Did you happen to see Question of Sport by any chance, which featured two RL related "identify the player" type questions which neither side were able to get?

The first one was Andy Platt, so I can cut a bit of slack there. If you weren't interested in the game in the late 80s, early 90s you probably wouldn't know who Andy Platt was.

The second however was Jamie Peacock, who Phil Tufnell incorrectly identified from the picture board as Wladimir Klitschko.

If two teams of people involved in professional sport can't identify two great rugby league players of the past and present, why would advertisers be interested in using them to endorse their products?

More high profile players in the media is a given. We need to sell the story of the game The stories sport offer of sacrifice, redemption, excellence, team work, etc all come of the back of the people involved. We need to get faces in the media.

As for selling 'events' rather than the game as a whole. Events are the game as a whole. Every game needs to be sold and marketed as an event. Some bigger than others. So 'events' are how we sell the game.

That's the Captain of England RL. We've got no hope!

You both 100% help me make my point. How do we expect to raise the profile unless there is more mainstream exposure of the players.

We could do with a high-ish profile player "smashing it to" Lady Gaga. That'd do it.

That, or Justin Beiber posing on Twitter that he'd love to date a girl who regularly watches Rugby League, but only if she always takes her whole family.

Have we found a role for Senior?

He's selling the tickets.

Ben Westwood and Lady Gaga would make a lovely couple.

More than two words, nine actually. "No seats currently in top tier of East Stand."

A normal game vs bulls to fill ER? NO,
But a play-off game vs bulls to fill ER? quite possibly


As long as they dont go stupid with ticket pricing...

I can see the argument for moving Saints v Wigan to Anfield, but Leeds v Bradford at Elland Road wouldn't attract more than 20K IMO.

Play off games traditionally attract smaller crowds than regular season matches IIRC

but they are RFL events, just like the other games that Leeds have played at Elland Road in recent years

I was merely responding to the suggestion a play off game wouldd be more likely to attract a large crowd. There is no evidence to support this - in fact the evidence suggests exactly the opposite.

I think it's fair to say that, in the immediate future, this is never going to happen.

I agree on that

Why though? We have only ever played there once in my lifetime and I'm not sure saints have ever played there.... it is quite a distance from both places.

Elland Road is in Leeds and is one of the most well known places in the city. Many Rhinos fans are also United fans as well...

When you say it wouldn't attract more than 20k... what does that mean? 20k without any marketing effort or is that the maximum you would get?

I personally think you could get 20k just moving a game there without any cheap tickets etc. just for the added draw of the game being at Elland Road....

You would get a lot more Bulls fans having the game at ER and with £10 a ticket what would stop a 30k plus crowd? The lead up to the game would be in all the local papers and on local news, there would be huge media interest for such a game, this is why it works in RU.... not to mention the amount of sports clubs in Leeds which could be invited.

Like I said, if we can get our crowd against Warrington in 2009 from 13k to 2010 when it shot up to almost 23k then Leeds are more than capable of achieving a 30k+ crowd for a game which would usually get 20k.

I guess the biggest issue from the club point of view is revenue. A 20000 crowd at headingley would bring far greater revenue than the equivalent at elland road. So even bumping up the crowd to 30k with some cheap tickets wouldn't be that beneficial financially

If you did a MASSIVE discount, Like a fiver, or possibly even free entry, for LUFC Season Ticket Holders, that would boost the crowd. It would also be pointless, given that you could fill any stadium if you gave the tickets away.



Every season Sky mention this, every year people seem dumbstruck (I'm not suggesting you here AR, just your quote reminded me) by the fact playoff games attract smaller crowds, and can't work out why, and every year I say the same thing... SEASON TICKETS!! People have to pay for playoff games. I spend £200 at the start of the season, then forget about it. Psychologically you feel as if you're attending the Home Games for free. Then the playoffs come around, and bamm, a couple has to spend £40+ to go to match which they feel like they've been going to for free.

You know what people are like, people don't like parting with money, and the whole point of the playoffs means that there's always the possibility of a more important match the week after, which people know would cost them even more cash. Most families can't afford to go to both (by 'both' I mean the playoff and the GF), so when asked with the choice of spending £40 (minimum) to go watch a game that is ALWAYS televised, when the week after you might have to spend £50 (minimum) to follow your team to OT, which would you choose?!

Until Playoffs are included in the price of the season ticket, they won't reach anything like the same crowds as the regular season.

I wasn't surprised at all, purely commenting. My IIRC was mainly to stop someone with nothing better to do finding an example where I was wrong and quoting my post!!!

I guess clubs would rather have the extra revenue a smaller crowd brings rather than 1) upsetting fans by putting season tickets up on the chance you have a home game or 2) keepig prices the same and losing that altogether!

You think that if you got 40k to elland road. 20k united fans coming for the cheap tickets, That none of them would then start to attend regularly? That would be the point.

I agree. It wasn't aimed at you (I did point that out too!!)



I don't see why they shouldn't just take a punt and include them in the price anyway.

A) There might not be a home tie, in which case they'd get all the praise at the start of the season for including them, and not actually have to cost them anything.

B) If there is a home tie, they'll still make money on the corporate, retail & beverage side of things, plus you'll get a few people bringing the odd tag a long.

They can't possibly account for the gate receipt of a playoff match, given that it's not guaranteed to happen, so what's the harm in just including it as one of the matches. Who knows, they may even sell an extra couple of season tickets on the strength of it.

Yeah perhaps they would. If the sole intention is to get people hooked, just let LUFC season ticket holders in for nowt.

You could even use it as an LUFC marketing tool, and recoup some money from them. E.g. the LUFC Season Ticket literature would include... "Free Entry to the Rhinos vs Bulls Derby".

Thats exactly why you use these 'event' games. They are the tent poles which you build your support base around.

It is a big 'event' gets lots of people interested, even those that dont go. Some will go for just one match, others will then 'hooked' some will come along with friends. Some will get 'hooked' and bring friends to the next game. Even those who just go to the 'event' match once a year might start identifying as a leeds fan, maybe buy a shirt, watch on sky, go to a cc final.

Thats why we would do it. Not as a money making excercise in itself.

Elland Road is in Beeston