Whoa there, hold on - for almost ten years we've decried them giving away the gate. Everyone has said they needed to increase prices - and at the first sign of bad news, youre going to point the finger at the pass changes as if they shouldn't have occurred?
The games were a shit time. Weather hasnt helped, and sure, Ma and Pa Bogan couldn't get the kids their $99 annual babysitter this year... so decided a good ol aussie boycott *(with associated badmouthing all over social media) was just the ticket.
Unfortunately, with both major properties increasing their prices (well - sort of) there isn't much of an option, and those regular visitors will probably take a year off, before they start drifting back for their fix. Young teen thrill seekers of today have never known a world without the $99 annual pass. Give it a little while and ma and pa will realise its worth the extra cash to get junior out of their hair again.
The price will normalise, the people will return. Dont panic and give away the gate like you so often have before - hold firm to your pricing model and they will come.