggest the Broncos will be left adrift from their entire division.
The 200K fixed rent a year isn’t going to work (unless somebody at the Broncos wants to contribute it as a loss leader separate from the team’s budget). So I doubt the Broncos will play at Plough Lane whilst paying that. Either Ealing or closure; probably dependent on what contractual obligations they have with AFC Wimbledon and whether they can be renegotiated. My guess is AFC Wimbledon will compromise, but only so far as at a certain level, then they themselves will decide to withdraw the ground sharing offer.