After breaking a club membership record this week, Swans chief executive Andrew Ireland says it is "difficult to break into the psyche of sports fans" in Sydney, particularly when there are overlapping football seasons and the NRL season has a headstart.
"It is very difficult in the northern markets where rugby league, Super 15 and now the end of the A-League season are overlapping," Ireland said on Tuesday.
"It's very difficult when you're playing NAB Cup and practice matches to break into the psyche of sports fans.
"If the competition could start a couple weeks earlier, we've said for a while a 24-week season and no NAB Cup would make sense.
"I think it's interesting that Andrew (Demetriou) is looking at something like that.
"If the players were given a bigger break in the off-season, there's every chance to play a 24-week season."
The Swans membership tally of more than 32,452 broke the record mark set in 2007 after back-to-back Grand Final appearances. But Ireland said he wanted 40,000 fans to pledge their allegiance.
It is a phenomenal turnaround for the organisation that was once the laughing stock of the League, and Sydney's sporting landscape.
As is the case with the Swans' on-field triumph last year, Ireland said hard work and quality football had been the key to the big numbers.
"I think it's on the back of success last year, but also because our membership department have worked really hard," Ireland said.
"At the end of the day people want to come along and watch good footy.
"I've always said putting a footy team on the ground is a bit like running a theatre, if you don't put on good films nobody will come.
"We know it's a constant challenge to continue to grow it. We need to do that. We need to get to 40,000 members. Hopefully we can do that. It's a big challenge."
Especially in a city with a reputation for not having the same passion for live sport as Melbourne, although Ireland rejected the stay-at-home Sydneysider stereotype.
"It actually upsets me a bit when people talk about the Sydney sports fan being more fickle," he said.
"The reality is when we put on big games we get good crowds."
