Quote: Roofaldo "But why can't SL clubs be big enough? Championship
football this season had an average gate of 17k, that's 2nd tier football. And there's a number of clubs in that league who've averaged LESS than 10k
rlStats taken from hererl
But no-one seems to be able to answer me WHY can't SL clubs be this high? There's enough people in the areas that RL clubs inhabit. So really, IMO, there needs to be a massive push in terms of marketing of the game in these areas as people may not know the game, as strange as this may sound, so they need to be introduced to the game and work has to be done to get them coming back.
Personally, I think a major part in the lack of appeal of the sport is that so many of SL clubs play in old, decrepit stadia. Now, I know that new stadiums are the responsibility of the clubs involved. However, surely the RFL can try and help these clubs get the planning permission by lobbying or otherwise pushing local councils and help find funding for these stadia. New stadiums always help boost attendances, look at Hull FC and Warrington, both had increases in attendance thanks in part to their new stadiums and that's and increase from both home AND away followers.
I agree that internationals should be more important, but right now they're not. England does not have the quality or depth that Aus/NZ have in terms of players. If you look at the Aus national side they have at least 3 world class players per position in the team. England have maybe 3 world class players in the team. Without major investment into bringing the playing numbers up to speed we can't ever hope to compete on the international stage.
As for the RU WC win, did it REALLY have any major impact either on media coverage or people playing/watching the game? It had a bit of a spike in interest up to the final and for a few weeks after but then that died back down to the level it was prior to the WC.'"
football is in the mind of millions,i think the championship is the fourth largest league in europe.
not critisising here,but if you can work out why only 6thou[guessing] home supporters watch huddersfield you might have the answer.
they are a big town with a fantastic stadium,a fantastic owner,a top team & they've had the best part of 15 years at the top table.salford will be the same when they get there stadium.now salford v barca might just bring the mancs out. the way SL is at the moment i dont think any amount of advertising is going to increase the average attendence over 7 games by 6/8 thou.
the coverage of RU,football & cricket compared to RL in both written & tv media is massive,or at least thats how it seem when im watching tv or reading papers.
i might be wrong here but hasnt a RU team played in front of 2 gates of 40thou & one of 60 thou this season with its average gate of about 10thou.imo that has been built on the back of a very vibrant international scene.
football,RU,cricket all southern based,national media southern based,RL northern based.who's the black sheep?
