The whining about the low GF attendance thread

[Eddie]

1 hour ago, philipw said:

Over 50k currently expected

https://www.superleague.co.uk/article/3800/préparez-vous-pour-une-grosse-soirée-samedi-à-old-trafford

I wonder what ‘surged past 50k’ means, 50,010? 

[Dave T]

1 hour ago, Damien said:

Provided its accurate, and with the usual caveats that come with the RFL, that is a great milestone to hit with Catalans in the final.

 

1 hour ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

I'm very much of the view that anything over the 45k that was there last time Catalans were in the final would be fantastic so if that 50k is accurate then, well, fantastic!! 

I do think Catalans' competitiveness is making this game a real draw. In the past, we've probably had that slight element of supporting Catalans as an underdog and seeing it as a nice bit of development if they do well. I do think things have changed now and they are a serious player in SL. I think it helps that they are a pretty mongrel team who can be quite unpleasant when your team is playing them - the rivalry is now building properly.

I remember when they beat us at Wembley, I had slightly mixed feelings, was obviously gutted for my team, but happy for Catalans - nowadays I think I'd want to absolutely smash them without any ambiguity!

I think it has the potential to be an absolute cracker - unfortunately I can't make it on Saturday (and may end up even watching it on a mobile phone) but I'm more excited about this final than many others in recent years.

[The Masked Poster]

[Atlantisman mode] There will only actually be 28k in reality[Atlantisman mode] 

[Tre Cool]

Maybe the RFL are forging the attendance so IMG dont boot them out of SL and replace them with the rfu.

[Bamboozle]

4 hours ago, Eddie said:

I wonder what ‘surged past 50k’ means, 50,010? 

Anything over 50,001 .

[Mathius Hellwege]

39 minutes ago, Bamboozle said:

Anything over 50,001 .

Anything over 50.000

[Odsal Outlaw]

On 09/10/2023 at 17:39, Hull Kingston Bronco said:

Why on earth would you not sell the lower bowl, which is in the TV arc, first before you sold the upper tier? These are decisions that 14 year old GCSE Business Studies students could make a better job of making within their marketing project this term.

 

Well 14 year old gcse students would be wrong then. What if someone doesn’t want to sit in the lower arc and wants to sit higher up? Offer customers choice to pick where they sit, by all means incentivise certain areas but don’t close off complete tiers. I have in the past delayed buying tickets due to areas not being open that I wanted to be in.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

1 hour ago, Tre Cool said:

Maybe the RFL are forging the attendance so IMG dont boot them out of SL and replace them with the rfu.

We really would be buggered then because all the clubs under the rfu's sphere keep going bust. 

[Pie tries]

Just bought 8 tickets - so add them on ! Everyone if in doubt - GO !

[Gomersall]

8 hours ago, Odsal Outlaw said:

Well 14 year old gcse students would be wrong then. What if someone doesn’t want to sit in the lower arc and wants to sit higher up? Offer customers choice to pick where they sit, by all means incentivise certain areas but don’t close off complete tiers. I have in the past delayed buying tickets due to areas not being open that I wanted to be in.

This has happened to me at Tests in the past (only selling certain sections and keeping other areas back). If I can’t get the seat I want then I refuse to sit where the organisers want me to sit in a stadium I know will be fully open come kick off time.

[Archie Gordon]

1 hour ago, Gomersall said:

This has happened to me at Tests in the past (only selling certain sections and keeping other areas back). If I can’t get the seat I want then I refuse to sit where the organisers want me to sit in a stadium I know will be fully open come kick off time.

Agree.

I waited for tickets for the GF to become available because I knew/hoped that they would eventually put the 'odd' rows they hold back on sale.

In the meantime, I might very easily have been talked into doing something else on Saturday. Their loss.

Same is true for the Huddersfield test. I would buy tickets for seats I know that aren't sold yet today but they won't let me. Again, I might agree to something else in the meantime.

[Gomersall]

49 minutes ago, Archie Gordon said:

Agree.

I waited for tickets for the GF to become available because I knew/hoped that they would eventually put the 'odd' rows they hold back on sale.

In the meantime, I might very easily have been talked into doing something else on Saturday. Their loss.

Same is true for the Huddersfield test. I would buy tickets for seats I know that aren't sold yet today but they won't let me. Again, I might agree to something else in the meantime.

It’s a high risk policy for the reasons you state IMO but one the RFL/SL continues to pursue.

[Hull Kingston Bronco]

10 hours ago, Odsal Outlaw said:

Well 14 year old gcse students would be wrong then. What if someone doesn’t want to sit in the lower arc and wants to sit higher up? Offer customers choice to pick where they sit, by all means incentivise certain areas but don’t close off complete tiers. I have in the past delayed buying tickets due to areas not being open that I wanted to be in.

I don't think this is black & white. My comment relates specifically to this match, at this venue. I agree we need to provide the customer with choice, but as a United member trust me there's no advantage to being in East/West Upper versus the back of the lower tier: The top of the lower tier is higher than any back-row seat at the DW. The Upper Tier view isn't great. If I was you I'd be more concerned that Wigan are selling seats by the block then, so you're unable to choose which row you're in (without queuing up at the ticket office)

[Archie Gordon]

29 minutes ago, Hull Kingston Bronco said:

I don't think this is black & white. My comment relates specifically to this match, at this venue. I agree we need to provide the customer with choice, but as a United member trust me there's no advantage to being in East/West Upper versus the back of the lower tier: The top of the lower tier is higher than any back-row seat at the DW. The Upper Tier view isn't great. If I was you I'd be more concerned that Wigan are selling seats by the block then, so you're unable to choose which row you're in (without queuing up at the ticket office)

I find that the RFL/RLC method of selling alternate rows and leaving sections closed is awful for the customer in terms of options. It also gives off terrible vibes - "We're scared no-one will come and we think we've made a dreadful mistake in hiring a stadium that we probably can't even half-fill". Yep, that'll pack 'em in!

If you're aiming for 70k, open it all up and let folk choose where to sit and when to buy. The RFL/RLC sales strategy is to immediately signal "We're gonna struggle to shift these seats!" Hopeless.

[DI Keith Fowler]

3 minutes ago, Archie Gordon said:

I find that the RFL/RLC method of selling alternate rows and leaving sections closed is awful for the customer in terms of options. It also gives off terrible vibes - "We're scared no-one will come and we think we've made a dreadful mistake in hiring a stadium that we probably can't even half-fill". Yep, that'll pack 'em in!

If you're aiming for 70k, open it all up and let folk choose where to sit and when to buy. The RFL/RLC sales strategy is to immediately signal "We're gonna struggle to shift these seats!" Hopeless.

I do cringe whenever I see the alternate row thing. It's telling people you have a low value product. 

[Rovers13]

Advertisement for major events is shocking too, if I wasn’t a RL fan I wouldn’t even know there was a game on this weekend. 

[Rovers13]

11 minutes ago, Rovers13 said:

Advertisement for major events is shocking too, if I wasn’t a RL fan I wouldn’t even know there was a game on this weekend. 

That’s not so much of a criticism per se, it’s more of a we’re terrified no one will turn up, yet we do nothing or minimal to sell it out lol. 

[Damien]

With Old Trafford in particular it is quite easy just to not use the tier 3 of the North Stand which has a poor view for anything. We know that the tier 3 North Stand holds about 8k so with the stage etc that reduces the capacity to about 65k. This is what we usually do anyway and presumably are this year.

Tier 2 of the East and West hold about 6k each so those added that is about 20k taken from the capacity if we dont sell those that gives so that leaves the lower bowl with a capacity of about 53k taking into account the stage. Obviously we are selling limited blocks in those but still have limited seat availability in the lower bowl. I'd imagine we are looking at an attendance around 52k.

I don't particularly see any point in opening much more of tier 2 as it they are undoubtedly a worse view than some of the seats still available below. At this stage we are not talking about huge volumes of possible sales.

Edited October 12, 2023 by Damien

[Hull Kingston Bronco]

1 hour ago, Archie Gordon said:

I find that the RFL/RLC method of selling alternate rows and leaving sections closed is awful for the customer in terms of options. It also gives off terrible vibes - "We're scared no-one will come and we think we've made a dreadful mistake in hiring a stadium that we probably can't even half-fill". Yep, that'll pack 'em in!

If you're aiming for 70k, open it all up and let folk choose where to sit and when to buy. The RFL/RLC sales strategy is to immediately signal "We're gonna struggle to shift these seats!" Hopeless.

It's based on models which project likely sales outcomes based on sales to-date. Alternate rows don't exactly limit choice - being one row back or forward from your "perfect" row is no difference at all. 

The issue is generating more interest and demand so that you don't need to dress the stadium for TV. Doing the latter doesn't stop you doing the former. It certainly doesn't reduce ticket site visitors propensity to buy if they come to the site and see those graphics. They've got the site visit data on that, and so would stop doing it if it did.  

[Hull Kingston Bronco]

1 hour ago, Rovers13 said:

Advertisement for major events is shocking too, if I wasn’t a RL fan I wouldn’t even know there was a game on this weekend. 

That's the core issue. 

[WN83]

1 hour ago, Rovers13 said:

Advertisement for major events is shocking too, if I wasn’t a RL fan I wouldn’t even know there was a game on this weekend. 

There always seemed to be a media day at Old Trafford in the past and some natural advertising came through the articles on the back of that. Maybe it's today? but I've missed any word of it so far this week, so it doesn't look to have taken place yet. In fact the only interview I saw on the box was Bevan French being interview by Jenna and Wilkin and some bloke behind the camera mentioning part way through that he was off for a slash

[Hull Kingston Bronco]

52 minutes ago, Damien said:

With Old Trafford in particular it is quite easy just to not use the tier 3 of the North Stand which has a poor view for anything. We know that the tier 3 North Stand holds about 8k so with the stage etc that reduces the capacity to about 65k. This is what we usually do anyway and presumably are this year.

Tier 2 of the East and West hold about 6k each so those added that is about 20k taken from the capacity if we dont sell those that gives so that leaves the lower bowl with a capacity of about 53k taking into account the stage. Obviously we are selling limited blocks in those but still have limited seat availability in the lower bowl. I'd imagine we are looking at an attendance around 52k.

I don't particularly see any point in opening much more of tier 2 as it they are undoubtedly a worse view than some of the seats still available below. At this stage we are not talking about huge volumes of possible sales.

Yeah Tier 3 in the North Stand is awful, could safely parachute down to the pitch it's so high, and can't even see the South Stand from the seats so it feels like a restricted view (even though you can see all the pitch).

God knows why they made the roof come down so severely in front of it like that... although it does mean you can't see the empty seats on telly!! 

[Rovers13]

Also why are we still using old Trafford? When one of footballs major stadiums isn’t getting used for the euros because it’s run down and needs major work. 

[Amber Avenger]

Not sure about anywhere else, but for once in Manchester walking around town there are plenty of adverts up and the live electronic billboards updated to let everyone know it's Catalans vs Wigan. Can't recall seeing that in previous years. 

[Damien]

18 minutes ago, Rovers13 said:

Also why are we still using old Trafford? When one of footballs major stadiums isn’t getting used for the euros because it’s run down and needs major work. 

Because it is still the best option and easily the biggest stadium in the North.

Anfield is as bad, and some stands are worse, and has a capacity smaller than the attendance we have got at the vast majority of our Grand Finals. Next up is the City of Manchester that has a capacity 20k less than Old Trafford and is barely big enough for a final even containing Catalans, never mind when other teams get there.

Edited October 12, 2023 by Damien