How netball is ‘thinking big’

By Matt Fotia 

There are no ceilings on netball’s potential according to Netball Australia CEO Stacey West. 

Fans have flocked to Suncorp Super Netball league games in record numbers this season, with 331,841 patrons attending home and away fixtures in 2024, a 25% increase on 2023. 

A record breaking 34,726 fans attended matches in Round 14 of the SSN season, smashing the previous single round record, which was set just two weeks earlier. 

SSN now holds the record for the most attended season of any women’s sport in Australian history, overtaking the 2023-24 A-League women’s season. 

Speaking on SEN’s morning program Whateley, West explained this wave of momentum had come off the back of a strong 2023 SSN campaign. 

“The fan numbers have really amplified off the back of a really successful 2023 season,” West stated. 

“We’ve now superseded all our metrics on fan engagement, attendance, memberships across all our clubs and our venues are filling. 

“It’s great experience to get into these fully packed stadiums with fans that are really engaged with the product.” 

The average home and away crowd in 2024 was 23,703, a 30% increase on 2023. While club memberships have grown by 8% and 12 games were sold out during the regular season. 

West said the quality of the netball on display was one of the many driving factors behind the sizeable growth. 

“The game on the court is outstanding,” West explained. 

“The way these teams are competing week in, week out, I don’t see that in any other code. 

“The competitiveness, the tight matches, the emergence of the super shot. 

“All of these elements play into a really great experience while you’re in venue. 

“Teams are taking up the opportunity to look at it different and our fans are really responding.” 

Netball’s next challenge is to capitalise on the ground swell of support it has been shown this winter by the Australian public and West is confident the sport can strengthen its connection with the grassroots community. 

“That’s the challenge that sits with us as a sport,” West said. 

“Our league wraps up in the next couple of weeks, so how do we maintain that connection with fans, connection with program right through to season start next year. 

“There are some incredible people that are working at club level that are doing both community work, right up to the elite end. 

“We’ve got some fantastic strategies around engaging our audiences and we look forward to building that same fandom into season 2025.” 

Upcoming internationals against fierce rivals England and New Zealand will ensure people got their elite netball fix during the SSN off season, with the World Cup winning Diamonds playing matches in Adelaide, Sydney, Perth, Melbourne and Bendigo. 

“We’ve also got this incredible thing called international netball that arrives in Australia,” West said. 

“We’ve got a series against England in September, a series against the Silver Ferns in October. 

“Many of those places, names and players on court are well known to our fanbase, so it’s connecting the fans to the game on a regular basis.” 

Questioned about the emergence of other female professional sporting opportunities, and the pressure it has put on netball to adapt, West stated netball had been the forerunner in women’s sports for almost a century and can’t see that changing anytime soon. 

“We are the women’s sport (of choice) and have been for near on 100 years,” West said. 

“For netball, and our Suncorp Super Netball league, we are present, we are here. 

“We’re not going anywhere, and we continue to keep growing. 

“Nothing is off the table in terms of how big we want to think.”