Attendance thread

[Tre Cool]

5 hours ago, Damien said:

Newcastle, London and Manchester or failing that Leeds. You can't expect people to think something is a premium event when it is played at bog standard small SL grounds and small towns. It's pretty hard to attract anyone but existing RL fans to that.

Grounds are always available. History proves that. I refuse to believe that these 3 matches are being played where they are because they were the only options.

There is nothing amazing about playing 3 internationals at small, bog standard SL grounds and it certainly does nothing to attract neutrals. Geez it does little to even attract RL fans. 

I agree. Feels a little lazy and cheap (i am going to the Headingley game) England ALWAYS get good crowds in London too. At least one match should be down here and yes they need to be braver with the stadium choices.

[Damien]

Great figures from Warrington in an average enough season:

 

[Eddie]

7 hours ago, Damien said:

Great figures from Warrington in an average enough season:

 

The rise in junior supporters is the icing on the cake. 

[dealwithit]

On 09/10/2023 at 08:37, Tre Cool said:

I agree. Feels a little lazy and cheap (i am going to the Headingley game) England ALWAYS get good crowds in London too. At least one match should be down here and yes they need to be braver with the stadium choices.

Yep. Terrible strategy. The RL villages have already consumed a hell of a lot of content. I don’t understand why we wouldn’t be looking to under-consumed markets. 

[redjonn]

On 08/10/2023 at 16:44, Dave T said:

You aren't the issue. As you say, you go. It's those empty seats alongside you that need filling. 

But tbh the event encompasses everything. It's how these events are staged. The venue, the branding, the technology, the music, pre-match entertainment, pyro, fireworks, Big screens, macots, junior rugby, food, drink, kids entertainment etc - these things are all present at the big sport events and were pretty much all missing from the World Cup for example. 

At the start of SL almost 30 years ago we decided that events were more than a game of Rugby, and we have gone backwards in many cases. 

yep agreed, I do get amused that some on these forums think only about "whose the band" when it comes to making an event.   Their is so much more that could be done on even we just focus on the pre game entertainment to attract different demographics, let alone of thinking about the rest of what you rightly list and sure could be added too with a decent marketing org. 

[idrewthehaggis]

Couple of thoughts.

Yeah one of the Tonga internationals should have been in London or the NE.

Second is it true that FC allocate 1000 season tickets to their sponsors and count them as attending? Or is that in the spirit of a Shawesque factoid?

Third has anyone contemplated that club attendance averages will drop when Toulouse/London replace Wakey. Especially Cas.

Therefore should SL have a 29 game season to overcome this and the reduction of the central funding loss?

Edited October 12, 2023 by idrewthehaggis

[JM2010]

12 hours ago, dealwithit said:

Yep. Terrible strategy. The RL villages have already consumed a hell of a lot of content. I don’t understand why we wouldn’t be looking to under-consumed markets. 

Would you say Leeds is the biggest village in the UK? Surely it must be

[Click]

3 hours ago, idrewthehaggis said:

Couple of thoughts.

Yeah one of the Tonga internationals should have been in London or the NE.

Second is it true that FC allocate 1000 season tickets to their sponsors and count them as attending? Or is that in the spirit of a Shawesque factoid?

Third has anyone contemplated that club attendance averages will drop when Toulouse/London replace Wakey. Especially Cas.

Therefore should SL have a 29 game season to overcome this and the reduction of the central funding loss?

To answer your last question - No. 

Players play enough games a year already, clubs needs to do more in the 28 games to make money. 

I also don't think the drop off is going to be that noticiable between Wakefield/Toulouse/London - With their reduced capacity last year especially Toulouse, rather than London. 

Unless I have missed it - I don't think Wakey fans travel in huge numbers to away games - obviously more than London or Toulouse, but is it considerably more?

[Eddie]

16 minutes ago, Click said:

To answer your last question - No. 

Players play enough games a year already, clubs needs to do more in the 28 games to make money. 

I also don't think the drop off is going to be that noticiable between Wakefield/Toulouse/London - With their reduced capacity last year especially Toulouse, rather than London. 

Unless I have missed it - I don't think Wakey fans travel in huge numbers to away games - obviously more than London or Toulouse, but is it considerably more?

Plus fans who pick and choose their games may be more interested in seeing their side at home to Toulouse than Wakey. 

[GUBRATS]

47 minutes ago, Eddie said:

Plus fans who pick and choose their games may be more interested in seeing their side at home to Toulouse than Wakey. 

You really believe that ? 

[Eddie]

17 minutes ago, GUBRATS said:

You really believe that ? 

Yes, certainly for the first year when there’s a novelty value. 

[JDM]

1 hour ago, GUBRATS said:

You really believe that ? 

I do. I'm sick of seeing us play Wakefield, home and away.

Something new is appealing.

Whenever a friend of mine, who is a (very) casual fan of the game, is free to attend a game and asks who we are playing and enquiring about getting a ticket it is always either Huddersfield or Wakefield(!). He is often underwhelmed at the prospect. Toulouse has been and will be an easier sell.

Edited October 12, 2023 by JDM
grammar :/

[GUBRATS]

7 hours ago, JDM said:

I do. I'm sick of seeing us play Wakefield, home and away.

Something new is appealing.

Whenever a friend of mine, who is a (very) casual fan of the game, is free to attend a game and asks who we are playing and enquiring about getting a ticket it is always either Huddersfield or Wakefield(!). He is often underwhelmed at the prospect. Toulouse has been and will be an easier sell.

You should have brought him to watch the Leopards , he'd have enjoyed that 

Edited October 13, 2023 by GUBRATS

[paul hicks]

5 hours ago, idrewthehaggis said:

Couple of thoughts.

Yeah one of the Tonga internationals should have been in London or the NE.

Second is it true that FC allocate 1000 season tickets to their sponsors and count them as attending? Or is that in the spirit of a Shawesque factoid?

Third has anyone contemplated that club attendance averages will drop when Toulouse/London replace Wakey. Especially Cas.

Therefore should SL have a 29 game season to overcome this and the reduction of the central funding loss?

should you not count everyone who comes through the gate that's not working at the ground. at Leeds they have kids' games on at half time so should you not count them even though they have been watching the game. sponsors watch the game so are they not also spectators. 

now if you went back to the old system of gate money been declared and numbers of season ticket holders that may be a better way .

 

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

On 08/10/2023 at 22:37, Tre Cool said:

I agree. Feels a little lazy and cheap (i am going to the Headingley game) England ALWAYS get good crowds in London too. At least one match should be down here and yes they need to be braver with the stadium choices.

I have joked about this in the past but how about MK stadium? 

It is 30,000 premiership quality stadium....one of the best in the country. Massively accessible for huge amounts of the country and as there is a league 2 football team so it will pretty much always have it available 

It's got food outlets near it (though it's a taxi ride from the centre) 

I think an international would sell really well there 

Edited October 13, 2023 by Bedfordshire Bronco

[Eddie]

1 hour ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

I have joked about this in the past but how about MK stadium? 

It is 30,000 premiership quality stadium....one of the best in the country. Massively accessible for huge amounts of the country and as there is a league 2 football team so it will pretty much always have it available 

It's got food outlets near it (though it's a taxi ride from the centre) 

I think an international would sell really well there 

Definitely a good stadium but it doesn’t have the allure of a day trip and overnight stop in London and all the other stuff you can do there. I went to watch Norwich there a few years ago and can just remember a Wetherspoons and that’s about it? 

[GUBRATS]

3 minutes ago, Eddie said:

Definitely a good stadium but it doesn’t have the allure of a day trip and overnight stop in London and all the other stuff you can do there. I went to watch Norwich there a few years ago and can just remember a Wetherspoons and that’s about it? 

Different strokes as they say , apart from sport you'd have to pay me to go to London , in fact the only time I've ever set foot in the place is either work ( the outskirts only ) , watching Leyth or going to the airport 

Who the hell wants to go there , let alone actually live there , they must be mad 

[Eddie]

3 minutes ago, GUBRATS said:

Different strokes as they say , apart from sport you'd have to pay me to go to London , in fact the only time I've ever set foot in the place is either work ( the outskirts only ) , watching Leyth or going to the airport 

Who the hell wants to go there , let alone actually live there , they must be mad 

I’m not a fan either, but I’d rather go there to watch sport than Milton Keynes. 

[gingerjon]

2 hours ago, Eddie said:

Definitely a good stadium but it doesn’t have the allure of a day trip and overnight stop in London and all the other stuff you can do there. I went to watch Norwich there a few years ago and can just remember a Wetherspoons and that’s about it? 

It's amazing stadium but it's an a big car park next to an Asda.

There is a massive population in the surrounding area who could get there and back in a day easily.

If there's a strategy to reach those people then use Stadium MK, if not ... don't.

[Eddie]

1 hour ago, gingerjon said:

It's amazing stadium but it's an a big car park next to an Asda.

There is a massive population in the surrounding area who could get there and back in a day easily.

If there's a strategy to reach those people then use Stadium MK, if not ... don't.

A strategy - this is the RFL that we’re talking about! 

[RLX111]

2 hours ago, gingerjon said:

It's amazing stadium but it's an a big car park next to an Asda.

There is a massive population in the surrounding area who could get there and back in a day easily.

If there's a strategy to reach those people then use Stadium MK, if not ... don't.

Not quite! it has it's own car park-with drive thru macdonalds !A hotel attached to stadium, a line of well known national eateries, cinema next to the ground, ikea superstore, Asda! marks and spencers store. 

[Eddie]

55 minutes ago, RLX111 said:

Not quite! it has it's own car park-with drive thru macdonalds !A hotel attached to stadium, a line of well known national eateries, cinema next to the ground, ikea superstore, Asda! marks and spencers store. 

Sounds like paradise, any chance of a SL club there? 

[JM2010]

9 hours ago, Eddie said:

Sounds like paradise, any chance of a SL club there? 

They’re going in League One first to steadily build

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

15 hours ago, Eddie said:

Definitely a good stadium but it doesn’t have the allure of a day trip and overnight stop in London and all the other stuff you can do there. I went to watch Norwich there a few years ago and can just remember a Wetherspoons and that’s about it? 

There are half a dozen restaurants but yes no drinking options near. The city centre is 10 mins in a taxi and has lots of choice though 

The key thing though Eddie is that it is near to where I live so that's why they should do it 

[Eddie]

24 minutes ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

There are half a dozen restaurants but yes no drinking options near. The city centre is 10 mins in a taxi and has lots of choice though 

The key thing though Eddie is that it is near to where I live so that's why they should do it 

I’ve always said England should play more games at Carrow Road.