89 replies to this topic

[Slimjaguar]

Greetings Roughyeds....

Anyone got any views on why only 560 turned up for the start of a new season?

[Tank66]

Greetings Roughyeds....

Anyone got any views on why only 560 turned up for the start of a new season?

Lack of interest due to Gateshead being the whipping boys of CC1.

[m brooksy]

Lack of interest due to Gateshead being the whipping boys of CC1.

hmm, I'm not too sure about that. It would have played a factor and maybe knocked off a hundred or so but not 500. I don't think adding £2 to the price was a great idea, £10 sounded acceptable for what Whitebank could become in the future but £12 is very steep for the standards we have. Then you have our struggling start in the NRC losing to Fax,Swinton and Haven and you can see why crowds our falling even if I disagree with the reasoning behind it. We'll see how many fans we've got against Swinton but it ifs still around the mid 500s I wouldn't be surprised.

Rugby fans are a fickle bunch.

[Ultimatewarrior]

hmm, I'm not too sure about that. It would have played a factor and maybe knocked off a hundred or so but not 500. I don't think adding £2 to the price was a great idea, £10 sounded acceptable for what Whitebank could become in the future but £12 is very steep for the standards we have. Then you have our struggling start in the NRC losing to Fax,Swinton and Haven and you can see why crowds our falling even if I disagree with the reasoning behind it. We'll see how many fans we've got against Swinton but it ifs still around the mid 500s I wouldn't be surprised.

Rugby fans are a fickle bunch.

Think you might be right there £12 to watch a Level of Rugby that is not much better than National Conference Premier is IMO a Rip Off !, £2 to Watch Saddleworth vs Siddal (Which i am led to believe was a Cracking Game) is Value for Money and Saddleworths Facilities although not the best are probably better than Whitebank !

[m brooksy]

I wasn't talking about the standard of rugby, I was talking about the ground standards.

The standard of rugby is actually pretty good and the likes of Saddleworth couldn't live with it.

[Ultimatewarrior]

I wasn't talking about the standard of rugby, I was talking about the ground standards.

The standard of rugby is actually pretty good and the likes of Saddleworth couldn't live with it.

Strange That !, you only just managed to Beat Hunslet Warriors !, pump the same money into Saddleworth that the RFL does into Oldham and they would do a better Job ! (IMO)

[oldhead]

Don't see how you can say it's 500 down . We didn't play Gateshead at Whitebank last season but London would be a fair comparison and I think it's about 200 down on that .

[m brooksy]

It was Hunslet's cup final and we were horrendous and yet we still won and the only tries Hunslet scored were from unusual methods i.e interception and kicks from scrums although they were good play.

You can debate as long as you want about how well Saddleworth would do with some money but they are amateur for a reason.

[Ultimatewarrior]

It was Hunslet's cup final and we were horrendous and yet we still won and the only tries Hunslet scored were from unusual methods i.e interception and kicks from scrums although they were good play.

You can debate as long as you want about how well Saddleworth would do with some money but they are amateur for a reason.

Take Away the Money that the RFL give to Oldham and they wouldn't even be Amateurs !

Edited by Ultimatewarrior, 14 March 2011 - 09:57 PM.

[chas]

Greetings Roughyeds....

Anyone got any views on why only 560 turned up for the start of a new season?

Yes...............HAMILTON..............!

[ClockworkCarrot]

I can only speak for my own family but for us their is one simple reason for crowds being down and that is the stadium - which is simply awful. To add insult to injury we then had the utterly ridiculous season ticket prices (easily the most expensive in the division if you want to sit). The propaganda put out was that we were simply bringing our prices into line with other clubs, but that clearly was not true - by far the worst stadium in the division coupled with most expensive season tickets - it's hardly rocket science is it.

As I live in Elland I decided I would check out the prices at Huddersfield Giants and found it would be cheaper for all my family to go there. So there you go, 3 season ticket holders with at least 160 years of combined Oldham watching are now Giants season ticket holders (along with my 5 year old son).If Oldham's prices hadn't been so insulting I would never even have checked. Just for information my ticket cost £180 at the giants (£150 at Oldham), my parents cost £120 each (£130 at Oldham) and my boy is free (would have been £55 at Oldham). That's to sit roughly half way up the stand on the half way line (I could have paid £95 for the season if I'd wanted to sit behind the sticks). I'm not going to start wearing a Giants jersey or chanting "Fartown", we are all Oldham supporters but until there are decent facilities attendance will only be on an ad hoc basis (Giants not at home and weather set fair). In addition, my brother has pretty much stopped attending as his son would rather go to Sheffield Eagles with his mates and he struggles to justify £40 on petrol to watch a pretty low standard of rugby.

I know of others who have hardly been this year but cannot speak as to the reason why altho' I suspect we all can make an educated guess. So far this season I've seen the Hunslet Warriors game and my parents have made it to a couple of games and my brother one. Weather permitting I'll go to quite a few more games this year (maybe even Worky this weekend) but I suspect for many people the equation this year has been fairly simple : Price + Whitebank + financial crisis + low level rugby = non attendance.

[Ultimatewarrior]

I can only speak for my own family but for us their is one simple reason for crowds being down and that is the stadium - which is simply awful. To add insult to injury we then had the utterly ridiculous season ticket prices (easily the most expensive in the division if you want to sit). The propaganda put out was that we were simply bringing our prices into line with other clubs, but that clearly was not true - by far the worst stadium in the division coupled with most expensive season tickets - it's hardly rocket science is it.

As I live in Elland I decided I would check out the prices at Huddersfield Giants and found it would be cheaper for all my family to go there. So there you go, 3 season ticket holders with at least 160 years of combined Oldham watching are now Giants season ticket holders (along with my 5 year old son).If Oldham's prices hadn't been so insulting I would never even have checked. Just for information my ticket cost £180 at the giants (£150 at Oldham), my parents cost £120 each (£130 at Oldham) and my boy is free (would have been £55 at Oldham). That's to sit roughly half way up the stand on the half way line (I could have paid £95 for the season if I'd wanted to sit behind the sticks). I'm not going to start wearing a Giants jersey or chanting "Fartown", we are all Oldham supporters but until there are decent facilities attendance will only be on an ad hoc basis (Giants not at home and weather set fair). In addition, my brother has pretty much stopped attending as his son would rather go to Sheffield Eagles with his mates and he struggles to justify £40 on petrol to watch a pretty low standard of rugby.

I know of others who have hardly been this year but cannot speak as to the reason why altho' I suspect we all can make an educated guess. So far this season I've seen the Hunslet Warriors game and my parents have made it to a couple of games and my brother one. Weather permitting I'll go to quite a few more games this year (maybe even Worky this weekend) but I suspect for many people the equation this year has been fairly simple : Price + Whitebank + financial crisis + low level rugby = non attendance.

Take a Bow that Man !

There are Amateur Clubs with Much Better Facilities ! , so How do they Justify those prices ?

[Steve the Roughyed]

This is an interesting debate and one which needs to be undertaken. I paid for a season ticket in December as a gesture of support but yesterday was the first match I have attended and somewhat unenthusiastically at that. Why? A combination of many factors. The NR Cup is not much more than a pre season warm up for most teams and we have no chance of winning it. The challenge cup is now a complete irrelevance to teams outside super league. There is no point hoping for a home draw against one of the SL teams because result foregone conclusion. Why pay to see your team get battered? The result yesterday was predictable. 40000 plus were at Eastlands on the same day because Reading had a chance therefore the game had interest.

The stadium is quite simply a place to play and as yet not exactly a stadium. Near the end of yesterday's game I had to take my 4 year old son to the loo to find no toilet paper and no running water in the green portaloo. If we had been at St Annes for example I could have easily gone into the clubhouse to find proper facilities. Throw in to that mix four consecutive play off defeats and the feeling that we look like finishing anywhere between second and eighth this year, means many will probably just have lost hope.

Sadly this is taking place against the backdrop of excellent work going on with the reserves and the recruitment of local talent. The problem is that that is a long term project and I suspect that RL outside SL is approaching the latter stages of terminal decline.

Without a major investor of the Bill Quinn type I suspect things will continue on the same steady slope to oblivion. I take no pleasure in that negative scenario but if I am unenthusiastic after 40+ years with family who have supported and worked for the club on a voluntary basis then how on earth can we convince Joe Public to come along?

A final point. I really do hope I am proved wrong and we win the league, but if it's a grand final i am staying away in the hope of changing the luck!

[roughyed7]

I can only speak for my own family but for us their is one simple reason for crowds being down and that is the stadium - which is simply awful. To add insult to injury we then had the utterly ridiculous season ticket prices (easily the most expensive in the division if you want to sit). The propaganda put out was that we were simply bringing our prices into line with other clubs, but that clearly was not true - by far the worst stadium in the division coupled with most expensive season tickets - it's hardly rocket science is it.

As I live in Elland I decided I would check out the prices at Huddersfield Giants and found it would be cheaper for all my family to go there. So there you go, 3 season ticket holders with at least 160 years of combined Oldham watching are now Giants season ticket holders (along with my 5 year old son).If Oldham's prices hadn't been so insulting I would never even have checked. Just for information my ticket cost £180 at the giants (£150 at Oldham), my parents cost £120 each (£130 at Oldham) and my boy is free (would have been £55 at Oldham). That's to sit roughly half way up the stand on the half way line (I could have paid £95 for the season if I'd wanted to sit behind the sticks). I'm not going to start wearing a Giants jersey or chanting "Fartown", we are all Oldham supporters but until there are decent facilities attendance will only be on an ad hoc basis (Giants not at home and weather set fair). In addition, my brother has pretty much stopped attending as his son would rather go to Sheffield Eagles with his mates and he struggles to justify £40 on petrol to watch a pretty low standard of rugby.

I know of others who have hardly been this year but cannot speak as to the reason why altho' I suspect we all can make an educated guess. So far this season I've seen the Hunslet Warriors game and my parents have made it to a couple of games and my brother one. Weather permitting I'll go to quite a few more games this year (maybe even Worky this weekend) but I suspect for many people the equation this year has been fairly simple : Price + Whitebank + financial crisis + low level rugby = non attendance.

Have too agree clockwork,the problem for attendances being so low is in the main simply because of the facilities,if people cant see the action properly then fewer and fewer will turn up.
I take my wife and 11 year old son too whitebank and with my wife only being 5ft if they dont get a decent spot against fence they hardly see a thing and we pay 28 quid for the 3 of us for the privlige.
I understand the club is having legal problems trying to sort out improvements i.e terracing but it just seems obvious too me that the longer the facilities are as they are at the moment the more the attendances will dwindle away, i will keep turning up too watch the team home and away (away normally being the better experience)as i have done for many a year but many people will understandably stay away from whitebank.

[saints10coach]

I think the pricing is a major factor. With the figures quoted above it is easy to calculate that 500 @ £12 = £6000 and 700 at £10 = £7000. UltimateWarrior if you think Saddleworth can do better it may be looking at this link

[exrlref]

I can sympathise with roughyed7 as my wife in only 5ft and also suffers from hip problems. If we go to the match we have to be there for 2-15 so that we can get on the fence as this is the only way my wife can see the match. Any later and you finish up 2 or 3 deep with no hope of seeing the match. Perhaps Mr Hamilton should try it out and see what people are talking about. I did suggest to him that the club bring in temp. bleachers for bigger matches but this was rejected out of hand as being too expensive. I would have thought getting people in the ground was a priority but not according to CH.
I have followed Oldham for a very long time but I have no desire at the moment to go to a third rate ground. I went to watch Saddleworth last week . My wife could sit down in line with the centre line and we watched a great match with a good atmospere for £1 each.
I certainly agree with clockwork about Huddersfield, my own daughter and family watched them for years before they went to Canada. Knowing Clockwork and his family you couldn't get a more pro Oldham family, something must be wrong for them to walk away.
Will I go this year, at the moment no. I may if my grandson plays in a curtain raiser, but his last one was stopped in case the little ones cut up the pitch!!!!! What happens in the team warm up?

[mark richardson]

Really interesting topic.
I think the standard of rugby is pretty good and Oldham have played good rugby for several seasons. To say that it is only slightly higher than amateur is wrong in my opinion.
I think your ground is a major factor. Just as a point to toss in to the discussion,Swintons crowd this week was almost 400 up on the corresponding Workington fixture from last season.

[OldhamRLMad]

What is pleasing about this thread, is the balanced and constructive observations being made. None of us want to be negative but action is need "and fast" to stop supporters drifting away. We have the same problems as everyone else - I travel from north of Leeds, so the cost of petrol, cost of entrance x 2, unserviced toilet facilities and to top it all, we cant see the game (short arses) are powerful disuaders. If we manage to get to the front, we daren't wander off for a Pie/drink because we loose our viewing point.

We "had" the biggest support in the lower divisions, for a long time and still other clubs had better facilities than we have had - How? Well imo it is mismanagement and a total lack of professionl attitude from senior management (still trying to be constructive)

Steve TR summed it all up for me

[Shaw Lad]

[quote name='saints10coach' timestamp='1300182634' post='2225578']
I think the pricing is a major factor. With the figures quoted above it is easy to calculate that 500 @ £12 = £6000 and 700 at £10 = £7000.

I dont think Hamilton would be to bothered if only two men and a dog turned up, as long as the RFL keep
paying his wages. What did they get last year? £144,000. Has long as he can put a team out, he'll be happy.

[oldhamer]

£144,000 if they seriously got that wouldn't cover the wage bill of the players, staff, coaches etc.