Challenge Cup

[Chris22]

https://www.rugby-league.com/article/54174/coral-to-sponsor-the-challenge-cup

Some good news in hear. A seven figure, two year sponsorship deal is pretty lucrative.

Catalans participating is great news but does little to hide the embarrassment caused. Hopefully Toronto's inclusion will follow.

Great that the women's game benefits from sponsorship and the semi final double header. Hopefully the BBC will stream online.

I would like to have seen a larger stadium than Bolton used considering that it sold out last year and Catalans naturally took few fans. I'd have like to have seen Bramall Lane or Elland Road used. 

[Manx RL]

Good news.

Basically the same sponsor as last year fully in line with RLs love affair with gambling

[DoubleD]

Yeah not sure I see the logic in Ladbrokes departing as sponsor and Coral setting up, considering they are the same company now. Strange but positive to see it being a 7 figure deal over 2 years.

Not sure I see the benefit of having a triple header - it's good that the women's game is getting more exposure but given the double header sold out, it would be better if the women's final was made as either a standalone or combined elsewhere

[The Lad]

I think its great that the woman get to have the final as an opener to the men's semifinal it will create a lot of exosphere for them but i think it should have been put on before the men's final, if we are going to claim that they are two equal games then they should have been put on the same day.

Thank god the RFL have come to an agreement with Catalan its criminal that the champions can't try to defend it, i hope an agreement is made with Toulouse and Toronto as well.

[Man of Kent]

Coral's sponsorship must be a blessed relief for the skint RFL.

Good to see tickets for Bolton are already on sale (if only in two blocks)

[Damien]

Nice to see a sponsor but it would be interesting to know what the 7 figure deal over 2 years is and how it compares to previous years.

[Damien]

Just to add the previous Ladbrokes deal was thought to be worth in excess of £1 million a season:

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/jan/06/super-league-ladbrokes-sponsor-challenge-cup

Seven figures over 2 season certainly has a worse ring to it.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

Well, good to finally get a sponsor on board. I'm not a big fan of the double header, or triple header as it is now, even though it sold out last year the stadium was never full as a load of people didn't show up until the 2nd game, or buggered off after the first and that don't look great on the box. Did notice at the bottom of the article that a second first round tie is gonna be streamed on our league as well as the BBC one so that's my weekend sorted! 

[Oliver Clothesoff]

A sponsor and the holders in the competition, good news. 

[Dr Tim Whatley]

1 hour ago, DoubleD said:

Yeah not sure I see the logic in Ladbrokes departing as sponsor and Coral setting up, considering they are the same company now. Strange but positive to see it being a 7 figure deal over 2 years.

Still operating as separate brands though. Clearly you know they are part of the same company now, but many people won't. They must have thought that it did well for Ladbrokes if they're happy for Coral to take over the mantle now.

[Rupert Prince]

Given the draw has been made, how does that fit in with TO and TWP who have already  refusing to enter because of the Bond.  Were the RFL assuming they would be in and thus there will be a couple of byes once they withdraw.  Or was the draw made subsequent to both of them not being in the competition.

It all looks like a climb down from the RFL, all combined with a reduction of the sponsorship money. 

[The Hallucinating Goose]

15 minutes ago, Rupert Prince said:

Given the draw has been made, how does that fit in with TO and TWP who have already  refusing to enter because of the Bond.  Were the RFL assuming they would be in and thus there will be a couple of byes once they withdraw.  Or was the draw made subsequent to both of them not being in the competition.

It all looks like a climb down from the RFL, all combined with a reduction of the sponsorship money. 

Yeah, draw was made after they decided they weren't taking part so they were never included in it. 

[Rupert Prince]

9 minutes ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

Yeah, draw was made after they decided they weren't taking part so they were never included in it. 

Thank you for that, but on reflection I still wonder if the whole layout of the draw means there is no space for TO and TWP, or will there be any byes.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

18 minutes ago, Rupert Prince said:

Thank you for that, but on reflection I still wonder if the whole layout of the draw means there is no space for TO and TWP, or will there be any byes.

The draw this year has been designed so that 12 championship sides come in at round 4 not 14, this has been determined right after those teams said they weren't entering. Thing with the challenge Cup is cos amateur sides are invited the RFL can just choose the right amount of teams they need to make it work as it were. 

So 52 teams round 1.

26 round two.

13 winners joined by 11 league 1 teams for 24 in round 3

12 winners joined by 12 champ sides not 14 as it would be with Toronto and toulouse in round 4.

12 winners joined by bottom 4 2018 super league (that's including London). 

8 winners joined by 8 2018 top 8 super league. 

Then quarters, semis and final. 

That's what I was meaning when I said they were never included, I was meaning the structure as a whole has been designed to not include them. 

 

[Chronicler of Chiswick]

There could still be a snag if Keighley don't make the starting line.

[Rupert Prince]

10 minutes ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

The draw this year has been designed so that 12 championship sides come in at round 4 not 14, this has been determined right after those teams said they weren't entering. Thing with the challenge Cup is cos amateur sides are invited the RFL can just choose the right amount of teams they need to make it work as it were. 

So 52 teams round 1.

26 round two.

13 winners joined by 11 league 1 teams for 24 in round 3

12 winners joined by 12 champ sides not 14 as it would be with Toronto and toulouse in round 4.

12 winners joined by bottom 4 2018 super league (that's including London). 

8 winners joined by 8 2018 top 8 super league. 

Then quarters, semis and final. 

That's what I was meaning when I said they were never included, I was meaning the structure as a whole has been designed to not include them. 

Thank you for that. Really sad to see how this miserable Bond panned out

[Mr Plow]

3 hours ago, Manx RL said:

Good news.

Basically the same sponsor as last year fully in line with RLs love affair with gambling

Gambling companies are the only sponsors any sport can get now 

[Denton Rovers RLFC]

4 hours ago, Chris22 said:

https://www.rugby-league.com/article/54174/coral-to-sponsor-the-challenge-cup

Some good news in hear. A seven figure, two year sponsorship deal is pretty lucrative.

Catalans participating is great news but does little to hide the embarrassment caused. Hopefully Toronto's inclusion will follow.

Great that the women's game benefits from sponsorship and the semi final double header. Hopefully the BBC will stream online.

I would like to have seen a larger stadium than Bolton used considering that it sold out last year and Catalans naturally took few fans. I'd have like to have seen Bramall Lane or Elland Road used. 

Is it? only if you have a very low point at which you consider circa £500,000 per year for the whole competition and all the clubs plus the ladies comp to be a decent sum, I don't.

2009, it was state as fact that the final prize money would be £100k for the winners, with £35k for the runners up, our previous CEO James Rule said the 2008 final was worth £300-£400k all told despite us losing to Saints. Move forward a few years and Adam Pearson stated that getting to the final was worth £250k, that's somewhat of a downturn in monies overall despite ticket prices going up significant;ly since '08!

1998 Silk Cut sponsored the CC to the sum of £486,000 for that years tournament with £100k going to the winners, that's not changed really in 20 years.

An indication of this announcement being small potatoes/going backwards.

[Manx RL]

4 minutes ago, Mr Plow said:

Gambling companies are the only sponsors any sport can get now 

Except where they're not...

https://www.vitality.co.uk/community/sponsorship/

https://www.skysports.com/rugby-union/news/12321/11327196/gallagher-confirmed-as-new-title-sponsors-of-premiership-rugby

[Wiltshire Warrior Dragon]

Strictly speaking, you could belatedly introduce Toulouse and Toronto, if the will was there.

You would need to have a round 2A, which would feature four ties involving eight of the round 2 winners.  The winners of that quartet of fixtures would join the other five round two winners, so there would be nine teams joining the eleven from League 1 in round 3.  Round 3 would thus feature ten fixtures, the winners of which would join all fourteen championship sides in round 4.  After that, it is as you were in round 5 and beyond.

However, there are big 'if's in this arrangement!  How would the amateur sides react to, in some cases, having an extra game before they have a chance to face professional opposition?  What implications would the round 2A have for the competing sides' league commitments?  Incidentally, there are four weeks between rounds 2 and 3, so it could, at least theoretically, be fitted in.  Nevertheless, I am paying no regard to practical matters like organising team buses and so on.

But, as I say, it could be done!

 

[Jean de Bordeaux]

Happy end for a poor soap opera

[Wollo Wollo Wayoo]

I suppose I'll get interested if Wakey make the semi.

[Death to the Rah Rah's]

I think the decision to take the semi-finals to Bolton for this year is the right decision.

The game has been announced early enough for general RL supporters to buy tickets well in advance to sell out the ground leaving the top and bottom tiers behind the goals for the four semi-finalists which each hold about 5000 (2500 per side) .

Bolton's ground is ideally placed and more importantly has excellent modern hospitality facilities available on all 4 sides of the ground which should help swell the RFL's coffers if they advertise well in advance, as that's where the money is made these days.

It also gives the RFL the opportunity to identify potential sponsors and 'wine and dine' to sell the game at the occasion to a wider audience.

IF the game sells out the 28,000 capacity and there's evidence to support the move to a larger stadium then where would you go?There's very few modern grounds with 35-45 capacities in the north of England, forget about grounds like Bramall Lane and Elland Road as they are traditional grounds with very poor hospitality facilities and the Ethiad, Anfield, Old Trafford and St James Park are too big.

Nothing looks better on TV than a full house, and that alone should help sell the game to sponsors

If the game sells out in advance, then the logical step to me is to develop the hospitality side of the event and increase the ticket price slightly to make more money without increasing costs

 

[John Rhino]

A rather popular tweet at the momement:

Things rugby league fans have been upset about this week:

- Zak Hardaker in the press

- Betting shop sponsors

- The Yorkshire Cup

Things rugby League fans were upset about last week:

- Lack of press

- Lack of sponsors

- Lack of smart event marketing

[Death to the Rah Rah's]

15 minutes ago, scotchy1 said:

Didn't we hear all this last year?

What's your suggestion then Scotchy?

Wasn't last year's semi more or less sold out, which considering the venue was only announced a few weeks prior to the game was pretty good considering?

Do you not agree that the games needs a bit of stability at present, so by selecting the venue at this time of year allows a few months to sell out the stadium well in advance of the game?