Hull FC explain drop to Grade B Super League status as owner Adam Pearson’s “frustration” on few points revealed

HULL FC have explained their drop to Grade B Super League status in four areas.

The Black and Whites were awarded a provisional Grade A – 15.05 – back in 2023 following the indicative scoring process, but that has since dropped to 14.51.

That score has left Hull in tenth position out of all 35 professional clubs and the club has now revealed just why there has been a reduction in 0.54 points.

At the top of the list is a reduction in the club’s three-year average TV viewership figure, dropping below the top scoring threshold of 150,000.

There is also a small reduction in the club’s three-year average stadium utilisation figure – a percentage representing how full the MKM Stadium is in terms of attendances as a percentage of the stadium’s capacity.

Despite having been awarded the points in 2023, the MKM Stadium’s two UEFA technical specification standard LED big screens do not meet IMG’s grading criteria in this specific category.

There was, of course, also a drop from 10th to 11th in the three-year average league position scoring system.

Chairman and owner Adam Pearson said: “While we are naturally disappointed not to achieve Grade A status for 2025, we are clear that our poor performances on the field over recent seasons is the main contributing factor to this, and have clearly identified this as our key focus area for the next grading period.

“A natural consequence of our on-field performances is the slight decrease in our stadium utilisation score; meanwhile, the decrease in our TV viewership figure due to the change of the broadcasting landscape in 2024 is a factor beyond the control of the club.

“We have also expressed our frustration in relation to not achieving the relevant points for our stadium big screens, being marked against unrealistic and unachievable criteria, despite having two of the sport’s best big screens, and being the only club to have two screens, rather than one.

“As has been evident by the plethora of changes to our playing squad and performance department over recent months, work is already well underway to rectify our performances in 2025 in terms of on and off-field personnel, facilities, and player welfare and development.

“With the appointment of new head coach John Cartwright, as well as several new members of performance staff, and host of experienced signings to support and develop our young squad, all led by our new Director of Rugby in Richie Myler, we are confident the changes made will see an uplift in our fortunes in 2025.”

Pearson continued: “Elsewhere, we are pleased to have maintained scores above the highest thresholds in several other areas, including relating to digital output and finance, thanks in part to the tireless work of our off-field departments across media and marketing, retail and commercial – all posting impressive figures in 2024 despite our on-field performances.

“While we performed positively in those specific areas, we have identified clear pathways across all departments to ensure all figures continue to increase in the next grading period, regardless of being past the upper threshold or not, as we strive for improvements in all areas.

“We are also hopeful of seeing some alterations to some of the grading thresholds in 2025, which will see departments across the club have new, realistic targets to aim for, and help drive further development across the club. Unfortunately this season due to the current scoring thresholds in place, the club was not able to identify any other areas where the realistic possibility of increasing their score was feasible, outside of league performance and stadium utilisation.

“As well as changes to the big screen category, we also hope to see other positive changes to the stadium category, with the club effectively being deducted points for playing in one of the competition’s premier facilities, and catchment, with the club not able to include the population of local areas including Hessle, Willerby, Cottingham, and Beverley within their figures, despite having a large out-of-town supporter base, while the city of Hull in general is marked down for having two professional teams.”

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