Pumpetypump wrote:It was innovative packages of entertainment that saw Bradford getting 20k crowds when everyone else couldn't be faffed. And that cost of doing so had zero bearing on subsequent financial difficulties.
I'm not convinced that pre-game entertainment puts bums on seats. People go to the rugby to watch a game of rugby. Not to see a parade of cars, a cabaret act, and a firework display.
You can't deny that it adds to the fan experience, but it doesn't significantly increase attendances. Other clubs could pull in a 20k crowd in those days without novelty entertainment. Living and working in Bradford during the Bullmania years, I can tell you that it was the on-field success and good marketing that brought people to Odsal.
I heard figures for the entertainment budget during the height of Bullmania, and some of it was eye-watering. You won't tell me that the money wouldn't have been better spent elsewhere. The financial history of the club, and the lack of renovations in decades, shows money needed to be spent more wisely.
I think the same with Leigh's entertainment budget. Nobody is going to watch a b-list Brit-Pop band. They are going for the rugby. If the rumours are to believed, the sound system alone is £6k per week to rent, and north of £20k has been spent on a single matchday just on entertainment. That money would be better invested elsewhere, and when the wins stop coming the crowds will drop back down to 3-4k again.
