Crows and Power fans are keeping their memberships with their respective clubs, despite the possibility of not attending games

Crows and Power supporters are sticking with their clubs amid the coronavirus crisis by opting to pledge their memberships, despite not being able to attend games.

The Crows’ members have stuck by the club. Picture: Sarah Reed.

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Showdown 48 is almost certain to be played in front of an empty stadium despite Adelaide Oval now taking groups of 20 in its function rooms and investigating a staggered approach to welcoming back crowds.

Neither Adelaide or Port Adelaide is lobbying the State Government to allow spectators to attend the AFL’s Round 2 re-start at Adelaide Oval on June 13, but both clubs are aware the Stadium Management Authority (SMA) is planning for when it gets the green light from SA Health.

That includes how it can have fans seated in the outer or behind glass in corporate boxes and function rooms which are now open for bookings for up to 20 people, but that does not extend to football games which operate under separate major event guidelines.

The Oval’s Hill of Grace restaurant remains closed until the new hotel is finished in September.

Premier Steven Marshall this week didn’t rule out that changing but said it was “unlikely” in time for the Showdown.

“I think it would be fabulous but at this stage unlikely, let’s just wait to see how we go with our case number and importantly our testing numbers,” he said.

SMA operations general manager Darren Chandler confirmed modelling was being done but without a timeline for fans to return.

Crows CEO Andrew Fagan. Picture: AAP Image/David Mariuz.

“SMA is planning in line with SA Health guidelines as to how we may be able to bring fans back to Adelaide Oval in a staged approach,” he said.

Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas and his Adelaide counterpart Andrew Fagan confirmed neither club was asking the government to allow fans in for next weekend.

“I think at some point in the next two or three weeks it will be clear about what we can and can’t do, but we’re not actively lobbying at this point,” Thomas said.

Fagan added: “We know Adelaide Oval were doing some modelling on a variety of potential attendance scenarios and we would support those opportunities with the relevant government authorities - we’d love to see crowds back - but as it stands at the moment we don’t believe that it’s a possibility in the short term.”

Although fans must still wait to see their teams play live, both Thomas and Fagan confirmed the initial response to their membership pledge campaign had been strong, as had been the backing of their corporate partners.

Port Adelaide had just broken through 51,500 members when the season was put on hold in March and two weeks ago the club released details of how members could commit all, part or none of their money for the 2020 season.

Thomas said about 30 per cent had already responded and the overwhelming majority had pledged the full amount of their membership.

Port Adelaide chief Keith Thomas. Picture: Sarah Reed.

“They’ve been overwhelmingly positive towards the situation we are in,” he said.

“At the moment we’ve had about 29 per cent of our members respond to that and overwhelmingly it’s up around the 90 per cent bracket who have decided to fully continue to pledge all of it, which has been fantastic and a very, very low drop out rate.

“We feel as if the Port Adelaide community has a relationship with this footy club which has seen many difficult times, and they understand I think that the situation we’re in at the moment is dire.

“It’s been a back against the wall type moment for this footy club and they responded as they always have which is ‘we will support the club’ and it transcends the issues you might have around performance or decisions, this is a moment where we’ve got to band together and they’ve done that.

“Our members all have jobs, they all have families, they are all dealing with the impact of this and yet they’ve put the club first and I am amazed by that.”

The Crows did not have exact figures on their membership responses but Fagan said the response had been “extraordinarily strong”.

“And we constantly remark that our members are extraordinarily passionate and loyal and they’ve demonstrated that over many years,” he said.

“We understand we are seeking their support and at a time when many of them are also doing it tough and that’s not lost on anyone, and we will seek to pay it back in spades in the way we engage with them and recognise the support they’ve provided in these unique times.”

The same sentiment exists with the club’s major corporate partners with MG Motor and GFG at Port Adelaide and Optus and Toyota at Adelaide.

Port Adelaide fans have pledged their memberships to the club. Picture: Sarah Reed.

“Within a week of the season cancellation the managing director at MG wrote to me and said ‘I know we have a brand new relationship but we are standing by Port Adelaide all the way’,” Thomas said.

“I can’t tell you how reassuring that is, because at that moment I felt as though we had no solutions in regards to ‘how are we going to compensate these major partners when we don’t even know if we’re going to play another game?’

“We were five weeks old, but his first statement was ‘we are right in behind you’ which we absolutely will never forget.

“GFG we had a one-year relationship with and they have - despite all the issues they’re dealing with themselves - have paid fully for the year and immediately showed their support to us, not for a minute have they suggested there needs to be any adjustment, and we’re just working through how it might look.

“So at the top end of our corporate tree - a fantastic response, and yes there is complexity of how it might look - but I I have felt no risk of losing them, and that’s true of virtually all our corporate partners and I’ve been amazed by it because they’re all dealing with the same stuff.”

Fagan said his club’s major partners had been “amazing”.

“They were both very quick to communicate with us to let us know that they were with us and standing side by side with the club to see us through at this period,” he said.

“Both are facing their own unique challenges through this period and we’ve worked with them to create new ways for them to engage with our fans and deliver their programs where games haven’t been played. These are partnerships in the true sense.

“Toyota has been with us for 30 years and Optus are taking a very long-term approach to their dealings with us and they know we’ll go through ups and downs and both were some of the first calls I received in the hours following the stoppage of the competition.”

Originally published as Crows and Power fans are keeping their memberships with their respective clubs, despite the possibility of not attending games