Canberra United and Capitals eye more record crowds

The sporting public would struggle to pinpoint another weekend that attracted a bigger collective regular season crowd figure for women's sport in Canberra than the one just gone.

McKellar Park hosted its biggest regular season crowd in A-League women's history with 2229 turning up to watch Canberra United's shootout with the Perth Glory.

The Canberra Capitals returned in front of a near-capacity crowd of 1702 for their WNBL clash with Adelaide at the National Convention Centre on Sunday.

The McKellar Park record stands at 2512 - which was set at an ALW grand final in 2012 - with officials hopeful the club can knock on the 3000 barrier this season.

MORE SPORT:

The venue's overflow parking was at capacity but club officials are putting measures in place to cater for bigger crowds, adamant the venue can fit more supporters as the popularity of women's soccer explodes following the success of the Matildas.

"It was busy, but you could still see some green grass," Capital Football director Ange Konstantinou said.

"If we can get some more people to fill in that grass, it will be amazing for football and to prove we can support the women in Canberra and obviously support an A-League Men's team.

"We're ecstatic that we got so many people to the game. We were expecting big numbers with a big amount of members and a big number of people pre-paying for their tickets, so that's great.

"There are a few little things to work on, which we can fix for the next game, and hopefully we can beat the last game.

"Parking was a little bit of an issue which the operations staff were able to rectify towards the end, which was really good. We'll endeavour to try to fix that, but as with most Canberra crowds, they tend to rock up a little bit late.

"The operations team will see what they can do with a few more amenities and more activations within the crowd. It was a bumper crowd and all of Canberra's football community should be proud to get that many people to the game."

Now some are starting to wonder if Canberra's biggest women's sporting teams are outgrowing their home venues.

The challenge, of course, is ensuring the crowds continue to fill the stands.

McKellar Park is the best fit for Canberra United outside of Viking Park, while the Capitals have been at the centre of the AIS Arena debate for the past three years.

The National Convention Centre has become the club's preferred home - but more capacity crowds could reignite the debate about which venue provides the best fit.

Mention the crowd figure of 1702 and Capitals coach Kristen Veal simply says: "whoa".

"Our highest last year was like what, 1200 or 1300? That's massive, 1700 is massive. It's huge. You almost don't have the words, it's overwhelming, especially with what we came off last year," Veal said.

"I don't think it's surprising, the quality and the way we go about what we do has an impact on each other, the organisation, the sponsors, the community. The only thing missing is a few wins, but everything else, you couldn't be more proud of. To have the community bought into that means we're doing the right thing, for sure.

"That's where I've got to stop being nervous about it. Sometimes I think there is a threshold where they'll be like 'nup, you're not winning', but the community and the fans are starting to teach us that's not the case.

"They are loyal, they do understand struggle, they do understand resilience and grit, they recognise it and they celebrate it."

The AIS Arena has been shut since 2020 and will not be available until at least May next year, which leaves the club in a difficult situation when it comes to finding a bigger venue for finals and regular season blockbusters.

The AIS Arena can hold up to 5200 spectators and boasts more amenities than the National Convention Centre - but works to upgrade the venue are being completed at what Australian Sports Commission boss Kieren Perkins called "a glacial pace".

The Capitals have ambitions for a facility to be built at the University of Canberra's Bruce campus - but until then, their back-up venue is the Tuggeranong Basketball Stadium.

A schedule clash this season will force the Capitals to relocate two games from Civic to Tuggeranong, where the club had spent $30,000 upgrading the ageing venue, which still bore the logos of a company sold off more than 10 years ago on its floor, to ensure the venue was ready for a national broadcast.

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.