cardiffcrusaderrob wrote:Getting 10,000 fans in 10 years time would be very optimistic considering our union sides such as the one here in Cardiff which reached the European Cup Semi final last season only average around 10,000 forthe first time since the 'regions' were invented in 2003,
There's no reason to believe that 10,000 for Celtic isn't achievable in 10 years. It all depends on how the club catches on. I know there has been talk of a move to Newport and I don't know how Newport compares to Bridgend in terms of population size or how far the two places are from each other, but one thing that is crucial for a rugby league club to succeed (as opposed to a union one) is community. It has to develop roots in a community. If you take Castleford and Wakefield, for example, with Featherstone a mere spit away, there you have three towns within breathing distance of each other yet each has sustained a separate rugby league club because each has its own community from which the club has grown and within which it is nurtured. None of those places is especially big but they do have a sense of community and their RL team is a part of that. If the club is growing roots in Bridgend then it might harm the club to move itself to Newport, unless there was a sense that community roots could be grown successfully there also.
Quote:The Welsh people seem to love a spectacle when it comes to Rugby Union ,the national side can fill a 75,000 seat stadum on a fairly regular basis yet the professional game is not great due to the extensive local TV . coverage.
The Welsh are not alone here. Saints manage to attract 30,000 fans to Wembley but this season for the first time in donkeys years we have averaged 10,000 crowd, just about (with Wigan - our only sellout - yet to come). Where do the other 20,000 go to for the rest of the season? As you said, they sit in front of the TV and keep their cash and their voices to themselves.
Quote:All clubs regardless of the sport are suffering at the moment.We all knew it would be hard down here but I didn't think it would be this hard but if we get through it we will be all the stronger for it.
I think the big unknown was how your players would cope and they have fallen short of the mark, although only just it has to be said, and you have been hit with a serious number of injuries making the likelihood of success even more remote. Had you won some home games then you would have retained more interest but once you do start winning home games, as you will next season if Dixon makes some wise recruitment choices, then I'd bet a salary on you seeing your numbers grow, especially if the development work keeps having a positive impact within your community. In the meantime, I hope your club gets the right advice and has some good luck so that financially it can keep going during the tough times in order to enjoy the good times when they come, as they will.
Quote:Some clubs like Widnes and Leigh have those links through their hisory and local culture , and hopefully one day so will we. That is how Rugby League will survive and potential flourish as a sport , that goes for heartland clubs as well as us.
The heartlands have had other difficulties. In the 1980s Saints' turnout fell to 4,500. We are not helped by the influx of scousers to the town. St Helens has been a rugby league stronghold since the outset, being a founder member of the northern union. There was no soccer or RU or anything else really to compete. With the influx of scousers has come soccer and also a dilution of the local sporting culture, as well as other activities competing for time and resources. So the heartlands clubs, especially in Lancashire, have had other challenges to face in retaining interest. Where we win over new clubs like yourselves and Gateshead Thunder and the Quins is that we have a long history to justify making a big noise when things are going badly, with the greater possibility of someone helping us out as a result.
