Challenge Cup Semi Finals Double Header (Merged Threads)

[Harry Stottle]

3 hours ago, Toby Chopra said:

Great idea. If the semi finalists are Saints, Leeds, Hudds and either of Wigan/Warrington, I reckon it'll be a 30k sell out.

Leigh could take more than Leeds should they get there, we all know Leeds don't take many away, 9 miles of very easy travelling roads from Leigh.

[Harry Stottle]

1 hour ago, Mattrhino said:

It doesn't annoy me. But it clearly affects RL crowds.

I agree it is a poor excuse, but RL fans do not like to travel very far.

Especially Leeds fans Matt!

[Sports Prophet]

It’s not a bad idea, for a competition that continues to flounder along. I would like to have thought there would be confidence of selling out a bigger stadium, but, first steps I guess.

More interesting will be the RFLs approach to the lead up. There will need to be more to the event than simply two games of footy. How do they create the carnival atmosphere and keep the losing fans of game one from flooding the exit gates en masse?

[Sports Prophet]

2 hours ago, Wellsy4HullFC said:

Biggest thing that annoys me about this is that they've waited until a day before the first quarter final to announce this.

Got to agree with you there. Knowing at least a few weeks in advance that this weekends game is only one win away from qualifying for a semi final festival could only have had a positive effect on sales for this weekend.

It wouldn’t surprise me, but perhaps it was a late idea with arrangements signed off in the las tcouple of days.

[Harry Stottle]

4 minutes ago, Sports Prophet said:

Got to agree with you there. Knowing at least a few weeks in advance that this weekends game is only one win away from qualifying for a semi final festival could only have had a positive effect on sales for this weekend.

It wouldn’t surprise me, but perhaps it was a late idea with arrangements signed off in the las tcouple of days.

How many tickets would you reckon each club would recieve, I would guess it will not be 7,000 each, Wigan, Wire, Hull and Saints would probably be top requirement, Leigh and Leeds next, then Huddersfield with Catalan requiring very few by comparrison, if Catalan are successful there will be more for neutrals or walk ups, I do not think there will be that many spare tickets available for neutrals once the allocations have been sorted.

[Dave T]

36 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

Leigh could take more than Leeds should they get there, we all know Leeds don't take many away, 9 miles of very easy travelling roads from Leigh.

Wouldnt you all just get the train?

 

[JohnM]

1 hour ago, Mattrhino said:

Aggregate attendance last year was 25k so in reality anything less would be a loss.

Not necessarily. The cost of a double header might well be less than the cost of two separate games.

[Just Browny]

I like this idea. Two months to promote it, and the double header means you can attract a few neutrals. I back it.

I remember going to the ground in 2000 at the World Cup. Have the local roads been improved since? It used to be a 'mare to get away from, but as I say I am talking almost two decades ago.

[Dave T]

7 minutes ago, JohnM said:

Not necessarily. The cost of a double header might well be less than the cost of two separate games.

There is also the fact that the ticket last year were £20, £25 and £30 with three quid off for members.

This year it is £25 and £45 with four quid discount for members.

Hopefully this is a reduction in cost, increase in income, more corporate, and a bigger aggregate crowd making it more of an event.

[Old Frightful]

3 hours ago, Wellsy4HullFC said:

About 2 thousand Leeds fans went down the short road to Doncaster on a Friday night. I'm pretty sure the attendance was only 10.5k last year.

Did they decide to stay over on Friday for an early start on Saturday afternoon when the game was played?

[Dave T]

Not sure if this has been suggested, but wonder if this is as a result of some of the Hearn discussions.

[GUBRATS]

1 hour ago, Dave T said:

Wouldnt you all just get the train?

 

Well yes Dave we could , but as has been pointed out on an earlier thread , what was it 22 hours

On Saturday we ended up booking an extra couple of coaches due to a rail strike , its fine having a station , but if the trains aint running its about as much use as a chocolate fireguard

Anyway plenty of parking at the ' Macron ' for our ' Charas ' when we face the giants in the semi , before beating the pies at Wembley , just the sort or ' fairytale ' RL needs

[Wellsy4HullFC]

1 hour ago, Old Frightful said:

Did they decide to stay over on Friday for an early start on Saturday afternoon when the game was played?

Think I've mixed it up with the Wigan game!

There still weren't that many from Leeds, especially for the weekend!

[Wellsy4HullFC]

41 minutes ago, Dave T said:

Not sure if this has been suggested, but wonder if this is as a result of some of the Hearn discussions.

Maybe.

Wonder if they do go down the Magic route for the cup like I've suggested numerous times? Could be dipping their toes in. Gives the Hearns more events to promote and work on...

[JohnM]

I think its a great idea, a great opportunity to build an event. Go back to some of the Wembley internationals of the early 1990s and consider the pre-match entertainment. Not a dozen frozen stiff cheerleaders but hundreds of choreographed kids on the pitch. Bring in some community involvement and competition, maybe  show old games on the big screens,  something to bring in adherents from all clubs. But please god, not pop groups. Pre match i want to talk to other fans around me, and thats not possible with some pap group driving the PA into 100% THD.

[Gerrumonside ref]

Great venue, great location and not Yorkshire!

[XIII Ram]

A nice surprise and a genuinely good idea from the RFL - I didn't know they had it in 'em. 

Good KO times too .....and as someone who lives on the east side of the pennines I'm even ok with the venue - with an hour and a bit on the train for £18 each way .....TransPennine Express to Manchester, then a short hop by ....erm  ... Northern trains ......doh!!   what was i thinking ...travel chaos looms!

(.....we'll take the car)

[Chris22]

The stadium holds 29,000 (approx.), which would mean each side would have to sell 7,250 tickets for a sell out, all things being equal. I would be very disappointed if St Helens, Wigan or Warrington couldn't shift this number of tickets as a minimum.

It's a bit further for Leeds and Hull, which will probably make a difference, but I would hope they could sell around 5,000. If Catalans make it, then we probably won't see a sell out, but Huddersfield should even be able to take a couple of thousand fans.

And in the interests of not presuming a Leeds win,  Leigh would be represented well should they pull off a surprise. On the basis that the favourites win, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect these followings:

Huddersfield: 2,500
Leeds: 5,000
Wigan: 7,500
St Helens: 7,500

This would be a crowd of 22,500, leaving around 6,000 tickets to shift to neutrals who may be tempted or fans of the above clubs. I would be disappointed if we don't at least challenge a sell-out.

Generally, I'm not that keen on double headers, but there's a huge prize for the winners and it's not in the middle of winter, which should encourage fans to stick around. 

I think the first game will be well attended, and many fans from the second game will turn up early, but for the second match, there may be a bit of an emptying, particularly from the side who is defeated in the first game, which could lead to large areas of empty seats. 

That's my only concern really, but it's good to see that the RFL are attempting to do something about poor cup crowds, and building our games around "events", which has worked well in other sports.

[hunsletgreenandgold]

I repeat this regularly and I get that some (probably most) couldn't careless but it's a personal pet peeve of mine - please let the pitch be full size and marked out properly. That's all I ask....thanks, bye. 

[Wiltshire Warrior Dragon]

4 hours ago, Mattrhino said:

I agree but a double header is a lazy choice that does'nt work.

When was this mythical time we were getting massive crowds for the CC semis 40-50 years ago? 

Even in the 80's when the CC was the biggest show in town crowds were still only just breaking 20k.

Not entirely mythical, Matt.

To give a very precise answer to your 'when' question, try Saturday, 27th February, 1965.  Not in the semi-finals, I admit; in fact in the 2nd round - in other words two rounds before the semis.

I was at Central Park to see Wigan beat Saints 7 - 2, forward Roy Evans sprinting what seemed like half the length of the field to touch down having taken a lovely offload from Brian McTeague.

I wasn't alone...there were 39,937 others!  If I remember correctly, you had to go to the home league game against Liverpool City in late January to get a token to make you eligible to buy a ticket for the cup tie with St Helens.

The quarter final was away, but the semi against Swinton who were then in all their Ken Gowers-inspired pomp was at the old Saints ground.  I cannot find an attendance figure for that game, but remember its being packed out.  Trevor Lake came in off the wing to score a sensational try, completely outpacing the far from slow Gowers.

Perhaps a longstanding Saints fan on here can hazard a guess what a 'packed' Knowsley Road might have meant in terms of a total attendance.

[jim_57]

Depending on success I think a good next step would be making the Quarter finals 2 double headers, either in 1 venue over 2 days or 2 separate venues over 2 days.

[roughyedspud]

About time....some of us have been calling for a semi final doubleheader for a decade...

[MattSantos]

I still don't get it.

A semi final club should have 10k fans each shouldn't they?

If not, something is seriously wrong with our sport.

[MattSantos]

I still don't get it.

A semi final club should have 10k fans each shouldn't they?

If not, something is seriously wrong with our sport.

[MattSantos]

I get it. I'm absolutely appalled but i get it.

Leeds Hull in the semi final last year with a 14k attendance!

Wigan Salford with 10k!

Salfords QF again Wakey with less than 3 thousand. Less than 3 thousand

As a sport, we should be laughed at for hours, by anyone. This is atrocious.