And I would add that this effect is not just associated with the Dons and their recent past.

Fans and ex-fans look at rugby league as it is today as a very fragile, undependable and an almost unsustainable product.
Never a year passes without clubs going into administration or breaching rules. This has become the norm and more worryingly is on the increase.

So I would suggest that trust has been holed below the water line.

The decline in industries such as mining has decimated traditional support and I can't see it ever returning. Plus a diversity of other interests hasn't helped.

Rupert, Stand-Offish, and Dragon Fan have made some very good points.

I don't agree with some of the things that the club do but I respect that they cannot please everyone all of the time. They do a good job in difficult circumstances and I fully respect them for it.

The bottom line is that unless we increase the supporter base, we will forever be a small-time player.

I suspect it's a chicken and egg situation: If we constantly win, people will be more inclined to come and watch; if we're doing averagely or poorly, it'd be the same few faithful ones there.

Can we get back the missing fans? If so how?

How can we attract new people to the game?

Is our only hope of moving forwards if some rich investor comes along?

What does everyone think?

I would class myself as one of the lost lifers to the club and to be honest its not all the clubs fault I have lost my interest in The Dons.

I have to admit the final nail in the coffin really was the Grand Final Day at Warrington where the club achieved promotion only to have the coach and chairman walk away within minutes of the Dons first ever final win in their second only final.

I watch the odd game on TV now and again and all the skill seems to have gone from the game, its very much a 4 drives and kick type game these days and skilled players are few and far between.

I attended one game last season due to people telling me how well they were playing and what a good side we had, it was the Swinton game at the Keepmoat and although we lost to the eventual league leaders and despite all the reports saying what a great game it was I left the ground underwhelmed with it all.

While there is no denying The Keepmoat is a fantastic stadium and when full has a great atmosphere its feels souless with the Dons meager crowds I am sure I am not the only one who thinks this, a return to a more cozy ground would suit the Dons better and I think would help breed a groundswell of support.

Another thing that annoys me about the Keepmoat is the ticketing system, to have to que at the ticket office then to have to que at the turnstyle just seems barmy to me, what on earth was wrong with just paying on the gate like just about every other club in the world do.

Of course with a smaller/cheaper ground comes savings to the club which can be passed onto supporters in terms of cheaper ticket prices or spent on improving the playing squad. Frankly the one the day prices are steep for what is the 3rd tier of Rugby League (one step above amateur).

The people of Doncaster are fickle in general and will only support a winning team and one playing attractive rugby, now to build a winning team needs investment on the pitch which again puts us at risk of going bust. Clubs like Swinton, Keighley and Sheffield manage to do this but we seem to fail in Doncaster time after time.

A final point is that Summer rugby doesn't really work for me and again I guess quite a few others feel the same, I have more options of things to do on a Sunday in May than visit the Keepmoat, personally I would attend more home matches if they returned to a Friday night as they suited my life better, but I know they dont work for everyone, the best thing the Championship clubs could do is to ditch the Super League and return to playing in the Winter where I am sure they would attract a greater swell of support.

I feel a smaller ground would do wonders to boost the crowd. A good atmosphere as much as a winning team can help to make the match experience more of an event.

Well.........if you want my opinion, we can't get back the missing fans, or at least it is very difficult for Championship 1 clubs to do this because of the Northern rail Cup.

Why is this?
Because we have to have a really good start to the season to attract people to buy a season ticket, which is where the steady money is. BUT we are lumped in with two Championship clubs, who more than likely will put us out of the competition.
This equates to a bad start (to stay-aways casually reading it in a paper) and moreover is using up games from the season ticket making the season ticket less and less of an attraction to would-be purchasers.

So what does that leave? People who will come along and pay on the day.
Now we have already probably had a bad start, so interest will be low AND if we start poorly in the league fans won't come OR if they do come and we don't win, they probably won't come back in a hurry.

SO, a strong start is needed, quickly, to create any interest and that means having a cracking side, not just a good side. A side capable of beating Championship clubs and the clubs who are relegated (who are usually the strongest in C1) ... and that is very unlikely to happen based on recent years.
We are always lagging behind the leaders. I know we won our first three games in the league, but we then lost 6 on the trot (5 in the league) and the damage was done. Another season slid tantalisingly away from us. Even though we heroically tried to make up the ground and almost succeeded.
Losers once again.......essentially. Cruel, but true.

And to compound this we then lose players. Good players.
COYD

Excellent post. A good point and well made. The NRC is a nail in your coffin before you have even started. First match of the season Featherstone away! As you say a fifty odd point beating in the first game hardly entices potential fans to the next game, regardless of the performance.
The first game of the season should be a CC1 game where the club can go all out with marketing and maybe special offers to try and get a decent crowd in, and with the help of a good performance on the pitch, keep them for the next game.

Excellent points very well made by everyone. I agree totally with S/Offish and especially with regard to the Featherstone game in the Northern Rail Cup. That was enough to put any potential returning supporters right off. Playing teams that are a class above us means we're fighting an uphill battle to win people over, even before the league season starts.

The fixture lists generally mean we quite often go a long time without a home game, and I'm sure that doesn't help.

Steve Roebuck was right about the deflation felt by everyone straight after the Grand Final Day. Just when we thought we were making headway, the rug was pulled out from under our feet.

I understand that some people just fall out of love with the game and with so many other options of things to do with time and money, rugby is having to compete with so much. It's sad to lose people like Steve and I hope that over time his enthusiasm might come back.

I think it's important for the club to understand why the people who no longer attend don't go any more. The policy of not being able to pay at the gate is frustrating and may be one of the main reasons why people find it too much hassle to go to the games.

It'd be great to hear from more people like Steve as it's critical that the club gets feedback on what people want.

what's the reasoning behind this FFS ? why can't yoy pay at the gate ?

the KM is a great address but but surely an unaffordable luxury in these times ? .....unless of course the Corporate business is really that important to the clubs' finances ?

I think it is stadium policy that for security reasons cash cannot be taken at the turnstiles.

I don't believe the Dons have any say on this one.

I haven't been to a Donny Rovers game for years, and I must admit that the thought of not being able to pay on the gate does put me off going to see them. I can understand why it might have a similar effect on potential Dons' supporters too.

We were able to pay at the gate for Dons' games when we first moved to the Keepmoat but they changed policy to [itickets only[/i quite soon afterward our move.

Maybe this is one of the reasons why people aren't attracted to going to matches anymore?

I don't think it is a problem at the moment for our supporters. Many of them are season ticket holders, so the ticket office has no significance apart from certain cup games. It's more of a hindrance to away supporters, if there were any in this crumby division we find ourselves in. The 'let's pump more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere' division.

And besides, if folk are not prepared to wait for a matter of a few minutes for a ticket, I would be suspect that they wouldn't be @rsed going down to the Keepout (sic) Stadium in the first place.

It's a minor inconvenience at worst.
Now, if we were to attract bigger crowds.......?

The Whitehaven play-off game was all pay at the ticket office, but people breezed through. No worries.

is this common policy in england at RL games nowadays or just the KS ?

all the french games including Catalans have 'pay at the gate' facilities - and the LER which attracts much bigger crowds than Donny all have the same system - seems weird ?

In my experience it is just at Donny, every where else i go seems to be pay on the gate, even in SL.

How important do any of you feel the Corporate Business side of the set-up is ?

does it warrant staying the KS ? - the rent can't be cheap ?

doesn't the rental agreement run out soon ?

I don't know, but i know that they have similar facilities at Castle Park.

Regarding the corporate side of things, I think only the club would be able to tell us how important they feel the Keepmoat is to the Dons.

I'd guess it forms a big chunk of their overall income and any move away from the Keepmoat might affect corporate views.

It'd be interesting to know if the club have discussed this with sponsors, etc.

Are we able to attract better players to the club because we play at the Keepmoat? The thought of having good facilities and a good stadium might persuade a few players to come, when they otherwise wouldn't?