I am a very happy and proud fan of Wellington Phoenix Football Club; we haven't only secured a finals spot, but a home playoff match and a fourth spot that would have meant finals football in any of the previous four seasons; we even have arguably the best player in the league. We have arrived, and three seasons of nay-sayers on both sides of the Tasman can eat their words...
Something that is alarming the fans in Wellington though, is the admission this week from CEO Tony Pignata that the club are looking to play home games outside of Wellington next season. This season, the reason was Westpac Stadium being unavailable (once because of a turf relaying operation, and once because of ACDC), but now we are told it is all ‘to spread football and the Phoenix brand around New Zealand', and another theory is that crowds have been so low in Wellington that the club needs bumper crowds elsewhere to stay afloat.
First things first, the general consensus is that if it is because the club desperately needs the money (and let us remember that the club's players haven't been paid on time on a couple of occasions over the last few months) we can cope with a game or two in Christchurch or elsewhere so that we can continue to enjoy the other home games in Wellington. We are hugely thankful to Terry Serepisos and can't begrudge him wanting to minimise his losses. There is a problem if it is entirely a marketing tool, though.
If we are simply becoming a travelling circus (one Yellow Fever poster described it as like being a footballing Harlem Globetrotters, which is a little extreme but conveys our frustration), then the fans simply will not stand for it, even many people who travel from Christchurch to Nix games have said as much. The reasons for this are three-fold.
First, if it is to promote football in New Zealand, it is not or at least should not be a responsibility of this football club, and ideally what should be happening is promotion of the NZ Football Championship. Besides, I don't see Toronto FC playing games in Calgary or Vancouver. Second, which ties into the first reason, is that the last thing we should be doing is spouting off about how much we help New Zealand football during the stand-off with the AFC.
Third, if it is solely to spread the ‘brand' of Wellington Phoenix football club, then it should be done in the pre-season, as is has been until now. By taking games away from Wellington, the club is detracting from the most unique part of that brand, the city that has made the club as much a part of its identity as our cafes and shopping precincts.
The fans here in Wellington love our club and have been promoting it and encouraging our friends , acquaintances, and workmates to get along to the Ring of Fire and spending far more to get to Melbourne than Adelaide or Sydney fans would have to. We don't want to be taken for granted. Personally, if this decision is anything less than for financial reasons, then I'll think twice about renewing my season membership this year. My attachment to the club has already weakened because of this episode.
