Who gives a damn I'm there to see the basketball not to be entertained. Guess that makes me a "purist" lol

Wouldn't expect much out of the 36ers. Sounds like half of their game night staff haven't been asked back including MC Jarrod Walsh. Cutting down on the cheerleaders too.
Last season they provided twitter commentary for both home and away games. That doesn't appear to be happening this year either.
Then there is the DJ they had at the past game.
Hopefully the basketball is good though.

Lachy was OTT last night but I put it down to a bit of game 1 over-excitement. We'll see on Friday I guess.
He definitely carried on too much during the action, and yes the shouting at a player when he's about to do something is probably what makes me cringe the most. It's pretty bush league to have "look out!" yelled when someone's about to go up for a dunk. We're all basketball fans in there, we don't need to be told to look, and I don't imagine the players appreciate that stuff either. The game needs to be respected.

I still think Lachy is good overall, he's positive and he loves the game and, but needs to fix up his timing a bit. eg. Yelling some long rant to fire everyone up is fine but do it during breaks in play.

I like the marching band and I don't mind it being used during play. If it means less playing of the same song that's been used for 10 years then that's a positive for sure. The ratio of songs:band:nothing still isn't ideal but it's at least moving in the right direction.

I thought last night was the most amped game 1 crowd Perth has had for ages (I mean in general - not just at the end) so overall they're still doing a lot right.
Personally I don't really care about the non-game "entertainment" or even pay much attention to it, but I assume it's mostly aimed at the kids and thus the sameness, because kids are into repetition.

If people have suggestions for other entertainment I know the Cats office would welcome them. They take it pretty seriously.

That's strange, especially considering the adjustments they made mid last season to their game night experience. Court looked really good with the lights dimmed on the crowd, so it's a surprise to see them cutting back on all the other aspects. Wasn't aware that they were in a poor financial position?

Yep completely agree with that post. Would love to see Lachy continue but maybe without all the comments during the action. Wildcats game night experience is still as a whole not bad, but just with all the changes other teams were making, was maybe expecting a little more from the Wildcats.

The use of dry ice on the court before the Halloween game last season pretty much sums it up. Honestly feels like most of the organisation would prefer if the basketball stuff (requirements for non-slippery floors, visible jersey elements, etc) didn't constantly get in the way of all the awesome things they were doing.

This feedback is best submitted to the Perth Wildcats club.

IT's good for discussion here, but if you want something done. Email it to them directly.

I'd like the marching band to actually march. At the moment they're more like a walking band.

I'd like the marching band to actually march. At the moment they're more like a walking band.

The thing I dislike about the marching band is more the obscene amount of money spent on them per game that could be spent on something more worthwhile, like out-of-bounds decals or something.

The light rig that sits on the floor in front of the commentary table, too.

Felt similarly last year when they explained how they had to pass on the NBL's playoff surcharge and then dropped a giant 'go wildcats' banner from the ceiling for two seconds, then packed it away and never got it out again.

The marching band should do the voodoo dance at the end of close games. The opposition teams would love it!

Using the flames behind the backboard instead of the air gun thing would be awesome too. Imagine flames after Johnson hits the 3 to force overtime!

I think the Wildcats are doing a good job with their game night entertainment. Their aim is to entertain a family audience, and yes it may be repetitive but I think that is what most people want - I know "We will Rock You" has been played at the start of the game for years, but that is what people expect, same with Wolfmother to start 4th quarter. Personally I'm not too keen on the marching band, but I'm sure many other people enjoy them, however I would prefer that they just played before the game and in timeouts.

Lachy Reid is probably the best basketball MC in Australia but yes he was a bit OTT last night, but he does do a great job of getting the fans involved and on their feet.

I wouldn't want to see too much change on game nights.

Most entertainment at basketball games is poor imo. I'm there to see the game and wouldn't care if the whole nonsense was scrapped. It is only there for children and maybe people who aren't that into basketball but are just seeing a game for the first time.

The cats are extremely responsive to fan input.

In fact if you were a member, you should have been invited to participate in a huge survey, on precisely this topic.
Perth fans LOVE Lachy Reid, and actually asked for him to come back. Again, this was specifically covered in the survey.

As for the crowd being "over amp'd"???
The crowd was pretty much silenced by the middle of the last quarter, then started to get behind the Cats and tried to yell them home.
Then JJ hits the tying bomb with 0.8 seconds left on the clock, WTF do you expect, the roof nearly blew open.

Practically every element was covered in the survey, including the Armed Services Tribute, and the Ball-Kid. (To which I was positive.)

I was negative towards some things, but the point is that they would listen to the majority.

What is everyone's opinion on having the lights dimmed on the crowd like what they do at the Staples Center? Would you like to see this done at Perth Arena? Adelaide and NZ have both implemented it and looks very good on TV imo, however not sure how everyone would feel about drawing away from the impact of the Red Army and the sea of red in the crowd?

"What is everyone's opinion on having the lights dimmed on the crowd like what they do at the Staples Center? Would you like to see this done at Perth Arena? Adelaide and NZ have both implemented it and looks very good on TV imo, however not sure how everyone would feel about drawing away from the impact of the Red Army and the sea of red in the crowd?
"

It looks good on TV because it really puts the game on the spotlight. But there probably should be a mix between the two methods. I don't remember when Adelaide did it last? I must have slept on that little happening.

I like the entertainment. The marching band is good during the pre game although I wished they could of learned a new song during the offseason.

The dunk team, half time kids match and half court shot competition is enough to keep me amused and watching on during the breaks.

At the end of the day though, I go to Wildcats games to watch basketball, all the other stuff does its job - to keep me amused during the breaks.

Lachie is far more valuable than he is a nuisance......by a long shot. He would be worth a few points a game easy. Chances are if your outside of the Perth fan base and you don't like him, he's doing a great job :P

Simple fact is that if you want to get 13,000 people to shell out for a BBL game in a city the size of Perth, then you're relying on "social" attendees. Those who are enjoying a good night out.
Personally, yeah, I would save the money spent on the flames and the band, but thats just me.
They're no dummies. They do their research, and they listen to fans.
Furthermore, I happily go nuts at the games, but some people do need a bit of amping up.

End of the day, I can only laugh at all the haters proclaiming "oh, other teams do it better, other teams have the right idea." Yeah, that's why "other teams" would give their left nuts to get a Perth-sized crowd.

I sat in Bronze for 2 years and would consider them more than decent. My membership was something like $329 a year which works out $23.90 per game. Very affordable, especially when they offer payment plans.

I upgraded this year to Silver for only $399. The seats I have are amazing. I would not consider these prices ridiculous and I'm far from a wealthy man.

I'm sure everyone would love to pay less to attend being human nature, but the team needs to pay players, staff the arena, etc while also trying to make a profit being a business at the end of the day.

I would certainly not deliberately "not go to games".

The demand is there which is different to other clubs so the Wildcats are in a good position in that respect where they don't need to give decent pricing for good seats.

The only gripe I have is merchandise pricing, could be a little cheaper. Even then, a lot of us are happy to pay.

The Perth Arena would most likely cost 2-3 times the amount to rent then a lot of other venues.

Can't believe you just compared Perth Arena to Vector Arena...

Agreed, my kids wouldn't have loved their first game without all the extra entertainment and buildups. Def needs to be family entertainment friendly.

And again with people bitching about merchandising pricing.

Merchandising is overpriced because its a luxury. You can watch the game without it. If you turned up to the first game you got a free shirt, so there your "Red" is sorted.
You can choose when and if you buy. Those that can afford to kit out their whole family in the latest gear every season, subsidise those of us who can't.

So why are ticket prices so expensive then?

Yes I sent my e-mailed survey to the Wildcats and they didn't change a single thing I suggested but oh well no harm in trying.

Lachie Read may have been over the top but the Wildcats fans were dead for almost the entire match, all forms of entertainment were shit until JJ stood up. I'd prefer Lachie inform the crowd who scored from time to time or who the foul was on... silly bits like that.

As for dimming of the crowd, I think it could be ok until we are told to stand up, then that should be fully lit up

Has anyone suggesting they dim the crowd actually looked at the lighting setup?

I've been a member for 9 years and have definitely seen some downers in entertainment (Morph suit men), the problem the Cars have is they don't replace entertainment...they pile on, so now we have just a mush of top 40 music, pub rock, marching band, dry ice, sound effects, fire works and giant faces in the crowd. It can be a bit much.

BUT... a few years ago I moved to Sydney and have since seen every cats game in Illawarra and Sydney (plus a few in Melbourne) and all I can say is Zzzzzzz. It is embarrassing, my wife and I spent much of the game laughing at the MCs lack of basketball knowledge and static nature from behind a desk, the crowds non care to the point of silence for much of the game. Perth fans, we've got it good.

As for prices, you pay more for success. In the AFL, Carlton and Collingwood both play at the same ground. The top priced Carlton ticket is around $60 but for Collingwood it is $75. Clubs will charge what people will pay.