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Message: [QUOTE="Kooly87, post: 3106291, member: 9326"] Melbourne started out exactly the same way and look at them now. They were averaging around 8000 per game at one stage, and now they average almost 20,000 a game, most of them season ticketed members, which is a better result than many Sydney clubs. They're also fully self supported and commercially viable, and they do it without a Leagues club to bank roll them unlike almost every other club in the NRL. All the way back in 1995, when Perth had almost half a million people less than it does now, fresh off the back of the West Coast Eagles winning their maiden Premiership and Fremantle entering the AFL, the Western Reds debuted and managed to have several games where they drew over 20,000 fans, and one game where they drew over 30,000 fans, at the WACA, a cricket ground no less. NRL games in Perth currently attract over 15,000 fans regularly, that's without having their own team. They also have pathways in place in SG Ball which is a great first step in supporting player development. All this aside, they would likely still need significant NRL investment to support them, at least initially, but the pay off for this comes in additional live games in perfect time slots for the East Coast market, as well as an additional fixture each week, which would dwarf in revenue any costs the NRL would incur in getting them off the ground. The fact Perth is also home to some of Australia's largest companies, many of whom can't support an AFL side because they're locked out of competing with other sponsors, would easily generate enough corporate support that in time, the club can almost certainly become self sustaining just like Melbourne. It's not as easy or cheap as setting up another club in Queensland, but that's the whole point of expansion, to open up new markets and generate new investment and interest in the game. It might take two decades to pay off, just like Melbourne, but if we don't plant those seeds soon, we're just delaying any chance of them growing into something that can benefit the whole game later on. [/QUOTE]

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