RLWC2017 Crowd Watch

[DlEHARD]

The high priced tickets also stop those keen from buying a heap and then giving them to friends and family.

I wonder how much the Cowboys and Storm were tapped or engaged in selling the games in their towns. Im sure this could be analysed if a member from each club wants to check their emails and provide such info.

 

[kiwileaguefan]

I think it's because they are already running at a decent profit, they are just cashing in now. It's the only reason

Guys stop being so dramatic honestly , this World Cup is successful already ! The game is growing... enjoy it !

Successful? They are in track for the lowest average crowd attendance since 2000. On our morning news in NZ they are taking the piss out of the competition and the eligibility. I would hate to see what you classify as an unsuccessful tournament.

The only positive they stated was the PNG game.

 

[cleary89]

I dont understand the "didnt know it was on brigade". The fifita and lolo stuff has been front page news for weeks.

The people going on about the eligibility are the same people who go on when the minnows have no players.

People can be from more than one country, just ask our politicians.

 

[Raiderdave]

Lebanon should have played a game at belmore. It would have gotten 4 times the crowd of today’s game.

playing our world cup on suburban goat tracks ?
nah i don't think so

 

[Raiderdave]

I think the timing of the game n Townsville wasn’t the best. Townsville would support Australia vs anyone. Lebanon games should be in Sydney. I’ll go to England vs Lebanon despite being neutral as we only have 2 games. This game looks set for a good crowd.

timing ?
it was 7.40pm on a saturday night (8.40pm our time )
what other time should it have been played ?

 

[Raiderdave]

Don't even think that would be the excuse for 90% of people, more likely either didn't know it was on or would just rather do something else.

Going the way of Government money above all else was a mistake, one that sees us with severe oversaturation in Townsville, Canberra and Cairns for what I can't imagine to be too much money. All while many places that could have pulled a decent crowd for one off games lay idle.

i don't think the crowds would have been any bigger in other country venues
just in smaller venues they'd look better
but is that a better image for our world cup , empty decent sized stadiums or , or half full fenced off paddocks in the country
Its a no win situation

 

[Emu01]

timing ?
it was 7.40pm on a saturday night (8.40pm our time )
what other time should it have been played ?

Your right Dave there was no excuses in Townsville. It was front and back page of the newspaper up here on Saturday. The local radio station had opening news stories on the World Cup each hour and all the players were walking and signing autographs for kids along the Strand in Townsville on game day.

I even thought 12-14k might show up.

Hopefully the double header next week can at least pull 10k.

 

[Raiderdave]

I believe so. Canberra also would've been forced to hold this Lebanon / France game in return for the Australia game next week.

But we're preaching to the choir in this thread aren't we.

and the Italy V Fiji game
now
we aren't going to get 4K Lebanese to come down from Sydney for that
I truly fear for the crowd for that game
like its going to be a headline grabber for all the wrong reasons

 

[latingringo101]

I went down to Canberra to watch the Lebanon match with my wife and although there were only 5000 people there, the Lebanon supporters made it feel like 10 000.

Driving in the only advertising I could see was a single Billboard on the highway and a few flags next to GIO stadium. There might be more stuff but that's all I saw for advertising.

It doesn't help that the cheapest adult tickets are $40.i know that they're trying to make a profit for the tournament but you gotta price tickets accordingly. I wonder how much promotion the local government did to tell people the RLWC was in town?

 

[Stallion]

Have a feeling that the crowds will get better. The tv ratings are suggesting plenty of interest. The upcoming games may surprise weather permitting ofcourse.

 

[Burns]

Is it possible to get no crowd below 10,000 this week?

 

[Emu01]

Is it possible to get no crowd below 10,000 this week?

Yes I think they should achieve over 10k with all games this weekend.

The Townsville double header is the only worry. All other games should be over 10k.

 

[Sydney Knight]

No excuses on ticket prices for Lebanon v Australia. $20 adult tickets and $45 family tickets.

I got gouged big time in Melbourne though. $92 for corner seats and there ended up heaps of empty better seats

 

[Billythekid]

We should price the small matches like the they did for the women's international match in Newcastle. They just made it $20 across the board for adult tickets (from memory it was 20). They ended up pulling a fantastic crowd and the PR win was huge. They also sold a shitload of merchandise on the night.

They could have priced it higher in the hope of gauging fans like we are but they resisted that temptation and it paid off.

The minnow games crowds aren't where this tournament will make big money so why are the tickets not dirt cheap? Shit just give away a lot of tickets.

 

[adamkungl]

How is that comparison fair? This is a damn near meaningless group stage match. The final of the RLWC would be much more comparable.

Since when is the price of tickets what determines the prestige of an event? If FIFA made the soccer World Cup final $20 to get in do you think people would suddenly think it's a nothing event?

What makes international league not the pinnacle of the game is because we don't treat it like it is, not because of ticket prices. Practically zero marketing and promotion, constantly talked down by people involved with the game and the media itself (with no one attempting to correct the bullshit). We play bugger all international matches. The clubs and the NRL do little to thing to help and even go so far as actively harming the international game.

Charging $1000 a ticket won't make this a prestigious event. We need to market it and promote it like the games worth a damn. We need the personalities in the game to acknowledge and maybe even talk the game up. We need to make international matches a more regular occurance and not a one off event that feels like it has no history.

What we needed tonight was a sellout crowd. Price the tickets accordingly, sell the match out in adavance and hype the shit out of it. Use what was a great match to build up the tournament.

Instead we tried to squeeze out every penny we could despite how much it would hurt the tournament. With 8K empty seats I doubt they made more money than they would have lowering the prices and selling the place out anyway.

I'm not saying that pricing it highly will automatically make it a premium event, quite the other way around. We want it to be a premium event, we thought it was a premium event, and so tickets will be priced accordingly.

Clearly the organisers were counting on a sell out even at these prices. Turns out they (and a lot of us) massively overestimated. Through poor marketing and a range of other factors you mentioned, the demand is still not there to price international RL at a premium.

If they were smart, they'd change their ticketing strategy from here onwards. I doubt they are that smart unfortunately.

Canberra and Townsville were disgraceful, and Canberra in particularly due to what a great game it was.

 

[KokoRugbyLeague]

Matches should have been in the pacific islands. A proper pacific island rugby league world cup.

I personally love the world cup and the fans that spent their hard earnt buck to watch our great event. I think its a success everything about the crowds show us where we are at.

If anything we know with shitty promoting we still have fans turn out but with proper drumming of interest, a respect to the game as well can only ve good thing.

 

[adamkungl]

9000 for a double header in Cairns is shithouse too. They'll count it twice I'm sure but in reality its 4500 per game.

 

[Burns]

Crowds that will be bad - The QF in Wellington, and at this stage I would be prepared to question how well the Semi and Final in Brisbane will sell.

 

[Jim from Oz]

Crowds that will be bad - The QF in Wellington, and at this stage I would be prepared to question how well the Semi and Final in Brisbane will sell.

Fiji v italy and samoa v scotland will be shockers

 

[adamkungl]

Prepare for disappointment in Sydney this week as well.
The huge fanbase of Lebanon will pour in to give us a crowd of 8000