Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: The truth about "Party Central"

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  • Lucy Stewart,

    No rugby's definitely in decline, the local city council released a survey last month that shows that more people visited cemeteries in Dunedin last year than went to Carisbrook. Even fewer people went to a city park to watch a game. They get about 5000 to a Highlanders game these days

    Which tells you mostly that lots of people have friends/relatives who they like to remember by visiting their graves; which, given the 100% mortality rate of humans in the long term, is...somewhat less than surprising? Unless you're suggesting that graveyard visits are a hot new alternative to watching rugby?

    (Or, alternatively, that rugby attendance is declining in one smallish city with one really crappy Super Some Number team. It's a bit hard to generalise that to "rugby is definitely in decline" for the whole country. Which doesn't mean it *isn't*, but doesn't prove that it is.)

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Clarke,

    I hate to break it to you Rich, but New Zealand is full of rugbyheads already.

    You may have just explained the brain drain.

    -36.76, 174.61 or thereab… • Since Nov 2006 • 164 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    Can we please get over the notion that Clean Stadiums are an evil thing? Lets move on from 2002.

    I apologise for being impertinent enough to question the actions of my government, and believing there's questions to be asked and answered about the very slick (and stunningly effective) lobbying operation that's been run around the RWC.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell,

    BTW when the cemeteries vs. Carisbrook number was pointed out to me at the pub last night we had a long discussion about whether in included dead people (who then couldn't have attended Carisbrook) - but we decided that the people had to have filled out the survey before they had died so it didn't actually include the actual residents of cemeteries (and so probably undercounted their use)..

    I just went and looked at the actual numbers - it appears that last year more people used just about every public amenity from the library to the theatre to public toilets than attended Carisbrook - just about the only thing that people used less than Carisbrook were actual playing fields.

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • giovanni tiso,

    I apologise for being impertinent enough to question the actions of my government...

    And for getting the basic facts of your rant du jour completely wrong, I assume.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report Reply

  • TracyMac,

    Completely UNRELATED to the post at hand: when is PAS going to get to grips with the new century and have the site layout designed for screen resolutions larger than 800x600? I checked out the latest W3schools stats, and they have monitors supporting only 800x600 at 1%. 1024x768 at 20% and the vast majority, 76%, at even higher resolutions.

    I just think the tiny content space looks cramped, it's tedious to scroll, and all the acres of white space seem wasted. The site would still look fine on most modern mobile devices if it were designed for higher resolutions. And if mobile reading is a consideration, then a subdomain with a different stylesheet, or the ability to read full posts from a news reader would solve it.

    Not sure why I haven't mentioned it ever (and in potentially more relevant fora), but it's been narking at me particularly of late.

    Canberra, West Island • Since Nov 2006 • 701 posts Report Reply

  • giovanni tiso,

    (Timidly) I really like the central column style. I find it much more readable than blocks of text that go all the way across.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report Reply

  • Deborah,

    Umm... me too. On like all the white space, that is. But I'm a luddite w.r.t. mobile phones. I only txt and call people - none of this fancy 3G stuff, whatever that is.

    New Lynn • Since Nov 2006 • 1447 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha,

    I recall Russell saying recently that renovations were afoot, did he not?

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • George Darroch,

    You may have just explained the brain drain.

    To Australia?

    WLG • Since Nov 2006 • 2264 posts Report Reply

  • George Darroch,

    Yeah, slightly wider columns wouldn't offend me, but I'm not bothered by how things are.

    WLG • Since Nov 2006 • 2264 posts Report Reply

  • Emma Hart,

    (Timidly) I really like the central column style. I find it much more readable than blocks of text that go all the way across.

    Yeah, me too. Also my browser usually only takes up the left side of my screen, with a word processor (yes, or video player or game) on the right. I know a lot of people who do this, so screen resolution might not be an entirely reliable measure.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report Reply

  • Lucy Stewart,

    I just went and looked at the actual numbers - it appears that last year more people used just about every public amenity from the library to the theatre to public toilets than attended Carisbrook - just about the only thing that people used less than Carisbrook were actual playing fields.

    Fair enough - saying it's now almost the least-used public amenity is more meaningful.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report Reply

  • Jimmy Southgate,

    It's a bit hard to generalise that to "rugby is definitely in decline" for the whole country. Which doesn't mean it *isn't*, but doesn't prove that it is.)

    I'd love a follow up on that trying to identify just what rugby, and where, was in decline and wasn't.

    I ask, because it seems that interest in Super rugby in the franchise centres has been on the wane for a while; but i've been to NPC games where it seems like interest is building.

    I wonder whether a game like the Magpies vs Wellington or Canterbury at NPC level would get a bigger crowd at McLean Park than a Hurricanes game.

    Wellingtown • Since Nov 2006 • 103 posts Report Reply

  • giovanni tiso,

    Fair enough - saying it's now almost the least-used public amenity is more meaningful.

    Its meaningfulness is still bugger all if you ask me. None of those amenities are open only ninety minute a week during the rugby season. Also, you don't pay to visit the cemetery or the library. (Yet.)

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report Reply

  • Sofie Bribiesca,

    What's a clean stadium? Is that a stoopid question?

    here and there. • Since Nov 2007 • 6796 posts Report Reply

  • giovanni tiso,

    It's a stadium without existing associated sponsor brands, including in the name of the stadium itself. So Westpac Stadium in Wellington will drop Westpac for the duration of the World Cup, for instance, and all fixed corporate box signs will have to go. So that RWC international or whatever it's called can negotiate its own sponsorship deals. (That's how I remember it anyhow, I hope I'm correct.)

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report Reply

  • Kyle Matthews,

    What Giovanni said.

    The RWC will have large international sponsors, whose signage will have to appear on all the TV coverage. The normal local sponsors will all have the RWC excluded from their contracts as all their stuff will be taken down.

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report Reply

  • Sofie Bribiesca,

    The RWC will have large international sponsors,

    Thanks. So do we know who they will be. Which beer, I guess will be a biggie, (but can you marry beer to sport?) Gawd, I hope it's not McDonalds!

    ok soo further back thread, it sounds like Heineken?

    here and there. • Since Nov 2007 • 6796 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    A law has been passed at the insistence of Big Sport that bans the marketing of other products anywhere near the stadium.

    People called Stella or Tui, for instance, will be banned from going anywhere between Stout St and the ferry dock unless they change their names. Bizarre but true.

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell,

    well no - Stout street will also be renamed ....

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • Sofie Bribiesca,

    People called Stella or Tui, for instance, will be banned from going anywhere between Stout St and the ferry dock unless they change their names. Bizarre but true.

    What about dogs?

    here and there. • Since Nov 2007 • 6796 posts Report Reply

  • Sofie Bribiesca,

    So it will be like
    Heineken was last seen walking the dog ,Heineken,down Heineken St. Police have uncovered some Heineken......
    Reporting by, Heineken.
    (if your name is Tui and your dog is Stella and you were on Stout St.)

    here and there. • Since Nov 2007 • 6796 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell,

    Its meaningfulness is still bugger all if you ask me. None of those amenities are open only ninety minute a week during the rugby season. Also, you don't pay to visit the cemetery or the library. (Yet.)

    Of course we pay for the cemetery and the library (through our rates). This is a particularly big issue here in Dunedin where we we've basically been forced to build a replacement for Carisbrook with hundreds of millions of dollars of ratepayer's money (despite street protests and packed out public meetings), yet upgrading the Regent Theatre to make sure stuff doesn't fall on performers still requires private fundraising (and this week it looks like the Fortune Theatre may be a goner now that Creative NZ has decided to focus on Auckland)

    I think it's fair to spend rates on things that people use, but there should be some sort of proportionality - if people use public toilets and cemeteries more than rugby stadiums we should spend more on them - but honestly we shouldn't be spending public money on for-profit organisations like the Highlanders, it's not like we get a rates reduction if they make a profit

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • Kyle Matthews,

    Thanks. So do we know who they will be. Which beer, I guess will be a biggie, (but can you marry beer to sport?) Gawd, I hope it's not McDonalds!

    They're here: http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/

    Mastercard, ANZ, Emirates, Heineken. Toshiba, Brancott Estate.

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report Reply

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