Deon Delport spoke to Sharks chief executive John Smit about the ambitious plans the franchise has to create a family-friendly atmosphere at the stadium while fans get behind a winning team.
Durban - ‘I want Kings Park to be a place where you can bring your daughter through the years until she is a mother herself,” says Smit.
Perhaps at the back of his mind is a memory of the bloodied Springbok captain holding his daughter Emma in his arms at the post-match celebrations of the World Cup victory in Paris in 2007.
“We want to create a family environment and want this to be a safe place to come to.”
This is part of the strategy Smit and his team have drawn up to put bums on seats. The new Super 15 season is about to start and there is a big push to have season ticket-holders and suite-holders sign up for this year.
The decision to move season ticket-holders off the north and south stands in favour of using the space to display advertising banners was purely a business decision, he said. The move was unpopular with fans, but the Sharks said the extra revenue from the advertising would help pay the salaries of the players.
Smit admits that without the financial support of loyal season ticket-holders it would not be possible for the Sharks to keep international-level players like Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira and Pat Lambie.
Season ticket sales were 20 percent behind those of last year at this stage, and a quarter of the franchise’s revenue came from these sales. Take-up of suites was also “behind the curve” with some holders cancelling, but new holders coming forward, he said. The Sharks were still “doing the best” of the franchises in terms of season ticket-holders being loyal to the team.
Although he had had some complaints that these were a bit more expensive than other franchises, Smit said he had pointed out that the value included a test against Argentina this year and New Zealand next year. “The add-ons are worth R18 000 and we have 20 international players on display.”
Part of the answer in getting fans in is to have a good team that people enjoy watching, Smit says. A team they believe in.
But there is a bigger picture than the players and the game.
Sport is entertainment and it is important for the players to play, but also to be aware they are playing for the people watching them.
It was five years ago since the Sharks had an open day like that held on January 24, where fans “could rub shoulders with the Sharks and get to know them without us asking for anything. We had over 4 000 people, and this while school trials were taking place. We want to continue with these open days and get 10 000 fans turning up. Hopefully this is a taste of what is to come.
“We had to rescue Lambie. He was being harassed while the other players were relaxing in the shade. But he said he would stay there until everyone had been helped.
“It is important for the players to connect and plug into Durban. I can recall coming here as an 18-year-old and being here 15 seasons later.
“Perhaps one of the outcomes of the professional era was that it made players untouchable. They have been heavily protected.
“We want people to see that the players are also good people. They must go around the field at the end of a game to thank the fans. When they go and braai, they must expect people to come along to get autographs for their children. It is a process we are going through. The open day was the start, but we do not expect to get results overnight.
“When I started, once a month we would go to junior and high schools and talk to the children about not taking drugs. We were terrible on stage, but that is how we got to talk in public. That last happened about eight years ago and we need to bring that back.
“In recent years there has been a gap. We need to get hold of the youngsters. In Durban we do not have a Maties, UCT, Tukkies or Wits. Tertiary students tend to go outside the province. If kids are fanatical Sharks supporters at school, then later whether in the Cape or North they stay loyal.
“So it is important for youngsters to rub shoulders with “Beast” and Lambie. Pat is a humble guy. People can make the connection with us as human beings, so if he misses a kick and we lose the game, the pill is easier to swallow.”
The other important strategy the Sharks want to implement is to give fans a better experience on game days. Smit said he wanted to change the perception of warm beers and cold hot dogs.
They were experimenting with finding service providers to improve the offerings to include salads, curries and the sort of food found at craft markets, while at the same time cutting down on queues.
Smit, who says he is a “coffee nut”, says they are introducing mobile coffee units that will offer decent cappuccinos.
Creating new sources of revenue is a priority for Smit. These include plans to bring catering in-house and teaming up with catering company, Eat Fresh, to open The Sharks’ Kitchen. This would offer catering to private suites and provide a canteen for the staff, academy players, and the team.
The move to generate more revenue for the franchise from catering has alarmed existing food catering companies, worried that it would jeopardise their businesses.
But Smit believes improving the catering will help improve the experience of being at the stadium on game days. “We have to make it an experience so that those who are not there feel they have missed out.”
Living in London and using alternative modes of transport, he realised South Africans still see themselves as driving to a venue and then going home by car.
The Sharks were looking at creating roped-off areas for taxis and, if people did not want to drive home after the game, they could leave their cars at the stadium to be collected the next day. There would be 24-hour security. People could then get Mozzie Cabs, Uber taxis, Buddys or Good Fellas to take them home.
“There is a misconception that you cannot come to the field with your Cadac, braai meat and a six pack. You can still do all this, and bring a gazebo if it looks like rain.”
The Sharks were the first to introduce the Flasher girls, and to have a remote-controlled car coming on to the field. Now all the teams have this. The franchise had to find new attractions. Later this year a trip is planned to the US to look at how sports teams there add to the enjoyment experience of fans.
“When people are sitting at Kings Park ahead of the game, we are going to have better music. We are also improving the sound system.”
Another way of getting people to come to the game was to get schools to play curtain-raiser fixtures.
“We have been talking to headmasters and want to assist where we can. We are starting small. The schools understand it is auspicious to play at Kings Park.”
In an effort to attract the younger student crowd, the Sharks had taken control of two clubs, Coyote and One Stop. Coyote would focus on the youngsters while One Stop was still a work in progress, he said.
These clubs would not stay open until 4am. He thought they would start winding down around 11pm. If people wanted to carry on clubbing they could go to nearby Tiger Tiger.
The moves to take over the clubs was part of the focus of creating a family environment. By taking control of the nightclub areas it would also impact on the drinking culture as it impacts on the enjoyment of the game.
“There is a fine line between having a good time and swearing and shouting at the referee and upsetting the people around you,” he said.
Smit wanted to bring in a group of die-hard Sharks fans, perhaps people with time on their hands, who would move around the stadium and be available to help fans with information on where they could get food and drinks, and where fans could report someone who was spilling drinks on those around them.
The murder of former British Royal Marine Brett Williams at Kings Park in March 2013 was still in the public eye, Smit said. The trial of murder accused Blayne Shepard was adjourned this week, with February 16 set down for final argument.
Smith said although Shepard’s co-accused were found not guilty of killing Williams in a drunken brawl, they had been banned for life from Kings Park.
Turning to the ongoing fear that the council wants rugby to move to the newer Moses Mahbida stadium, Smit says in his interaction with the council the message was that everyone wants to co-exist.
“They need the Dolphins, AmaZulu and Sharks to contribute, so if we play one or two games there during the season, I do not see a problem. We see value in that.
“The city understands that we have certain key drivers of revenue here at Kings Park that would not be possible there, such as the suites, our academy, the braai facilities, and parking. They are not bullying us. We talk amicably.”
As for his tenure as chief executive, the former Springbok and Sharks captain, said in 20 months he had “packed a lot in, learnt a lot, and made of lot of changes around things that I feel strongly about”.
The changing of coaches, virtually every six months, had been a problem. When he started he had wanted to change after seeing firsthand the effectiveness of Brendan Venter as coach at Saracens.
“But he could not keep up with his 17 flights a week.
“Jake White seemed like a fairytale but in the end it did not work for anyone.” White has been replaced by Gary Gold who starts in February.
“The players are in a good place now. They are a very determined group and are ambitious to win.”
Independent on Saturday