Wigan v Penrith World Club challenge at the JJB

[overtheborder]

28 minutes ago, Dave T said:

I find it bizarre how poor the experience is at many modern grounds to get a drink or food. When some grounds are so strict on allowing food and drink to be brought in, but then making you queue for 30 minutes to get something from the kiosk, it's a joke - particularly when you have kids with you. 

Last time I went into the West Stand at Warrington I vowed never again.  

I have to say as much as some of the bigger football grounds/clubs get knocked for various aspects, it's something that's done pretty well in my experience. The likes of Bolton/Blackburn/Old Trafford which have hosted clubs who were established Premier League clubs seem to have got their ducks in a row in this sense, no doubt out of necessity. I think some of our grounds could learn a lot from that.

What I would say though is there's no doubt a cost element to implementing more slick matchday catering experiences, and maybe clubs feel like they're just about keeping people happy enough, and for the odd big game like this it isn't worth investing in when for most games your attendance would be about half of it. My experience at Wigan is maybe similar to a lot of people's in SL - pretty quick to get a drink/food at a regular game if you're at the kiosks anything other than at half time, but during a big game I lean towards not bothering due to sheer size of the queue. The queue suggests they've got enough paying customers not to worry about the likes of me though, who it wouldn't necessarily put off longer term for the sake of the odd game.

[Dave T]

9 minutes ago, Padge said:

I think part of the problem is all modern stadia in this country are built on a blueprint to accommodate the dominant sport, soccer, so if a club like Warrington ask for designs for a stadium you get an off the shelf soccer design. In soccer bars are really a luxury to spend a lot of money on due to the limited usage.

There are some more recent stadia designs that now seem to be giving some thought about what people expect and offer far better facilities, i.e. Tottenham. 

Agreed. I do think there is another element at play here, and that is pure costs. There are far better systems that could be utilised, but that would involve some form of planning and management, and it is quite clear that we just look to hire minimum wage agency staff to hand over beer. 

[Dave T]

9 minutes ago, Padge said:

I think part of the problem is all modern stadia in this country are built on a blueprint to accommodate the dominant sport, soccer, so if a club like Warrington ask for designs for a stadium you get an off the shelf soccer design. In soccer bars are really a luxury to spend a lot of money on due to the limited usage.

There are some more recent stadia designs that now seem to be giving some thought about what people expect and offer far better facilities, i.e. Tottenham. 

Agreed. I do think there is another element at play here, and that is pure costs. There are far better systems that could be utilised, but that would involve some form of planning and management, and it is quite clear that we just look to hire minimum wage agency staff to hand over beer. 

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

2 hours ago, Dave T said:

I find it bizarre how poor the experience is at many modern grounds to get a drink or food. When some grounds are so strict on allowing food and drink to be brought in, but then making you queue for 30 minutes to get something from the kiosk, it's a joke - particularly when you have kids with you.  

They aren't strict enough to stop us! 

We almost always bring food and drink in for our kids rather than buy when we are in .....as for.booze we often manage to bring in cans of beer/mini bottles of wine in my coat....

When we go to watch football I suspect a lot of the bottles of coke people are drinking have more than just coke in 

Edited January 8 by Bedfordshire Bronco

[Dave T]

31 minutes ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

They aren't strict enough to stop us! 

We almost always bring food and drink in for our kids rather than buy when we are in .....as for.booze we often manage to bring in cans of beer/mini bottles of wine in my coat....

When we go to watch football I suspect a lot of the bottles of coke people are drinking have more than just coke in 

I remember going to watch a match at the HJ last year when it was cheap family tickets in the West Stand. Lots of families attending, and one family with two young kids were being stopped and their bag emptied with all food and drinks confiscated - treated like criminals. They had all of their kids' food taken from them before they went in. 

Once in, the queue was horrendous and at least half an hour to get anything (before you even go into things like cost choice, dietary requirements etc).

I understand the approach to an extent, but i do think families should be able to take sandwiches or similar - we should probably be in line with cinemas and theatres etc.

[JonM]

1 hour ago, overtheborder said:

I have to say as much as some of the bigger football grounds/clubs get knocked for various aspects, it's something that's done pretty well in my experience. The likes of Bolton/Blackburn/Old Trafford which have hosted clubs who were established Premier League clubs seem to have got their ducks in a row in this sense, no doubt out of necessity. I think some of our grounds could learn a lot from that.

What I would say though is there's no doubt a cost element to implementing more slick matchday catering experiences, and maybe clubs feel like they're just about keeping people happy enough, and for the odd big game like this it isn't worth investing in when for most games your attendance would be about half of it. My experience at Wigan is maybe similar to a lot of people's in SL - pretty quick to get a drink/food at a regular game if you're at the kiosks anything other than at half time, but during a big game I lean towards not bothering due to sheer size of the queue. The queue suggests they've got enough paying customers not to worry about the likes of me though, who it wouldn't necessarily put off longer term for the sake of the odd game.

There was a link to RFU accounts on a thread on cross-code last week. The largest component of their annual revenue was hospitality and catering - pretty much came to the same amount per year as ticket sales + tv deal. 

I wonder whether clubs could make money by adopting the US model of having burgers, hot dogs, coke etc, brought to your seat during the game. In principle, the costs shouldn't be too much different - instead of having to staff up for a hectic 10 minute period at half-time, you can have those same staff working for the first hour or so of the game.

[Damien]

11 minutes ago, Dave T said:

I remember going to watch a match at the HJ last year when it was cheap family tickets in the West Stand. Lots of families attending, and one family with two young kids were being stopped and their bag emptied with all food and drinks confiscated - treated like criminals. They had all of their kids' food taken from them before they went in. 

Once in, the queue was horrendous and at least half an hour to get anything (before you even go into things like cost choice, dietary requirements etc).

I understand the approach to an extent, but i do think families should be able to take sandwiches or similar - we should probably be in line with cinemas and theatres etc.

And of course there is always the argument that if food and drink was of better quality and more reasonable cost then no one would need to do such things.

[Padge]

18 minutes ago, JonM said:

There was a link to RFU accounts on a thread on cross-code last week. The largest component of their annual revenue was hospitality and catering - pretty much came to the same amount per year as ticket sales + tv deal. 

I wonder whether clubs could make money by adopting the US model of having burgers, hot dogs, coke etc, brought to your seat during the game. In principle, the costs shouldn't be too much different - instead of having to staff up for a hectic 10 minute period at half-time, you can have those same staff working for the first hour or so of the game.

Our stadia are so tightly designed to fit fit people in this is an utter none starter.

[Dave T]

52 minutes ago, Padge said:

Our stadia are so tightly designed to fit fit people in this is an utter none starter.

Funnily enough, Wire did test that, I don't recall it happening for more than a game or two though. As you say, tough logistically. 

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

1 hour ago, Dave T said:

I remember going to watch a match at the HJ last year when it was cheap family tickets in the West Stand. Lots of families attending, and one family with two young kids were being stopped and their bag emptied with all food and drinks confiscated - treated like criminals. They had all of their kids' food taken from them before they went in. 

Once in, the queue was horrendous and at least half an hour to get anything (before you even go into things like cost choice, dietary requirements etc).

I understand the approach to an extent, but i do think families should be able to take sandwiches or similar - we should probably be in line with cinemas and theatres etc.

Utterly ridiculous behaviour.....I've always had reasonably good experiences at HJ 

Probably best for those families to sneak the food/drink inside coat pockets instead of bags (which we do)

The worst time I had at HJ was that COVID England fixture ....the 4000 crowd one Travelled nearly 3 hours...thought I'd get there towards start of England Vs Wales women....plenty of time for beer and food ....they weren't serving anything !!....the stewards would not let me out either to return....

[fighting irish]

1 hour ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

Utterly ridiculous behaviour.....I've always had reasonably good experiences at HJ 

Probably best for those families to sneak the food/drink inside coat pockets instead of bags (which we do)

The worst time I had at HJ was that COVID England fixture ....the 4000 crowd one Travelled nearly 3 hours...thought I'd get there towards start of England Vs Wales women....plenty of time for beer and food ....they weren't serving anything !!....the stewards would not let me out either to return....

I find these stories utterly heart-breaking.

We (rugby league) are so poor at just about everything and worse, in many cases, deliberately make things unpleasant for newcomers and die hard fans alike.

If only someone at the clubs went through and analysed these practices and made the ''obvious'' changes necessary to make our fans feel welcome (rather than feel like nuisances at best, interlopers, trespassers, vagabonds and thieves at worst) we could vastly improve turnout, I'm sure.

In the example's quoted by you and Dave T, it doesn't take any money to turn it around, just a change of attitude towards our (extremely valuable) customers.

Ensuring we create satisfied customers who feel welcome and valued, is a vitally important part of our marketing effort. 

How/why do we keep getting it so wrong?

 

[Gomersall]

3 hours ago, JonM said:

I wonder whether clubs could make money by adopting the US model of having burgers, hot dogs, coke etc, brought to your seat during the game. In principle, the costs shouldn't be too much different - instead of having to staff up for a hectic 10 minute period at half-time, you can have those same staff working for the first hour or so of the game.

No thanks. Imagine paying for a seat and then missing part of the game whilst people sat in your eye line are being served. 

[Padge]

15 minutes ago, fighting irish said:

I find these stories utterly heart-breaking.

We (rugby league) are so poor at just about everything and worse, in many cases, deliberately make things unpleasant for newcomers and die hard fans alike.

If only someone at the clubs went through and analysed these practices and made the ''obvious'' changes necessary to make our fans feel welcome (rather than feel like nuisances at best, interlopers, trespassers, vagabonds and thieves at worst) we could vastly improve turnout, I'm sure.

In the example's quoted by you and Dave T, it doesn't take any money to turn it around, just a change of attitude towards our (extremely valuable) customers.

Ensuring we create satisfied customers who feel welcome and valued, is a vitally important part of our marketing effort. 

How/why do we keep getting it so wrong?

 

The answer is simple, plenty variety at sensible prices to make it not worth the hassle to people to try and 'sneak' things in. Instead we go for little choice at inflated prices and draconian security.

Following a survey of supporters a few years ago the bars at Wigan put cask ale on, we as a group had not bought a beer in the ground for years, close to never. We started having a couple of pints in the ground, along with many others.

Then Latics were given control of the stadium and the then owners started to listen to the gobby element of the Latics supporters who wanted it removed as it was only there for the rugby supporters. It was removed and we haven't had a drink in there since. Crazy thing is that the rugby made no money from the bars, hence Lenagan opened his own next door, so it was Latics who missed out on the money. I hope under Danson that situation has been resolved.

[graveyard johnny]

4 hours ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

 

When we go to watch football I suspect a lot of the bottles of coke people are drinking have more than just coke in 

it would have to do for me to sit through a football match plus something to read while the game is on

[Leyther_Matt]

16 hours ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

Utterly ridiculous behaviour.....I've always had reasonably good experiences at HJ 

Probably best for those families to sneak the food/drink inside coat pockets instead of bags (which we do)

The worst time I had at HJ was that COVID England fixture ....the 4000 crowd one Travelled nearly 3 hours...thought I'd get there towards start of England Vs Wales women....plenty of time for beer and food ....they weren't serving anything !!....the stewards would not let me out either to return....

Tried exactly that at the HJ with a strategically placed chop suey roll in my inside coat pocket from Mike & Martha’s. Got patted down at the turnstiles and told I wasn’t taking it inside. Same thing happened to my mate as he was going through so we were both left scoffing them outside the turnstiles, which you can imagine absolutely nobody in the queue took the pee out of!

[Damien]

20k cracked:

 

[Gomersall]

3 hours ago, Leyther_Matt said:

Tried exactly that at the HJ with a strategically placed chop suey roll in my inside coat pocket from Mike & Martha’s. Got patted down at the turnstiles and told I wasn’t taking it inside. Same thing happened to my mate as he was going through so we were both left scoffing them outside the turnstiles, which you can imagine absolutely nobody in the queue took the pee out of!

Did exactly the same to me with a tin of soup.

[Padge]

On 07/01/2024 at 22:38, Leyther_Matt said:

If it is the area at the front then I would imagine there will be a sponsors banner. If it is elsewhere then there’s a reasonable shout that it could be a block travel booking. 

Seats at the front are still for sale and some sold so it isn't that. There seems to be a lot sold in the North-East section of the the North stand.

[Futtocks]

According to information on the televised games thread, the BBC will be showing this match.

Edited January 9 by Futtocks

[The 4 of Us]

1 hour ago, Damien said:

20k cracked:

 

Attended the Wigan - Man Utd game last night and a little under 23,000 in. A few bits covered with netting but even so, didn’t look a huge amount of spare seat. 20,000 sold with 6 weeks or so to go means that it’ll be great atmosphere, whether that 23,000 is beaten or not. Have looked at the seating plan and I’m not sure where an additional 5,000 would go! 

[Damien]

18 minutes ago, The 4 of Us said:

Attended the Wigan - Man Utd game last night and a little under 23,000 in. A few bits covered with netting but even so, didn’t look a huge amount of spare seat. 20,000 sold with 6 weeks or so to go means that it’ll be great atmosphere, whether that 23,000 is beaten or not. Have looked at the seating plan and I’m not sure where an additional 5,000 would go! 

I'll be amazed now if its not a sellout.

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

4 hours ago, Leyther_Matt said:

Tried exactly that at the HJ with a strategically placed chop suey roll in my inside coat pocket from Mike & Martha’s. Got patted down at the turnstiles and told I wasn’t taking it inside. Same thing happened to my mate as he was going through so we were both left scoffing them outside the turnstiles, which you can imagine absolutely nobody in the queue took the pee out of!

Genuinely have never been patter down going into a rugby event of either code (can't recall football either) 

Matt - would your describe yourself as having an 'honest' face?

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

15 minutes ago, Damien said:

I'll be amazed now if its not a sellout.

Money wise I'm now not going ....pleased it will look good on telly though 

God I hope the Pies do them over 

[Leyther_Matt]

1 hour ago, Padge said:

Seats at the front are still for sale and some sold so it isn't that. There seems to be a lot sold in the North-East section of the the North stand.

That’s where the community club mascots sit etc so will likely be held off while they get final numbers etc. So might result in an odd few coming available but likewise might mean they aren’t included in the current sales.

20 minutes ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

Genuinely have never been patter down going into a rugby event of either code (can't recall football either) 

Matt - would your describe yourself as having an 'honest' face?

They did it for everybody in the away end. Not sure if it was the case last season though. 

[The 4 of Us]

25 minutes ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

Genuinely have never been patter down going into a rugby event of either code (can't recall football either) 

Matt - would your describe yourself as having an 'honest' face?

They were patting down last night. Let’s just say the hipflask filled with warming whisky was stored in a “no go zone”