I agree. Very few fans are going to sit through several hours of continuous rl. They're just not used to it, don't have the appetite. If they're going to continue with the event there has to be an acceptance that large numbers will be outside the ground. And that's a legitimate part of the entertainment

I really enjoyed it. the lower tier was unreserved hence it could only ever be 80 per cent full as they cant sell every ticket. Add to that big numbers watching on the screens outside in the bars and fan zone areas and yes it looks less that full inside the stadium. Lots of fans watched their game in the stadium and then wandered around a bit taking in all the other things going on!!
I was in cardiff last year and it seemed far far busier than there.
I'm sure due to the weather people stayed around longer and watched more of the games. We watched the 2nd half of catalans, most of hudds, all the bulls game and the 1st half of the wigan game - missed the fight !!! - but saw it on the telly later !!!

If you watched it at home then you missed out big time imo

I think the fact that all the extra-curricular stuff has been organised, and a 'passout' system put in place, means it's all intended to be part of the event and that people can pick and choose.

For what it's worth, I just went on Sunday and watched all the games up to half time in the Wigan/Saints match, then went for a walk round the ground; even the luxuriously cussioned Seats in the Etihad were getting a bit harder by that time....

So, for someone who has never been, what sort of things are going on outside the ground?

The usual - car jackings, muggings, drug dealing, arson, burglary, etc..

By the time I went round (during second half of the Wigan game) there was nothing 'going on' as such, apart from several food vans clearing the decks...

They closed the bars and big screens, ended the entertainment outside the ground, during the Wigan game. They obviously wanted to get as many people as possible in the ground for the "finale". Unfortunately quite a few fans left the ground at the end of the Bulls game, saw that nothing was happening, and went home.

From what I saw through the afternoon there were plenty who only came in for their own club's game, but I guess that was fairly inevitable to be honest. For myself, I enjoy a good match as much as the next but I'd definitely had enough after 3 and a half games; it's a long time on your bum even with the 'extra comfy' seating!

Was the finale after the Wigan-Saints game? What happened?