Ballarat comes to life
North Melbourne CEO Eugene Arocca says Sunday’s 8000-strong crowd at Eureka Stadium is further evidence Ballarat is ready to host AFL football.
Despite the game being televised live on Fox Footy, supporters streamed through the gates to see the Kangaroos and Bulldogs do battle.
"We were absolutely thrilled with the turnout,” Arocca told kangaroos.com.au.
“Given it was in the middle of the long weekend, it is a fantastic endorsement of our push for a bigger stadium having 8000 people turn up knowing that there are only 500 seats in a small grandstand - to watch a NAB cup game."
It’s the third consecutive year North has brought AFL competition to the region and the increased interest was evidenced by a sell-out crowd - more than double last year’s match.
"On behalf of the club I want to thank all the local supporters who turned out to cheer on both sides, although there were definitely more Kangaroos’ supporters based on the blue and white jumpers in the crowd,” Arocca added.
"We also signed over 100 members on the day which again, is a good indicator that the people of Ballarat are getting on board this club. Three years ago, we didn’t even have 100 Ballarat members in total."
The Kangaroos won the match by 23 points, with Liam Anthony, Scott Thompson, Brent Harvey and Aaron Edwards all impressing on the day.
North Melbourne boasts more than 400 members in Ballarat and its new Eureka membership package starting from just $25 has proven extremely popular since its launch.