Which crowds should be the priority

[JM2010]

There's been a lot of talk about crowd figures on here and even though I try to be positive I agree that they need to be better.

What should be the priority or what would people on here rather see if they had to choose.

1. Each individual club increasing their average crowd figures so the overall so average increases

Or 

2. All the big events sell out so the play offs and GF, Magic Weekend, CC semi finals and Final and Internationals all play in front of capacity crowds and even use bigger venues (CC semis and Internationals).

I would personally like no2 to happen in the short term as I believe this would have a much bigger impact on the sports profile and media presence which then might help attract more spectators to regular games.

You can only choose 1 because obviously we'd all like to see both eventually

[Chronicler of Chiswick]

I'd think that (2) would have the greatest impact on potential advertisers, sponsors and especially TV companies, who more and more seem to prefer one-off big ticket events.

[JohnM]

In my view, its not an "either or".  Its more complex th6sn that, they are locked in a deadly embrace, (1/2 empty glass)   or a mutual love in (1/2 full glass)

[paulwalker71]

I don't think they are mutually exclusive 

If every club increases its fanbase, then there is correspondingly a much bigger pool from which to draw crowds for those big 'event' games.

[ELBOWSEYE]

Clubs expect fans to turn up even though evidence says they don't. The clubs have treat it as a entertainment industry not just a local sports team. One comment on the GF crowd mentioned drunken behaviour and I agree, I shudder at the behaviour of wire fans especially when we play away. This will stop new fans thinking about days out with kids. And that's before we look at making it an event. I would think a decent marketing team/promotion team would repay the outlay very quickly and if you look at clubs the RFL treat the game exactly the same way. 

[17 stone giant]

2. Well attended showpiece events is the best way to get attention from the wider sporting public. Especially international matches. Growing up, I never bothered to watch the Challenge cup final - I knew of it, but I guess that e.g. Wigan v Halifax  just didn't really resonate for me as a southerner. That's not to say there was anything wrong with those teams, or the occasion. It was, and still is, a great event. But it was watching Great Britain and then England that gave me an interest in RL. I'm unlikely ever to become a diehard rugby league fan,  but at least by getting me interested in just a small way, the sport has made a little bit of money from me. That's probably all you can expect from the vast majority of people. Most won't ever become diehards, but if you can sell them an England shirt every couple of years and maybe a ticket to a big match now and then, you're at least getting something from them to help the sport.

[kev p]

Like it or not, sport is part of the entertainment industry, interest at league level generates interested higher up. Watching high profile games on tv gets kids wanting to go to games.