Just posted this on the international RL board - but for me what they need to do rather than doing desperate last minute things like this....

forums.rlfans.com/viewtopic.php?t=435671

(which even if successful in selling out will be a false economy and lose money) they should be sending tickets out like RU do at the start of the season to all the clubs in the league and all amateur clubs, who then sell the tickets and keep a proportion for club funds (thus having an incentive to sell the tickets themselves as agents of the RFL)

Just googled barla and found that as at 1999 there were 1,500 amateur RL clubs in the country (I would expect that to be somewhere between 2000-2,500 now if not more).......now if each of them cant sell 20-30 on average, each NL1 and NL2 side 200 - 300, each SL side 1,000 then its a bad job!!

Do that and before you even look at central RL sales youve got sales of somewhere in the region of 60k....how else do you think RU sells out Twickenham each week.

Until the RL do this we will forever look small time in international events as the games are only in the 'supporters eye' for one week of the year and sales cant be built up. If we sold tickets like this we could play 4 nations group games at places like Anfield, Old Trafford, C of M etc and make our game look credible as RU do, thus creating more interest from outside, more sponsorship and more 'floating' fans who pop along to an England game beacuase it is an 'event' as much as a game, hence interest will further increase year on year.

Instead the RL are apathetic, do no marketing and take the game to somewhere like doncaster, where no one can be bothered going, we get circa 6-7k pre game sales the week before, by which the RL then brick themselves at the disgrace and how it will make the sport look, and start practically giving tickets away thus further devaluing the international game, sending the international game in a further downward spiral!!

If you look at attendances across the board there are roughly 70-80k each week who actually go to watch 'live' professional RL, before you even count the armchair viewers and supporters of the amateur game, so there is clearly the interest and market, thus 60-70k crowds should be looked at as a target rather than an unachievable dream!

Planning is key....if the games are planned for the season start and tickets are rolled out to all clubs for sale those figures i have quoted are easily achievable IMO....added to that each club can have blocks of seats, so you'd get amatur clubs sitting together, fans of NL and SL clubs together etc which would only add to the carnaval and general atmosphere.

If RU can do it with a vastly inferior product there is no reason for RL not to be getting at least vaguly comparable crowds. The answer is in forward planning and good administration, something sadly RL seems to be perpetually lacking!

Just posted this on the international RL board - but for me what they need to do rather than doing desperate last minute things like this....

forums.rlfans.com/viewtopic.php?t=435671

(which even if successful in selling out will be a false economy and lose money) they should be sending tickets out like RU do at the start of the season to all the clubs in the league and all amateur clubs, who then sell the tickets and keep a proportion for club funds (thus having an incentive to sell the tickets themselves as agents of the RFL)

Just googled barla and found that as at 1999 there were 1,500 amateur RL clubs in the country (I would expect that to be somewhere between 2000-2,500 now if not more).......now if each of them cant sell 20-30 on average, each NL1 and NL2 side 200 - 300, each SL side 1,000 then its a bad job!!

Do that and before you even look at central RL sales youve got sales of somewhere in the region of 60k....how else do you think RU sells out Twickenham each week.

Until the RL do this we will forever look small time in international events as the games are only in the 'supporters eye' for one week of the year and sales cant be built up. If we sold tickets like this we could play 4 nations group games at places like Anfield, Old Trafford, C of M etc and make our game look credible as RU do, thus creating more interest from outside, more sponsorship and more 'floating' fans who pop along to an England game beacuase it is an 'event' as much as a game, hence interest will further increase year on year.

Instead the RL are apathetic, do no marketing and take the game to somewhere like doncaster, where no one can be bothered going, we get circa 6-7k pre game sales the week before, by which the RL then brick themselves at the disgrace and how it will make the sport look, and start practically giving tickets away thus further devaluing the international game, sending the international game in a further downward spiral!!

If you look at attendances across the board there are roughly 70-80k each week who actually go to watch 'live' professional RL, before you even count the armchair viewers and supporters of the amateur game, so there is clearly the interest and market, thus 60-70k crowds should be looked at as a target rather than an unachievable dream!

Planning is key....if the games are planned for the season start and tickets are rolled out to all clubs for sale those figures i have quoted are easily achievable IMO....added to that each club can have blocks of seats, so you'd get amatur clubs sitting together, fans of NL and SL clubs together etc which would only add to the carnaval and general atmosphere.

If RU can do it with a vastly inferior product there is no reason for RL not to be getting at least vaguly comparable crowds. The answer is in forward planning and good administration, something sadly RL seems to be perpetually lacking!