Anfield World Cup games to move to Wigan

[redjonn]

I know we all clamour for expansion, but another way to look at the planned fixtures is in relation to reality.

That is we are really in a consolidation phase and their is a large/huge population of our Northern area's that don't take any interest in attending RL normally.  Surely if we can focus on getting lots more of those people along to the World Cup and then targeting such to continue with club rugby that would be a big success.

From which we can start being more ambitious in a growth plan.

[Tommygilf]

Just now, Harry Stottle said:

Good points Tommy, Leigh have 3 group games Entoand games on the doorstep so to speak could entice those on a budget who may have attended the LSV for a couple of those.

Absolutely, and that's before the 6 games at Warrington and St Helens are factored in too. 

[Tommygilf]

2 minutes ago, redjonn said:

I know we all clamour for expansion, but another way to look at the planned fixtures is in relation to reality.

That is we are really in a consolidation phase and their is a large/huge population of our Northern area's that don't take any interest in attending RL normally.  Surely if we can focus on getting lots more of those people along to the World Cup and then targeting such to continue with club rugby that would be a big success.

From which we can start being more ambitious in a growth plan.

I agree to an extent, but aren't those people already being served with 4 group games, including England v France, and a Quarter final and the Final in Greater Manchester? Plus the 3 group games each in St Helens and Warrington?

How many of those that go to Wigan, rather than Anfield or the Etihad, will be part of the group you are talking about? And in any case, is that valid enough to guarantee 30k less attendees?

[Scubby]

15 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

Well you have 3 games to pick from at the LSV Scubby, albeit being a well travelled 'live' fan of a game I am sure you won't be missing any of them, and who knows you may be granted an audience with Derek John Beaumont if you tell him your coming along.

A well travelled live fan who lives outside of the UK. You should be thankful you can roll out to a World Cup game on your doorstep Harry. Some of us really rely on the transport network to get to games.

[redjonn]

9 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

I agree to an extent, but aren't those people already being served with 4 group games, including England v France, and a Quarter final and the Final in Greater Manchester? Plus the 3 group games each in St Helens and Warrington?

How many of those that go to Wigan, rather than Anfield or the Etihad, will be part of the group you are talking about? And in any case, is that valid enough to guarantee 30k less attendees?

One of (I think) of your other comments was that it was asking too much for same fans to be attending the number of games. The target of course is getting at least as may newbies to at least one game if not two... taking their younger members as well.

So Nope I don't think its too many games... especially if we get the promotional aspects right... to be part of a great Northern celebration of a great originated Northern game that's now played in many parts of the world...

[Tommygilf]

41 minutes ago, redjonn said:

One of (I think) of your other comments was that it was asking too much for same fans to be attending the number of games. The target of course is getting at least as may newbies to at least one game if not two... taking their younger members as well.

So Nope I don't think its too many games... especially if we get the promotional aspects right... to be part of a great Northern celebration of a great originated Northern game that's now played in many parts of the world...

I admire your optimism.

[M j M]

2 hours ago, Chris22 said:

I know comparing us to RU may not be wise but I'm going to do it anyway! When England hosted the union WC in 2015, the lowest crowd for a quarter final was 71,000.

This is such an aggravating trait of people both within and outside our sport. Will people just give it a rest with this sort of comparison which deliberately sets Rugby League up to fail.

Our sport, like any other, should be measured on its own merits, by its own targets and in its own context. Just choosing the metrics from another, much larger, sport and implying how pathetic Rugby League is in contrast is really tiresome.

[Tommygilf]

15 minutes ago, M j M said:

This is such an aggravating trait of people both within and outside our sport. Will people just give it a rest with this sort of comparison which deliberately sets Rugby League up to fail.

Our sport, like any other, should be measured on its own merits, by its own targets and in its own context. Just choosing the metrics from another, much larger, sport and implying how pathetic Rugby League is in contrast is really tiresome.

Its own target was 50k plus for England's quarter final. Now its impossible to get more than 28k. 

[Guest]

50k for a qf in Liverpool vs probably a second rate side wasn't happening. 

[Scubby]

19 minutes ago, Leonard said:

50k for a qf in Liverpool vs probably a second rate side wasn't happening. 

There is a fair chance England could lose that first game against Samoa which would mean a Quarter Final against Tonga. That game would deserve 50k. Not everything is cut and dried - England/GB have not excelled for a long time.

[Tommygilf]

17 minutes ago, Leonard said:

50k for a qf in Liverpool vs probably a second rate side wasn't happening. 

So you're thinking they have revised their estimations by 25k plus?

England V Fiji (on seeding) in a home world cup quarter final with the Women's game too would be comfortably able to push most of Anfield's capacity - certainly the lower bowl.

[Scubby]

6 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

So you're thinking they have revised their estimations by 25k plus?

England V Fiji (on seeding) in a home world cup quarter final with the Women's game too would be comfortably able to push most of Anfield's capacity - certainly the lower bowl.

So much for 1m, erm 750,000 tickets.

I know they have had to deal with a lot, but I did notice the women used the 1 year postponement to upgrade a number of stadiums for their European Championships - making it much bigger than originally planned. Hope the RLWC isn't going in the opposite direction?  

 

[Tommygilf]

12 minutes ago, Scubby said:

So much for 1m, erm 750,000 tickets.

I know they have had to deal with a lot, but I did notice the women used the 1 year postponement to upgrade a number of stadiums for their European Championships - making it much bigger than originally planned. Hope the RLWC isn't going in the opposite direction?  

 

Salford moving to Moor Lane, RLWC from Anfield to the DW...

[DoubleD]

4 hours ago, Tommygilf said:

Anfield isn't available because of stadium renovation work planned to coincide with the winter world cup, I don't think every possible stadium will be doing similar. 

I think Wigan is the "safe" option. In that they have 30k less tickets to shift and only 25k to sell to an already captive local audience. Its not "safe" of course because its 30k less potential attendees in a venue in throwing distance from another quarter final venue, and 3 group games, and the final (I haven't included St Helens and Warrington's games in there either). 

Its asking a lot of 1 area imo - on top of the downgrade.

I agree, we know rugby league fans don’t turn up for matches, it’s the event fan and neutral that we need to entice, which Anfield appealed to. Wigan doesn’t. 

That said, given that councils/stadia bid for games, it’s quite conceivable that Wigan has thrown money at it to make it the most financially enticing option, regardless of the attendance. I’d have liked more ambition though and spreading the game to a slightly wider footprint. We need new fans, not fishing in the same pond 

[Tommygilf]

17 minutes ago, DoubleD said:

I agree, we know rugby league fans don’t turn up for matches, it’s the event fan and neutral that we need to entice, which Anfield appealed to. Wigan doesn’t. 

That said, given that councils/stadia bid for games, it’s quite conceivable that Wigan has thrown money at it to make it the most financially enticing option, regardless of the attendance. I’d have liked more ambition though and spreading the game to a slightly wider footprint. We need new fans, not fishing in the same pond 

True, though presumably Liverpool did too in the first place which is why they were getting the wheelchair and women's games as well.

I hope if it is as you describe it is enough money to offset the loss in income from ticket sales.

Like you say, same pond. Its asking the same people to come to 3 group games at Leigh, England v France at Bolton, and another Quarter final at Bolton too. That's roughly 120k tickets between Wigan, Leigh and Bolton with nearly 100k more between nearby St Helens and Warrington and of course the final at Old Trafford. Only 1 real event city and stadium in there is a big concern.

I thought selling the 3rd group games at some venues was going to be tough. Its only going to be tougher now as the expectation seems to be that these will be relatively easy sells. Anything less than 90% ticket sales will be poor for these areas however and the games are at risk of cannibalising eachother.

I was hoping this world cup would be a progression from 2013. Disappointingly it seems like more of a sideways step to me.

[GUBRATS]

12 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

True, though presumably Liverpool did too in the first place which is why they were getting the wheelchair and women's games as well.

I hope if it is as you describe it is enough money to offset the loss in income from ticket sales.

Like you say, same pond. Its asking the same people to come to 3 group games at Leigh, England v France at Bolton, and another Quarter final at Bolton too. That's roughly 120k tickets between Wigan, Leigh and Bolton with nearly 100k more between nearby St Helens and Warrington and of course the final at Old Trafford. Only 1 real event city and stadium in there is a big concern.

I thought selling the 3rd group games at some venues was going to be tough. Its only going to be tougher now as the expectation seems to be that these will be relatively easy sells. Anything less than 90% ticket sales will be poor for these areas however and the games are at risk of cannibalising eachother.

I was hoping this world cup would be a progression from 2013. Disappointingly it seems like more of a sideways step to me.

So , no fans outside Leigh , Wigan and Bolton are allowed to attend those games ?

I will consider all those games , but wouldn't have considered Anfield 

How many Liverpudlians attended the recent games at Anfield ?

[DoubleD]

13 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

True, though presumably Liverpool did too in the first place which is why they were getting the wheelchair and women's games as well.

I hope if it is as you describe it is enough money to offset the loss in income from ticket sales.

Like you say, same pond. Its asking the same people to come to 3 group games at Leigh, England v France at Bolton, and another Quarter final at Bolton too. That's roughly 120k tickets between Wigan, Leigh and Bolton with nearly 100k more between nearby St Helens and Warrington and of course the final at Old Trafford. Only 1 real event city and stadium in there is a big concern.

I thought selling the 3rd group games at some venues was going to be tough. Its only going to be tougher now as the expectation seems to be that these will be relatively easy sells. Anything less than 90% ticket sales will be poor for these areas however and the games are at risk of cannibalising eachother.

I was hoping this world cup would be a progression from 2013. Disappointingly it seems like more of a sideways step to me.

I don’t think the games are at risk of cannibalising each other, they are doing so. You only need to look at the 2013 World Cup in some of the heartland areas to look at some poor attendances

[Tommygilf]

3 minutes ago, GUBRATS said:

So , no fans outside Leigh , Wigan and Bolton are allowed to attend those games ?

I will consider all those games , but wouldn't have considered Anfield 

How many Liverpudlians attended the recent games at Anfield ?

Fans are less likely to travel,yes. Just as if we had games in Halifax, Dewsbury and Wakefield. Doncaster's 3 games are going to be a tough sell too for slightly different reasons.

Liverpool didn't need many locals to turn up, that is precisely the point.

Very few people will travel to Leigh, Bolton, Wigan, St Helens and Warrington from outside their vicinity - except for England games.

[Tommygilf]

8 minutes ago, DoubleD said:

I don’t think the games are at risk of cannibalising each other, they are doing so. You only need to look at the 2013 World Cup in some of the heartland areas to look at some poor attendances

Quite. 7k at Leigh or 20k at Wigan would be failures in a way that similar figures wouldn't be at other cities.

[Tommygilf]

The Wheelchair games seems to have also been moved from the Arena in Liverpool too.

[Scubby]

18 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

The Wheelchair games seems to have also been moved from the Arena in Liverpool too.

Oh dear

[Damien]

Full schedule announced on Friday:

The road to the rescheduled Rugby League World Cup 2021 (RLWC2021) officially begins today (15 November) as we can finally confirm the 61-match schedule will be revealed in full on Friday 19 November at 9am GMT.

Also with regards Liverpool:

Despite collective best efforts this has resulted in the disappointing loss of both Anfield Stadium and the M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool from the schedule due to the Anfield Road expansion and prior commitments respectively. However, Liverpool will still play a key role during the tournament with the city providing the training bases for Italy and Tonga. The details of the venue switch and replacement venues will be revealed this Friday, 19 November.

Bigger and better. New schedule and tickets on sale from 9am Friday (rlwc2021.com)

[Scubby]

2 minutes ago, Damien said:

Full schedule announced on Friday:

The road to the rescheduled Rugby League World Cup 2021 (RLWC2021) officially begins today (15 November) as we can finally confirm the 61-match schedule will be revealed in full on Friday 19 November at 9am GMT.

Also with regards Liverpool:

Despite collective best efforts this has resulted in the disappointing loss of both Anfield Stadium and the M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool from the schedule due to the Anfield Road expansion and prior commitments respectively. However, Liverpool will still play a key role during the tournament with the city providing the training bases for Italy and Tonga. The details of the venue switch and replacement venues will be revealed this Friday, 19 November.

Bigger and better. New schedule and tickets on sale from 9am Friday (rlwc2021.com)

Bigger and better?? Hopefully it will be a pleasant surprise.

[DoubleD]

6 minutes ago, Damien said:

Full schedule announced on Friday:

The road to the rescheduled Rugby League World Cup 2021 (RLWC2021) officially begins today (15 November) as we can finally confirm the 61-match schedule will be revealed in full on Friday 19 November at 9am GMT.

Also with regards Liverpool:

Despite collective best efforts this has resulted in the disappointing loss of both Anfield Stadium and the M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool from the schedule due to the Anfield Road expansion and prior commitments respectively. However, Liverpool will still play a key role during the tournament with the city providing the training bases for Italy and Tonga. The details of the venue switch and replacement venues will be revealed this Friday, 19 November.

Bigger and better. New schedule and tickets on sale from 9am Friday (rlwc2021.com)

Hats off to the team for getting everything rearranged in such a short timeframe. Previously they’d hoped to release before Xmas so this is great news and gives a full years build up. 

Very interesting to see the comment ‘bigger and better’. Not sure how that would correlate with a move from Anfield to DW Stadium for one of the quarter finals 

[Scubby]

1 minute ago, DoubleD said:

Hats off to the team for getting everything rearranged in such a short timeframe. Previously they’d hoped to release before Xmas so this is great news and gives a full years build up. 

Very interesting to see the comment ‘bigger and better’. Not sure how that would correlate with a move from Anfield to DW Stadium for one of the quarter finals 

Is it the fact that Shaun Wane has been mostly at home on the pies since becoming England coach?