If it wasn't for the 'traditional' fans there would be less than 5,000 there and the RFL know this and rely on us turning up to make it work.

Surely after how the welsh tourist board let down the RFL they wouldnt take the games back for a few years.



City of Manchester stadium is a great idea, lots of space outside to create the 'festival' atmosphere, or as a change, Goodison Park?

I think they should wait until the draw is made for the Semis e.g. if it was Bradford v Leeds, Galpharm would be miles more suitable then Cardiff or Manchester. Likewise for us v Hull, Headingley would be perfect.

But how many traditional fans turn up to the semi-finals as neutrals?

If you offer so many events to the traditional fans in the heartlands, they'll pick and choose their games. They're trying to create a market outside of the heartlands.

The WTB offered the RFL money to stage a round of fixtures which enabled them to reduce their fixture list, hardly letting them down. Yeah, they didn't promote it as much as they said they would, which resulted in it getting moved due to a better offer, but they hardly let the RFL down in the bigger picture of things.



If the WTB offered money to the RFL again (not saying they will/are going to), then would you honestly turn it down? We'd be getting money instead of spending it on the facility. We'd be promoting RL in an expansion area. We'd have a big attractive facility that doesn't have a limit so can grow with the event. We can plan ahead instead of wait until the semi-draw. And we'd have a new event on the calendar.

If the combined crowd ended up being lower than in the heartlands for the first few years, they'd be making up for it from money paid by the WTB.

City of Manchester Stadium would be quality for it.

I think the biggest hurdle this idea has it getting the BBC to show 2 games of RL in one day, not impossible but unlikely.



I reckon we would have a much better chance of getting them on board if the CC Semi Finals were a week before any soccer season started. As it is 8th/9th of August will be the first weekend in either the English Premier League or The SPL and the English Football Leagues.



We have to avoid these to have any hope of taking up most of a sporting saturday afternoon.



As for the location, it shouldn't matter that its not on the M62 somewhere. It should help to spread the game.



Though saying that for this event I think City of Manchester Stadium would be ideal. Promote the game more in Manchester, and put a plug in for Salford as the Reds hardly sell out every week, even if it just helped get a few more on there gates each season it would be helpful for them. and the reason I say help them is because Manchester is still up north enough to make it easy for the majority of RL supporters to attend, and could still use some help getting hooked on the greatest game.





*Also the size of the stadium seems ideal

You're not a Quins fan are you...

9,000 miles a season...that's a lot of long trips, not just a jaunt along the M62

Now you're talking.





If a semi involving two of Quinze, Catalans and Celtic comes out, I would expect to see this played as the first installment of a double header at one of the regular venues on account of the lack of demand. It could have nudged last year's Leeds-Saints crowd over 20,000, for example.

Normally the CCSFs aren't this late on, normally back end of July IIRC. Last year's football Community Shield was on the 10th August (which was a Sunday) so we may be able to get a semi-final double-header in on a Saturday. I think the SPL has been pushed further back as well due to Scotland wanting an international friendly, although I could have heard that wrong!



What other sporting events are happening in late July/early August time?

One game on BBC2, then the next one on BBC1, or vice versa. Would work.

Although that's exactly what they're doing for the fourth round: Catalans v Bradford 2.30, Leeds v Saints 4.30

Like celtic will get to the semis

I think a double header at the CoM stadium would be a cracking idea. I wouldn't go as a neutral to either semi but I would go for a double header like that. especially if they did a season ticket deal like with the magic tickets.

I was wrong, and I'm glad about it. if they are willing to do it then its good news.



Hope the Beeb make a big deal of a ' Massive Sporting Weekend' Grand National Saturday and 2 big CC cup ties on the sunday.





Now there could be some hope for this idea after all, even though its all hypothetical atm, but it would be innovative of the rfl to try it some time.

BBC will be showing their first ever live football league game (new contract starts next season) on the sat or sun

Its only a few years since the uproar when The Semis were played at the Halliwell Jones and The Stobart (or whatever it was called at the time) Yet there was no reported shortfall of tickets and people wanting to attend either game not being able to get there. These stadiums have a combined capacity of less than 30k,



So how could playing the games, even as a double header, A few hundred miles away attract enough fans to make it viable.



CoM Stadium would be a great place to stage both (48k capacity = to 2 Galpharms) But still probably wouldn't be filled. And its unlikely that Man City would want Rugby Played on it that close to the start of the Premier League Season (or will it already have started)

Not that ends the argument, but a doubleheader is never going to be a capacity game, at least not to look at. A significant percentage of each side involved will not bother with the other semi, even though they have a free ticket and are already at the ground.



This means that say the semis were Saints-Leeds and Hull FC-KR, games that could attract 20k - you'd have to put them in a 40k stadium to satisfy demand, but there would probably be only be 30k in at any one point, if that.



Now if you could put on the two games at the same ground, but clear the ground after game 1 and then admit people for game 2, with a discount double ticket for those that wanted it, I guess you'd increase your neutral take-up without having to put a half pint crowd in a pint pot stadium. Potetially more hassle than it's worth though.

but how many tickets will pass holders get

If you put events in small arenas with no promotion, people will think they are small events. Playing in a tiny stadium gives the feel that the competition has little meaning, and it will never grow if you restrict its capacity to such an extent.



Also, more neutrals will go to see BOTH games than just one. I would never consider going to one semi-final as a neutral. I would go to both. And I'm sure I'm not the only one. Having them both in one ground means they can combine advertising and marketing as well, possibly saving money on account of that.



Cardiff. Eastlands. Midlands. Wherever. Have 'em both in one big ground and I guarantee the total attendance will be bigger than having them at two separate grounds.

That's the biggest downfall for double headers. However, you could get around this possibly with some ingenious camera techniques. Using last year's semi-finalists as an example, have Leeds/Saints fans at one side of the ground and Hull/Wakey fans the other and change which side the camera faces for the second game.



Example:



LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLSSSSSSSSSSSSS

L-------------------------------------S

L-------------------------------------S

L-------------------------------------S

H------------------------------------W

H------------------------------------W

H------------------------------------W

HHHHHHHHHHHWWWWWWWWWW



Shouldn't be impossible to set-up, no?

COM stadium hols 48000 divide that in2 four and you get 12000 im sure if we could manage to fill it if we had the well supported teams there.

Should point out that in Union, in 2007 and 2008, the Semi Finals of the EDF Energy Cup (The main knockout cup for English and Welsh teams) were played as a double header at the Millennium Stadium



According to Wiki, crowds were:

2007 - 40293

2008 - 41018



The teams that competed in those double headers were:

2007 - Leicester, Sale, Cardiff, Ospreys

2008 - Leicester, Wasps, Ospreys, Saracens

Leicester are one of the best supported RU teams. and with Cardiff and Ospreys involved you'd have expected a large turnout from the Welsh,



To me those figures say it didnt work for RU,

It got 50,000 the year before that, also.



I don't get how you can say a 40-50,000 crowd didn't work. That's not far off the actual final attendance for that competition.



40-50,000 would fill the CoM. And because CoM and MS are tiered stadiums, you can keep the top tier closed to make it look fuller if that is the desired effect.



When was the last time the combined semi-final attendance was above 40,000?