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Parramatta – where the A-League new boys have their home ground – is in the grip of Wanderers fever and that’s putting a spring in the step of local businesses.

The Town Hall is awash in the club colours and the city council has handed out supporter packs of ribbons and balloons to shop fronts in the main street.

Deputy Mayor and longtime football fan Steve Issa said a report commissioned by the council midway through the season revealed the extent of the club’s impact.

“There’s not only more jobs now in Parramatta as a result, there’s more money coming into Parramatta,” Issa said.

“We estimated if we averaged 10,000 a game it would be around $1 million brought into Parramatta City for that home game. Well, the Wanderers have well and truly eclipsed that average.”

Local businesses surveyed described the club’s passionate fan base as “friendly” and “energetic”.

“I think it was something like a 94% positive reaction to the Wanderers,” the councillor said.

But Issa, a former Melita Eagles junior, says you don’t have to commission a report to see how the Wanderers’ success is changing the local landscape.

“Obviously when there’s a home game there’s an increase in activity – there’s a lot more people coming out to Parramatta and staying in Parramatta,” he said.

“The restaurants are full and the bars are full and to get that sort of patronage on the back of a sporting club is probably unprecedented.

“I know we’ve got the (Parramatta) Eels but they haven’t been doing well for a few seasons and what Western Sydney Wanderers do is attract people from outside Parramatta.

“They bring people from Fairfield, Campbelltown, Penrith - everybody from Western Sydney as a whole - into Parramatta itself.”

Club executive chairman Lyall Gorman said in the beginning businesses “sat back, wondered and watched” – but not any more.

“We promised a lot and I think we’ve well and truly delivered and that’s built credibility and momentum,” Gorman said.

“And we have these remarkable active supporters who, honestly, are unparalleled in Australian sport.

“We have people come into our venue from the AFL and rugby league and rugby union and they’re just blown away by the incredible game day experience at Wanderland.”

The whole package is an alluring proposition for potential sponsors.

“We’re a far more attractive commodity than we were six months ago,” Gorman said.

“We’ve actually been in a position where companies have come back to us and tried to negotiate down on price and we’ve just respectfully declined and said no this is what we believe our value is.

“And we’ve got enough interest to achieve those sort of targets now.”

But it isn’t a one-way street. Gorman says during its first three years the FFA-bankrolled club will invest $27 million into the region.

It currently employs 93 people across three teams (A-League, W-League and Youth League) including support staff management and administration.

“It’s a significant organisation driven by the whole notion of making a difference and being an asset to the community,” Gorman said.

Among the sell-out crowd watching the Sydney derby at Parramatta Stadium on the weekend will be president of the local chamber of commerce, Stephanie Dale.

The savvy businesswoman admits she wasn’t a football fan – of any code – before the Wanderers arrived in town.

But come Saturday, she’ll be in the stands waving the colours as the local boys take to the field against cross town rivals, Sydney FC.

Win or lose, she says, the Wanderers have been a rallying point for the city and wider Western Sydney region.

“They’ve captured me – they’re good value,” Dale said.

“I had no idea (about football) until I went to my first Wanderers game which was their first home game and I was completely converted.”

Dale says the club is a great example of what can be achieved with tenacity, good planning and some “key people” – the key elements that kick goals on and off the park.

On game day the city will be “overrun with fans” again and that spells good news for the community’s bottom line. But more than that – buying into the red and black has been a unifying experience.

“They’ve given everybody a great lease of life,” Dale added. “It builds a sense of community and its given people something to band together about – it’s fantastic.”

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