Is the Summer Bash destined to be a flop?

[hunsletgreenandgold]

1 minute ago, Lounge Room Lizard said:

Jeez clueless and ignorant. Maybe look at the success of the Thunder U16 U18s and the development of local players through to the First team or the great success of the local amateur scene in particular Cramlington Rockets. Before coming out with such ill informed comments you should see what is actually happening. I am pretty sure a number of locals have been to the Magic in Newcastle and that it has helped local clubs in return to promote themselves and the game.

You can insult me all you, Mr Lizard. But before you fall off that high horse you just saddled up, tell me where I said expansion didn't exist in the North East? My point is there is no evidence Magic being held in the city has done anything to aide this. Unless you have some tangible proof more than 'some locals went to a few games'? 

[Dave T]

1 minute ago, RP London said:

I'd love it to go to the south of france (or paris but think that is unlikely) maybe Barcelona as it gets the Catalans angle.. Recon there would be a good amount of locals and lots of travelling too.

Barcelona for the Cataalns v Wire game a few years ago was amazing. The Olympic Stadium and surrounding area was made for Magic Weekend. Brilliant weekend that was.

[RP London]

1 minute ago, hunsletgreenandgold said:

You can insult me all you, Mr Lizard. But before you fall off that high horse you just saddled up, tell me where I said expansion didn't exist in the North East? My point is there is no evidence Magic being held in the city has done anything to aide this. Unless you have some tangible proof more than 'some locals went to a few games'? 

The problem with an event like this is "proof" is impossible.. Magic does not ipso facto mean more players there has to then be a lot of work put in on the ground to develop on what magic sets out.. but the point that is being made is that the correlation between Magic being there and the growth in the game up there is NO coincidence. It is part of what is helping. 

 

[RP London]

2 minutes ago, Dave T said:

Barcelona for the Cataalns v Wire game a few years ago was amazing. The Olympic Stadium and surrounding area was made for Magic Weekend. Brilliant weekend that was.

i'd need a month to recover!

[deluded pom?]

1 hour ago, hunsletgreenandgold said:

Have Magic and Summer Bash the same weekend in Leeds - Magic at ER and Summer Bash at Headingley. A festival of RL if you like. I agree with Scubby in that you need a vast number of locals to turn out to help the number for lesser supported teams - in Leeds you would have that. 

I get the original concept of Magic was to take RL to new areas but unless it changes every year I think people are getting bored of travelling the same 80-100 miles every season. Again Leeds is arguably the most accessible city for all RL fans, even for outside the Heartlands. 

Just a guess but do you live in Leeds or very close by?

[hunsletgreenandgold]

17 minutes ago, RP London said:

 

16 minutes ago, deluded pom? said:

Just a guess but do you live in Leeds or very close by any chance?

 

Yeah because the point i'm making (despite referencing several times to the contrary) is that I don't want to travel......you've got me....take it Iceland for me, I'd still go. Probably see the same amount of expansion there as a result of it too. ?

[RP London]

i never said that!

[deluded pom?]

Just now, RP London said:

i never said that!

Oh yes you did.

[Dave T]

Just now, hunsletgreenandgold said:

Yeah because the point i'm making (despite referencing several times to the contrary) is that I don't want to travel......you've got me....take it Iceland for me, I'd still go. Probably see the same amount of expansion there as a result of it too. 

How much 'expansion' would you expect to see after 4 Magic Weekends in Newcastle?

If expansion was just 'done' by staging an event there each year wouldn't we have cracked this expansion stuff by now?

Even if there was zero expansion at the end of this, what is there to lose? You seem to think it alienates the heartland fan, yet if they were so peed off it would just die off with no fans.

Just leave those who want to go to enjoy it. It doesn't affect those who don't want to enjoy it. They have loads of RL to watch.

[hunsletgreenandgold]

4 minutes ago, RP London said:

i never said that!

Apologies I structured the quote wrong - haha

Does soun like something you would've said though so.....

I jest - will fix

[RP London]

9 minutes ago, deluded pom? said:

Oh yes you did.

FAKE NEWS!!!! 

[RP London]

5 minutes ago, hunsletgreenandgold said:

Apologies I structured the quote wrong - haha

Does soun like something you would've said though so.....

I jest - will fix

 

you are Donald Trump and I will collect my £5 please 

no you're really not.. we may disagree and argue but that was harsh sorry 

[David Shepherd]

I'm not keen on the summer bash.  As an event it's pretty much failed, you can count the number of neutrals watching each game on a Cas Lad's fingers.

The games are often a mis match in a league with full time and part time teams.

Blackpool makes Fev look like Monte Carlo.

What about combining Magic and Bash and have it played over a three day bank holiday weekend?  Or indeed, just scrap it and let the players have a week off.

[Harry Stottle]

The opening question was "Is the Summer Bash destined to be a flop" considering the thread has been completely derailed in favour of discussing the Magic Weekend, I think that I have been given the answer. 

[dkw]

32 minutes ago, David Shepherd said:

I'm not keen on the summer bash.  As an event it's pretty much failed, you can count the number of neutrals watching each game on a Cas Lad's fingers.

 

Simply not true, plenty of locals had tickets at Newcastle, and I'm fairly sure they will have been mostly neutral. 

[RP London]

7 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

The opening question was "Is the Summer Bash destined to be a flop" considering the thread has been completely derailed in favour of discussing the Magic Weekend, I think that I have been given the answer. 

I think you're right... IMO where it is date wise (not in the summer) is too close to Magic for the double up fans, i'm not sure Blackpool is the best place for it either but I understand why it was chosen. 

I dont think it is predestined to be a flop but at the moment it is destined to be one. 

It needs a revamp I think if it is going to stay.. but as with so many things the revamp means giving it some umph and the RFL just dont seem capable of that.

[ojx]

3 minutes ago, RP London said:

I think you're right... IMO where it is date wise (not in the summer) is too close to Magic for the double up fans, i'm not sure Blackpool is the best place for it either but I understand why it was chosen. 

I dont think it is predestined to be a flop but at the moment it is destined to be one. 

It needs a revamp I think if it is going to stay.. but as with so many things the revamp means giving it some umph and the RFL just dont seem capable of that.

I think the Summer Bash only works when all of the teams fans can easily travel to a location.  It's fine when all of the teams in the Championship are from the Heartlands, but not when you have London, Toulouse and Toronto in there.  It would be like holding a Sheffield vs Swinton game in Toronto and wondering why their fans aren't there.

[OriginalMrC]

Summer bash and Magic Weekend could do with moving around the country and like someone has mentioned, maybe have both in the same place on alternate weekends. It was moved around before and think that it was reasonably successful?

Liverpool, Leeds, Coventry, Birmingham, Milton Keynes, Manchester, Bristol, London, Nottingham, Leicester are all places that could do it. Exposing the game to new markets and giving fans a day out is win win surely. 

[David Shepherd]

15 minutes ago, dkw said:

Simply not true, plenty of locals had tickets at Newcastle, and I'm fairly sure they will have been mostly neutral. 

I'm talking about the bash, not magic

[dkw]

19 minutes ago, David Shepherd said:

I'm talking about the bash, not magic

So....erm.....damn can't think of a way to bluff my way out of this so I'm going to blame global warming. Or brexit. 

[deluded pom?]

13 minutes ago, dkw said:

So....erm.....damn can't think of a way to bluff my way out of this so I'm going to blame global warming. Or brexit. 

Fake news.

[tuutaisrambo]

I have no interest in ever going to Blackpool and can save money travelling to watch my team cos the Bash games are on sky (when no other Championship games are ever on)...........Probably why it's not a success.

I think more would go if it was at a better location..........but i'd scrap it and magic and have a big 9s tournament.

[paulwalker71]

1 hour ago, Harry Stottle said:

The opening question was "Is the Summer Bash destined to be a flop" considering the thread has been completely derailed in favour of discussing the Magic Weekend, I think that I have been given the answer. 

I was just reading through and getting ready to make exactly that point!

In answer to the question: 'Yes it will be a massive flop' - albeit the RFL will try to spin it by counting every single ticket sold and saying that is the attendance. In reality, even they might (with a fair wind) sell 6-8K tickets, there will never be more than 3000 in the ground (for the Leigh match), and most of the time there will be less than 1000 people scattered around.

The truth is that it would be have a flop in previous years without the Bulls, Hull KR and Leigh.

I'm not sure why the RFL didn't work that out at the end of last year and quietly can it for 2018.

[GUBRATS]

Yes 

[Futtocks]

I'm not sure what Blackpool offer to the Championship as any kind of financial/promotional deal, but they've had it there for a few years and it has not grown markedly in attendance.

So why not move it to the heartlands (Manchester or Leeds) for two or three years and see if it picks up a bit?  Or maybe, if Sky are still willing to give it their time and money, take a chance and try it in an expansion area?

The recent thread on the RFL's relocation highlighted the superb facilities available at the Etihad Campus, and there is no real reason it has to be at the seaside, after all. Somewhere with a decent mid-sized stadium and good transport links will do.