I understand your point, and it is a valid one to make. But, out of interest, would you like see Hull play outside Hull? Even if it is just a inch, or a yard outside of the area of what is known as Hull? The problem is not so much distance, but a semiotic one. No fan of any club wants to see their club play at another club's ground. No matter how far the ground is in proximity. It's a conflict of identity, and the physical structures of the stadium (which are not "value-neutral"icon_wink.gif bears no emotional connection. Nothing at the Hobart Stadium affirms the history, and stature of St Helens RLFC, and nor is it expected - it's merely a stop-gap which is inducing a feeling of limbo, which are resulting in the lacklustre attendances.

In that case you should have all coughed up a load of money so you could build the new place before the knocked the old one down ,

Or a more reasoned answer , What a crock of sheeite , all your loyal fan base isnt willing to travel 4 miles for one season to support your club , very loyal , I'm sure they'll all manage wembley or old trafford

Wembley or Old Trafford are designated neutral venues, with no symbolic attachment to any rival RL club. It's not that hard to understand that "things" or places have degrees of narrative meaning, which resonate with people more than others. The flaw of your argument is that it is "reasoned", which denies any intrinsic value and connection to these constructs.

over 3000 at giants v catalans.. 2 catalans fans attended

It's not half as simple as that.

Yes it is

Do explain, please.

CC Average Attendances 2011

4th Round - 54,265/16 3,391 (including lots of free tickets for season ticket holders)
5th Round - 35,496/8 4,437

Your club [ one of the most successful RL teams of all time after years of dominating the sport ] doesn't have fans that are willing to travel 4 miles from the location of their new stadium for one season to allow their owner to build a brand new stadium that the club will own

Sorry but that is just pathetic , your owner has been bankrolling you for years , covering substantial losses , as I said all those fans who cannot be ar53d getting on a bus/train for 20 matches ' down the road ' will all sudenly remember where their team is playing if they make a final

You dont deserve Mr Mc Manus

The Challenge Cup was a venerable institution and a tradition. It had it's place, with a Final in May, and it bubbled up nicely in the preceding months.

Understandably, and inevitably, though regrettably, the advent of summer rugby interfered with that, as did the desire of the Sky paymasters to make sure that their pot was by far and away the premier pot.

This led to the CC being shunted and messed about, at the same time as clubs re-evaluating it as their main focus became very much on SL and many felt that the CC was an inconvenience which distracted them from that.

The CC has not recovered from this, and unless it is re-invented, it never will. Part of its venerable attraction was the "always there" institution aspect, and for a day at least, everybody in the country loved RL. To some extent they still do but much diminished, as if it really was still an institution, then it wouldn't have been moved. But it was. As a result I think of the game showing the world that we weren't taht bothered about it ourselves, the RL CC FInal was removed from the "protected" TV list. All part of the same process of nibbling away at the CC's standing. Nowadays, unless their team gets within sniffing distance of the Final, most fans wouldn't even have a clue when the Final might be.

Of course, the Final itself remains a well-worth while event, and so still sells a lot of tickets, any fan would love a day out at Wembley with the chance of winning a pot, even if they haven't been to any other game all season, and for this reason, the SF's also suddenly gain at least respectable attendances, in light of the prize on offer.

Another factor is the success of SL itself. One of the big attractions in the old days was when the small teams joined the fray with the big teams, but the playing gap has widened so much that frankly most games involving SL teams against minnows are a massacre, and you can't expect in this day and age people except diehards, and fans of the minnows, to pay money to watch that.

You're not comparing like with like. In cup finals, no matter who is playing, exponentially more supporters turn-up than a club's season average. For a truer reflection compare the current average with the average at Knowsley Road. Then try and address the reasons [iwhy[/i the drop has come about, without resorting to circular comments such as "saints fans are pathetic, disloyal, etc." As I have mentioned earlier, it is obvious that there are reasons which transcend the minimal travelling distance.