London Broncos Matchday Experience in 2023

[westlondonfan]

7 hours ago, Henson Park Old Firm said:

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/london-broncos-super-league-img-28743680?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar

I think a number of posters on here including me, have been basically saying the same as IMG are now saying, for yers now.

The problems will start when IMG start to set out how they would do things differently from how they are being done in the past and are being done now.. Ultimately i assume it will be the existing clubs who decide what happens in the future and not IMG. Unfortunately  the game in the northern hemisphere’s record on real expansion is not good ( with the single exception of Catalan) and I can’t see that changing.

[DI Keith Fowler]

I'm interested by the notion that the "right foundations" are there fore the Broncos. Apart from being a team in existence and playing out of a decent ground I'm not sure what else there is. The academy I suppose which is a plus. 

For this to work London will need to bring in more backing and IMG are going to have to hold their hand the entire way because the current outfit simply can't be trusted to grow the club. 

[Ivarr the Boneless]

There's the women's set up, the accountant/ CEO, the bloke flogging sponsorship, done kit and rugby balls as well.

I find the idea the club is ready behind the scenes / has the right foundations incredulous. All the evidence points to a massive shortfall behind the scenes.

Oh and it's known the stadium owners have a break clause in their favour and rumoured Chelsea fancy using the stadium so even the decent ground bit is potentially uncertain after this season.

[Jughead]

It’s simple really, a good Rugby League presence is important. I don’t think that purely means London Broncos but also the cup final, which draws one of the two biggest attendances in a calendar year most years and how to breathe some life into the final off the pitch. 

[crashmon]

Broncos have no foundations in the mens game apart from a shiny stadium they can't even fill 10% of.... This coming from a 20 years plus broncos fan.

But Broncos Ladies have a great future, and had a great 2022, and here is hoping for an even better 2023

Edited December 16, 2022 by crashmon

[Londonbornirishbred]

14 hours ago, ShropshireBull said:

You said the amateur team were the guardians of land but now you said that they don’t own it so they aren’t guardians of anything. If LIRFC professional  own the land then it is only thing that would cover the near 40 million quid of debts would either be for the owner to wipe it off or sell off the land. 

You still end up in a position where you are losing money every year and unless that land you own can be developed into a stadium, you are going to be without a place to stay when Brentford turf you out. 

If Irish were such a great prospect someone would take it up for ‘free’ (as your owner claimed) but no one has .

 

Where did I say they were a great prospect? I said they're in debt like most other pro sports clubs and I showed how that debt was covered. What I did do was question the premise they were at deaths door.

As for london. Remove Hughes and it stands a chance. All IMG will do is tell him what I did nearly 20 years ago and he'll ignore them like he did me. He doesn't understand nor want to understand the ins and outs of promotion/marketing/CRM and all the other things needed to make a club work. In his day job he pressed flesh or picked up the phone and sealed the deal over a bottle of wine. His success in business is his Achilles Heel.....he thinks he knows it all when in fact he knows very little. It will irritate him that the group of internet forum posters who he once jokingly referred to as "a dozen internet whiners" will now be shown to have been spot on and that he has foolishly flushed £30,000,000 down the drain with absolutely nothing to show for it. 

Currently 2 full time non football staff at the club and no paying sponsors other than the LBSA who sponsor the academy. No ground, 3+ rent cheques to write and a threadbare squad a month out. IMG are in for a real shock.

[JM2010]

2 hours ago, crashmon said:

Broncos have no foundations in the mens game apart from a shiny stadium they can't even fill 10% of.... This coming from a 20 years plus broncos fan.

But Broncos Ladies have a great future, and had a great 2022, and here is hoping for an even better 2023

Do they have any plans to start a wheelchair team?

[watcherofRL]

On 10/12/2022 at 08:51, westlondonfan said:

For me it’s not a great stadium and for this sort of thing the Stoop or Trailfinders are more suitable. I have been a couple of times and I agree with Atlantisman  it is soulless. We simply don’t have the fans to create an atmosphere in a place like this. It’s clear that some Wimbledon football fans are attending but it is also clear to me that we have lost some of the people who went to Ealing regularly. Sorry to be negative but the steep rise in season ticket prices and the move has affected the level of my interest in the club. 
I did go to the Arsenal stadium for the England v Samoa game however and that was a great  experience despite the result.

The steep rise in season ticket prices? It’s low and the deals this coming season are good - bashing the club for continuing to try and build new fans is unhelpful but I guess a forum is the place for people to do it so bash away

[watcherofRL]

On 16/12/2022 at 03:30, Man of Kent said:

Like I say, London need a team worth watching. Much of the rest is in place. 

If David Hughes can’t afford the competitive side IMG says it needs, maybe he should do a Hull KR and bring in other investors.

But from all accounts Hughes would never do that! 

[Tommygilf]

7 minutes ago, watcherofRL said:

But from all accounts Hughes would never do that! 

Then he is cutting off his nose to spite his face. It happens.

It seems IMG and RL Commercial want London to be successful. Maybe London Broncos will be a major part in that, maybe not.

[Gomersall]

On 16/12/2022 at 03:30, Man of Kent said:

Like I say, London need a team worth watching. Much of the rest is in place. 

If David Hughes can’t afford the competitive side IMG says it needs, maybe he should do a Hull KR and bring in other investors.

Hudgell couldn’t get more investors interested and actually took more financial control of the club than he did previously.

https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/rugby-league-news/who-hull-krs-new-board-7882675

[watcherofRL]

On 10/12/2022 at 08:51, westlondonfan said:

For me it’s not a great stadium and for this sort of thing the Stoop or Trailfinders are more suitable. I have been a couple of times and I agree with Atlantisman  it is soulless. We simply don’t have the fans to create an atmosphere in a place like this. It’s clear that some Wimbledon football fans are attending but it is also clear to me that we have lost some of the people who went to Ealing regularly. Sorry to be negative but the steep rise in season ticket prices and the move has affected the level of my interest in the club. 
I did go to the Arsenal stadium for the England v Samoa game however and that was a great  experience despite the result.

Trailfinders was soul less and not any easier to access if coming from Essex or Kent but guess if you are west London based it was on doorstep? Biggest issue has always been generating an income - I heard that Ealing offered no means for profit at all except the parking and charged high for rent and took all money from the bar and food takings 

[Man of Kent]

On 31/12/2022 at 09:09, Gomersall said:

Hudgell couldn’t get more investors interested and actually took more financial control of the club than he did previously.

https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/rugby-league-news/who-hull-krs-new-board-7882675

‘Already new investment is coming into the club as part of the restructure and significant investment at that. 

‘Rovers have been planning this announcement for some time and already knowing new investment would be coming in, the club are operating almost at salary cap maximum for the first time in a number of years.’

 

[Gomersall]

17 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:

‘Already new investment is coming into the club as part of the restructure and significant investment at that. 

‘Rovers have been planning this announcement for some time and already knowing new investment would be coming in, the club are operating almost at salary cap maximum for the first time in a number of years.’

 

No new investors as such or if there are they’re keeping it very quiet. More income from concerts and other stadium usage maybe?

[westlondonfan]

On 02/01/2023 at 11:21, watcherofRL said:

Trailfinders ………and took all money from the bar and food takings 

How many times are we going to hear this?  It usually crops up every time we move.

The reality is that unless we are are talking about actual figures it’s all speculation anyway.  The attendances don’t lie. We have been in steady decline since the Stoop albeit with a slight upturn while we were at Trailfinders.
 

Actually I didn’t find Trailfinders soulless at all. You could easily walk round the ground and mix in the sun plus it had better beer and food. There was even a great night in the bar when we beat Toronto and got promotion.

[Toby Chopra]

2 minutes ago, westlondonfan said:

How many times are we going to hear this?  It usually crops up every time we move.

The reality is that unless we are are talking about actual figures it’s all speculation anyway.  The attendances don’t lie. We have been in steady decline since the Stoop albeit with a slight upturn while we were at Trailfinders.
 

Actually I didn’t find Trailfinders soulless at all. You could easily walk round the ground and mix in the sun plus it had better beer and food. There was even a great night in the bar when we beat Toronto and got promotion.

Great for <1000 crowds in Championship but was totally inappropriate for SL and was actually a danger to health on the mound for the Leeds game, and that was still only around 3000.

I do wonder, however, if Trailfinders comes back into play if Ealing go up and erect a large temporary stand on the open side. That wasn't permitted when the Broncos left, but times have changed in union since then. 

[Guest]

On 03/01/2023 at 19:07, Toby Chopra said:

Great for <1000 crowds in Championship but was totally inappropriate for SL and was actually a danger to health on the mound for the Leeds game, and that was still only around 3000.

I do wonder, however, if Trailfinders comes back into play if Ealing go up and erect a large temporary stand on the open side. That wasn't permitted when the Broncos left, but times have changed in union since then. 

The 4G pitch should have been enough to rule it out as a ground full stop.

[westlondonfan]

1 hour ago, Leonard said:

The 4G pitch should have been enough to rule it out as a ground full stop.

Widnes have a 3G pitch I believe.

[Guest]

9 hours ago, westlondonfan said:

Widnes have a 3G pitch I believe.

Even worse - I don't think it is acceptable these days. 

Whether or not it allows all year training or not - get a grass pitch and all play on the same terms. Use the 4G for a training pitch.

That one year in SL - sides would rest players to avoid injury.

[DI Keith Fowler]

1 hour ago, Leonard said:

Even worse - I don't think it is acceptable these days. 

Whether or not it allows all year training or not - get a grass pitch and all play on the same terms. Use the 4G for a training pitch.

That one year in SL - sides would rest players to avoid injury.

There's a bit of a confusion of terminology because suppliers have started playing it fast and loose with how they brand their products. You'll see 4G and 5G being bandied about they're all just 3G with various extra selling points.

2G is astroturf so infilled with sand, 3G is infilled with rubber. 4G, 5G whatever are just a subset of 3G.

There is supposedly going to be a proper 4G which won't require the rubber crumb, but that's not approved by any sporting body yet. If someone's claiming to have a 4G pitch it's going to be 3G in reality.

[Archie Gordon]

For no apparent reason and with no announcement, ticket prices have been reduced by £2.50 across the board. Odd - even for the Broncos - to start discounting (and thereby devaluing memberships) before the season has even started.

[Sports Prophet]

8 hours ago, Archie Gordon said:

For no apparent reason and with no announcement, ticket prices have been reduced by £2.50 across the board. Odd - even for the Broncos - to start discounting (and thereby devaluing memberships) before the season has even started.

This is fascinating. Especially after the club’s press release on their groundbreaking strategy to enhance the spectator experience by hiring a curry and hot dog van to go with a bouncy castle and change seating to the other side. 

The club is obviously going from strength to strength and with this enhanced experience coupled with £2.50 savings on tickets, I expect we will see a sell out for the opening match of the season!

[gingerjon]

16 hours ago, Archie Gordon said:

For no apparent reason and with no announcement, ticket prices have been reduced by £2.50 across the board. Odd - even for the Broncos - to start discounting (and thereby devaluing memberships) before the season has even started.

Someone probably just typed the wrong numbers out and nobody has noticed.

[crashmon]

On 06/01/2023 at 15:05, Archie Gordon said:

For no apparent reason and with no announcement, ticket prices have been reduced by £2.50 across the board. Odd - even for the Broncos - to start discounting (and thereby devaluing memberships) before the season has even started.

Its the Early bird offer I think for the first game, nothing more

 

[Archie Gordon]

1 hour ago, crashmon said:

Its the Early bird offer I think for the first game, nothing more

 

It's for every game. 

But I think you're right that it's an early bird offer. Trouble is, it just shows how confused the club is. They quote different match ticket prices in different places and this early bird offer rubs out any savings you might get from being a member. They never bother to sense check what they do.