Crowds for Port Adelaide Magpies games have fallen dramatically this season
The days of big crowds for Port Adelaide Magpies’ games at Alberton Oval are seemingly long gone as numbers continue to drop.
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The crowd pulling power of the Port Adelaide Magpies has plummeted so alarmingly they are averaging the worst home figures after six rounds this season.
The Magpies have had games against South Adelaide, North Adelaide and Central District at Alberton Oval and are averaging just 1705 fans to rank lower than regular bottom-placed Panthers at Noarlunga Oval.
That is a stunning 48 per cent decline on the 3251 average in 2014 when the Magpies became the Power reserves.
The Magpies are the only team to have recorded a drop in numbers for games at all venues this year. The crowd average for games involving the Magpies is 2078, with only West Adelaide below them on 2036. Last season, the Magpies averaged 2341, a figure boosted by the 7965 crowd at Unley Oval for the Anzac Day clash against Sturt.
The average for all state league games this season is 2564, compared to 2502 after six rounds last year. The minor round average for 2018 was 2242.
North Adelaide, which hosted the Anzac Day game against Norwood, has fed off its premiership triumph to average 3274 fans at Prospect Oval and be the biggest pulling club, followed by the Double Blues on 3252. Norwood and Glenelg also have averaged more than 3000 fans.
The Doubles Blues have proved the most popular club with an average of 3543 at their six games. Adelaide has averaged 2370 without a home game.
Port Adelaide executive general manager Matthew Richardson said the club looked at its community as a whole.
“Never before in our club’s 149-year history have more Port Adelaide supporters been attending our games,” he said. “Every second weekend on average more than 42,000 supporters collectively attend either Port Adelaide games at AFL or SANFL level.
“We take a bigger picture view and look at our community as a whole. The facts are clear. Across the last five years Port Adelaide has had more supporters attending our games than at any other time in our club’s history.”
The Magpies and Crows will meet in the SANFL Showdown at Alberton on Saturday. In 2014, the games attracted 6196 at Alberton Oval and 5312 at Clare. Last year, it was 2451 at Alberton and 2310 at Kadina.
The Crows have averaged 2529 for their 96 games since entering the state league in 2014, while it is 2483 for the 33 games at Alberton Oval.
Home crowd averages: North 3274 (2093 in 2018), Sturt 3252 (3575), Norwood 3069 (2897), Glenelg 3045 (2059), Eagles 2203 (2176), West 2147 (1880), Central 2097 (1998), South 1733 (1441), Port 1705 (1956).
All games this season: Sturt 3543 (3175), Norwood 3184 (2660), North 2916 (2275), Glenelg 2864 (2067), Eagles 2414 (2193), Adelaide 2370 (2167), Central 2144 (2010), South 2099 (1756), Port 2078 (2341), West 2036 (1860).
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