Brumbies issue dire warning to absent fans

Brumbies CEO Michael Thomson has warned members that unless crowds improve dramatically the fabled club might fold.

A section of the sparse crowd for the Brumbies match against the Rebels.

The Brumbies are on target to record either a small profit or a modest loss but chief executive Michael Thomson has warned members that unless Super Rugby crowd improve dramatically at Canberra Stadium the fabled club might cease to exist.

Thomson denied that the club had spoken to the players about the dire situation. “But it’s simple economics ... in the next three years if we get 5000 people to each game, it’s very hard to run a sustainable program,” Thomson told The Australian.

“If you extrapolate that to suggest we are in financial difficulty, I can categorically state that that’s wrong. We are tracking to make either a small loss or a small profit. It’s another standard year for us.”

In a recent email to the Brumbies faithful, Thomson and club chairman Phil Thomson warned that “the Brumbies may no longer exist” if crowds don’t start coming back to Canberra Stadium.

“We know you want rugby to thrive in this region and, in part, to achieve this, we need a successful side playing in front of big crowds,” the email said. “This is important for at least three reasons. First, we know the players perform better in front of large supporting crowds.

“Secondly, because the funds attendance at games generates enables us to invest back into our programs including community rugby, women’s rugby and our pathways, and without your support and those funds the Brumbies may no longer exist.

“And finally a successful team encourages people of all ages and all background to become involved in rugby and enjoy all the great things the game has to offer.”

Only 5283 spectators turned up to the Brumbies last home game, against the Melbourne Rebels, which sent the average attendance plunging to only 8464. Thomson admitted that for some reason Canberra struggled to support both the Brumbies and the NRL side, the Raiders, simultaneously.

“We seem to have good periods and they have less than good periods and then they have good periods and we have less than good periods,” he said.

“I don’t know what the reason is. But we know that crowds are in our hands and we have to play good football and we’ve got to win game and we need to make sure that the experience in the stadium is a good one. And it’s an old stadium, so we’ve got to work hard to do that.”

Thomson is still hoping that the ACT government can see its way clear to building a covered stadium akin to the Forsyth-Barr Stadium in Dunedin that has effectively doubled the Highlanders’ attendances since it took over from Carisbrook.

“We’d welcome a new indoor stadium in the city. The government has some financial issues to work through around light rail and the asbestos … that said, there is a desire in the government and there is a desire in the general populace to do something. We’ve just got to wait for things outside of our control to resolve themselves and then we would hope the government could do something within the foreseeable future.”

Meanwhile, the Brumbies need to get back on their winning ways, starting with Saturday’s match with the Bulls in Pretoria, although the club is hoping that the 4pm kick-off on Sunday June 3 will help attract a 15,000-strong crowd for the next home match, against the Sunwolves. If it reaches that figure, the Brumbies have pledged to donate $15,000 to three charities, OzHarvest, Lifeline Canberra and Give me five for kids.