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12 minutes ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

It’s a regional sport with aspirations.

It’s obvious that trying to promote the GF as a cheap boozy do isn’t the way to grow it in the long term.

We need to appeal outside the regulars by turning it into an event that people want to attend who aren’t the hardcore.

Basically, rugby league in the U.K. isn’t brimming with cash and one way to change that situation is to maximise the potential of the Grand Final.

who is promoting it as "a cheap boozy do"? i have not seen it promoted as such.. I have seen lots of promotions about the game and the atmosphere but never that it is a "cheap boozy do".. I get the point you are trying to make but lets not over egg it.

Yes appealing to more would be great but equally lets not see this as something in dire crisis just yet.. I go with my mates every year.. we love the fact it is a meeting place at the end of a season to get together. We go to bars in the city then on to the ground, then back to the bars.. yes for us its a boozy do, but if we didnt do it at the grand final we would do it somewhere else.. 

As all our kids get older I am sure they will start to come along too, however, at the moment there does seem to be little for them to do and this seems to be the key at pretty much every game/ground week in and week out.. there is room around the stadium lets have some events (and I dont mean that god awful "fan zone" that was at the challenge cup final that I went into with my son who promptly asked to leave as there was nothing there except people boozing).

Pre match get some entertainment on the pitch.. not in the stands on the pitch.. it doesnt take long to construct a stage and take it down (not as long as putting those flags out or the strips of cloth that no one seems to be able to actually handle!).. people are not going to go for the band but it is an "extra".. 

In the end though people are going because it is The Grand Final

Rugby Union internationals (tend to go to at least one every year with the club my son plays at) doesnt have much going on at it, there is a good "fans zone" outside with sponsors stalls (theres been basically a car show room at a few) , food, beer tents etc but other than that not much.. they are a place "to be seen" and people drink a lot.. they just have a little more to do and a lot more kudos.

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54 minutes ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

It’s a regional sport with aspirations.

It’s obvious that trying to promote the GF as a cheap boozy do isn’t the way to grow it in the long term.

We need to appeal outside the regulars by turning it into an event that people want to attend who aren’t the hardcore.

Basically, rugby league in the U.K. isn’t brimming with cash and one way to change that situation is to maximise the potential of the Grand Final.

And again , what exactly are your suggestions to do so ?

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11 hours ago, GUBRATS said:

Seriously , darts and boxing ? , 

Yes. Boxing sell out venues like Wembley and Cardiff most of whom aren’t die hard boxing fans.

The darts PL is a series of events most of which are attended by non darts fans. Even I’ve been just for the event. 

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4 minutes ago, Cdd said:

Yes. Boxing sell out venues like Wembley and Cardiff most of whom aren’t die hard boxing fans.

The darts PL is a series of events most of which are attended by non darts fans. Even I’ve been just for the event. 

Yes they're both huge p155 ups , and boxing are generally one off events , Yes there aren't really such a thing as a certain boxer or team supporting boxing fan , you have an English or British boxing fan who'll pay for a holiday booze up in Vegas , but you're talking apples and oranges , and you know it 

Darts is a pub ' game ' NOT a sport , take away the booze and NOBODY would go , and again you know that , so why try to us it as an example ?

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21 minutes ago, Sports Prophet said:

Wembley for the SL GF and Challenge Cup Final accepting bids from cities.

So giving the competing teams 14 and 7 days to sort out travel and accommodation in London ? , Not forgetting that this weekend was an International football weekend with a game at Wembley ?

 

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1 hour ago, GUBRATS said:

So giving the competing teams 14 and 7 days to sort out travel and accommodation in London ? , Not forgetting that this weekend was an International football weekend with a game at Wembley ?

 

Yep. It seems to work ok for non Sydney teams in the NRL.

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24 minutes ago, Sports Prophet said:

Yep. It seems to work ok for non Sydney teams in the NRL.

It works for soccer fans over here , but that's the only game you lot have , we have the CC as well , do many neutrals go to your GF ?

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In 2021 I would take the final to the Etihad in Manchester. With so many big games in the WC that year in the North, including the final at Old Trafford, I think it is a good time to try a different venue, one that should be packed with little effort and considers the fact that many fans will be spending their cash on the World Cup that year instead of the Grand Final.

I think ultimately, Old Trafford is probably the right ground at the moment, but I think some of that is down to the fact that we are a touch limited in the North capacity-wise, and I think the GF should be more local to the majority of teams and fans based on the short turnaround.

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24 minutes ago, GUBRATS said:

It works for soccer fans over here , but that's the only game you lot have , we have the CC as well , do many neutrals go to your GF ?

Yeah, a good amount would, but it’s mostly fans of the two competing teams. Not sure what your point was there though... The GF is hardly the only big game we have. State of Origin for example and now our own magic weekend.

If you are suggesting that RL isn’t big enough to draw an 80k crowd to the national stadium in the capital city for the biggest club fixture of the year, then that’s another matter.

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2 hours ago, Cdd said:

Yes. Boxing sell out venues like Wembley and Cardiff most of whom aren’t die hard boxing fans.

The darts PL is a series of events most of which are attended by non darts fans. Even I’ve been just for the event. 

Boxing? Have you ever been to a title fight in this country? Hardly a family occasion like the GF. 

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1 minute ago, Sports Prophet said:

Yeah, a good amount would, but it’s mostly fans of the two competing teams. Not sure what your point was there though... The GF is hardly the only big game we have. State of Origin for example and now our own magic weekend.

But League is your biggest sport ( winter of course ) ? , We are dwarfed by Football 

 

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1 minute ago, GUBRATS said:

But League is your biggest sport ( winter of course ) ? , We are dwarfed by Football 

 

League is not Australia’s biggest sport.

What does the popularity of the sport have to do with preference to playing the SL final at OT and not Wembley? League would be definitely be in the top three highest supported domestic club sport in the UK.

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4 minutes ago, Sports Prophet said:

League is not Australia’s biggest sport.

What does the popularity of the sport have to do with preference to playing the SL final at OT and not Wembley? League would be definitely be in the top three highest supported domestic club sport in the UK.

Used to be the 2 nd behind football , now probably just behind union , so is it AFL over there ? And how far behind them are you ?

Would the NRL final sell out in Sydney if it was Canberra and Melbourne and neither brought any fans ?

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6 hours ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

It’s a regional sport with aspirations.

It’s obvious that trying to promote the GF as a cheap boozy do isn’t the way to grow it in the long term.

We need to appeal outside the regulars by turning it into an event that people want to attend who aren’t the hardcore.

Basically, rugby league in the U.K. isn’t brimming with cash and one way to change that situation is to maximise the potential of the Grand Final.

Hate to break it to you pal but NFL games are just massive booze ups. Yes people make a day of it...tailgating. if you're not familiar with the term it's basically people getting there early and getting hammered in the car park. People not going to the game also make a day of it...in boozers.

Maybe the penny hasn't dropped but people like drinking and going to/watching sporting events. Same for the Ashes, same for RU internationals. The reason these events are hugely popular is the work done to hype the sporting contest not because they have bouncy castles outside or some numpty from X Factor singing. People who like those things go to soft play centres and pop concerts.

You wouldn't get a bigger attendance anywhere else in the UK for a grand final than OT. The stadium is iconic, well located, looks great on TV and is now synonymous with the grand final. It may not be perfect bu moving it would be madness. 

Sure you could try and improve the day with different kinds of entertainment, maybe have the womens final as curtain raiser, some fan zone element but whatever you did would have a negligible impact on the attendance. 

RL does a lot of things poorly, has made terrible decisions and continues to do so but introducing the OT grand final is one of the best things the sport in the UK has done. It would be a very rugby league thing to do to move it though.

Formerly Alistair Boyd-Meaney

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26 minutes ago, GUBRATS said:

Would the NRL final sell out in Sydney if it was Canberra and Melbourne and neither brought any fans ?

AFL is marginally ahead of NRL.

I think the North Queensland v Brisbane GF in Sydney was a sellout, or as close to it, it may as well have been. Same with Storm v Cows a few years later.

What percentage were local and neutral? I would only be guessing.

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1 hour ago, Sports Prophet said:

League is not Australia’s biggest sport.

What does the popularity of the sport have to do with preference to playing the SL final at OT and not Wembley? League would be definitely be in the top three highest supported domestic club sport in the UK.

Saying RL is in the top 3 club games here is akin to saying Frankie Goes to Hollywood is in the top 3 biggest bands to come out of Liverpool...in both cases #1 is a juggernaut that dwarfs the other two. Sam Tomkins can get on a train in London and nobody have a clue who he is (he’s done it, which is why I mention him). Club RU (apparently its #2), how many could name who won this year’s English championship? Outside the hardcore who follow it, I’d say close to zero. Although it’s a distant second, I’d argue club RL has a higher profile than club RU.

 

This is another case of comparing here to other countries, when there is no comparison. Ball park figure, football takes up 80% plus of the UK sports media . No sport in Australia takes up anywhere near that figure. There a more even split. 

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2 hours ago, Tex Evans Thigh said:

Hate to break it to you pal but NFL games are just massive booze ups. Yes people make a day of it...tailgating. if you're not familiar with the term it's basically people getting there early and getting hammered in the car park. People not going to the game also make a day of it...in boozers.

Maybe the penny hasn't dropped but people like drinking and going to/watching sporting events. Same for the Ashes, same for RU internationals. The reason these events are hugely popular is the work done to hype the sporting contest not because they have bouncy castles outside or some numpty from X Factor singing. People who like those things go to soft play centres and pop concerts.

You wouldn't get a bigger attendance anywhere else in the UK for a grand final than OT. The stadium is iconic, well located, looks great on TV and is now synonymous with the grand final. It may not be perfect bu moving it would be madness. 

Sure you could try and improve the day with different kinds of entertainment, maybe have the womens final as curtain raiser, some fan zone element but whatever you did would have a negligible impact on the attendance. 

RL does a lot of things poorly, has made terrible decisions and continues to do so but introducing the OT grand final is one of the best things the sport in the UK has done. It would be a very rugby league thing to do to move it though.

You’re spectacularly missing the point, but carry on.

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2 minutes ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

I’ve made some, not seen you make any at all.

 

Yes I have , my first post on the subject , quote " to move from Old Trafford now would be stupid and suicide " , " maybe look at the ' Emtyhad ' if they extend it in the future " 

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1 hour ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

You’re spectacularly missing the point, but carry on.

Why would I carry on banging my head against a brick wall. You've not had one person back you up nor have you come up with one feasible idea to improve the GF or genuine reason to move from OT. Pointless end of season thread.

Formerly Alistair Boyd-Meaney

fifty thousand Poouunds from Keighley...weve had im gid."

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MIPM Project Management and Business Solutions "

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