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Will the encouraging signs lead to increased attendances?


Scubby

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A pretty upbeat few weeks for the game here with some exciting signings, broadcast deals etc. Is this going to be reflected in metrics next year with increased attendances both at club and big events games?

Are clubs reporting an uptick in interest/season tickets? Will the Challenge Cup being at Spurs provide a full house? Be good to hear what people think.

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For those whom to-date have shown no interest in attending or watching games I just don't see how recent news will make any difference. They probably are not aware of any of the news.

For those with an interest in RL and have lapsed attending games at the stadium I would imagine a small uptick - depending upon individual club news.   

Those RL lapsed fans will watch FTA and that will help with a feel good factor about RL together with the world cup increasing its awareness. If only to lessen the normal doom and gloom.

Overall their will be an increase in spectators at SL games as both Toulouse and Catalan may will cause an increase in overall average attendance. Plus Toulouse will initially be a interest factor or novelty factor for clubs fans.

Too add - I get a sense that the championship may well be very competitive for half the league and that may well increase attendance a small amount.

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Much is made of event games being a draw for new/occaisional fans , but the bottom line is these apart from the WC are still club games , and there is a limit on the number of those any fans will commit to attending 

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I have said for a long time that we need to try and focus on creating a positive narrative around the game. We are a pretty negative bunch in RL, but the game makes it very easy to be negative and fall into that trap as some of the own goals the game creates is laughable. 

I think the morale around the game is an issue, and it can be a drain at times and tbh, over the years I have chosen to do other things as I find it too much of a drain at spells. I have said we need to focus on some easy wins, stop talking about the structure, stop making controversial decisions, just do things well and create a happier atmosphere. 

I think if we can get behind the Channel 4 deal, get a good streaming offering, stage a good Semi double header plus Cup Final, Magic and lead into a World Cup, 2022 has the makings of a really good and fun 12 months. 

When we talk about new or existing fans, it doesn't really matter, we have a lot of lapsed fans, our crowds are down on recent year's so even turning that round is progress. We then have the World Cup to really focus on newer fans, in grounds and on TV. 

Creating a positive vibe around the game cannot be underestimated imho. 

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We can't keep looking at big event crowds until the clubs actually try to entice the people on their own doorstep to come to games. After crowd's returned post lockdown I thought we would see a good reaction, but at Warrington all I saw were little or no effort from the club. They won't learn its not just the on field entertainment that matters but the whole experience, then the sport as a whole needs to grasp this. 

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47 minutes ago, ELBOWSEYE said:

We can't keep looking at big event crowds until the clubs actually try to entice the people on their own doorstep to come to games. After crowd's returned post lockdown I thought we would see a good reaction, but at Warrington all I saw were little or no effort from the club. They won't learn its not just the on field entertainment that matters but the whole experience, then the sport as a whole needs to grasp this. 

It wasn't worth investing in matches that were still being called off at random. 

Warrington didn't just forget how to hold events in the last 18m, there were clear reasons they were staged as they were. 

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14 hours ago, Dave T said:

I have said for a long time that we need to try and focus on creating a positive narrative around the game. We are a pretty negative bunch in RL, but the game makes it very easy to be negative and fall into that trap as some of the own goals the game creates is laughable. 

I think the morale around the game is an issue, and it can be a drain at times and tbh, over the years I have chosen to do other things as I find it too much of a drain at spells. I have said we need to focus on some easy wins, stop talking about the structure, stop making controversial decisions, just do things well and create a happier atmosphere. 

I think if we can get behind the Channel 4 deal, get a good streaming offering, stage a good Semi double header plus Cup Final, Magic and lead into a World Cup, 2022 has the makings of a really good and fun 12 months. 

When we talk about new or existing fans, it doesn't really matter, we have a lot of lapsed fans, our crowds are down on recent year's so even turning that round is progress. We then have the World Cup to really focus on newer fans, in grounds and on TV. 

Creating a positive vibe around the game cannot be underestimated imho. 

Its definitely easier to sell something with a positive vibe surrounding it.

Hopefully the negativity has largely been used up in 2020/2021. My only concern is that an incoming restructure or something like that could undermine the renewed positivity.

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6 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

Its definitely easier to sell something with a positive vibe surrounding it.

Hopefully the negativity has largely been used up in 2020/2021. My only concern is that an incoming restructure or something like that could undermine the renewed positivity.

Yeah, the structure piece is still the dark cloud hanging over the game. At a time where the world cup is the Ray of sunshine, this is an example of our self-harming again by having this hanging over us. 

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57 minutes ago, Dave T said:

It wasn't worth investing in matches that were still being called off at random. 

Warrington didn't just forget how to hold events in the last 18m, there were clear reasons they were staged as they were. 

Dave since the close season I have just received my first contact, as a long term season ticket holder its poor 

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48 minutes ago, ELBOWSEYE said:

Dave since the close season I have just received my first contact, as a long term season ticket holder its poor 

Mate, I'm not saying we are perfect, and I agree with your overall point that we all need to do better (I made the point on a different thread that we need to leave no stone unturned this year), but just offering some context around 2021.

We bought a ticket for a match this year and it had to be rolled over twice before it could be used for a third game. I can't criticise clubs for last year, but 2022 is a different matter. 

As somebody who has recently moved back to the area I must admit I have found the presence of RL clubs to be high, but that is likely because I lived in Edinburgh for the last decade. 

As a fan I've been engaged with a fair bit so far, plenty of noise around signings, new manager, a brilliant kit launch, Ratchford's testimonial game, the World Cup, etc. My experience is slightly different to yours at the moment. 

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I think our first aim, as stated earlier in this thread, should be getting lapsed fans back. Near enough all top flight sides had lower crowds from when capacity restrictions were lifted in July. That may be due to not having a season ticket, falling out of the habit, covid related concerns or a variety of other reasons. We need to get these fans back and rebuild the base of season ticket holders. 

Looking ahead, any impact of having more matches of TV will only be felt in 2023 onwards. The issue is how do we capitalise on, for example, the large numbers of locals in London, Newcastle, Coventry who may attend a match for the first time (or for a long time) at the World Cup?

You also have the issue that, whilst many more eyeballs are on the sport next year, for fans in large swathes of the country, the sport is inaccessible. If you lived anywhere from the North Midlands southwards, you will have to travel a hell of a distance to see a top flight match. Any upturn in viewing will always be limited by that.  

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5 minutes ago, Chris22 said:

I think our first aim, as stated earlier in this thread, should be getting lapsed fans back. Near enough all top flight sides had lower crowds from when capacity restrictions were lifted in July. That may be due to not having a season ticket, falling out of the habit, covid related concerns or a variety of other reasons. We need to get these fans back and rebuild the base of season ticket holders. 

Looking ahead, any impact of having more matches of TV will only be felt in 2023 onwards. The issue is how do we capitalise on, for example, the large numbers of locals in London, Newcastle, Coventry who may attend a match for the first time (or for a long time) at the World Cup?

You also have the issue that, whilst many more eyeballs are on the sport next year, for fans in large swathes of the country, the sport is inaccessible. If you lived anywhere from the North Midlands southwards, you will have to travel a hell of a distance to see a top flight match. Any upturn in viewing will always be limited by that.  

Agree with much of that, but in reality I don't think your last para is an issue. We are here to build up three types of audience. 

The regular weekly attendee. These will generally come from local areas, and we know that we have millions within half an hour of our grounds who do not attend regularly. 

Then we have the TV audience. Make a compelling comp and present it well through the right channels and we can grow that. 

Finally we have the event crowds - this is where those from further afield are served. Major events and the world cup will be key for them. 

There is a lot of growth to be had even if our comp always looks like it does now. 

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18 hours ago, Dave T said:

I have said for a long time that we need to try and focus on creating a positive narrative around the game. We are a pretty negative bunch in RL, but the game makes it very easy to be negative and fall into that trap as some of the own goals the game creates is laughable. 

I think the morale around the game is an issue, and it can be a drain at times and tbh, over the years I have chosen to do other things as I find it too much of a drain at spells. I have said we need to focus on some easy wins, stop talking about the structure, stop making controversial decisions, just do things well and create a happier atmosphere. 

I think if we can get behind the Channel 4 deal, get a good streaming offering, stage a good Semi double header plus Cup Final, Magic and lead into a World Cup, 2022 has the makings of a really good and fun 12 months. 

When we talk about new or existing fans, it doesn't really matter, we have a lot of lapsed fans, our crowds are down on recent year's so even turning that round is progress. We then have the World Cup to really focus on newer fans, in grounds and on TV. 

Creating a positive vibe around the game cannot be underestimated imho. 

It would be nice to come up with a long term plan across the board and stick with it, buy into a set of rules for the game and not change them for a decade and as for the amateur player tax, scrap it, if a shop had a product that wasn't selling they wouldn't slap a pound on the price, I fear the tax is going to be a massive home goal and could cut off the head that feeds the pro game.

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To answer the question, no, it won't make any difference at all on its own

Most people will be blissfully unaware of this 'good news'

What it DOES do is create the conditions in which the clubs themselves can now set about doing some genuine and creative marketing in their own areas.

If the clubs and - in an ideal world - the RFL and SL themselves don't get on the back of this and maximise the potential that has been created, then I fear it will lead nowhere. And the opportunity that the game has in the next 12 months will be wasted.

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I just hope we can get people back at the games in the numbers they were pre pandemic. It felt as though crowds dipped across the board. I think a mixture of apprehension about Covid, people getting out the habit and a bit of general apathy at certain clubs was to blame. 
 

An off season of good news and good signings should hopefully have wet people’s appetites. I can see the likes of Leeds, Warrington and Hull having better years and that would help numbers. 

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On 03/12/2021 at 10:49, Scubby said:

A pretty upbeat few weeks for the game here with some exciting signings, broadcast deals etc. Is this going to be reflected in metrics next year with increased attendances both at club and big events games?

Are clubs reporting an uptick in interest/season tickets? Will the Challenge Cup being at Spurs provide a full house? Be good to hear what people think.

I think it’ll take longer than that to have an impact, there hasn’t actually been any games on Channel 4 yet.

You’d hope for a big increase in 2023 with so much Rugby League on free to air TV in 2022 including Super League on Channel 4 and the World Cup on BBC.

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This is a tricky one but for me I can't see much of an increase in crowds week in week out. When England won the union World Cup in 2003 attendances at club games did go up but they were morealess straight into a league season so even if England do well in the RLWC the end of the season could lose momentum.

More meaningful internationals could create more interest though increasing crowds.

I'd like to think the novelty factor of The Challenge Cup Final being at Tottenham could get a big crowd there though.

Agree clubs need to do more to encourage support on the doorstep.

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As much the operating bodies and all those differing things surround it, the clubs have gotta put their effort into it as well. Can’t just expect people to magically appear back at grounds because of FTA coverage and a forthcoming World Cup.
 

All the clubs should have the data of whose not returner because first and foremost they have to work on the fans which they have lost recently. 

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