North Melbourne Football Club Chief Executive Eugene Arocca said the North Melbourne faithful had made a strong statement to the football world.
“We are thrilled with what has been an outstanding response by North Melbourne supporters,” Arocca said.
“These figures are all the more impressive because they do not include a specific Gold Coast or Canberra based membership – these are fair dinkum supporters.
“To some extent, it is not all that surprising when you consider that the team has won two premierships within the last 12 years and has been a consistent finals performer during that time. Conversely, a sense of uncertainty over our future location and a reduction in Melbourne home games over the last five years or so has no doubt had an impact on our previous numbers.
Arocca said he was encouraged by the amount of reserved seat sales.
“To date we have sold over 5,000 reserved seats, while in 2007 our total for the year was 3,695. That figure of itself is probably the best indicator of our fans’ preference for more Melbourne home games,” he said.
“The response to date is all the more impressive given that our previous record, which was set in 2006, included about 1300 Canberra members, which are not included in these figures.
“Given we still have 6323 who are yet to renew from last season we are confident that they will join us in the coming weeks which will give us a chance at reaching 30,000 members for the first time.”
North Melbourne Membership Manager Natalle Brown said the result before Round 1 was incredible.
“It’s exciting to have achieved this figure before Round 1 and our focus is now on sustaining the satisfaction of all our members to ensure they are with us for many years to come,” Brown said.
“We thank everyone who has already joined as a member and for those supporters that are still thinking about joining, your membership will make a difference, so make sure you join today.”
Fans can join as members by calling the Membership Services Hotline 1300 36 32 31, via the internet on kangaroos.com.au or in person at The Roo Shop at Arden St Oval.
