The 2026 Attendance Thread

[N2022]

As nearly all the posts on the 2025 equivalent thread relate to season ticket sales for 2026 seemed a good time to start this thread. I'm confident we can it optimistic and refrain from counting empty seats.

[N2022]

Feel free to post your club's progress with season ticket and first game sales on here.

[Damien]

There's already a thread for season ticket sales specifically. However for attendances Hull KR are well on their way:

 

 

[Tommygilf]

10 minutes ago, Damien said:

There's already a thread for season ticket sales specifically. However for attendances Hull KR are well on their way:

 

 

I do wonder at what point it becomes more viable for KR to take some home games to the Circle - if they cannot feasibly redevelop their own ground for the time being?

[whatmichaelsays]

17 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

I do wonder at what point it becomes more viable for KR to take some home games to the Circle - if they cannot feasibly redevelop their own ground for the time being?

Isn't the deal that FC have the SMC particularly onerous if they get larger crowds? Something like the SMC getting 50% of any gate over 8k? Or is that an urban legend?

[Tommygilf]

1 minute ago, whatmichaelsays said:

Isn't the deal that FC have the SMC particularly onerous if they get larger crowds? Something like the SMC getting 50% of any gate over 8k? Or is that an urban legend?

No idea tbh. I know in the past FC and the SMC have not gotten on well.

[Worzel]

1 hour ago, Tommygilf said:

I do wonder at what point it becomes more viable for KR to take some home games to the Circle - if they cannot feasibly redevelop their own ground for the time being?

I think the edge of demand for Hull KR home tickets is around 12,500 rather than much greater (you can see that from speed of take-up for the play offs when we add the temp stand to the south), so it wouldn't make any sense to do that

The club can add that temp stand to the south end whenever it feels like it, from Lakin's recent interviews that seems to be the plan. Hopefully we will get planning for the larger property development around the ground soon (currently Highways England objections need to be unblocked on some small issues), once that's in place I think we'll finally see some action on the East stand extension. 

[N2022]

4 hours ago, Worzel said:

I think the edge of demand for Hull KR home tickets is around 12,500 rather than much greater (you can see that from speed of take-up for the play offs when we add the temp stand to the south), so it wouldn't make any sense to do that

The club can add that temp stand to the south end whenever it feels like it, from Lakin's recent interviews that seems to be the plan. Hopefully we will get planning for the larger property development around the ground soon (currently Highways England objections need to be unblocked on some small issues), once that's in place I think we'll finally see some action on the East stand extension. 

Good luck with that. Extra capacity would make it easier for more occasionals and new supporters to get involved. 

[The Hallucinating Goose]

There's an empty seat over there.

[MZH]

6 hours ago, whatmichaelsays said:

Isn't the deal that FC have the SMC particularly onerous if they get larger crowds? Something like the SMC getting 50% of any gate over 8k? Or is that an urban legend?

So I can't remember the specifics, but the original agreement was certainly like that. We kept the gate receipts up to a point (can't remember whether it was 8k, 10k or whatever) and anything over and above that was subject to a cut to the SMC (again I can't remember the specific figure). It was a bad deal in hindsight, but in fairness the owners at the time had no idea just how much the move would cause our attendances to jump.

Whether that's still the case I'm not sure. There seems to be a much better working relationship between everyone involved now that the Alams aren't involved anymore, and I remember Pearson talking about renegotiating the deal several times when he was in charge.

Edited December 18, 2025 by MZH

[Eddie]

2 hours ago, N2022 said:

Good luck with that. Extra capacity would make it easier for more occasionals and new supporters to get involved. 

It would, but selling out makes matches desirable and makes people want to go more. If HKR played in a 50,000 stadium their crowds would probably go down. 

[Tommygilf]

1 hour ago, Eddie said:

It would, but selling out makes matches desirable and makes people want to go more. If HKR played in a 50,000 stadium their crowds would probably go down. 

That's an extreme example though. Its clear there is consistent demand for a modest increase in capacity at their matches.

[langpark]

I am not a Hull KR fan, but as an eternal optimist, it does often bother me the though of "how big" could they become as a club if it weren't for this limitation they have on their stadium?  For example, if they had 8000 season ticket holders (is that the limit now?) for the last 2-3 seasons in a row, who knows how big that base line would have become now after a few successful season?  I don't think 10k season-ticket holders alone is out of the question.  Then a lot of their matches could have gotten around 15k if they had a venue big enough.  (no need to correct me, as it's all hypothetical, but my point is, that we'll never know)

Looking ahead to 2026, the first fixture I am curious about is Round 2 of the Challenge Cup, London Broncos vs Army / Wests Warriors.  The new London owners seem to be making a big effort to hit the ground running, including reaching out to the Aussie community of London and are planning to tie this in with Australia Day celebrations.  I hope they get a good response a big turnout.

[N2022]

1 hour ago, Tommygilf said:

That's an extreme example though. Its clear there is consistent demand for a modest increase in capacity at their matches.

Quite. I'm all for full houses rather than fans looking lost in superstadia, but when most games are sold out before the season kicks off, I think a club could benefit from an expansion of say 4-5000 seats.

[Tommygilf]

1 hour ago, N2022 said:

Quite. I'm all for full houses rather than fans looking lost in superstadia, but when most games are sold out before the season kicks off, I think a club could benefit from an expansion of say 4-5000 seats.

Yeah exactly. With only 13 home games a season (1 of which is being given up for Vegas), having 2 thirds sold out beforehand is great, but ultimately shows there is money being left on the table. 

[N2022]

1 hour ago, langpark said:

I am not a Hull KR fan, but as an eternal optimist, it does often bother me the though of "how big" could they become as a club if it weren't for this limitation they have on their stadium?  For example, if they had 8000 season ticket holders (is that the limit now?) for the last 2-3 seasons in a row, who knows how big that base line would have become now after a few successful season?  I don't think 10k season-ticket holders alone is out of the question.  Then a lot of their matches could have gotten around 15k if they had a venue big enough.  (no need to correct me, as it's all hypothetical, but my point is, that we'll never know)

Looking ahead to 2026, the first fixture I am curious about is Round 2 of the Challenge Cup, London Broncos vs Army / Wests Warriors.  The new London owners seem to be making a big effort to hit the ground running, including reaching out to the Aussie community of London and are planning to tie this in with Australia Day celebrations.  I hope they get a good response a big turnout.

I hope so, too. I don't know how tight-knit the Aussies in London are - imagine some are well integrated and independent of that crowd while others stick together a bit more - but it could have a cumulative effect where attracting a few hundred and that creating the right noise on social media attracts a few hundred more. 

[langpark]

26 minutes ago, N2022 said:

I hope so, too. I don't know how tight-knit the Aussies in London are - imagine some are well integrated and independent of that crowd while others stick together a bit more - but it could have a cumulative effect where attracting a few hundred and that creating the right noise on social media attracts a few hundred more. 

Yes well if Wests Warriors are the team they play against, then it should also play a role in mobilising even more Aus/NZers. I don't believe they are a segment of the market you can depend on, or build your business plan around, but as you say, there is potentially a few hundred extra fans there. Especially for the "special occasion" matches. 

[N2022]

19 hours ago, langpark said:

Yes well if Wests Warriors are the team they play against, then it should also play a role in mobilising even more Aus/NZers. I don't believe they are a segment of the market you can depend on, or build your business plan around, but as you say, there is potentially a few hundred extra fans there. Especially for the "special occasion" matches. 

Yes, the marketing to Aussies is part of a bigger thing. Success on the field and some attempt to generate atmosphere around the ground will help, too. Get to a couple of thousand, then a run of wins, then the weather picks up; suddenly it feels like somewhere a lot of people want to spend an afternoon. Curiously, I think one that could backfire is a run of blowouts. Not that this is guaranteed, but start putting 70+ on oppo too often and it might lose people's interest. 

[AgbriggAmbler]

On 17/12/2025 at 17:54, N2022 said:

As nearly all the posts on the 2025 equivalent thread relate to season ticket sales for 2026 seemed a good time to start this thread. I'm confident we can it optimistic and refrain from counting empty seats.

Trinity seem to have just about sold out our new stand for the first game against Toulouse...in this case its easier to count the empty seats on the booking site.

[up the robins]

6 hours ago, N2022 said:

Yes, the marketing to Aussies is part of a bigger thing. Success on the field and some attempt to generate atmosphere around the ground will help, too. Get to a couple of thousand, then a run of wins, then the weather picks up; suddenly it feels like somewhere a lot of people want to spend an afternoon. Curiously, I think one that could backfire is a run of blowouts. Not that this is guaranteed, but start putting 70+ on oppo too often and it might lose people's interest. 

A big opportunity for a early media boost would be if they could tempt the Brisbane Broncos to base themselves there before the world club challenge with the excellent training facilities they have to offer.

[gingerjon]

On 18/12/2025 at 18:11, Tommygilf said:

That's an extreme example though. Its clear there is consistent demand for a modest increase in capacity at their matches.

We're now in typical RL mode with them where they have decided they do not want to get ideas above their station. Even now.

[Cumbrian Fanatic]

On 18/12/2025 at 18:56, langpark said:

I am not a Hull KR fan, but as an eternal optimist, it does often bother me the though of "how big" could they become as a club if it weren't for this limitation they have on their stadium?  For example, if they had 8000 season ticket holders (is that the limit now?) for the last 2-3 seasons in a row, who knows how big that base line would have become now after a few successful season?  I don't think 10k season-ticket holders alone is out of the question.  Then a lot of their matches could have gotten around 15k if they had a venue big enough.  (no need to correct me, as it's all hypothetical, but my point is, that we'll never know)

Looking ahead to 2026, the first fixture I am curious about is Round 2 of the Challenge Cup, London Broncos vs Army / Wests Warriors.  The new London owners seem to be making a big effort to hit the ground running, including reaching out to the Aussie community of London and are planning to tie this in with Australia Day celebrations.  I hope they get a good response a big turnout.

In the interview League Express did with Paul Lakin he reckons a 13k average is definitely achievable, if not higher, and that a 15k stadium capacity would be ideal. Unfortunately, as things stand, due to the costs involved the return on investment figures don't stack up. He goes on to say they can add an extra 1k at the South end to take the capacity to 12,200

[langpark]

13 minutes ago, Cumbrian Fanatic said:

In the interview League Express did with Paul Lakin he reckons a 13k average is definitely achievable, if not higher, and that a 15k stadium capacity would be ideal. Unfortunately, as things stand, due to the costs involved the return on investment figures don't stack up. He goes on to say they can add an extra 1k at the South end to take the capacity to 12,200

Could they not lobby for partial local govt. funding, given their recent success? Or would their stance be: we've funded one stadium in the city, that is enough?

[Cumbrian Fanatic]

3 minutes ago, langpark said:

Could they not lobby for partial local govt. funding, given their recent success? Or would their stance be: we've funded one stadium in the city, that is enough?

The HKR fans on here will have a better idea of what's going on, but both him and Hudgell strike me as being pretty sharp so I would imagine that they are investigating all possible avenues 

[JonM]

On 20/12/2025 at 08:23, gingerjon said:

We're now in typical RL mode with them where they have decided they do not want to get ideas above their station. Even now.

If you're paying for the stadium yourself, you've got to be confident of selling those extra seats out for many years to make the numbers add up.

(Hand-wavey, ballpark figures, I'm sure Hull KR have done the maths properly).

If they were to build say a 3000 seat South Stand, in place of the current 1000 seat temporary one, you're probably looking at £5 million plus or minus a couple of million. Some recent ground improvements in the vaguely local area - Boston United's new ground with a capacity of 5000 was £11.5 million, Lincoln City adding 1000 safe standing spaces by extending an existing stand was £1.5 million. Assuming they were to borrow that money from the bank, at the very least £300K per year on interest and a long-term repayment plan.  With 13 home games a year, £20 per seat revenue, you probably need to be selling two third of those additional seats for every single game for the next decade or more to make it pay.