Re: Championship Attendances : Sat Apr 10, 2010 10:02 am  

I recall huge play off gates v Widnes, Oldham at HP.

Re: Championship Attendances : Sat Apr 10, 2010 12:07 pm  

That semi final v Leigh at HP was delayed for 10 minutes due to crowd congestion. We took over 3,000 to leigh that day and had the away end rocking.

Re: Championship Attendances : Sat Apr 10, 2010 7:10 pm  

vikings 4 ever wrote:

I don't think you realise just how bad the 'away' attendances are for us as well. Don't forget if Leigh would have been relegated we wouldn't have had any local games this year. The Yorkshire clubs are the ones who benefit from travelling support as they have so many Yorkshire derbies. This is our 5th season in this division and every year most home games for us see about 50 away fans, with the total number of times an away side has brought a decent following is about 5 or 6 - and thats over the 5 years. We haven't really seen a side bring a good following to our stadium for 2 or 3 years now. Even the recent games agianst Leigh have been televised on a Thursday plus Leigh's crowds have also dropped. Far cry from 2006 when in one year we had Hull KR, Leigh and a cup game against Castleford who probably all brought 1,000 or so fans.

Crap really, when you consider we take anywhere between 500-1,000 for weekend games every time.

Hey no offence to our fellow Yorkshire sides but we only get 20 to 50 fans maximum from clubs like Batley, Keighley, Dewsbury and Sheffield and that is on the top side sadly, some only bring 10 or 20 which is very sad, what has RL done to itself? So that is not a bonus to us tbh.
The only clubs who have good support outside SL are us (we could do better with a Cup/GF winning team so this year has been a disaster for us so far), Leigh, Fev (when they are on the up like now but too small a place to ever get big crowds) and Widnes.
The Cumbrian teams have too far to travel so don't bring that many even with a winning team.

Re: Championship Attendances : Sat Apr 10, 2010 7:37 pm  

mick wilson wrote:

Agreed, but some suffer more than others though.
Sheff never even brought up a car full, only Fev, You, Haven & Fax bring over 100 with them.
So most of our attendances will have a higher percentage than others who get more away fans due to geography etc.

We also have Barrow AFC to compete with for fan base, 70 % of both codes fans wont step foot in the others grounds and loave the other club ( which I find odd myself as I follow both )
A few hundred follow both but sometimes have to pick 1 over the other due to economics , I know a fair few regulars are missing games from both codes as they have to save 250/300 quid for the Footy club Wembley trip in a few weeks time, but as SRC states our attendances are still on an upwards curve

You are forgetting Leigh and Widnes are by far the best supported away sides in this league. Re last season when we played at Barrow we took a lot more than 100. When you get beat 74-6 most tend to keep their mouths shut.

Bring back promotion and relegation and crowds would go up. Starbugs idea of cheap travel for away supporters is also a very good idea.

Re: Championship Attendances : Mon Apr 12, 2010 8:16 pm  

Fax4Life wrote:

The Cumbrian teams have too far to travel so don't bring that many even with a winning team.

You werent there then the other year when Barrow brought around 500 to the Shay ?

Re: Championship Attendances : Mon Apr 12, 2010 8:17 pm  

Are you really down nigh on 800 speccies ?

Re: Championship Attendances : Tue Apr 13, 2010 8:56 am  

I think it's quite clear what the lack of promotion/relegation is doing to attendances in the Championship leagues.

So far at Barrow our like-for-like attendances are slightly up this year on last. Admission prices rose 15% this season, so at least income will have increased by a similar amount (presumably). We still have Haven, Fax, Leigh and Widnes to play at home, so our average will only rise IMO. The footy season will also be over soon.

Widnes attendances, although still well top in the Championship, are declining - much like a lot of other clubs ...

2006 - 3530
2007 - 3407
2008 - 4517
2009 - 3808
2010 - 3072

I can't see the trend in the lower leagues changing much, unless promotion by right is brought back.

Re: Championship Attendances : Tue Apr 13, 2010 9:43 am  

I didn't know Barrow had put their prices up, what are they now?

And don't bank on many Widnes fans getting up to Barrow for a 7.30pm kick off on a Thursday!

I think a reason Widnes gates have declined as we have similar seasons every year, looks like this year will be very similar to last year where we can beat anyone on the day but anyone can beat us. Maybe a decent run in the cup but we've got a very tough game against Barrow and Leigh are looking good.

Re: Championship Attendances : Tue Apr 13, 2010 9:51 am  

I remember watching Widnes in the early 90's. I was only a relatively young lad then and to be honest, rugby wasn't my priority, but I was a regular attendee because I was proud to be following a succesful team and my granddad had a big influence. Unfortunately at this moment in time, we aren't the best which makes it a commitment from people to give up other priorities to watch Widnes.

My street on Saturday evening just before I left for the game was full of young kids, 9, 10, 11 etc who were all playing football and wearing football kits. Such a shame.

Out of interest, does anybody know what sort of crowds we got in the early 90's?

Re: Championship Attendances : Tue Apr 13, 2010 10:48 am  

AJ Viking wrote:

I didn't know Barrow had put their prices up, what are they now?

And don't bank on many Widnes fans getting up to Barrow for a 7.30pm kick off on a Thursday!

I think a reason Widnes gates have declined as we have similar seasons every year, looks like this year will be very similar to last year where we can beat anyone on the day but anyone can beat us. Maybe a decent run in the cup but we've got a very tough game against Barrow and Leigh are looking good.

It's £15 Adult (+£1 transfer to Stand), £10 OAP, £5 kids.
Regarding the match v Widnes on Sky at Craven Park, the RFL have well and truly cocked-up. If either Barrow or Widnes progress in the Challenge Cup (Widnes have a very good chance), then the 5th Round is on Saturday 8th or Sunday 9th May. The Sky match is on Thursday 6th. Also bare in mind that Barrow's previous game is on the Monday before the Sky game (May 3rd).

So ...

Monday 3rd (Keighley v Barrow)
Thursday 6th (Barrow v Widnes SKY)
Sat/Sun 8th/9th (5th Round of Challenge Cup)

I haven't got a clue what they'll do if either team wins their 4th round match.