RLWC Attendance-O-Meter

[saintspete83]

4 minutes ago, Dave T said:

If they are telling the truth and we have sold as many tickets for this as the 2013 edition, we can afford to hold our nerve. Even though we have 5 extra mens events, that's fine, and hopefully we'll sell more as the weeks go on. 

If however, we actually haven't sold that many tickets. Well... 

The reputation and image of the sport is getting a kicking at every match since IRE v JAM. I genuinely do not trust any news on sales. It's got to the point that I'm relieved some games are hidden on the red button. 

I really hope I am wrong but I'm not sure saints will crack 7k. £25 tickets are still available behind both goalposts. Not a good sign. 

[SydneyRoosters]

Anyone know the attendance for France vs Greece, I doubt there was much over 3000

[Dave T]

 

This thread with Hogan suggests 10k sold for Kiwis at Headingley and that he would have had lower prices. 

[Dave T]

4 minutes ago, saintspete83 said:

The reputation and image of the sport is getting a kicking at every match since IRE v JAM. I genuinely do not trust any news on sales. It's got to the point that I'm relieved some games are hidden on the red button. 

I really hope I am wrong but I'm not sure saints will crack 7k. £25 tickets are still available behind both goalposts. Not a good sign. 

I don't trust them myself mate, but they have publicly announced their strategy and are telling us it has worked and we've sold loads - yet we are playing in pretty empty grounds. 

 

[Dave T]

6 minutes ago, saintspete83 said:

The reputation and image of the sport is getting a kicking at every match since IRE v JAM. I genuinely do not trust any news on sales. It's got to the point that I'm relieved some games are hidden on the red button. 

I really hope I am wrong but I'm not sure saints will crack 7k. £25 tickets are still available behind both goalposts. Not a good sign. 

Is the capacity of those stands around 4k each? I'm in there tomorrow, my ticket number was 2k odd the other day, which does appear to link to sales number for the stand. 

[Chamey]

3 hours ago, Tommygilf said:

I think it is really positive and I hope you all have a great time. 

Its a shame your friend hasn't got many closer games to attend. I don't think its controversial to say that bustling stadiums have better experiences for spectators. Ireland vs Jamaica was good, it would have been great with a few thousand more people in (as PNG vs New Zealand was in 2013).

The big issue for me is that I can't get anyone to take a risk on going to league games at such extortionate prices - I follow both codes, but most of my mates are union fans. If there were tickets for a tenner at BCS or Wimbledon I'd have no issue getting a group of 10 to a Greece v France etc game, but for £110 (the price of an okay, not top category ticket) to the London game, we'd be able to get tickets to England Argentina and England women vs France women in similar seats (for two games they're far more certain they'd enjoy. So instead I'm taking the group to London Irish next Friday with £30 tickets.

 

It's just a big missed opportunity. It was quite telling that the pub in Clapham I was in tonight was showing Saracens vs Irish in a second string match cup rather than the RLWC.

Edited October 17, 2022 by Chamey

[Dave T]

2 minutes ago, Chamey said:

The big issue for me is that I can't get anyone to take a risk on going to league games at such extortionate prices - I follow both codes, but most of my mates are union fans. If there were tickets for a tenner at BCS or Wimbledon I'd have no issue getting a group of 10 to a Greece v France etc game, but for £110 (the price of an okay, not top category ticket) to the London game, we'd be able to get tickets to England Argentina and England women vs France women in similar seats (for two games they're far more certain they'd enjoy. So instead I'm taking the group to London Irish next Friday with £30 tickets. It's just a big missed opportunity.

It's £110 for top category seats at Emirates for the semi. 

You can get lower tier corner seats for £55, or top tier seats at £30 for that game. 

[Hopping Mad]

3 hours ago, Eddie said:

Tbf the crowd is larger and noisier than I’d anticipated. Middlesborough is going to be the real excruciating one. 

Middlesbrough always has seemed an odd choice. I worked in Middlesbrough for five years - and the town doesn't give a monkeys about either code of rugby. Next to nobody watches the likes of Middlesbrough RUFC and Acklam RUFC.

Why didn't the tournament organisers consider playing their 'Teesside' World Cup game in Hartlepool? Hartlepool has two amateur rugby league clubs and five rugby union clubs. At least the town is interested in 'rugby'. With a capacity of just below 8,000, Hartlepool United FC's Victoria Park ground (originally, incidentally, a rugby ground) would have made an ideal venue. 

I was interested in going to The Riverside to watch the World Cup match - until I looked into the ticket prices. Top rate is £70. Best is £25 albeit behind the posts (i.e. terrible view). For what is essentially a sport alien to Middlesbrough, the ticket prices for The Riverside are insane. They'll be lucky to get a couple of thousand attendees.

Edited October 17, 2022 by Hopping Mad

[IM2]

2 hours ago, Coastal_Geordie said:

The All Blacks played Tonga at the 2015 Union World Cup, group stage.  They sold out St James with the cheap seats starting at £50 and most of the lower bowl £100 plus.  It was sold and promoted as a premium event, a hot ticket.

The Kiwis v Lebanon I definitely expected higher attendance.  Perhaps it just didn’t feel/was not promoted as a big event.  England v Samoa definitely was and had that big game day feel.  I’ve been to NFL games at Wembley and it has that sort of vibe with lots of non hardcore fans there for a good time and being very excited by the “product”.

US played NZ last year got beat by 130 and had 50k there and cheapest ticket was $50-150

[IM2]

34 minutes ago, Hopping Mad said:

Middlesbrough always has seemed an odd choice. I worked in Middlesbrough for five years - and the town doesn't give a monkeys about either code of rugby. Next to nobody watches the likes of Middlesbrough RUFC and Acklam RUFC.

Why didn't the tournament organisers consider playing their 'Teesside' World Cup game in Hartlepool? Hartlepool has two amateur rugby league clubs and five rugby union clubs. At least the town is interested in 'rugby'. With a capacity of just below 8,000, Hartlepool United FC's Victoria Park ground (originally, incidentally, a rugby ground) would have made an ideal venue. 

I was interested in going to The Riverside to watch the World Cup match - until I looked into the ticket prices. Top rate is £70. Best is £25 albeit behind the posts (i.e. terrible view). For what is essentially a sport alien to Middlesbrough, the ticket prices for The Riverside are insane. They'll be lucky to get a couple of thousand attendees.

me and 4 mates from Yarm are going and paid the £25. I suspect we will be able to move to nicer seats. to me 25 and a game of international footy in a big ground is great value no matter how many people turn up

[Madrileño]

1 hour ago, IM2 said:

to me 25 and a game of international footy in a big ground is great value no matter how many people turn up

I woukd agree with you. The thing is, you are a big Rugby League fan.   

I think that hopping mad's post was more about union supporters (the WC thread seems obsessed with them) and other general public bring put off by the location and the prices. 

[Damien]

6 hours ago, Dave T said:

 

This thread with Hogan suggests 10k sold for Kiwis at Headingley and that he would have had lower prices. 

Again this doesn't make much sense. The cheaper prices aren't that cheap and on the whole are far more expensive than 2013. In fact even these cheap prices at category E level are far more expensive than what even the category B were tickets in 2013. Offers like Leigh at £15 is just the same as a category B quarter final ticket in 2013 that is now £70. I don't see anything being subsidised in the manner that is being made out.

At the end of the day this World Cup had £15 million towards its staging, we have never had that before. We also keep being told about its commercial success. This tournament should be more than paying its way and should be running at breakeven before we have even sold a ticket and anything thereafter is profit. More expensive tickets simply shouldn't need to be funding the cheaper ones in the manner cited (ignoring the fact this isn't really happening anyway). 

Organisers communications are contradictory to say the least. With the government funding, commercial success and high ticket prices this tournament should be swimming in money. Indeed we are told we already have £1m more than the 2013 total in ticket sales and that it is already the highest grossing World Cup for ticket sales. Yet despite all this the game day experience is being done on the cheap and they make bs statements like this.

Edited October 18, 2022 by Damien

[Guest]

I think we need to move on from what prices were in 2013.

That is nearly a decade ago.

You can argue some pricing might be too high - but charging £15 - £20 for the top games makes no sense.

10k for the Kiwis at Headingly with some walk up in the weeks before doesn't strike me as a disaster.

[saintspete83]

6 hours ago, Dave T said:

Is the capacity of those stands around 4k each? I'm in there tomorrow, my ticket number was 2k odd the other day, which does appear to link to sales number for the stand. 

 3899 for the east and 3796 for the West. 

[Damien]

8 minutes ago, Leonard said:

I think we need to move on from what prices were in 2013.

That is nearly a decade ago.

You can argue some pricing might be too high - but charging £15 - £20 for the top games makes no sense.

10k for the Kiwis at Headingly with some walk up in the weeks before doesn't strike me as a disaster.

You emphatically missed the point. No one has said about charging that for top end games or charging 2013 prices either.

[Archie Gordon]

6 hours ago, SydneyRoosters said:

Anyone know the attendance for France vs Greece, I doubt there was much over 3000

It was 4182.

Like other attendances, that number will have included a chunk of sponsors, plus the RLWC great and the good, who weren't there. 

[gingerjon]

3 minutes ago, Archie Gordon said:

It was 4182.

Like other attendances, that number will have included a chunk of sponsors, plus the RLWC great and the good, who weren't there. 

It looked about a quarter full and that's about a quarter of the capacity so I'd not be hurrying too quickly to too many attempts to beef up the numbers.

[Archie Gordon]

1 minute ago, gingerjon said:

It looked about a quarter full and that's about a quarter of the capacity so I'd not be hurrying too quickly to too many attempts to beef up the numbers.

Absolutely no chance.

Two ends = shut.

One side = 500.

Other side = half full at very best (2500 would be generous).

[Guest]

25 minutes ago, Damien said:

You emphatically missed the point. No one has said about charging that for top end games or charging 2013 prices either.

No - I got the point.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

I've noticed since the tournament started, a lot of people trying to explain how attendances have actually been inflated and they were lower than the number stated. I'm not having a go at those individuals, they're just trying to keep the tournament organisers honest but with how poor some attendances have been, if they want to inflate the official attendance given then bloody let them!

[SydneyRoosters]

29 minutes ago, Archie Gordon said:

It was 4182.

Like other attendances, that number will have included a chunk of sponsors, plus the RLWC great and the good, who weren't there. 

Ah, Lowest attended last World Cup was 4,300. We need to a better job at promoting these smaller games, it seems the bigger games are the only ones selling tickets.

[SydneyRoosters]

France vs England on Course to sell out I can’t wait. seeing France vs England playing at sold out 30,000 seat stadium in Bolton really really excites me. It gives a great demo of future of a competitive and interesting future in European rugby league. 

[Gomersall]

1 minute ago, SydneyRoosters said:

France vs England on Course to sell out I can’t wait. seeing France vs England playing at sold out 30,000 seat stadium in Bolton really really excites me. It gives a great demo of future of a competitive and interesting future in European rugby league. 

Fingers crossed the French turn up.

[SydneyRoosters]

4 minutes ago, Gomersall said:

Fingers crossed the French turn up.

I have no doubt they will. At worst this game is around 44-10 in my opinion.

my prediction is 36-16 England. With the fun players France have As long as they score 3 or so tries it will be a very entertaining game. Mourge is the type of player you could watch for hours, Easily the most entertaining player in rugby league. sometimes I find myself watching Catalans games only for Arthur Mourge. 

[FearTheVee]

8 hours ago, Dave T said:

It's £110 for top category seats at Emirates for the semi. 

You can get lower tier corner seats for £55, or top tier seats at £30 for that game. 

Top category seats at a word cup semi final in a world class stadium featuring England should be £110 - that’s not overpriced to me.

Let’s judge them at the end. Mistakes are being made but if we learn from them they will be of value.

I think this tournament will be wonderful after the group stages and the England crowds are great so far.

Edited October 18, 2022 by FearTheVee