Heather du Plessis-Allan: The Blues should leave Eden Park

It's probably sensible, don’t you think, for the Blues to consider leaving Eden Park for Mt Smart? 

It’s not going to fix the attendance issues, though they seem to be hoping it will. 

In the consultation they’re doing, the question they’re asking fans is whether moving to Mt Smart will make them “more or less likely to attend Blues Super Rugby [mens] home games”. 

The fans might say yes, but they won’t. 

Mt Smart is no better than Eden Park. 

It’s not easier to get to there with public transport, it’s about the same. If you drive you still have to find a park somewhere on the road, or on private property. 

You’re still exposed to the elements in the stand. You’re still paying for your beer and chips instead of getting them out of your kitchen. 

Maybe you could argue Mt Smart has a slight advantage in that you’re coming straight off the motorway instead of fighting to get down Dominion Road, but I don’t think that’s enough of a difference to supercharge the crowd. 

Maybe you could argue that because the Warriors and Auckland FC are there, fans form a habit, so they go because they know how to go. 

But again, I don’t think that’s the problem. 

I think the problem is Super Rugby 

You’re seeing poor turnout for Super Rugby regular season games around the country. 

6000 are turning up for Moana Pasifika games. 

13,000 for the Crusaders.   

11,000 for the Blues. 

11,000 in a 50,000 capacity stadium looks horrible. 11,000 in a 25,000 capacity stadium like Mt Smart looks less bad. 

But it's giving up, isn’t it? 

The Blues leaving the home of rugby is basically accepting that this is how it is, that the crowd size of 11,000 is simply how it's going to be. 

What they should really be doing is finding smart ways to get us to come to Super Rugby games again. 

Find ways to get families along. Eden Park's kid zone with the bouncy castle is the right kind of thinking. 

Find ways to get us excited about the game of rugby. I’m sorry, but it's a boring product. 

Unless they do that, crowds that only fill quarter of a stadium are the future, in which case, move to Mt Smart. 

A smaller stadium will hide the empty seats better. 

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