Steve0 wrote:
What were the prices for the euro 2020 final? 6 nations at Twickenham, cricket world cup final etc? If we want to be taken as a more serious sport on the international stage, higher prices sadly come with it
Wrong wrong wrong.
If we want to be taken seriously as a sport we need games to be played in full stadiums .
If there is something that says Mickey Mouse sport is then RL community talking about the greatest game , opportunity of a lifetime the best players in the world then all the games being in TV and the grounds being empty .
Showing a TV audience a full ground with great rugby will make people want to try it out and make advertisers think it is worthwhile.
Trying to compete on pricing for RU internationals who sell tickets on a corporate basis to hedge fund managers from the city of London is patently ridiculous .
I went to two games this weekend England v Samoa and Ireland v Jamaica. . 3 tickets at each game for me and the kids was over £200. I am lucky and can afford it but most RL would struggle with that.
Add on petrol and other costs and that is not a cheap few hours out .
Then asking those fans to pay that money for 30 plus games in 4 weeks what do you think is going to happen. I would travel to watch the rest of Irelands games and create some atmosphere but not at those prices when I add on the travel etc.. I would also go and see other more local games . If tickets were reasonable..
I am all for selling tickets based on grading prices and let those who can pay get the best seats but it is bonkers charging £35 each to sit in the rafters at the end of at St James park when there are 2000 empty seats Side on further down. From the point of view of the cameras having those seats full would have looked better on TV. Also for all those casual fans I met who came along and are not RL diehards it would have made their day out more enjoyable and more likely to convince them to come back.
You don’t build an audience by pricing people out from attending games
