The franchise has relocated to the Illawarra for the 2021 season, a move many have viewed as a test-run for a permanent team.

The Phoenix have struggled on and off the field, registering their first win on Sunday.

Read more: Optimism high among Phoenix players as Sydney FC test looms

Crowds have been lower than anticipated, with new restrictions limiting attendances at WIN Stadium.

That's had a financial impact on the Phoenix, with General Manager David Dome optimistic that easing restrictions will allow the community to show their support in the coming weeks.

"At 25 per cent capacity, we can't sell enough tickets to break even," Dome said. "Unless we get more people coming to games, we'll continue to lose a lot of money.

"Hopefully the restrictions will continue to ease and we can get to between 50 per cent and 100 per cent and the people of Wollongong, the football community will support the club."

Restricted crowds haven't been the only challenge the club has faced since relocating to Wollongong.

The Phoenix have struggled to attract corporate partners in New Zealand. Illawarra sponsors have not stepped up to fill the void, leaving the club in a vulnerable financial position.

Dome has remained in Wellington but will consider relocating to Wollongong if the situation doesn't improve in coming weeks.

"We've discovered it's hard to build personal relationships from the other side of the Tasman. We have had great support from the community. Football South Coast have been excellent, the University, Right2Drive, but we have struggled to sign commercial partners in Australia and Wollongong.

"This has taken us by surprise, we thought there would be more interest in an A-League team based in Wollongong. Outside Right2Drive and the Fraternity Club, we haven't signed anyone to match-day partnership or a strip partnership, which has surprised me."

While the Phoenix have struggled to attract corporate partners, the Wolves remain confident that won't be a concern should they receive an A-League licence.

Club officials, including head coach Luke Wilkshire and chairman Tory Lavalle have had discussions with a number of potential partners throughout the past year.

That has Wilkshire optimistic the Wolves will thrive in the top flight.

"Anyone who lives in Wollongong knows everyone is very proud of the region," Wilkshire said. "Naturally it's challenging for the Phoenix coming in from New Zealand with a short turnaround to create that buy in.

"We hope people get on board and support them, show we want A-League here and we can host it. If we do that in numbers, it sends out a message going forward."

Dome has pondered the long-term sustainability of a franchise in Wollongong and while he admits the Phoenix are struggling, he's optimistic a home-grown side will receive greater support.

"The football community is strong enough to support it in terms of the player base," Dome said. "The Wolves are an excellent example of what can be done.

"I haven't seen anything that would suggest the football community would get out and support the A-League as paying customers.

"Having said that, let's say it was the Wolves, they might have stronger commercial contacts than Wellington does to support them. They might have more success in pulling together financial partnerships that would be able to sustain them."

Dome ultimately believes crowd sizes are the primary indicator in a club's sustainability. That, he feels, is an area the Wollongong community can vote with their feet.

"Attendances is one of the main metrics for support. That's the big unknown in all of this. That first game against Sydney, I thought would be a good indication of how many people would turn up.

"That was hit by COVID, but I was genuinely surprised by how ticket sales really did taper off in the last couple of days after a promising start. Home games since then haven't proved much better.

"We've got more games coming up and I'm looking at those, are any of these games potentially between 5000 and 10,000 people turning up to the game? It's not a huge amount of people, in a metro the size of the Illawarra.

"I thought they should be able to support those numbers and given the A-League doesn't come to the Illawarra region that often, I have been surprised."