Presumably halifax council dont want as much as blackpool do?,and tbh linda after recent event this decision isnt even moving the needle on my annoyance scale.
Plus your only assuming ther'll be less fans there,there was only 6k last season.

Thank you jc a lone voice in the wilderness. Last years attendance at Blackpool was less than the year before. It would have been fewer this year. O.k it' not ideal but again I ask what would you all prefer. And before everyone says home advantage, if it's us check out our home performance against Batley, Fev, Leigh, Sheffield.

What a joke.

Should imagine this means this will eventually mean less interest and the subsequent down grading of the competiton (unless Halifax qualify).
Can't see wifes / husbands , sons / daughters all going to Halifax for a weekend out whilst the RL fans go to the match.

Another exceptionally shortsighted decision by the Club Chairmen in the Championship and again something the RFL should have really took control of and pointed out the NRC was begining to cement itself as a RL event (regardless of who played).

Bizarre decision.
Even if Halifax don't get to the final, I know there are more clubs likely to get to the final from Yorkshire, but still.....
Why are the RFL such a joke, in nearly everything they do/decide ???!!!

This was NOT their decision

they had NO say in it...their own sport ????

So how expensive is Wembley or Old Trafford, and who pays for these venues?

Do the clubs taking part in those finals lose out on prize money?

Personally, I would have kept Blackpool and move the GF from Warrington to Halifax at a Push.
The Northern Rail truly is a mickey mouse cup now. Imagine if its a Sheffield v Workington final! Won't be more than 1000 there for that one!
On the plus side, The Shay is close to the Town Centre, Pubs, Bowling Alley and other amenities.
Rugby League Chairmens finances must be really struggling to come up with a decision like this though. Its another nail in the coffin for Semi-Pro Rugby League at this level.

Well be fair. The NRC Final potential attendance comes nowhere close to those two Finals.

Suppose we got to the NRC Final. I still think our club would make more money' now that I know how much it costs for the Finalists to play at Blackpool.

This of course is in response to Glow's post.

I wasn't trying to imply the crowd was anything like those, (even though the cost maybe similar per head?) I was simply asking who pays the bill, the teams playing or the RFL?

So how much did Blackpool FC charge ?

I'm surprised Championship clubs was unable to make money on taking upwards of 3,000 fans from each club paying a average of £10.00 ?
Throw in the SKY TV money from the event, not to mention any prize money and then add in the fact it raises your profile as the chance of getting lapsed fans back and it does seem strange clubs have lost money here ?

I'd say our club didn't do much in terms of add on sales that you can make a profit and increase your brand awareness on when reaching a final (T'shirts, Hats, Flags, Scarves etc - the things all the football clubs do very well at) but I thought when we made the final at Blackpool it was seen as a huge relief and a help to our finances as wasn't it around the time AT's money had gone ?

So what was the loss Leigh incurred on reaching the final at Blackpool and giving over 3,000 of our fans a damn good weekend out ?

Sorry did not make my post clear enough. Just as an example I should have said gate receipts at the Grand Final would be in excess of £1million the cost of playing at Old Trafford pales into insignificance as a % of gate receipts as opposed to the cost of staging the NRC Final at Blackpool which is £50k.

Re the Wembley Final I am sure I read that the RFL take all the gate receipts.

Grand Final gate receipts are split between all of the clubs participating in the play offs, so the RFL must pay for that one.

Challenge Cup Final gate receipts are split between the RFL and the finalists.

Clubs retain all of their own ticket sales for the Magic Weekend.

Bit of a pattern here.

I thought a Rail Final is a special day out and a good Piss up in Blackpool.Won't be the same atmosphere at Halifax.