Has a london based challenge cup become financially unviable

[David Shepherd]

1 hour ago, Just Browny said:

There's always stuff happening in London and it's hard/expensive to get travel and accommodation at short notice all year round. Individual events are genuinely a drop in the ocean. Leyther Matt was right; scheduling Wigan v Saints (for example) as a GF with a week's notice would be absolutely terrible.

Indeed, we have had the three weeks thing before for cup finals and it has a negative effect on attendances. Should be at least four weeks between the semi and the final, but five even better as it takes clubs 3 or 4 days to sort their travel arrangements (even more for e.g. Catalans for obvious reasons).

It's true that London has always got something going on, however if I wanted to stay in the same hotel I've booked for the cup weekend this Fri->Sun. It's 1/3 of the price I've paid.

Simple supply and demand. There's two big sporting events and one huge national/international event occurring at the same time.

I think we lack ambition by keeping the main event up north. 

[David Shepherd]

1 hour ago, Jughead said:

That’s one way to kill the game’s showpiece event, the Grand Final. 

I disagree. 

[Jughead]

11 minutes ago, David Shepherd said:

I disagree. 

Giving fans of clubs less than a week’s notice to organise travel and tickets for a game at the other end of the country to 10/12 clubs and in a completely different country to the other two is a recipe for disaster. 

People aren’t happy that the semi-finals of the cup were played three weeks before the final at Wembley, playing a semi to the Grand Final six days before a game at Wembley is just daft, I’m afraid, and thankfully a non-starter. 

That’s before we get into adding the Championship Grand Final and assuming that the attendance will be huge because double header. 

[Fevrover]

On 10/05/2022 at 20:12, WN83 said:

You’d like to think this cost of living crisis won’t last forever but it won’t be going anywhere in the short term either. It’s a perfect storm in many ways at the moment, with things like train prices sky high before the sh*t really hit the fan anyway. Fuel costs now have seen coach prices shoot up to between £47.50 and £55 from what I’ve seen this time. I think the last time we went down in 2017 it cost about £35. The ticket costs are absolutely fine IMO but the costs of the whole day, especially for families, have really rocketed. 
 

As a whole sport, I think there needs to be more of a push to get neutrals to make a day of it. I don’t know for sure that they don’t but to me the RFL need to really get the community clubs heavily involved and incentivise them selling tickets. Give the clubs a % share based on sales maybe or have some sort of prizes on offer for the clubs that sell the most. It needs to start feeling like a celebration of the game as a whole again.  
 

There has to be more that can be done, then what seems to be currently. I wanted to book coach travel for the final a few weeks ago, as we were going regardless of who got there but I couldn’t find a single option. The approach just seems to be that we hope a couple of well supported clubs get there now and fill it as best we can. 

£50  on coach from Featherstone RLFC.

[David Shepherd]

1 hour ago, Fevrover said:

£50  on coach from Featherstone RLFC.

Some trains from Donny were only £50 return. £50 seems a lot for the 4 hours or so it'll take in a coach.

[Jughead]

1 minute ago, David Shepherd said:

Some trains from Donny were only £50 return. £50 seems a lot for the 4 hours or so it'll take in a coach.

Just to be clear, you’re going to spend the same amount for a longer journey?

[Anita Bath]

6 hours ago, Jughead said:

It’s always a straight knockout tournament regardless of minor cosmetic changes within that. 

That sounds like a fan of a super league team talking.  The competition is unrecognisable to teams outside super league, however minor and cosmetic the constant. changes may appear to those who now require fewer games to win the trophy.

[Jughead]

5 minutes ago, Anita Bath said:

That sounds like a fan of a super league team talking.  The competition is unrecognisable to teams outside super league, however minor and cosmetic the constant. changes may appear to those who now require fewer games to win the trophy.

The Challenge Cup has always been a knockout competition. That is an undisputed fact. 

There has been a number of changes to it as the game and competition has evolved in terms of rounds but it has always been a knockout competition. 

[Anita Bath]

19 minutes ago, Jughead said:

The Challenge Cup has always been a knockout competition. That is an undisputed fact. 

There has been a number of changes to it as the game and competition has evolved in terms of rounds but it has always been a knockout competition. 

Yes but that doesnt make the changes”minor and cosmetic”

[Jughead]

Just now, Anita Bath said:

Yes but that doesnt make the changes”minor and cosmetic”

In your opinion. Many have been minor and purely cosmetic. 

[Anita Bath]

In your opinion.

[Jughead]

7 minutes ago, Anita Bath said:

In your opinion.

Do you actually like Rugby League?

[Anita Bath]

Odd that you are eager to state your ‘opinion’ but seem to want to dismiss opinions of others that differ from yours.

Perhaps start a new thread…..’opinions like mine’.

[Jughead]

19 minutes ago, Anita Bath said:

Odd that you are eager to state your ‘opinion’ but seem to want to dismiss opinions of others that differ from yours.

Perhaps start a new thread…..’opinions like mine’.

You’re arguing points nobody but yourself has made. 

[Leyther_Matt]

1 hour ago, Jughead said:

Just to be clear, you’re going to spend the same amount for a longer journey?

Without speaking for @David Shepherd, I read that as £50 being interpreted as quite expensive for a coach journey that takes significantly longer than the train. However, I think it is worth noting that the £50 coach is at least ‘door to door’ (or as near as you can get on an official coach) and is still at that price, whereas said train was presumably long-since sold out Advance tickets and doesn’t include your train from central London to the stadium, nor your travel from (presumably) Featherstone to Doncaster. 

[Anita Bath]

2 hours ago, Jughead said:

You’re arguing points nobody but yourself has made. 

Well thats good because it would be pretty boring if all the opinions expressed on here agreed with yours.

Have you ever thought of going into politics?

[The Partisan]

On 11/05/2022 at 23:43, Nate90 said:

Off topic but London Skolars are playing Oldham at home at 7pm the night before the final. Seems really near to Spurs ground too. I'll be driving down to London on Friday evening from Wigan so I probably won't make that on time

In 2016 when travelling from Oz to North America / Europe I went to the Skolars game on the Friday night before the final. They played - and got toweled up by - Toulouse.  I had arrived in London that arvo from a canal boating few days with no real plans for the evening so thought I'd check it out.  Great night had meeting locals and hearing their London RL stories. Went to the CC final next day. 

[Oxford]

The total of any, repeat, any disposable income will become the barometer of viability of London Finals/events, as well as the thermometer for RL's health.

BTW has Elton John gone yet?

£198 ! He'd do less well with a gun at the main post office down our way!

[kev p]

On 11/05/2022 at 14:43, Nate90 said:

Off topic but London Skolars are playing Oldham at home at 7pm the night before the final. Seems really near to Spurs ground too. I'll be driving down to London on Friday evening from Wigan so I probably won't make that on time

if driving to new river for skolars game, watch for parking restrictions. the car park you pay for, but you can park on the street free of charge after 6/6.30. many miss this oddity. but check signs. been there many times

[Jughead]

Fish & Chips on offer inside the Tottenham ground last night. £9.79. 

[Leyther_Matt]

14 hours ago, Jughead said:

Fish & Chips on offer inside the Tottenham ground last night. £9.79. 

Loses a mark for the lack of mushy peas, but bloody hell that’s the size of a shark.

Scran.

@FootyScran