Challenge Cup Venues

[Christoff1986]

Hi guys,

Take a look at my latest blog I've posted tonight - My thoughts on the Challenge Cup Semi's and Final venues.

http://cdpark86.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/focus-on-challenge-cup-semis-and-final.html

Hope you enjoy.  All feedback welcome  

Christoff

[Old Frightful]

Good stuff Chris, very enjoyable.

Keep up the good work. 

[Dr Tim Whatley]

Yes, good stuff Chris. The thought of moving the CC Final from Wembley* just depresses me.

 

 

 

 

*This is more to do with what it says about our sport as opposed to Wembley being 20 minutes on the train from Hemel. Honest!

[BBR]

Thought the semi final venues were spot on. If the RFL had gone for an Anfield or even a John Smith's, it would have looked awful on TV and probably made a loss. Far better to have two stadiums that looked pretty full. The only way events become must see is to sell out so that others are disappointed and will buy earlier next time creating demand. Like it or not, we are a small sport and unless we ever appeal to your average man in the street as an event, we will never command 25k for a semi let alone 45k. As for the final, as sad as it is, we have to accept that Wembley is now too big. The attendances have been masked by the club Wembley seats, really we have struggled to get 60K in a few of the recent finals. As well as the fact that the RFL probably lose money on the event, it looks bad on TV. I would probably look at a stadium like Arsenal which could sell out and retain the London presence. 

[Mattrhino]

47 minutes ago, BBR said:

Thought the semi final venues were spot on. If the RFL had gone for an Anfield or even a John Smith's, it would have looked awful on TV and probably made a loss. Far better to have two stadiums that looked pretty full. The only way events become must see is to sell out so that others are disappointed and will buy earlier next time creating demand. Like it or not, we are a small sport and unless we ever appeal to your average man in the street as an event, we will never command 25k for a semi let alone 45k. As for the final, as sad as it is, we have to accept that Wembley is now too big. The attendances have been masked by the club Wembley seats, really we have struggled to get 60K in a few of the recent finals. As well as the fact that the RFL probably lose money on the event, it looks bad on TV. I would probably look at a stadium like Arsenal which could sell out and retain the London presence. 

That is not the only way.

Another way is to choose the best facilities and destination to create an event. A semi in Doncaster is not an event and filling 14k seats is not much of an achievement.

We haven't struggled to get 60k at all. We have been getting over 70k if you discount the club wembley estimates which is still one of the biggest sporting events in the country and the world for that matter.

Wembley is the best facility in Europe and just because we don't completely fill every seat doesn't bother me one bit.

[Number 16]

58 minutes ago, BBR said:

Thought the semi final venues were spot on. If the RFL had gone for an Anfield or even a John Smith's, it would have looked awful on TV and probably made a loss.

I think that the Keepmoat was a perfect choice for the Leeds/Hull game. The full stadium created a great atmosphere, and maybe the relatively limited availability of tickets created a demand that can be carried forward to future semi-finals etc.

One massive issue I have with the RFL when they use stadiums that are larger than the expected attendance is the way they issue tickets so leaving swathes of empty seats in full view of the main TV cameras. I recently caught some of the Women's Football Euros played, often, in front below capacity crowds, but because of sensible seating arrangements and the judicious use of huge banners/drapes, the issue of 'empty spaces' wasn't really to the fore.

[UxbridgeBunny]

4 hours ago, Mattrhino said:

That is not the only way.

Another way is to choose the best facilities and destination to create an event. A semi in Doncaster is not an event and filling 14k seats is not much of an achievement.

We haven't struggled to get 60k at all. We have been getting over 70k if you discount the club wembley estimates which is still one of the biggest sporting events in the country and the world for that matter.

Wembley is the best facility in Europe and just because we don't completely fill every seat doesn't bother me one bit.

I agree that the final has to be kept at Wembley, any move will just devalue it further. Discounting club Wembleys 16k tickets I'd guess recent attendances have been 62-65k (I doubt there's been more than 4/5k in those seats. The attendance is still higher than any stadium in England bar old Trafford though. As other people have said previously the RFL should aggressively target getting 20k from London there in order to fill the place

[Odsal Outlaw]

4 hours ago, Number 16 said:

I think that the Keepmoat was a perfect choice for the Leeds/Hull game. The full stadium created a great atmosphere, and maybe the relatively limited availability of tickets created a demand that can be carried forward to future semi-finals etc.

One massive issue I have with the RFL when they use stadiums that are larger than the expected attendance is the way they issue tickets so leaving swathes of empty seats in full view of the main TV cameras. I recently caught some of the Women's Football Euros played, often, in front below capacity crowds, but because of sensible seating arrangements and the judicious use of huge banners/drapes, the issue of 'empty spaces' wasn't really to the fore.

To be fair to the RFL and that's something I don't say very often, they do sell tickets in front of the cameras first as a rule, in fact so much so that they of then neglect to open large swathes of the stadium to the frustration of many fans including me (I had to wait very late to buy my Olympic Stadium tickets last year due to not opening the upper tier until a few weeks before)

[Somerset Casual]

First match I saw was the 2009 CCF - and  I only went because it was at Wembley.

I thought it was a great event and instantly it became a 'must go every year occasion'.

Since then I have added the GF to the 'must go' list and I do a couple of SL games a season.

So I say keep the final at Wembley,

[redjonn]

I probably prefer Wembley for CCF but I suspect I would accept any new venue if they chose to change it.   

My enjoyment of GF isn't diminished because its at Old Trafford rather than say Wembley. I guess when first choosing a venue Wembley was considered for GF but for me it shows that the actual venue isn't so important as traditions will adapt to whatever change if maintained consistently. 

I guess the Magic weekend hasn't diminished because the original venue changed a number of times.

I guess I would have liked the original Knowsley Road stadium to still be the Saints ground but it didn't take long to forget about it and  the new stadium just become the normal and traditional ground.

I sometimes think we are bound too much to some traditions as if the world ends if it changes or in this case the competition diminishes but Wembley doesn't seem to have stopped the CC becoming diminished over the years.