Magic attendance

[Leyther_Matt]

5 hours ago, Jughead said:

Was the cup final a one off this year in May? I can’t remember. 

Unfortunately neither can the RFL

[Dallas Mead]

7 hours ago, fighting irish said:

That's outrageous

Nah, it’s just absolute male genitals.  Not worthy of outrage.

[Dave T]

9 hours ago, Damien said:

Bar 1 year at Anfield and 1 year cancelled with Covid it has been at Newcastle since 2015. That's pretty consistent. 

More games is not the answer. I think very few people want to sit through 3 games never mind 4. Giving people more of the same, and frankly games of lower quality and standard isn't going to get people going.

Packing them high and giving games away for free is also the last thing we should be doing in my opinion. The attitude of cheap sells and freebies get people through the door needs to stop. 3 games a day already does that anyway.

I just think there is an argument that this is maybe the size of the market for Magic Weekend in this country. 

The numbers have been really stubborn on this event, in reality, I think it's a 55-70k event. As always, no doubt we could do better if we tried, but there is a question mark over diminishing return, maybe this is the level for this event. 

I'd rather we spent more time leaving no stone unturned for the Cup Final and Grand Final and Internationals, which have far greater coverage than this. 

Magic can be an enjoyable event for those who go and I think it is what it is. 

[Damien]

26 minutes ago, Dave T said:

I just think there is an argument that this is maybe the size of the market for Magic Weekend in this country. 

The numbers have been really stubborn on this event, in reality, I think it's a 55-70k event. As always, no doubt we could do better if we tried, but there is a question mark over diminishing return, maybe this is the level for this event. 

I'd rather we spent more time leaving no stone unturned for the Cup Final and Grand Final and Internationals, which have far greater coverage than this. 

Magic can be an enjoyable event for those who go and I think it is what it is. 

I completely agree. I touched on this point earlier but I think that for what some people want Magic to be, or more to the point do, there are better vehicles to get there that we should be focusing on. As you said these are internationals and finals.

[redjonn]

1 minute ago, Damien said:

I completely agree. I touched on this point earlier but I think that for what some people want Magic to be, or more to the point do, there are better vehicles to get there that we should be focusing on. As you said these are internationals and finals.

I would agree but what if we can't get the internationals or type of internationals that has wide attraction... or if the finals as in CCF is also stuck/numbers stubbornly stuck as they are.

[Mumby Magic]

If and if Toulouse stay up. 2x3 games and cats Vs Toulouse in Spain??

[Jughead]

If we can get between 63-68,000 annually to Newcastle, I don’t think that’s a particularly bad thing or something we should spend too much worrying about. 

I do think we should be making the weekend more enjoyable for those that do go, though. More games isn’t the answer and we have to be realistic and understand that not everyone wants to stay in the ground but still offering those people something that keeps them engaged with better fan zones and some entertainment beyond the norm. 

[Damien]

13 minutes ago, redjonn said:

I would agree but what if we can't get the internationals or type of internationals that has wide attraction... or if the finals as in CCF is also stuck/numbers stubbornly stuck as they are.

Well Magic is also stubbornly stuck where it is too!

I think we can certainly get internationals to where we want to be. We've seen that in past World Cups. We just don't play them enough. I think if the 2020 Ashes series had happened it would have been a bit of a throwback to the early 90s in terms of crowds. The Grand Final generally does well. The CC final and its problems has been done to death but considering the way it has been shunted about, with zero effort, it in some ways has done remarkably well.

As I said previously if we simply want big crowds at big stadiums then I think there are better ways to get that than Magic. For expanding the game and attracting new fans I think internationals are more appealing to neutrals, as are finals. I think Magic is a bit of a square box in a round hole solution. As Dave says it is what it is and I can't see it ever having much more appeal.

Edited July 12, 2022 by Damien

[Dave T]

1 hour ago, redjonn said:

I would agree but what if we can't get the internationals or type of internationals that has wide attraction... or if the finals as in CCF is also stuck/numbers stubbornly stuck as they are.

 

1 hour ago, Damien said:

Well Magic is also stubbornly stuck where it is too!

I think we can certainly get internationals to where we want to be. We've seen that in past World Cups. We just don't play them enough. I think if the 2020 Ashes series had happened it would have been a bit of a throwback to the early 90s in terms of crowds. The Grand Final generally does well. The CC final and its problems has been done to death but considering the way it has been shunted about, with zero effort, it in some ways has done remarkably well.

As I said previously if we simply want big crowds at big stadiums then I think there are better ways to get that than Magic. For expanding the game and attracting new fans I think internationals are more appealing to neutrals, as are finals. I think Magic is a bit of a square box in a round hole solution. As Dave says it is what it is and I can't see it ever having much more appeal.

I think this is right, we have to go with the evidence and there is no evidence that Magic Weekend is ever going to draw huge crowds. I do think we can do a much better job at the entertainment angle, but I think we may be scrambling around with a few thousand here and there. 

The Grand Final generally looks after itself, but we shouldn't be settling for ever letting that drop to below 65k for an all English final. I'd rather we work on genuinely making it a must-see event, and that isn't done with the likes of Razorlight or Shed Seven - and making the event a sellout every year and the hottest ticket of the year. That allows us to max out on pricing. 

The Cup Final needs serious effort, but in relatively recent times it has had much bigger crowds. I think we have reduced effort, got complacent and stopped caring about fans economics and we are seeing the outcomes of that. If we are to stay at Wembley, there is huge scope for us to do better. 

Similarly internationals is a huge growth area. We have seen bigger crowds, we are hoping for the biggest world cup ever this year, there are more better teams which can only help. 

And I would say, for the avoidance of doubt, mh starting point would be that we want to sell every seat for every event. 

[Dallas Mead]

2 hours ago, Jughead said:

If we can get between 63-68,000 annually to Newcastle, I don’t think that’s a particularly bad thing or something we should spend too much worrying about. 

I do think we should be making the weekend more enjoyable for those that do go, though. More games isn’t the answer and we have to be realistic and understand that not everyone wants to stay in the ground but still offering those people something that keeps them engaged with better fan zones and some entertainment beyond the norm. 

30,000+ empty seats is not something to worry about?  Wowzers.

[Mr Frisky]

2 minutes ago, Dallas Mead said:

30,000+ empty seats is not something to worry about?  Wowzers.

Take it your one of the ones who didn't go, hate the concept and don't want the thousands of fans who went to go and enjoy themselves.... far sadder than 20 odd thousand empty seats lad.

[Jughead]

7 minutes ago, Dallas Mead said:

30,000+ empty seats is not something to worry about?  Wowzers.

No, obviously not. If it was, Magic wouldn’t have lasted as long as it has. 

[Leyther_Matt]

In my experience, Magic would be a right pain in the backside to attend if it was anything close to a sell out. Was bad enough at the Etihad moving around the ground with the sun (coinciding with the trail of bars running out of booze…)

[Dallas Mead]

11 hours ago, Leyther_Matt said:

In my experience, Magic would be a right pain in the backside to attend if it was anything close to a sell out. Was bad enough at the Etihad moving around the ground with the sun (coinciding with the trail of bars running out of booze…)

Let’s keep it small and 60% attended then eh?  Ace.

[Eddie]

13 hours ago, Mumby Magic said:

If and if Toulouse stay up. 2x3 games and cats Vs Toulouse in Spain??

Or France even! 

[gingerjon]

11 hours ago, Leyther_Matt said:

In my experience, Magic would be a right pain in the backside to attend if it was anything close to a sell out.

Yes.

This is an issue.

An actually popular Magic would not be a good event to attend.

[Jughead]

11 hours ago, Leyther_Matt said:

In my experience, Magic would be a right pain in the backside to attend if it was anything close to a sell out. Was bad enough at the Etihad moving around the ground with the sun (coinciding with the trail of bars running out of booze…)

This, 100%. 

One of the positives of the weekend is the ease of with yourself and others can move around inside the stadium. Standing up every five minutes in a full stadium would make the weekend far less enjoyable. 

 

[Dave T]

11 hours ago, Leyther_Matt said:

In my experience, Magic would be a right pain in the backside to attend if it was anything close to a sell out. Was bad enough at the Etihad moving around the ground with the sun (coinciding with the trail of bars running out of booze…)

100% agree. 

I've stopped going to Newcastle now because I find it quite cramped and in a boozy crowd that isn't necessarily fun (and I say that as someone who enjoys a drink). 

The last time I went three or four years ago, later in the day, you could barely walk due to the amount of litter around the seats. 

[Leyther_Matt]

13 minutes ago, Dallas Mead said:

Let’s keep it small and 60% attended then eh?  Ace.

As others have said, the flexibility of Magic is one of its great successes. If you're getting towards 80% full then you'd be looking at a move to reserved seating, and that in itself presents a whole new set of issues in terms of allocating the fans of each club, as seen at the Challenge Cup semi finals and final.

[Leyther_Matt]

1 minute ago, Dave T said:

100% agree. 

I've stopped going to Newcastle now because I find it quite cramped and in a boozy crowd that isn't necessarily fun (and I say that as someone who enjoys a drink). 

The last time I went three or four years ago, later in the day, you could barely walk due to the amount of litter around the seats. 

Must admit I thoroughly recommend the 1892 Club on that front, albeit obviously more expensive than elsewhere. Huge, spacious padded seats and bar staff falling over each other to serve you. We sat there for 2017 just in case we never got to play there again(!) and it's the first time I've been served so quickly that I've been able to squeeze in two pints at half-time!

[Dave T]

Just now, Leyther_Matt said:

As others have said, the flexibility of Magic is one of its great successes. If you're getting towards 80% full then you'd be looking at a move to reserved seating, and that in itself presents a whole new set of issues in terms of allocating the fans of each club, as seen at the Challenge Cup semi finals and final.

Yes, I think people probably don't appreciate that we are obviously not working on a full capacity basis as we offer unreserved seating on three sides. 

I suspect we are probably working with a 45k setup. 

[Leyther_Matt]

Just now, Dave T said:

Yes, I think people probably don't appreciate that we are obviously not working on a full capacity basis as we offer unreserved seating on three sides. 

I suspect we are probably working with a 45k setup. 

Wouldn't think it's anywhere near that when considering the top tier is shut (although presumably ready for business if necessary)

[Dave T]

2 minutes ago, Leyther_Matt said:

Must admit I thoroughly recommend the 1892 Club on that front, albeit obviously more expensive than elsewhere. Huge, spacious padded seats and bar staff falling over each other to serve you. We sat there for 2017 just in case we never got to play there again(!) and it's the first time I've been served so quickly that I've been able to squeeze in two pints at half-time!

Yeah, when I go again, that'll be my approach. 

[Scubby]

1 minute ago, Dave T said:

Yeah, when I go again, that'll be my approach. 

What to down two pints at half time?

[Dave T]

1 minute ago, Scubby said:

What to down two pints at half time?

Im not cutting down mate.