RLBandit wrote:
is really alarming
RLBandit wrote:
People are raising a genuine issue
RLBandit wrote:
but what's the point of just trying to pretend there's no fall in attendance?
And this the real point of the thread. No one has tried to pretend that their hasn't been a fall, we tried putting some context and perspective to attendances because the figures (whilst dropped in SOME games) if you go back aren't all ''alarming''.
From Week 1
Leeds vs Hull got 2,000 more than last year......not alarming
Saints vs Hudds never broke the 10,000 mark at Knowsley Road in SL, it got 12,003 this year........not alarming
Bulls vs Wakey got 10,263, lower than '12 & '11, but also higher than 7,437 ('10) and 8,387 ('09)....not alarming
Wire vs Cas got 7,788 ('08) and 8,202 ('09), it's now pushing close to the 11,000 mark (10,721).....not alarming
From Week 2
Wigan vs Wire got 15,537 ('08) 13,452 ('09), it's topped 20,000 every year since then......not alarming
Wakey vs Hull KR got 3,000 more than it was getting 4/5 years ago......not alarming
Hull vs Bradford only got a few hundred less than in the last 2 years, this with it being postponed.....not alarming
Cas vs Leeds, average between '08-'12 was 8,897, this year got 9,103........not alarming
Catalan vs Salford got less than in '12 but it got over 1,700 more than it did in 2010......not alarming
From Week 3
Wire vs Catalans this is another Wire game that has become a 10,000+ game over the last few years....not alarming
Hudds vs Wigan would've done recent average if it hadn't been moved forward at late notice.....not alarming
From Week 4
Wakey vs Hudds did 3,000 more than in 2011......not alarming
Cas vs Catalans was up from last year and the year before that too.........not alarming
Hull vs Wire did as expected from a weekend night game between the two on tv.......not alarming
From Week 5
Saints vs Leeds still did very well minus the several hundred who got stuck in traffic.....not alarming
Widnes vs Hull did better than last year.........not alarming
Cas vs Wigan got 1,300 more than it did in '09..........not alarming
And I mentioned a LONG time ago on this thread (and you've finally accepted) things are more than likely to pick up in some cases (so no reason for alarm) (except maybe in the case of London I admit that)
Salford and Bradford should both pick up in the next few seasons
Widnes will probably increase
Hull will grow if they become genuine challengers
Hull KR have a new stand being built
Wakey are increasing numbers and have a new stadium in the works
Also other things to consider such as
Wigan have seen a drop in attendances this year, but then again for the last few years they came into the season as one of the top 2 favorites whilst this year many people have them as low as 4th or lower, this will impact ticket sales.
Winless in 3 at home, I don't expect Saints fans to be rushing for tickets for the next home game, or even to travel to the Wire this weekend.
One of SL's best potential attendance teams (Bradford) have had a shocking time, if they were still a top 4 team imagine the difference in crowds.
What percentage of the drop is in HOME fans? Due to travelling cost and from what I've heard/read about less fans willing to spend the petrol money on travelling do we get as many AWAY fans nowadays???
Are people saving money to attend several World Cup games this years??? If so, hardly a bad thing.
What are the differences in ticket prices/offers from clubs compared to past seasons???
Lets not pretend that the country on the whole is doing great financially. Businesses are going down the pan all the time and that is what SL clubs are 'businesses'......some might not like it and unrealistically be expecting more and more fans to be turning up but their's a lot of businesses out there (or gone bust) that wish they could say they were getting the same amount of customers as they were before Britain's finances went as ugly as Shaun Briscoe's nose.
This is what raising genuine issues really is.....not just looking at some lower figures and shaking your head.
