CC Semi finals and Women's CC Final at Elland Road

[Chris22]

I've never been a fan of a double header for the cup semi finals. This leads to of half the stadium being empty for at least one of the semi finals, usually the second one as the fans who primarily attended for the first game go home. I'd rather see a near full house at stadiums like Warrington and Doncaster than a sparse Elland Road.

I do admire the ambition of holding the event at a bigger stadium but getting around the issues of having a major event at a half full venue doesn't serve our sport in the best light, in my view.

[Sir Kevin Sinfield]

17 hours ago, GUBRATS said:

Elland Rd

Fine for people shorter than 5ft 6 

It’s funny how Premier League Football fans manage at old grounds like Anfield and Elland Road but as soon as a Rugby League game is played there you hear a lot of moaning and complaining, fans of our game must be real snowflakes. Yes there isn’t a great deal of room in the seats and your a bit cramped in but I wouldn’t let that stop me enjoying a game.

[GUBRATS]

2 minutes ago, Sir Kevin Sinfield said:

It’s funny how Premier League Football fans manage at old grounds like Anfield and Elland Road but as soon as a Rugby League game is played there you hear a lot of moaning and complaining, fans of our game must be real snowflakes. Yes there isn’t a great deal of room in the seats and your a bit cramped in but I wouldn’t let that stop me enjoying a game.

Knock yourself out shorthouse , or ###### , take your pick

[GUBRATS]

5 hours ago, JohnM said:

And for the women's game, too, in my view. Holding a decent crowd hostage and making them watch a women's game sandwiched between two mens games is in my view a good idea.

So what are you suggesting , all fans of all the teams must enter the stadium before the first game and not be allowed to leave until the end of the last one ( obviously if it's Wigan involved then a 20 minute dispensation will be allowed ) ?

[JohnM]

1 hour ago, GUBRATS said:

So what are you suggesting , all fans of all the teams must enter the stadium before the first game and not be allowed to leave until the end of the last one ( obviously if it's Wigan involved then a 20 minute dispensation will be allowed ) ?

I'm suggesting all Leigh fans be excluded just because they are Leigh fans.

[northamptoncougar]

Don’t like these double / triple headers, it smacks of small time, make each game an event rather than a cost cutting exercise.

[GUBRATS]

8 minutes ago, JohnM said:

I'm suggesting all Leigh fans be excluded just because they are Leigh fans.

No John , you've reread what you posted and realised it was a bad idea you were suggesting

[JohnM]

3 hours ago, GUBRATS said:

No John , you've reread what you posted and realised it was a bad idea you were suggesting

No. It's a bonus idea that will win widespread support 

[GUBRATS]

10 minutes ago, JohnM said:

No. It's a bonus idea that will win widespread support 

I doubt we'll be in invited

[Eddie]

5 hours ago, JohnM said:

I'm suggesting all Leigh fans be excluded just because they are Leigh fans.

They won’t make a final anyway, so no worries. 

[Eddie]

5 hours ago, northamptoncougar said:

Don’t like these double / triple headers, it smacks of small time, make each game an event rather than a cost cutting exercise.

So are you saying hire out Wembley, Twickenham and the Maracana on successive weekends? 

[theswanmcr]

I applaud the ambition here of using a big ground but we seem to be almost creating another big event to try and sell when we can’t sell out the ones we already have.

The priority should be trying to sell out the Challenge Cup Final - that is the showpiece event and not the semi-finals. 

I know there are arguments against but I’d still love to see a double-header of Challenge Cup men’s and women’s final at Wembley. Maybe even a triple/quadruple header with wheelchair and PDRL finals the same weekend all in London - a bit like the World Cup is doing in Manchester. A real RL‘take over’ and celebration of the game in the capital. 
 

[redjonn]

20 hours ago, Sir Kevin Sinfield said:

It’s funny how Premier League Football fans manage at old grounds like Anfield and Elland Road but as soon as a Rugby League game is played there you hear a lot of moaning and complaining, fans of our game must be real snowflakes. Yes there isn’t a great deal of room in the seats and your a bit cramped in but I wouldn’t let that stop me enjoying a game.

yep but just to be contrary or at least ask a question...

Is that why fans at those grounds like Anfield all stand to watch in some sections where the seats have been squeezed in... despite having seats... I'm assuming their uncomfortable 

[Wire quin]

On 03/12/2021 at 14:53, hunsletgreenandgold said:

I think Leeds is a good choice for this kind of event - bearing in mind that now means we have all our show piece events at large stadiums and across 4 of the largest cities in the UK

GF - Manchester (Old Trafford)

Magic - Newcastle (St James' Park)

WCC final/Men's CC SF - Leeds (Elland Road) 

CC Final - London (Wembley) 

 

Not bad for a pokey little game in the North 

Tottenham  can we have a little more accuracy please!

[RP London]

On 04/12/2021 at 17:44, northamptoncougar said:

Don’t like these double / triple headers, it smacks of small time, make each game an event rather than a cost cutting exercise.

just as 1 persons view.. I have been to a couple of these events at Bolton (there may only have been a couple, with the last few years I have lost track and I may have actually been to them all) with my son.. we love them, the added womens CCF has been great but I am torn on whether it is the best thing for the game to continue that on or make it stand alone, or move it to the middle (a good option IMHO). We will go to them even if Warrington are not in it (if we can).. but I would not be making may way to a random semi final just because.. 

It actually feels like an event and i think it adds something to the semis rather than taking away... 

[Scubby]

1 hour ago, RP London said:

just as 1 persons view.. I have been to a couple of these events at Bolton (there may only have been a couple, with the last few years I have lost track and I may have actually been to them all) with my son.. we love them, the added womens CCF has been great but I am torn on whether it is the best thing for the game to continue that on or make it stand alone, or move it to the middle (a good option IMHO). We will go to them even if Warrington are not in it (if we can).. but I would not be making may way to a random semi final just because.. 

It actually feels like an event and i think it adds something to the semis rather than taking away... 

It has the potential to sell many more neutral tickets that Challenge Cup SFs have done in the past. I commend the RFL for trying to create another event - this has more on the line of course than magic.

The flip side to that is that losing fans in the first semi final are in the main despondent and the idea of watching the 2nd semi when your interest has ended is probably not that appealing.  

[RP London]

44 minutes ago, Scubby said:

It has the potential to sell many more neutral tickets that Challenge Cup SFs have done in the past. I commend the RFL for trying to create another event - this has more on the line of course than magic.

The flip side to that is that losing fans in the first semi final are in the main despondent and the idea of watching the 2nd semi when your interest has ended is probably not that appealing.  

agree, the one thing is those people (being partisan) probably wouldn't have gone to the second one anyway.. where as those that win may stick around adding more atmosphere as they see who they are going to face etc. Its not perfect but I do think it is absolutely worth a try to build into an event in its own right.

[redjonn]

Personally not a fan of double headers but I understand why given the lack of interest in CC semi nowadays.

I'd rather it be separate games on different days and get TV coverage across more days.

OK it may mean smaller stadiums to reflect interest and of course goal to increase interest to eventually if ever have bigger stadiums.   Plus monies is kept in the game rather than renting a soccer stadium but then I have no idea of costs and income to know which makes more money within the sport. 

[Scubby]

1 minute ago, redjonn said:

Personally not a fan of double headers but I understand why given the lack of interest in CC semi nowadays.

I'd rather it be separate games on different days and get TV coverage across more days.

OK it may mean smaller stadiums to reflect interest and of course goal to increase interest to eventually if ever have bigger stadiums.   Plus monies is kept in the game rather than renting a soccer stadium but then I have no idea of costs and income to know which makes more money within the sport. 

The key to this is can it draw in 5-10k neutrals who want to watch an amazing day of knock our RL? If it can then it will be a success as it is already a big event for fans of clubs being one step from Wembley.

I don't follow a club but would be interested in attending this day as a neutral.

[redjonn]

6 minutes ago, Scubby said:

The key to this is can it draw in 5-10k neutrals who want to watch an amazing day of knock our RL? If it can then it will be a success as it is already a big event for fans of clubs being one step from Wembley.

I don't follow a club but would be interested in attending this day as a neutral.

Yep can see your point. Not sure it attracts more neutral fans than a well promoted individual semi but maybe it does.

I still see more value in a FTA TV game on two days than a single event day. 

Plus to be honest I find it hard to maintain interest watching two games let alone three in a single sitting, so to speak. Then maybe I'm not the average fan but maybe I am.

[Eddie]

4 hours ago, redjonn said:

Yep can see your point. Not sure it attracts more neutral fans than a well promoted individual semi but maybe it does.

I still see more value in a FTA TV game on two days than a single event day. 

Plus to be honest I find it hard to maintain interest watching two games let alone three in a single sitting, so to speak. Then maybe I'm not the average fan but maybe I am.

Re your first point, I think it would. I don’t like anywhere near the M62 so maybe am different to 90% of potential attendees, but I wouldn’t drive 4 hours to watch a one off semi but I would go watch a double header. And it’s not fashionable to say it, and I can’t put my finger on why, but I’d be less interested in watching the women’s final than either of the men’s semis. 

[Wellsy4HullFC]

The key to building big events in our game is making them attractive to neutrals as we simply do not have big enough clubs to fill large stadiums alone.

As many have said, neutrals are far more likely to attend this event than 2 separate fixtures. The Cup has long needed a change, and this has been a huge step in the right direction (Bolton as a venue though was very uninspiring and felt like was chosen to watch it fail sometimes!).

 

On a side note, I did suggest (about 10 years ago!) the idea of growing the CC into a sort of Magic Weekend circuit as a replacement for the current MW format. All CC games are outside the season ticket anyway, and there's a strong chance fans will have to travel regardless. Might as well have the stadiums known ahead of time and give neutrals the opportunity to plan ahead as well as club fans entering at their guaranteed first round!

[Wellsy4HullFC]

To add...

The quarter finals in 2019 had a combined attendance of about 21,000.

The combined total attendances of the 2019 games in the Last 16 (Round 6), which included the top 8 SL sides entering, was about 36,000 over 8 games. Less than 5k a game on average (Bradford v Leeds got 10k - biggest of the round).

The previous round total (Round 5), which included the bottom 4 SL sides entering, was about 14,000 over 8 games.

 

Surely some mileage in a combined event in an attractive city centre for each of these rounds over time? Not like there's anything to lose (stadiums are already looking empty in these rounds, they'll have to pay costs at their own grounds for the extra fixture, gates are already shared so little promotion done by individual clubs). Could end up being cheaper to host, with a bigger turnout (more neutrals), centrally-controlled marketing campaign, more enjoyable event, ALL potentially televised on FTA as the cameras are already there.

Just a thought...

[GUBRATS]

On 04/12/2021 at 22:47, Eddie said:

They won’t make a final anyway, so no worries. 

My point in the post above yours

[Ooh Ah Timmy Street]

‘The 2022 competition will have a new format, with the 16 competing teams drawn into four seeded groups of four teams, with each team participating in at least three fixtures.’

 

This quote from the article is news to be . Not seen this mentioned anywhere in league express or on this Forum.  Have I missed this one?