Central Coast Mariners will play the first ever Hyundai A-League match at the iconic North Sydney Oval when the Club hosts Wellington Phoenix on Thursday 19 December.
Central Coast Mariners will play the first ever Hyundai A-League match at the iconic North Sydney Oval when the Club hosts Wellington Phoenix on Thursday 19 December.
The match is part of a busy festival period for the Mariners and is anticipated to attract a considerable crowd as fans prepare for the end of their work year.
Mariners- officials today joined representatives from North Sydney Council, Northern Suburbs Football Association and Football Federation Australia (FFA) at North Sydney Oval to announce the match.
With one in five Mariners- Members currently residing south of the Brooklyn Bridge, Central Coast Mariners Majority Owner, Mr Michael Charlesworth, said taking the game to North Sydney Oval in December underlines the Club-s intent to grow its solid supporter base in an area well known for its love of football.
“Football is the participation sport of choice in Sydney-s northern suburbs with tens of thousands of active male and female players,” Charlesworth said. “We want to connect emotionally with football fans who are not already aligned with the Mariners to build on the fantastic supporter base that is already alive in the area.
“Historically we have worked closely with Football Associations north of the Harbour Bridge and we will be re-energising these relationships over the coming months as we bid to engage North Shore locals with our Club prior to, during and following the game against the Phoenix.”
“With 20 per cent of our Members living in the Sydney-s northern suburbs we already regard the region as an extension of Mariner territory. We want to encourage even more supporters from the area to routinely make the short trip up the freeway to see our Champion team in action. To show them what we’re about, we’ve decided to take a game to them.”
Charlesworth explained that the Club will be assisting its Coast-based fans to make the trip south to North Sydney Oval on matchday by providing $10 return bus tickets to the game via local company Coastal Liner.
He added that Club Members would also be offered significantly discounted ticket prices for the encounter.
“We want our core fan base who live on the Coast to embrace this initiative and be part of an exclusive and distinctive chapter in our history,” Charlesworth continued.
“Their positivity about the Club and match will help influence football fans who live north of the Harbour Bridge to jump on board. Long term this will enable us to grow many aspects of the Club.”
Up to 60,000 people currently make the daily commute from the Central Coast to Sydney for work. Ordinarily, some Mariners supporters are not able to make a 7:30pm kick-off in Gosford due to travel times, however it is hoped many will choose to factor the fixture into their route home.
Central Coast Mariners FC vs. Wellington Phoenix FC
Hyundai A-League Round 6 – Thursday 19 December, 2013
North Sydney Oval, North Sydney
Kick-off: 7:30pm
Tickets: Please visit www.Proticket.com.au (individual tickets from $10, family tickets from $25)
