Netball: Coca-Cola Cup has lost its fizz for Auckland

By Suzanne McFadden

Question: Why won't Aucklanders go out and watch netball?

Answer: Who knows?

If anyone has a clue, please contact Netball New Zealand ... or the Diamonds, the Northern Force or the Cometz.

At the other end of the country, the Otago Rebels and the Southern Sting do not face such a dilemma.

Rugged-up fans queued through the night to get tickets for tomorrow night's Coca-Cola Cup final, players serving them hot soup while they waited.

This is not a new phenomenon. It was exactly the same last year - same final, same crazy crowds, same apathy in the north.

But it's getting worse in Greater Auckland.

The Northern Force couldn't find a sponsor this year. Their ticket sales were half of what they expected.

The Diamonds suffered a similar crowd problem - which offers of jewellery door prizes could not solve.

On the question of money, head of the Force Dulcie Brunell says it has been "nigh on impossible" to get out sponsorship in a city where there is so much sport going on.

"Rugby is always beating us to the dollars. You go round the corner to a little business to ask for help, and rugby has already been there," she said.

In both Dunedin and Invercargill there is just one team to throw support behind. In Auckland, it's hard to be so parochial with three franchises crying out for attention.

There is a suggestion that the Force, Diamonds and Cometz could merge next year, but that would spell death to netball in the city. These teams are not weak - they finished third, fourth and fifth respectively this year - and an amalgamation would leave some of the country's top netballers without a game.

A change in the timing of the league could help. Tickets are often sold through netball clubs, but they do not open their gates until Easter when five rounds of this season's league had already been played.

The Indian summer didn't help either. Indoor games were played on 30 degree days - in Dunedin, fans were given water to try to cool down.

Some franchises want the league to go on longer, with a double round-robin.

What the league really needs to pull in the punters in the big city is a little more pizzazz. Last year they brought on the snazzy names, the shiny uniforms, and Friday night netball. This year it was like old hat.

But there has been plenty to be cheered about from this year's league. Although the two southernmost sides are out on their own, it was a much closer competition than last year - there was no team without a win.

Television ratings were way up on last season. So maybe Aucklanders are just couch potatoes?