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Peter Sullivan (51)
When Clive Palmer had a soccer team he tried to keep his crowds low as when you hit a certain number the hiring fees skyrocketed.You can also understand why the North Harbour Rays moved from Brookvale Oval as well, ground hire fees and associated costs vary region to region and also fluctuate based on the expected crowd, but this will give you a rough idea of the cost in hosting a match:
I remember reading that AAMI Park was costing MCFC around $65'000 a match for ground hire, I think NIB Stadium in Perth is actually the worst. I can't remember the actual figures but it was close to $100'000 on ground hire alone.
Whilst the move to suburban grounds has impacted on crowds, it will also reduce the match day expenses and overheads meaning the clubs will probably pull a bigger profit from the game then they would have if it were still at the bigger stadiums.
It was better to have less than 4500 than 10000 due to the fee structure.