Will the encouraging signs lead to increased attendances?

[GUBRATS]

8 minutes ago, Wellsy4HullFC said:

You're speaking as a die hard fan of many decades.

You're not thinking from the perspective of a child or teen in this day and age, nor an uninitiated adult who didn't grow up on the terraces watching or park field playing. There needs to be more of a hook than just the game (a game which they won't fully understand to appreciate the way you or I do).

So there it is folks , we need more fireworks , dancers , go carts and elephants 

[Wellsy4HullFC]

1 minute ago, GUBRATS said:

So there it is folks , we need more fireworks , dancers , go carts and elephants 

We need more to add to the event, not necessarily those things.

My daughter would be far more interested in going if there were those things though! She is only 2 though!

[GUBRATS]

1 minute ago, Wellsy4HullFC said:

We need more to add to the event, not necessarily those things.

My daughter would be far more interested in going if there were those things though! She is only 2 though!

Those are the things I witnessed at my first SL game at Odsal in 2004 

[Dave T]

3 hours ago, Scubby said:

Plenty do on the comments of social media posts tbf. It was rife when Toronto were around and I saw quite a lot when talking about Toulouse, Catalans etc. last season

Talking about away fans is not the same as people basing their financial survival on away fans (the claim). 

 

[Dave T]

2 hours ago, Dallas Mead said:

Eh?  They are…..literally on THIS thread?  Wowzers….

No, they arent. Nobody is basing their financial survival on away fans, which was your claim, and is a common tactic used to discredit arguments people don't like. 

 

[Dave T]

21 minutes ago, paulwalker71 said:

Fully agree Dave

If we could somehow get to a 16-team top division with all of those teams in, then it would be different.

It's why my view is that expansion can't be a replacement programme. 

Expansion should be all about growing more and more strong clubs, not just constantly trimming and replacing. 

[Wellsy4HullFC]

15 minutes ago, Dave T said:

It's why my view is that expansion can't be a replacement programme. 

Expansion should be all about growing more and more strong clubs, not just constantly trimming and replacing. 

I agree with this. It's finding the balance between regional, national and continental (and inter-continental I guess!).

 

A mixture of all is what is needed.

Edited December 6, 2021 by Wellsy4HullFC

[Dave T]

35 minutes ago, GUBRATS said:

So there it is folks , we need more fireworks , dancers , go carts and elephants 

As with all of these things, there is a balance. We shouldn't be disparaging of people demanding more than 80m rugby as we shouldn't of those who feel away fans are important. 

The magic here is getting the balance right between wasting money and it being a vanity product and making your events work so well that everything trickles down from there. 

People use Bradford as an example, but it wasn't the marketing budgets that killed them, it was the underlying business model that wasn't working for them. Each club is unique and have to work in a way that suits them. Some will own grounds, some have a rich director, some have huge fanbase, some tiny, some in affluent areas, some less so. 

But in all cases, the quality of the event really needs to be a major focus, and that includes the stuff on the grass and off it. At SL level I don't think we do a bad job (I haven't been to Championship games), but at Internationals and major events I think we have fallen behind now, mainly due to being too thrifty imho. 

[GUBRATS]

6 minutes ago, Dave T said:

As with all of these things, there is a balance. We shouldn't be disparaging of people demanding more than 80m rugby as we shouldn't of those who feel away fans are important. 

The magic here is getting the balance right between wasting money and it being a vanity product and making your events work so well that everything trickles down from there. 

People use Bradford as an example, but it wasn't the marketing budgets that killed them, it was the underlying business model that wasn't working for them. Each club is unique and have to work in a way that suits them. Some will own grounds, some have a rich director, some have huge fanbase, some tiny, some in affluent areas, some less so. 

But in all cases, the quality of the event really needs to be a major focus, and that includes the stuff on the grass and off it. At SL level I don't think we do a bad job (I haven't been to Championship games), but at Internationals and major events I think we have fallen behind now, mainly due to being too thrifty imho. 

As you put , and I pointed out earlier , many clubs just can't do much if anything , they either don't have the room or permission , which is why I made my point , and again that only really works if you have dedicated area's for the various fans 

[ELBOWSEYE]

3 minutes ago, GUBRATS said:

As you put , and I pointed out earlier , many clubs just can't do much if anything , they either don't have the room or permission , which is why I made my point , and again that only really works if you have dedicated area's for the various fans 

You are certainly on a one man crusade. 

[GUBRATS]

On 05/12/2021 at 16:13, GUBRATS said:

Big teams , middle teams , small teams , lower tier teams , all games are enhanced with a sizeable away following , they make any game feel more like an ' event ' 

 

FAO Dallas Meade 

[GUBRATS]

4 minutes ago, ELBOWSEYE said:

You are certainly on a one man crusade. 

Maybe more people should open their eyes and their minds and actually see what we are trying to achieve 

Do football ' embellish ' their regular games in the ways being suggested ? , Apart from the odd few fireworks occaisionally ?

[ELBOWSEYE]

1 minute ago, GUBRATS said:

Maybe more people should open their eyes and their minds and actually see what we are trying to achieve 

Do football ' embellish ' their regular games in the ways being suggested ? , Apart from the odd few fireworks occaisionally ?

Chalk and cheese, you cannot compare football with any other sport in England. RU would be a better gauge. And international 5/6 nations are annual events. The clubs regularly have events, not always money makers but certainly profile and headline grabbing which helps attract new fans and sponsors. 

[Dave T]

8 minutes ago, GUBRATS said:

Maybe more people should open their eyes and their minds and actually see what we are trying to achieve 

Do football ' embellish ' their regular games in the ways being suggested ? , Apart from the odd few fireworks occaisionally ?

I think you are being too focused on a fanzone or a singer on the pitch. In football, there has certainly been a lot of focus on improving the fan experience, as there has at RU and other sports. 

Edited December 6, 2021 by Dave T

[Tommygilf]

3 minutes ago, ELBOWSEYE said:

Chalk and cheese, you cannot compare football with any other sport in England. RU would be a better gauge. And international 5/6 nations are annual events. The clubs regularly have events, not always money makers but certainly profile and headline grabbing which helps attract new fans and sponsors. 

Even football propogate and encourage a massive media circus. And many Football clubs actually do lots of stuff on matchdays.

[Dave T]

1 minute ago, Tommygilf said:

Even football propogate and encourage a massive media circus. And many Football clubs actually do lots of stuff on matchdays.

Football clubs have embraced match day presentations that suit them. We are seeing more and more light shows and the music is often specifically chosen for the event. We do see more fanzones and bars where clubs want a piece of the action too. 

This is on top of the improved food and drink options and massive facility improvements. 

[GUBRATS]

54 minutes ago, Dave T said:

I think you are being too focused on a fanzone or a singer on the pitch. In football, there has certainly been a lot of focus on improving the fan experience, as there has at RU and other sports. 

Fair enough Dave , so what should I be focusing on ?

Edited December 6, 2021 by GUBRATS

[GUBRATS]

53 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

Even football propogate and encourage a massive media circus. And many Football clubs actually do lots of stuff on matchdays.

Media yes , something they already have the attention of 

Still waiting to be educated ?

[GUBRATS]

55 minutes ago, Dave T said:

Football clubs have embraced match day presentations that suit them. We are seeing more and more light shows and the music is often specifically chosen for the event. We do see more fanzones and bars where clubs want a piece of the action too. 

This is on top of the improved food and drink options and massive facility improvements. 

Isn't it football we are trying to emulate ?

[Tommygilf]

17 minutes ago, GUBRATS said:

Media yes , something they already have the attention of 

Still waiting to be educated ?

You can start by reading the second sentence of the post you just quoted

[Tommygilf]

1 hour ago, Dave T said:

Football clubs have embraced match day presentations that suit them. We are seeing more and more light shows and the music is often specifically chosen for the event. We do see more fanzones and bars where clubs want a piece of the action too. 

This is on top of the improved food and drink options and massive facility improvements. 

Absolutely, even at LUFC they have bars and other amenities on before (and sometimes after) the game. 

At the truly massive stadiums the facility itself tends to do the talking and realistically police want to disperse that number of people as smoothly as possible but the stadiums themselves are still very good.

Sometimes its about building on what's already there too. Working with the pubs that are popular with fans pre/post match. Getting the fanzines/social media/podcasters involved. You don't have to reinvent the wheel or adopt a one size fits all approach.

[Dave T]

35 minutes ago, GUBRATS said:

Fair enough Dave , so what should I be focusing on ?

We've discussed it many times mate. 

[Dave T]

29 minutes ago, GUBRATS said:

Isn't it football we are trying to emulate ?

I'm not sure what point you are making. 

[Man of Kent]

Football has largely resisted Bullmania type stuff, to be fair. What it has done is improve facilities. 

There are vanishingly few Belle Vue style downmarket eyesores/embarrassments in football.  
 

 

 

[GUBRATS]

So it's now become a stadium and facilities issue ?