Indoor stadium can turn Brumbies in to Super Rugby force

THE Brumbies are battling poor results and low attendance numbers but CEO Michael Thomson believes the club can reverse their fortunes by copying a New Zealand rival.

The Brumbies are last in the Aussie conference.

BRUMBIES chief executive Michael Thomson says the club’s second-lowest ever crowd in frigid conditions on Saturday night further strengthens the argument for an indoor stadium to be built in Canberra.

But the ACT boss wasn’t sugar-coating the other contributing factor to the paltry crowd size of 5283 after the Brumbies crashed to their fourth straight loss.

“An indoor stadium would help but we also have to play better footy. It’s not just one thing,” Thomson said. “There are a couple of reasons.”

The Brumbies are last in the Aussie conference.

Brumbies coach Dan McKellar described the low turnout as “really sad”, and only the attendance of 4000 in 1999 when the Brumbies beat the Bulls was lower than the crowd who watched the ACT get run down by the Rebels in a 27-24 defeat.

Four-figure crowds in Canberra have been an issue for several years, even when the Brumbies have been topping the Australian conference and hosting finals.

But a damp and frigid Canberra night saw a couple of thousand extra stay at home at the weekend.

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“The fact it was about three degrees and the wind chill took it even lower is never great,” Thomson said.

“And those circumstances as well our stadium doesn’t lend itself well to people coming out. So an indoor stadium would help.

“We know the government is looking at a stadium and we do think it would be of assistance. And we have seen what happened in Dunedin when they did it, in terms of what happened to their crowds.

“They just have to be able to afford it.”

The ACT Government has been investigating options to build a $350 million indoor stadium in Civic to cater for rugby, rugby league and soccer, but nothing new has emerged on the proposal since late last year.

Three brave spectators brave the cold at GIO Stadium.

Thomson said the Brumbies talked regularly with the Raiders about their shared desire for upgraded facilities.

“We also talk to the sports minister. They are well aware of the challenges we face, they just have to find out they can fund it,” Thomson said.

A guarantee of dry-weather footy could even help the Brumbies begin to play better, if the Highlanders’ experience is any guide.

The Otago-based Super Rugby side has spoken about how training and playing under a roof in rainy Dunedin allowed them to entirely change their philosophies and skill-sets, from dour to attacking. Three seasons after moving into Forsyth Barr Stadium, the Highlanders won their first ever Super Rugby title.

Allan Alaalatoa drops to his knees after the loss.

Thomson said the on-field performances of the team were “frustrating” in 2018.

“We are playing well but not well enough to finish our opponents off,” he said.

Brumbies coach Dan McKellar described the low turnout at Canberra Stadium as “real sad, to be honest.”

“It was obviously a cold, damp evening. Everyone in this room and here tonight wants the game to be thriving. The reality is at the moment it isn’t,” McKellar said.

“Our form is playing a part of that and I’ve got to front up and take ownership of that 100 per cent.

“I want our boys playing in front of 15,000 people - people I know care about them.”

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Originally published as Indoor stadium can turn Brumbies in to Super Rugby force