SL Grand Final must sell out

[Scubby]

good news its on the brink of a sell out. i believe will be announced tomorrow!

 

Couldn't you have held off a bit with your panic attack OP then?   

[JonM]

So what do you recommend then?

 

Constantly playing second fiddle to soccer and putting our lads at unacceptable risk of injury?

 

Great strategy.

 

Seems like a better strategy than a wildly unrealistic fantasy scenario where the RFL sacks all of its employees and spends 8-10 years of 100% of its annual income on a loss making, white elephant stadium. Man United's annual revenue is approx 10x the RFLs and even they struggled to fund building Old Trafford. 

 

The only way we get a RL national stadium is by tagging along with a government funded project for something else (i.e. Olympics, Commonwealth) and those are once-in-a-generation opportunities that we've missed. Even then, people will complain about the athletics track, or the in-goals being too short.

[UxbridgeBunny]

I follow man city soccer wise and my understanding is that the owners are keen to get big marquee events at the stadium such as a champions league final. I'm sure they'd love to get one over man utd and take the super league grand final from them. There's long term plans to develope the east and west stands as well which would give a capacity of something like 75k. I've nothing against old Trafford as a venue really and it has become a tradition now, just think etihad is becoming a venue worth considering.

[Futtocks]

I think a massive crowd (with a history of causing very little trouble) would be tempting for any large stadium, as would the income from the event.

 

As it is, I think Old Trafford is a great venue, but if the GF needs to move for some reason, I think there might be a few Football clubs showing interest in hosting it.

[MancRL]

Etihad planning permission has quite tight constraints on how many non-football events they can hold.

Who told you that?

[MancRL]

I follow man city soccer wise and my understanding is that the owners are keen to get big marquee events at

the stadium such as a champions

league final. I'm sure they'd love to get one over man utd and take the super league grand final from them. There's long term plans to develope

the east and west stands as well which would give a capacity of something like 75k. I've nothing against old Trafford as a venue really and it has become a tradition now, just think etihad is becoming a venue worth considering.

There a big plans to develop the whole Etihad Campus. There will be hotels and entertainment facilities. And you're right.The council and owners of the Etihad want the stadium to be used for many different events. 12 months of the year.

[Dave T]

Once the etihad is expanded further to 62k it would become a viable alternative to Old Trafford. It's a much more modern ground and we'd be guaranteed sell outs which may build further interest

Yep, and once it sells out every year we could look to move it to a larger stadium. Maybe somewhere

like .......Old Trafford! 

 

[cookey]

Surprised not to have heard recently from our resident trolls,who were telling us a couple of weeks ago that no one was interested,it would be a low attendance,it's the wrong day,the wrong time,the wrong venue etc.Maybe they are prearing to tell us that the Tests are in the wrong stadia etc or that the WCS is a waste of time.

[Doghead]

http://www.wigantoday.net/sport/wigan-warriors/grand-final-nearly-sold-out-1-7497151

[Dave T]

I must admit, I think the fanfare around James last year, and the way it was presented made it look brilliant and like an event worth going to. 

 

Hopefully The Charlatans will be as good this year and this really becomes a regular feature.

 

They have had big names for years now - Scouting for Girls, Madness, Deacon Blue, Wombats - but they haven't made it such a big part of the event.

 

I have liked the indie approach to it and it would be good to see the game maybe play on this further, we are more like the Indie of the sport world, and having this feel at some of the events could be a good theme running through it. 

[Exiled Wiganer]

Surprised not to have heard recently from our resident trolls,who were telling us a couple of weeks ago that no one was interested,it would be a low attendance,it's the wrong day,the wrong time,the wrong venue etc.Maybe they are prearing to tell us that the Tests are in the wrong stadia etc or that the WCS is a waste of time.

God, isn't it lovely that their "concern" has gone elsewhere? Long may it last.

[MancRL]

Yep, and once it sells out every year we could look to move it to a larger stadium. Maybe somewhere

like .......Old Trafford! 

 

That's true. After All Old Trafford is the biggest stadium in the North of England. 77,000 capacity gives a lot of people a chance to watch live top flight Rugby League.

[Death to the Rah Rah's]

I must admit, I think the fanfare around James last year, and the way it was presented made it look brilliant and like an event worth going to. 

 

Hopefully The Charlatans will be as good this year and this really becomes a regular feature.

 

They have had big names for years now - Scouting for Girls, Madness, Deacon Blue, Wombats - but they haven't made it such a big part of the event.

 

I have liked the indie approach to it and it would be good to see the game maybe play on this further, we are more like the Indie of the sport world, and having this feel at some of the events could be a good theme running through it. 

 

Its just a shame the band are stuck up in the roof eaves. If the game was moved to the Ethiad which has more corporate facilities, then would there be enough room to have the band behind the sticks like they had at the NRL grand final?

 

That would make for an even better atmosphere if you could actually see the band

[Teessidewire]

Its just a shame the band are stuck up in the roof eaves. If the game was moved to the Ethiad which has more corporate facilities, then would there be enough room to have the band behind the sticks like they had at the NRL grand final?

 

That would make for an even better atmosphere if you could actually see the band

I think most people's prime intention for going to the game on Saturday will be to watch the RL. Plus the fact, that as has already been mentioned several times, Old Trafford has a much bigger capacity.

[UxbridgeBunny]

Yep, and once it sells out every year we could look to move it to a larger stadium. Maybe somewhere

like .......Old Trafford!

Within a decade the etihad could be the bigger capacity stadium, or so close it makes no difference. Always thought its daft OT has no permanent video screen and we have to lose seats to put a temporary one in

[Scubby]

Can I pay on the day? 

[GeordieSaint]

Hopefully The Charlatans will be as good this year and this really becomes a regular feature.

 

I am not sure many songs are as good as the James' hits from last year to get the crowd involved but "One to Another" by the Charlatans is an absolutely rocking tune to get the crowd going from my generation who grew up with the Indy scene in the 90s.

[Wiltshire Warrior Dragon]

I am grateful to DttRR for using the word 'band' in response to Dave T's posting, thus confirming for me that the various names that Dave mentions are indeed those of - how shall I put it - popular music ensembles. 

 

However, I think I am with Teessidewire on this.  It's important to keep a sense of proportion, and possibly recognise that not everybody likes loud music, which might inhibit the conversation with those in the crowd around you, or family and friends with whom you have travelled.

 

There again, maybe I am being too old-fashioned and fuddy-duddy in my thinking.  Why don't we suggest an exhibition RL match in the middle of the Glastonbury and Reading Festivals, or maybe the whole Magic Weekend at one of them?

[Futtocks]

I am grateful to DttRR for using the word 'band' in response to Dave T's posting, thus confirming for me that the various names that Dave mentions are indeed those of - how shall I put it - popular music ensembles. 

It is a question of capitalisation; The Charlatans will be playing at the Grand Final while, on the same day, the charlatans will be playing Uruguay. It really is easy to remember once you know. 

[glossop saint]

5 tickets from my lot.  1 Leeds fan, 1 Wigan fan, 2 Saints and a single newcomer.  Was hoping for a couple more newbies but unfortunately not managed it.  Fingers crossed for a cracking game, the newcomer telling them what they missed and hopefully a couple more for the Test match, just a shame that the north west one is in Wigan and not more of an "event" (not even going to have any live music - terrible...  )

[Wiltshire Warrior Dragon]

Thanks for the clarification, Futtocks - brilliant!

[Maximus Decimus]

God, isn't it lovely that their "concern" has gone elsewhere? Long may it last.

Yes it is lovely that the concern has gone and that we're looking at a record.

I still think the thread was more than viable, I was after all questioning whether sales were low. I still suspect that the RFL were worried hense why they slashed ticket prices in some areas. I heard at one stage you could get a ticket for £3 on Groupon.

Funnily enough, it was after reading this thread that I thought the nail had been hit when a poster mentioned about his difficulty in getting accommodation and travel due to the Union game.

As it has turned out, their attempt to overshadow us looks to have backfired magnificently.

[Dave T]

I am grateful to DttRR for using the word 'band' in response to Dave T's posting, thus confirming for me that the various names that Dave mentions are indeed those of - how shall I put it - popular music ensembles.

However, I think I am with Teessidewire on this. It's important to keep a sense of proportion, and possibly recognise that not everybody likes loud music, which might inhibit the conversation with those in the crowd around you, or family and friends with whom you have travelled.

There again, maybe I am being too old-fashioned and fuddy-duddy in my thinking. Why don't we suggest an exhibition RL match in the middle of the Glastonbury and Reading Festivals, or maybe the whole Magic Weekend at one of them?

to be fair, the four I named are all bands, its a matter of taste after that. I didnt name some of the boy or girl groups we have also used!

Music and sport go hand in hand, i will call you out as a fuddy duddy here, however if its not to your taste, there is always escape in the concourse.

Whilst the action is important, the experience is what many neutrals and new fans will be attracted to.

We have seen that just staging rugby league games rarely fills grounds.

[Dave T]

I still think the thread was more than viable, I was after all questioning whether sales were low. I still suspect that the RFL were worried hense why they slashed ticket prices in some areas. I heard at one stage you could get a ticket for £3 on Groupon.

.

not sure how true that is

http://m.groupon.co.uk/deals/gl-super-league-grand-final

Seems to be the standard 50% off cheap tickets.

May have been something locally through amateur clubs, butbnever seen anything that low.

[M j M]

Whilst the ticket sales sound very positive it's worth bearing in mind that these two are by a distance the best supported clubs in super league, both of whom I perceive to also have deeper hinterlands of occasional support than most others. So we should expect this game to see an uptick in attendance compared to some recent ones, RU apart.

With it being the end of an era for Leeds and with the treble on the line they would probably take more than ever in any even.