There's enough interest and people to have RL represented as a sport in the area. There's just not one spot big enough to support a SL team in terms of finance and that would be able to attract fans from the entire area to support a club.

I would love to see a team from Cumbria in SL as I think our heartlands should all be represented.

The reality is though it isn't going to happen any time soon. There is too much parochialism between the three Rugby towns
of Workington, Whitehaven and Barrow and there isn't a good enough stadium or financial support. A combined team might be the way forward and look appealing with each of the three clubs acting as feeders but there isn't enough money in the game to do this. One of the three clubs has to meet the franchise requirements and improve thier stadium facilites and capacity to do it. Its the only realistic way.

Although the amateur game has been traditionally strong in the area one of the biggest often over looked problems is the terrain and logistics of the area. There is no train service between Barrow and Whitehaven and Workington on a Sunday, which means its either bus or car to travel between the towns and from everywhere else if matches were to played on a Sunday.

To put another thing in perspective the distance between Barrow and Whitehaven is 46 miles and it takes 1hour 25 mins in the car. (Anyone who travels the route between the two towns knows why.
As a comparitor, the distance between St Helens to Huddersfield is 48 miles but it only takes an hour in the car.

Unless the logistical transport issues are improved in West Cumbria the idea is also a dead duck.

I actually wonder if Stobart might be the key to backing a SL team in Cumbria based in Carlisle.

Then we could try and push on to Scotland.

It may well but it would end up being a Carlisle Team and not a Cumbrian one. The heartland of the game is on the West Coast of Cumbria. ask yourself why the Carlisle club went out of existence.

The problem of wherever it is is logistics. Cumbria is a huge geographical county with a low population density and poor public and road transport infrastructure in many areas . If a SL club was to be based in one place in one stadium, then wherever it is the supporters/people from the rest of Cumbria would have to travel a considerable distance to get there.

If Carlisle was the location for a franchise or new club, its a 1 hour 50 minute journey from Barrow. Its also 55 mins from Workington and and hours drive from Whitehaven.

Two solutions:

1. Whitehaven and Workington amalgamate as Cumbria and share fixtures between their grounds

2. Barrow make progress

Regarding transport links; has there ever been any discussion of a bridge/tunnel linking Morecambe and Barrow or are we more likely to see hover cars first?

My view is theres a big enough population and lack of competition for attention for a Copeland SL franchise. A cumbria club that tries to also draw support from barrow and carlisle is a non starter. It would be great if it ever happened but seems unlikely sadly.

yeah, great idea so why not put a team from the Bradford area in SL ?

oh, ehhrr .... wait a minute !

my point is very clear

Bradford IS in a so called RL heartland,with good transport links and a large population within it's catchment area to attract the fans and make a very viable business - all the ingredients are there

if THEY can't make a go of it what chance has a Cumbria based club have FFS ?

there's not one heartland really, its 2 seperated by nearly 50 miles and a long road journey - i could get from hull to leeds quicker for example, until the duddon channel is bridged, ulverston and barrow will be too far from whitehaven and workington to be viable. you would almost have to build a stadium halfway, in sellafield, or at the foot of hardknott pass

plus in my lifetime i can never remember any of these teams posting consistent crowds in excess of 4000, so i can't believe they will now

Good post and very true and in line with what i Posted earlier. Unless transport logistics are improved in the West Cumbrian Coastal area its a complete non starter.

Between the three clubs Barrow have the best chance of making it on their own because it has the biggest population to draw on support, but I sadly can't see a club from Cumbria in SL any time soon.

It frustrates me to see such a heartland of rugby league going to waste, with support dwindling. Just a few years ago Whitehaven were drawing 2,000 - 4,000 every game but now struggle to muster 1,000 for even the Cumbrian derbies. The problem is that the clubs are so stubborn in their hatred of each other, Haven, Workington, Barrow etc. could never join up to form one club because there is rivalry between the towns. It's frustrating that Barrow don't have a reasonably sized stadium because they are still drawing crowds of around 1,500 despite being in Championship 1 and the recent 'problems' with the running of the club. Remember they applied for a license not so long ago and drew about 5,000 I think? vs Wigan in the Challenge Cup. They would easily get that every week if they were in SL.