If you track both clubs attendances over the last 10 years or so, it would be a significant achievement if Rovers first home match has a larger attendance than Hull's.

It would say alot about the state of both clubs.

Balls. You always get a good first gate, same as last year, then you went rapidly downhill.

Crossland last night said you STILL need a 10,000 break-even gate. Concentrate on that before mentioning our gates.

Diablo, i don't think anybody has negatively dismissed your gates to be fair so that was a little hotheaded.

This has been the best year I have seen our marketing by a country mile, it looks half professional n all. The billboards, city of culture stuff, plenty of advertising in the local area and local rags and a big direct marketing campaign. Can not knock it.

With regards Hull's, i am not privvy to it however the general consensus is it is not good enough from your fans. Fair enough results dictate crowds to an extent, but marketing plays a big part. You have a lot of disengaged fans, considering you averaged 14,000 + one year didn't you? This should be the target market for a big campaign, with something that engages the local community. You have a good propaganda machine with smailes in the the HDM, but this is always on the field activities really.

I like somebodies point about reaching out to different area's. KR have targeted hornsea and up that way this year - worth a try i guess. There are plenty more populated area's around West Hull which could be targeted, and all more affluent with potential income to spend on games. The challenge you have is that these said people are probably the pro - allam supporting hull tigers fans, and they would be hard to attract.

Surely that's child cruelty lol

Social Services will be in attendance.

Rovers have gone balls out for the Leeds game (again) so credit to them for achieving a 12.5k attendance, regardless of how they've done it. Provided they give Leeds a good seeing-to, there's no downside to it, surely?

The challenge for us the following week (in addition to bang average ticketing arrangements) is that we'll get very few fans from Warrington as they already have the "all must pay" game vs the decided more glamorous St George Illawara the following week, and it's Friday night so there's the readymade M62 excuse. As a game to push it looks pretty difficult, unless we were to win at Huddersfield and Warrington look like resting anyone with the slightest knock in advance of the NRL game.

Rovers got almost 1,500 more than us for the opening home game last season, although our's was against Catalans and on Sky.

It's easy to knock them for giving tickets away and for booking an X Factor act for the prematch but both will help fill the ground. At least they try a few things with the prematch, compared to Hull who stick with teenie dancers and a pub singer who no-one has heard of.

Most of us onlt go for the rugby, of course, but you have to try to attract new fans and families.

The marketing at the club has gone downhill rapidly since rule left. Is james clark in charge of it? One of the contributing factors to our reduction in attendances IMO. If you don;t do facebook and twitter or look at the website there is very little coming out of the club marketing wise

As mentioned on the mediawatch thread, other outlets we could use are the local media. Having a relationship with RH that's cool at best doesn't help. Direct marketing via post for example tends to be expensive with a poor redemption rate.

This is the stand which is sponsored by a local school Wilf, with the provision they are allowed exclusive use three matches a season for the kids and staff etc. I would suggest other R.L. clubs perhaps have similar arrangements, I know your own club, for example, give a quantity of free/cheap tickets to Smith and Nephew every home match for the sponsorship of a stand at the KC which their staff (S&N) are allowed to purchase for a tenner (whether these are used by the purchaser or sold on at a profit to regular hull fans can only be a matter of conjecture).
Partnerships / Sponsorship should be welcomed throughout Rugby League in an effort to bring youngsters into the game and hopefully retain their interest into adult hood.
As an aside, is anyone aware if the 1500 seats purchased for every hull fc home game by the SMC, under their agreement with your club, are included in the attendance figures whether they are actually used or not.
I am aware Rovers marketing department are making great strides in this area and would hope hull's team could do likewise because the more Rugby League fans passing through the turnstiles increase our capacity to compete at the upper end of our game.

Is the school that pays the sponsorship a private one? Not trolling, just wondering how much they pay for 4500 free tickets a year and how it's funded.