Newcastle have targeted a 30-year-old home attendance record as they try to capitalise on the excitement and expectation encircling the team.
The Knights attracted average crowds of 22,018 in 1990 – only their third season of existence – but Newcastle chief executive officer Phil Gardner believes that mark is under threat this year.
With a club record of more than 18,000 members already on board amid an optimistic outlook for a team spearheaded by Kalyn Ponga, Mitchell Pearce and David Klemmer, Gardner anticipates a significant increase on the 2018 average home attendance of 18,974.
Gardner said it would be even easier to watch the Knights play at McDonald Jones Stadium this year because every ticket will include free bus transport to and from games. That joint initiative with Venues NSW and Keolis Downer, which operates Newcastle Transport, was announced on Monday.
The last time the Knights topped the 20,000-mark was in 2012 – the first year they were owned by Nathan Tinkler and coached by Wayne Bennett – when they attracted an average crowd of 20,919 but missed the finals in 12th position.
"This year we’re looking at record numbers. We’ve already hit our record number for membership for the Knights, which is fantastic, and we think we’ll have record attendance," Gardner said.
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"The all-time record for the Knights is an average of 22,000, and that’s our goal. We want to beat that this year, and with the support of the Newcastle community and Knights fans, we think that’s doable.
"That’s why this initiative around the buses is so important for us. We’ve got to make it as easy as possible to get to the stadium and as easy as possible to get home, and we can break that 22,000 number."
Free bus transport to and from home games is on five dedicated routes – from Newcastle’s CBD, Belmont via Charlestown, Glendale, Wallsend and Mayfield – and will operate two hours before kick-off and one hour after full-time.
The Knights play four of their first five and five of their first seven games at McDonald Jones Stadium, giving them a chance to make a flying start to the season.
"We see this as a great opportunity around winning home games early, with five of our first seven games at home, and we’re excited by that," Gardner said.
"We think that’s a great opportunity to get off on the front foot."
Keolis Downer corporate affairs manager Andrew Fletcher said free bus transport would help ease congestion around McDonald Jones Stadium on Knights game days.
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"Integrating public transport with event ticketing has become the norm for major cities around the world, and it’s fantastic for Newcastle Transport to partner with the Knights and Venues NSW to bring that level of service to Novocastrians," Fletcher said.
"We expect this service will potentially take thousands of cars off the road network … and make it a much more pleasant experience for people to get to and from these major events."