Still, for me it means little if numbers are not enough to create atmosphere. I really love the idea of returning to Ballymore, but I had thought that it wasn't allowed anymore? Too big for the suburb, difficulties with public transport etc. Wasn't the stadium size kept at around 10,000?
I think Suncorp (both the stadium design itself and the management of fan positioning) does a decent job at keeping the atmosphere even with low crowd numbers. Maybe it depends on where you sit though - I tend to go behind the sticks at the Caxton st end and it's always full of energy.
I think they're expecting a capacity of ~15k for the revitalised Ballymore - but for the reasons you mentioned, I can't see regular games being held there. It's very much being promoted as an elite training facility/centre of excellence, with probably a handful of games (QPR finals, Wallaroos) held throughout the year. Plus, with both Super Rugby and the Reds trying to grow the game (whether that's realistic or not), I doubt they would entertain the idea of capping crowds at that level, when they know that they could consistently draw ~25k only a few years ago.
But is the casual fan going because it is easy to attend? I would think going to watch a game where it is fun and engaging.
Not going purely because it's easy to attend, rather it's not putting them off because it's too hard/out of the way - which I think Ballymore has become. I'm specifically talking about the crowd that are heading to the footy with plans for dinner and/or drinks at either end who aren't necessarily the biggest fans of the game itself, but are looking for a night out. If the game wasn't being played somewhere central enough to give you plenty of options pre and post, I think you'd be losing a lot of the 'casual' fans.
Of course the die hards will follow wherever - but again, I'm not sure the Reds would be wanting to limit their ticket sales to 15k die hards, when there is a possibility in the future (again, realistic or not) of the same number of die hards, plus a number of thousand more