Attendances - Do we need to be worried? : Mon Aug 02, 2021 12:53 pm  

Since the removal of restrictions we've seen a Friday night gate of 5.5k vs Wakefield and 9.2k (with a sizeable contingent of lobbys) for a Sunday fixture with Leigh.

I could understand this when restrictions were still in place, but i expected crowds to return to usual pre-pandemic levels once lifted, perhaps even above these as I thought there would be a lot of clamor to get back to the rugby. What i didn't expect was that crowds would still be roughly half of what they would be for similar fixtures pre-pandemic levels.

The last two attendances have been the smallest for Wigan RL fixtures in 25+ years, and are probably below even usual latics levels (will be interesting to see how they compare in a few weeks).

But I suppose my big question is, is this because people are still nervous of covid so a lot aren't attending (if so, it seems to contradict what we are seeing day to day life, where most folk are carrying on like covid has disappeared ), or is it that 18 months away from the rugby has broken routines for many which are difficult to re-establish.

We can probably live with this short term if it is part of nervousness and crowds return proper next year, but if the latter we need to urgently look at how we can bring fans back as current levels are unlikely to be sustainable. At the moment we appear to have lost around 1/2 of our fans

Does anyone know what other SL teams have been pulling. Wire seemed emptier than usual last wednesday,but is everyone else significantly down like wigan are?

Re: Attendances - Do we need to be worried? : Mon Aug 02, 2021 1:11 pm  

afootingmiracle21-12 wrote:

Since the removal of restrictions we've seen a Friday night gate of 5.5k vs Wakefield and 9.2k (with a sizeable contingent of lobbys) for a Sunday fixture with Leigh.

I could understand this when restrictions were still in place, but i expected crowds to return to usual pre-pandemic levels once lifted, perhaps even above these as I thought there would be a lot of clamor to get back to the rugby. What i didn't expect was that crowds would still be roughly half of what they would be for similar fixtures pre-pandemic levels.

The last two attendances have been the smallest for Wigan RL fixtures in 25+ years, and are probably below even usual latics levels (will be interesting to see how they compare in a few weeks).

But I suppose my big question is, is this because people are still nervous of covid so a lot aren't attending (if so, it seems to contradict what we are seeing day to day life, where most folk are carrying on like covid has disappeared ), or is it that 18 months away from the rugby has broken routines for many which are difficult to re-establish.

We can probably live with this short term if it is part of nervousness and crowds return proper next year, but if the latter we need to urgently look at how we can bring fans back as current levels are unlikely to be sustainable. At the moment we appear to have lost around 1/2 of our fans

Does anyone know what other SL teams have been pulling. Wire seemed emptier than usual last wednesday,but is everyone else significantly down like wigan are?

It's not just home fans not attending,Wire fans were lowest i have seen at Headingley .Infact Salford had more when attending Headingley . I kid you not.

Re: Attendances - Do we need to be worried? : Mon Aug 02, 2021 1:15 pm  

I still think people have got very used to watching games from the comfort of their own homes.

I went yesterday, but was 50/50 up to leaving that house. I'd have been more than happy to pay and watch it at home tho. I'm sure there's loads who didn't go, who'd have paid to stream the match.

Re: Attendances - Do we need to be worried? : Mon Aug 02, 2021 1:18 pm  

Lots of people I know are still not going because of the pandemic.

I still don't think there's an air of normality, and with the news and media reminding us at every opportunity that cases are going up etc, it won't come for quite a while.

Also, the disrupted game times are having a huge impact.

Our regular-as-clockwork Friday evening home fixture now seems a lifetime ago.

Re: Attendances - Do we need to be worried? : Mon Aug 02, 2021 1:36 pm  

Yesterday was a step in the right direction and at the minute it’s probably the best we can hope for. I know a lot of people picked up tickets from local amateur clubs, who had been given kids tickets to sell for a quid (my brother in law brought my two nephews). That inflated the attendance, which is a worry when it’s so low but it’s still good to see the club trying things.

One thing that really would help is a better quality of attacking rugby. I think the drab style of play is hurting us but yesterday was genuinely entertaining. Some great try’s, a good bit of biff (not everyone’s cup of tea I know) and a pretty positive feel about the place for the first time since we’ve been back in the grounds.

The club simply have to push and push and push some more when it comes to 2022 season tickets. They have to get that base of 8,000-10,000 season ticket holders back.

Re: Attendances - Do we need to be worried? : Mon Aug 02, 2021 2:06 pm  

I wouldn't say the lobbies brought anything decent in numbers, around 300, 400 at most. Previous visits have been well into the thousands and on one occasion more or less filled the North Stand.

I think the jump from 5.5k to 9k was pleasing. It meant there's still have a chance attendances will return to 2019 levels (I won't say 2020 as we hardly played any matches at home).

That said, our attendances have been reducing year on year for a good 3-4 years prior where they dropped from 16k down to c11k.

I feel we will only know next year when season tickets have been sold (and hopefully covid is a thing of the past for many) will we know where we are.

The litmus test is the Saints game I feel, I suppose that depends on what the team looks like on the day and performances from now until then. It's on SKY obviously so easy for many to give it a miss. That goes for Saints fans who normally fill the North.

I think anything under 16k will be seen as a poor show even though we should really be getting 20-22k+

Re: Attendances - Do we need to be worried? : Mon Aug 02, 2021 2:23 pm  

Aye, Leigh’s following was poor but understandable given their current position. It’s a gutter for the club though because even if they’d come here bottom but in with a sniff of staying up, I think they’d have brought 1500-2,000 and even more had they been in a good position in the table. That’s an awful lot of lost revenue at the minute.

Re: Attendances - Do we need to be worried? : Mon Aug 02, 2021 2:29 pm  

The last game I attended was in March last year - our last away game pre pandemic at Huddersfield. I haven’t been to the last two games as I am away but, to be honest, I am underwhelmed by the standard of rugby that most Superleague teams are dishing up and it is further aggravated by some of our mind boggling team selections and complete inability to break down good defensive structures. I am unimpressed by any defeat of the basement teams so 50 points against Leigh, whilst welcome, is not going to get me to travel over from my home in Leeds.

Re: Attendances - Do we need to be worried? : Mon Aug 02, 2021 3:23 pm  

It probably doesn't help that it's Salford that we're playing on Friday as they aren't doing that brilliant and probably won't bring many unless they want to see Hastings one last time

Re: Attendances - Do we need to be worried? : Mon Aug 02, 2021 9:07 pm  

I genuinely thought we’d be sold out for the first one back. In my mind we could have played Wigan Bulldogs and had a capacity on.

I can’t go as often as I’d like due to work and family life. It used to be gutting but it is what it is. I say used to be because recently with the goings on at the club I’ve had no appetite to either (even if I could). I went to the Leigh game last minute for example despite knowing I could go. I just have no desire to sit and watch drivel and be told afterwards it’s outstanding. There’s sometimes I think Alexander De Pffeffel has spiritually taken over Lam and trying to blind us with his nonsense.

I can’t go for a few weeks now, maybe even months. It may well be I’ve seen my last ‘live’ Warriors game in 2021 but the sad thing is - I’m not really that disappointed. I’m that despondent with the club and with RL in general that I’m not even bothered. It’s a sad state of affairs.