White Hart Lane would do for me

White Hart Lane would do for me

You have no idea really, do you?

Quite a lot of random suggestions on here.

If the aim of the OTR games is to help generate awareness in the capital, why play games in Coventry, etc? A London venue (or outskirts) is what is needed.

Isn't there some kind of connection with Oxford United and Ian Lennighan? Could tie in nicely with the work they're doing for the Varsity game as well.

What about...the fact that London have played in numerous grounds over their exsistence....have never had a settled "home".Has it entered their head to do a survey of where they had the best crowds and see if said ground was open to a long term arrangement then they could try and increase the numbers of fans due to a settled place to play.....or is that too simple for someone who has no idea?

Or you on about it being on the road to promote the game in places where we cant get a foothold....that worked with crusaders didnt it.

This I would hazzard is the main reason, nothing to do with the fact they aren't settled at The Stoop.

northampton have linked upto wakefield and look odds on to join the leagues next season, maybe we could be playing at sixfields stadiium

I have been on the Broncos website and upon which they state the following, the 'London Broncos will play two matches On the Road during the 2012 season for two reasons. The first is to take the game to new audiences and create a buzz about rugby league and London Broncos in London and the South East'. This possibly rules out games in the Midlands etc.
From my own point of view, I would LOVE IT, if they could bring the game to Portsmouth!!! Already have the Navy RL, Portsmouth Seahawks RL and Southampton Spitfires RL just up the road. Could possibly team up with these clubs and the Military to promote the game?. Plenty of 'northerners' living in Portsmouth and the surrounding area due to the Armed Forces and BAE Systems, so could be the potential to draw a few 'migrated' locals to the match. Certainly believe that if the match was held at Fratton Park you'd get more fans than the reported 3,500 that attended the game in Leicester in 2003.
By the way, I'm a Hull exile and FC Fan so I could be slightly bias in my reasoning................
FC TO POMPEY, PLEASE!!!

They've been in the same place for the last 6 years.


What's simple is that you think they haven't already done fan surveys of where they'd prefer, looked at statistics to see where they got the best crowds, looked at what their finances allow, look at what's available, etc.

What else is simple is how naïve you are in suggesting they just "get their own ground" when you clearly have no idea how much it would cost to not only build a ground but acquire the land in London. It's not like they can just get a loan these days either, is it?


Well, I was on about the first thing, but on this point the reason the club has taken the game on the road is to allow for maintenance.
And as for the dig at Crusaders, I'd say the game has developed quite a foothold their thanks to them in such a short space of time. It's a shame the people running the club were morons.

So in summary, that's what you have no idea about.

The Stoop is absolutely killing RL down here sadly. It's barely London stuck right out there in the west, it has a Twickenham post code rather than a London one and it's RU heartland. It gets absolutely no coverage at all in the Evening Standard and it feels like the club doesn't exist. It's not on the tube lines so it's a bit of a bind to get out to it and then when you get there there are the problems with low crowds, no atmosphere etc.

In the short term they need to get back into town. Loftus Road where my football team plays would be a brilliant venue for it but I can't see QPR wanting a rugby team again after what happened with Wasps. Griffin Park is probably the next best bet. They've already scheduled one of their on the road games this year for Leyton Orient so I suspect the other one may go to Charlton or somewhere like that.

In the medium to long term there are currently two lower league London football clubs desperate for new homes - AFC Wimbledon and Barnet. The Broncos should be in on this from the very beginning, joining forces with one or the other for a purpose built brand new home that they can call their own permanently. QPR also want a new ground although as a Premiership side these days they'll be looking for a 30,000+ arena that would dwarf the Broncos and make the atmosphere issue even worse.

They should build a modern, tight atmospheric ground branded with their own colours with either Wimbledon or Barnet and then stay there. If they still want to take a couple of games around the capital then that's a good thing but there is no future in either The Stoop or moving constantly every few years. The constant moving around denies them any identity, I know it seems like London is just one big place but it's really not. QPR don't consider their games with Charlton and Palace London derbies. The Broncos have played at Charlton, then Brentford and now Twickenham. That would be like Hull playing at Grimsby for a few years and then Wakefield for a few years and now Huddersfield. I can't imagine even our crowds would hold up well in those circumstances. I can get to Hull from Barnet quicker than I can get to Brentford.

The point of taking the bloody game to Milton Keynes or Coventry is lost on me I'm afraid, especially as the Ricoh Arena is just about the worst new stadium built for any sport anywhere in the country.

Totally agree with the location issue and have said so for years. Awful to get to. I lived in Croydon for years and it was a nightmare then. Terrible for people coming from the north.

Good post.Playing you're games in a smaller arena and within the London Borough is a must,if RL is to survive down there.Is there a chance of a permanent link up at Brentford though?

I'm sure I read a piece the other on QPR wanting to move to a bigger place in London. Maybe leave Loftus rd for the Rugby teams ?