langpark

How comfortable is that armchair you are sitting on? You say it as though it's as easy as flipping a switch.

The shared FFRXIII and ERL HQ in Toulouse is very positive news too. That will make ERL eligible for EU grants again, after nearly 6 years in the wilderness.

I guess it all comes down to who is an optimist and who is a pessimist. Salford is an example you could use for a failure. I would look at Leigh as a successful example. What crowds were they averaging before they moved to their new stadium?

I don't think you can say "never". Things right now are magnified by the fact they are having a terrible season too. Also one of the perks of going for 12k rather than 8k, it would make it the perfect venue to host extra games like CC Semi Finals, Women's internationals etc.

I don't think anyone is saying the 25k venue is a good idea. I think it all started off by him saying, that if they are going to go to the trouble of building a new venue, then 12k should be the target, rather than 8k and I agree with his logic.

I know what he means when he says lowering standards. The club itself, may (consciously or sub-consciously) stop aiming higher if they move to a smaller venue. It's like me, when coaching my local team. Whenever we are struggling to raise a team (most of the time) we always seem to manage to scrape 13 players, sometimes with a few on the bench. Yet when we are playing in a 9s tournament, we often just manage to must 9 or 10 players. Everyone seems to dig that little bit deeper to turn up when they know the bar is higher.

I completely understand what you are saying and it's a completely valid concern. If Huddersfield move to an 8k stadium tomorrow, and maintain the exact same crowd levels (4-5k) then most of the criticism about their crowds will disappear, despite there not being any improvement in the crowds.

"offload" as in donate, or sell?

Was there an element of "right place at the right time" involved? Would local councils still be so generous now in 2025?

Marseille Treize Avenir's FB page was last updated in Oct. 2023. At the time it seems like they had teams in multiple age groups, so I am a bit surprised if they have disappeared completely.

1895 Cup Final, with 5000 people inside Wembley, I don't think is helping anyone. So here's an idea: Men & Women's CC Final both remain at Wembley as a double-header. Then 1895 Cup Final moves Headingley, and do a double-header with the NCL Cup Final? (do they still have the NCL Cup competition?) 'Road to Headingley' could have some prestige to it. And they are a club that will always be in SL, so there will never be a need to change it and look for other venues.

True, I forgot about Vaulx-en-Velin. Not what it used to be, with a semi-pro club in the region, but it's great to see there is still some sign of life there. Also I believe FC Lyon XIII was formed in 2023, shortly after the demise of Lyon, not sure how they are getting on. https://www.ffr13.fr/fc-lyon-xiii-le-projet-du-club-se-concretise/ Their FB group seems quite active and from what I can decipher, they hosted a University 9s tournament last month. I believe it featured a team from the local university as well as one from Toulouse and Avignon. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1011283822760721/

Defunct clubs: Roanne XIII and Lyon-Villeurbanne* *Awaiting someone to confirm. I believe both of them faded some time during the pandemic years. Tragic considering both were foundation clubs of French RL (1934) and also losing them meant we lost an whole other region of the country.