SUPPORTERS who watched West Hull’s Challenge Cup tie against St Helens for free have been asked to make a donation to the community club.
The third-round match was played at Hull KR’s Sewell Group Craven Park earlier this month in front of an estimated crowd of 5,000.
That far surpassed West Hull’s expectations, as they initially asked Hull KR to open only the west stand of their ground.
The extra demand led to the north stand also being opened and kick-off being delayed by 15 minutes. But to avoid further delays the decision was made to open the turnstiles and let fans in for free.
As a result, many are believed to have watched the match without paying the £10 admission fee for adults or £5 for concessions, denying the club important funds.
West Hull stressed that the error was their own, rather than Hull KR’s, with Craven Park staffed according to their considerably lower crowd estimate, but asked for fans to consider donating the price of entry.
The club said: “Due to the unforeseen volume of supporters that tried to gain entry to the ground before kick-off, the decision was taken to open the gates to allow everyone to gain entry to the stadium before the game kicked off.
“The club would like to ask if people would like to generously donate their entry fee to the club.
“Any money kindly donated will help us keep our proud community club going for future years to come.”
Bank details are available on the West Hull RLFC Facebook page for supporters to make a donation.
The National Conference League Premier Division side were praised for an excellent performance in a defeat of only 38-0 to Super League giants St Helens, who were world champions two years ago.