Jump to content

Challenge Cup final 2022


Recommended Posts


  • Replies 191
  • Created
  • Last Reply
20 hours ago, Southerner said:

Brilliant news, especially as a spurs fan 🙂

I went to the new stadium last year, you won’t be disappointed. It’s something special, albeit I may be a bit biased. 

Not that simple for travel unfortunately and never has been. 

im a spurs fan also, you wont be disappointed. might even be a chance to use safe standing areas. all set up for it when the government give the go ahead. would probably bring capacity up to 70k or bit over. beer brewed on site & bakery makes all food etc! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's a spectacular stadium but truth be told people are going to find getting there difficult. 

As a Spurs fan I've been going there since the 80s, so the journey is just part of what it takes to see the team. We're used to it.

But for non regulars, especially those coming from KingsX/Euston, many are going to find it a real pain. Especially the queues for the train or the lengthy walk afterwards. (Buses from Seven Sisters to the stadium are an excellent option on the way there - they run about every 2 minutes - but in the exit crush it's harder to get them) 

Wembley is definitely better connected to the mainline stations, and has better options for driving down the M1 and then taking public transport for the last leg. 

Now, once you're in I think people will love it, so I'm still excited and it'll be great as a one off, but let's hold off booking it for a decade until people have tried it out. I suspect there will be some complaints! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, graveyard johnny said:

of course it was all planned out as soon as the architects had their first meeting before a line was even drawn on the bluprint of the new wembley - when do them wretched northerners all come down here? what time does their game kick off? where will the sun be positioned in the sky? for no other reason than to ruin the cc final.

Huh, I'm saying it's a design flaw that occurs during the FA cup final, and also happened during the Euros in the daytime matches. Nothing to do with RL. 

I was born to run a club like this. Number 1, I do not spook easily, and those who think I do, are wasting their time, with their surprise attacks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great idea to hold the CC at Tottenham.  In this day and age I do not get the argument about Wembley being sacrosanct for the Final.  Not having a CC Final at Wembley does not diminish the competition.  The days of filling Wembley are long gone even if the Hearns ever got involved.

I have read reports in the past about how much money the Magic Weekend generates for the local economy in Newcastle.  So why not build on that and seek bids from cities across the UK.  Presented and promoted properly the Final should get 7 figure bids.

Having the Final being played in stadiums with capacities between 55,000 to 70,000 should, over the years, create ticket scarcity.  Thereby creating a sporting occasion where tickets cost an amount commensurate with a high profile event and not be bought for a tenner on Groupon.

I also don’t buy the argument that fans will miss out because over the last 10 years we have had big hitters such as 2019 Warrington v Saints 62k, 2017 Hull v Wigan 68k, 2012 Leeds v Warrington 79k and I believe that the latter two included the 15,000 Club Wembley seats as well as very cheap last minute deals.

If the biggest and most profitable final in the world, the Superbowl, can hold 22 of its last 26 finals - not counting last year - in stadiums of less than 75,000 then why are some RL supporters still wanting to sit in a two thirds full Wembley.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, THE RED ROOSTER said:

I also have been to White Hart Lane for the NFL. so be prepared for a 40 minute walk from Seven Sisters Underground station up the High Road in a straight route. It is one of the less salubrious areas of North London. Still as this will be played in broad daylight stick to the High Road and follow the crowd and you will have no reason to worry. It might be cheaper for you to eat before going into the ground. There is a Sainsbury's the other side of the ground to the North. Spurs is cashless payment only and, food and drink expensive, as with all Soccer clubs.

If your wondering why not use White Hart Lane station, be prepared for a long wait when there is a big crowd in attendance and I am sure the COVID conscious reading this will not like to be crushed like a sardine into a carriage when you finally get in (I can post from experience). So my advice is take the walk in the open air. to Seven Sisters.

It could well be this is a dry run for the RLWC semi-final in 2022 with the possibility that WHL will be preferred to the Arsenal stadium. The Spurs ground was built as a multi-sport stadium part funded by the NFL who are contractefd to play two games a season (COVID permitting). They are also due to host Saracens v Bristol Bears in March and the European Cup Rugby Finals in 2023.

It can also be viewed as a warning shot to Wembley, I was in the minority on here underwhelmed by the Wembley experience this year, but perhaps this board is not reflective of feedback and this could be the RFL message to Wembley to raise your game or we go elewhere. Daniel Levy would certainly welcome a long term arrangement...

white hart lane & northumberland park stations are 5 min walk from ground. as a life ling spurs fan, i agree the area is not the best! bars stay open for an hour after game, so plenty of time to lest most of crowd leave. boxing there also later in year also

Link to comment
Share on other sites

a tesco & ikea 20 min walk away also. i park at ikea every spurs home game. tesco has parking limits, but not usually checked, but not worth a £60 ticket to take a chance. both on north cicular so on way home pretty soon after game. parking near the ground is expensive (£20), and traffic jams as well. ikea is best you walk past the traffic on way there! i do

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/08/2021 at 17:16, DI Keith Fowler said:

Every daytime match in summer is half unwatchable on TV with the shadow of the stand cast over the pitch. 

I can't understand how it's happened, it can't be that one London borough has an usual position relative to the literal sun. 

One of the reasons given for Wembley's semi-retractable roof was so that the showpiece FA Cup final, played late May at 3pm, wouldn't have shadows. Yet they never retracted the roof for a cup final. Now they just say it's for the grass, and the cup final hasn't kicked off at 3pm for nearly a decade anyway

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, Adelaide Tiger said:

Great idea to hold the CC at Tottenham.  In this day and age I do not get the argument about Wembley being sacrosanct for the Final.  Not having a CC Final at Wembley does not diminish the competition.  The days of filling Wembley are long gone even if the Hearns ever got involved.

I have read reports in the past about how much money the Magic Weekend generates for the local economy in Newcastle.  So why not build on that and seek bids from cities across the UK.  Presented and promoted properly the Final should get 7 figure bids.

Having the Final being played in stadiums with capacities between 55,000 to 70,000 should, over the years, create ticket scarcity.  Thereby creating a sporting occasion where tickets cost an amount commensurate with a high profile event and not be bought for a tenner on Groupon.

I also don’t buy the argument that fans will miss out because over the last 10 years we have had big hitters such as 2019 Warrington v Saints 62k, 2017 Hull v Wigan 68k, 2012 Leeds v Warrington 79k and I believe that the latter two included the 15,000 Club Wembley seats as well as very cheap last minute deals.

If the biggest and most profitable final in the world, the Superbowl, can hold 22 of its last 26 finals - not counting last year - in stadiums of less than 75,000 then why are some RL supporters still wanting to sit in a two thirds full Wembley.

 

Different  culture! How would RL fans take it if the owners of the Trophy winners started to collect the trophy before the players touched it ? 

 Soon we will be dancing the fandango
FROM 2004,TO DO WHAT THIS CLUB HAS DONE,IF THATS NOT GREATNESSTHEN i DONT KNOW WHAT IS.

JAMIE PEACOCK

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, Adelaide Tiger said:

Great idea to hold the CC at Tottenham.  In this day and age I do not get the argument about Wembley being sacrosanct for the Final.  Not having a CC Final at Wembley does not diminish the competition.  The days of filling Wembley are long gone even if the Hearns ever got involved.

I have read reports in the past about how much money the Magic Weekend generates for the local economy in Newcastle.  So why not build on that and seek bids from cities across the UK.  Presented and promoted properly the Final should get 7 figure bids.

Having the Final being played in stadiums with capacities between 55,000 to 70,000 should, over the years, create ticket scarcity.  Thereby creating a sporting occasion where tickets cost an amount commensurate with a high profile event and not be bought for a tenner on Groupon.

I also don’t buy the argument that fans will miss out because over the last 10 years we have had big hitters such as 2019 Warrington v Saints 62k, 2017 Hull v Wigan 68k, 2012 Leeds v Warrington 79k and I believe that the latter two included the 15,000 Club Wembley seats as well as very cheap last minute deals.

If the biggest and most profitable final in the world, the Superbowl, can hold 22 of its last 26 finals - not counting last year - in stadiums of less than 75,000 then why are some RL supporters still wanting to sit in a two thirds full Wembley.

 

Couldn't agree more mate. I appreciate the history and why people will champion staying at Wembley, but sometimes these same people complain that we don't move with the times. 

I think this is a rather convenient situation for RL, it 'forces' them to look elsewhere for a year, even though it is their decision to do it, meaning they won't pee anyone off too much, and hopefully it'll sell out easily and people will love it and realise that it doesn't have to be Wembley. I expect a customer feedback survey the day after the final. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 minutes ago, fieldofclothofgold said:

Different  culture! How would RL fans take it if the owners of the Trophy winners started to collect the trophy before the players touched it ? 

Yes you are right it is a different culture!

Just imagine the Commissioner of the NFL looking at RL and thinking ‘Geez, you’re actually telling me that these guys actually host a prestigious event in a stadium that is one third empty and then in a desperate attempt to increase the attendance they sell tickets dirt cheap …. Absolutely batsh*t crazy!’

Apologies to any Americans on here for my accent 😄

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Normally I'm in all guns blazing to force the sport to change, but I feel that if we move the game from Wembley permanently we'll give up an essential part of the CCF's identity that will take years to build back somewhere else. 

Once that's lost, we'll never get it back, and the CCF becomes just another game of rugby league that no one outside the sport cares about. 

I concede that - as we've discussed many times on here - we may have already reached that point anyway. 

In which case a move might be sensible for pragmatic reasons, but it would also ultimately be an admission of failure. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Toby Chopra said:

Normally I'm in all guns blazing to force the sport to change, but I feel that if we move the game from Wembley permanently we'll give up an essential part of the CCF's identity that will take years to build back somewhere else. 

Once that's lost, we'll never get it back, and the CCF becomes just another game of rugby league that no one outside the sport cares about. 

I concede that - as we've discussed many times on here - we may have already reached that point anyway. 

In which case a move might be sensible for pragmatic reasons, but it would also ultimately be an admission of failure. 

The Challenge Cup Final is still the most watched club game of RL in the UK each year. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was going to the Ashes test at Tottenham before it was cancelled and I am looking forward to the challenge cup final being there - I am currently collecting my trip numbers so it looks like others like the change too.

However, in the spirit of rugby league, one moan is that I'd like some idea where buying a ticket places me in the ground, especially after this year where I ended up 3 rows from the front. It won't stop me buying, but surely it can't be that hard to do.

100% League 0% Union

Just because I don't know doesn't mean I don't understand

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’m torn on Wembley as it’s the national stadium.

That status is a uniquely prestigious intangible that no other stadium can offer, no matter how overexposed and soulless it is (Wembley Way excepted). 

On the other hand, the Challenge Cup has been superseded by the Grand Final as the sport’s premier event. You could also argue Wembley itself has been superseded as London’s premier stadium. 

Er…

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, Dave T said:

The Challenge Cup Final is still the most watched club game of RL in the UK each year. 

Well, it's the final of the only club RL competition that's shown on terrestrial TV. It would be hard for it not to claim that mantle. 

But whether the TV figures for the CCF are good or bad, my contention is that they would decline further if we started rotiating it around. 

Some major sports events are not place specific - superbowl, open golf etc - but others are and if an event has that part of its identity in a crowded market, why throw it away?

Football has managed to keep the attractiveness of its Wembley finals even though there are now more of them than in early 80s, and clearly the League Cup for example has been degraded in other ways. But they'd never think of switching the final from Wembley. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Dave T said:

Couldn't agree more mate. I appreciate the history and why people will champion staying at Wembley, but sometimes these same people complain that we don't move with the times. 

I think this is a rather convenient situation for RL, it 'forces' them to look elsewhere for a year, even though it is their decision to do it, meaning they won't pee anyone off too much, and hopefully it'll sell out easily and people will love it and realise that it doesn't have to be Wembley. I expect a customer feedback survey the day after the final. 

It could be used as a bit of a carrot for the sport… as per the RLWC, get cities to bid to host the game if it creates millions for the local economy. Could be a money maker outside of ticket sales for the RFL if local authorities pay to host the event for example.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 minutes ago, Toby Chopra said:

Well, it's the final of the only club RL competition that's shown on terrestrial TV. It would be hard for it not to claim that mantle. 

But whether the TV figures for the CCF are good or bad, my contention is that they would decline further if we started rotiating it around. 

Some major sports events are not place specific - superbowl, open golf etc - but others are and if an event has that part of its identity in a crowded market, why throw it away?

Football has managed to keep the attractiveness of its Wembley finals even though there are now more of them than in early 80s, and clearly the League Cup for example has been degraded in other ways. But they'd never think of switching the final from Wembley. 

Rugby Union has abandoned its club Cup final equivalent. Admittedly replaced with a Euro comp but its not an English cup final with a packed Twickenham. 

The football comps have sort of held up, but they definitely aren't as big as they used to be. They won't always sell out. But they benefit from a huge demand that means they still get big crowds. 

We just need to be careful in concluding that a game that gets 60 to 70k and a million TV viewers is not attractive. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Dave T said:

Rugby Union has abandoned its club Cup final equivalent. Admittedly replaced with a Euro comp but its not an English cup final with a packed Twickenham. 

The football comps have sort of held up, but they definitely aren't as big as they used to be. They won't always sell out. But they benefit from a huge demand that means they still get big crowds. 

We just need to be careful in concluding that a game that gets 60 to 70k and a million TV viewers is not attractive. 

Actually I agree with that, and as a southerner it's the one RL event I never miss attending, and I rarely fail to have a great day. 

But at the same time I think it's a bit of a gamble to mess with it and assume its attractiveness can be used to leverage other stadiums. Perhaps I'm being a glass half empty person! 

It's gotta stay in London though, which limits it to about 3 stadiums, as we shouldn't go Twickers and Spurs and Arsenal are clearly superior to the London Stadium. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, Toby Chopra said:

Actually I agree with that, and as a southerner it's the one RL event I never miss attending, and I rarely fail to have a great day. 

But at the same time I think it's a bit of a gamble to mess with it and assume its attractiveness can be used to leverage other stadiums. Perhaps I'm being a glass half empty person! 

It's gotta stay in London though, which limits it to about 3 stadiums, as we shouldn't go Twickers and Spurs and Arsenal are clearly superior to the London Stadium. 

 

I've long said I'd abandon Wembley as the full time home of the final. I'd go for London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, maybe even Dublin or Paris as a wildcard every 5 years or so. 

I was pleased to see the positivity around this decision, it gives me hope that the RL fan base is open to some changes on this. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is new and will create a buzz and I may attend a CC for the first time in probably 13 years. The last time was when Wembley was new and it was exciting. Get the trend here? RL fans need new experiences in what is a very competitive market. Whether by accident or not in 2022 it is very welcome and the RFL will be rewarded with a boost in optics come Cup final day IMO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Dave T said:

I've long said I'd abandon Wembley as the full time home of the final. I'd go for London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, maybe even Dublin or Paris as a wildcard every 5 years or so. 

I was pleased to see the positivity around this decision, it gives me hope that the RL fan base is open to some changes on this. 

I'd love to see some figures on how many tickets they sell in London/SE.

I'm biased as it's the easiest big RL event for me to get to, and also means I can always attract some casual attendence from friends. So if we did rotate around the UK capitals and beyond, it would no longer be a regular spot in the valuable London/Southeast sporting market.

But if the southeast attendence is less than 10k then I suppose we wouldn't be losing that much anyway and the event might become more attractive to the wider "rugby league community" by visiting Edinburgh, Dublin etc. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Scubby said:

This is new and will create a buzz and I may attend a CC for the first time in probably 13 years. The last time was when Wembley was new and it was exciting. Get the trend here? RL fans need new experiences in what is a very competitive market. Whether by accident or not in 2022 it is very welcome and the RFL will be rewarded with a boost in optics come Cup final day IMO.

If we have to move to a different stadium every year just to generate some interest then I think the problem lies with the core product, not the venue. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.