Bored at work so just had a look at the league table and the crowds and personally i was pleasantly suprised!


1 Featherstone Rovers 1,752
2 Leigh Centurions 2,113
3 Halifax R.L.F.C. 2,364
4 Barrow Raiders 1,859
5 Widnes Vikings 3,072
6 Toulouse Olympique XIII 1,350
7 Batley Bulldogs 1,661
8 Whitehaven 1,284
9 Sheffield Eagles 1,597
10 Dewsbury Rams 1,172
11 Keighley Cougars RLFC 1,126

Quins would fit in well on that list

Seriously though, i'm interested by which of those clubs we think have the potential to (at least) double their attendances if a SL licence was granted? Widnes?

I'm a huge Leigh fan and I think Widnes have the potential to average over 10k, we havn't. I'd say 6-7k at best for us.

Widnes even in the days of Offiah and Davies didnt get over 10,000

I reckon Halifax and Widnes might be able to reach 5-7 thousand when doing well in Super League

We would only average 10k if we had a winning team in SL. I think we hit it a couple of times in SL to Wire and Saints.

We'd be pleased averaging around 7-8k which I think we'd do.

I think widnes would easy average 8. They have one thing a lot of clubs want and that's a backer. Also on the point of crowds in the champ, i think a lot of it is to do with the stadiums we go to. I love Batley and Keighley in particular in summer time.

None of them are Super League clubs. The only ones with ANY potential are Toulouse, Widnes and Halifax. The later two have already been Super League sides and thoroughly made a mess of it so are hardly prime candidates.

There has to be a few millionaires around who aren't at the level needed for Premiership football but who would like a UK plaything?

I don't think the new set-up at Widnes can be under-estimated. Our chairman is not only a wealthy man, but a genuine one who has vowed to make something of the club.

Re: fans. Widnes averaged 7k in our last Super League season IIRC. Given that we were gash then, that's a realistic target to begin with. If, over time, we improved to the point of reaching the top eight, I could see us hitting 10k quite a few times a season.

That said, our gates are down by around 7-800 this season, thus far. Over the course of the year, it should improve with big games to come, but I worry that interest in the Championship is dwindling.

It would be interesting to compare those crowds with the averages of previous seasons.

Hudds have a backer, with reduced prices as well they are already in SL with a good ground a good team and their attendances are nothing to shout about. I dont think its a forgone conclusion that if Widnes get in SL that attendances will rise dramatically especially with Wire doing so well and Saints being on the doorstep.

better than your though