Basketball On The Internet.

IT was hard not to notice the Fire drew 1,900-plus to their first WNBL home game after the Crocs drew 1,400-and-change to theirs, yet both played at the Townsville RSL Stadium.

I’m not making any claims to understanding the vagaries or uniqueness of the Townsville market, especially not after the Crocodiles - as the Suns - came into the NBL in 1993 and had 69 consecutive sellouts at the Townsville Entertainment Centre.

The capacity then was 4,141 and the team wasn’t setting the world alight, yet STILL enjoyed consistent rabid support.

The sellouts streak only ended after the venue was expanded for the 1998 season.

To win the NBL’s Loggins-Bruton Cup and then pull a lame attendance figure of 1,400 for their first home game had to be troubling for the Crocs and the league.

To then have the Fire comfortably pull 1,900 for their season-opener not only speaks volumes for what the girls have achieved since joining the WNBL in 2001 but for their better recognition of what their market can handle.

You don’t have to explain the costs of running an NBL team compared to a WNBL team but some things clearly have gone wrong for the Crocodiles over time.

There was never any talk about the difficulties of parking in the club’s halcyon days, for example.

Or of getting sponsors on board.

Yes, the landscape changes with more sporting teams crowding the same market but the bottom line is your fan base.

I have variously seen the RSL Stadium capacity described as 2,000 to 2,200 to 2,500 and my personal favourite, “over 2,000”.

The Crocodiles ticket prices for 2014-15 are: Hollywood $135, Sky Box $110, Courtside – Sideline $115, Courtside – Baseline 1st Row $125, Courtside – Baseline 2nd Row $115, Gold $79, Silver - Adult $53, Concession $42, Child $30, Family (2A+2Ch) $136; Silver Outer - Adult $37, Concession $30, Child $22, Family(2A+2Ch) $95; Bronze - Adult $29, Concession $26 , Child $21, Family (2A+2C) $79; Restricted View $18.

The Fire have various more expensive season ticket and membership options too but single game tickets are: Adults $17, Concession $10, Child $10, Family (2A+2C) $40; Restricted View $5.

In other words, the Crocs are asking more for a “restricted view” seat than the Fire are for an adult ticket.

Again, the two clubs support each other and I am not hinting at any type of rivalry.

What I AM saying is when you open in a smaller venue by asking an unrealistic price for a product which has been on the wane and is only now pulling up out of the valley of gloom in which it has long settled, you may end up with, say, 1,400 at your first game.

You know the Crocodiles faithful are out there but maybe the ticket actually needed to once again become a “hot “ one before it was priced as if it already was one.