Re: Olympic Stadium : Thu May 27, 2010 7:07 pm  

Tre Cool wrote:

I dont see how the class of the locals would effect attendances! The only reason we should move is if we get an amazing long term deal that improves on what we have.

i think class has a lot to do with attendances,being in a rugby union area has a lot to do with attendances.the two sentances are one and the same

Re: Olympic Stadium : Thu May 27, 2010 7:44 pm  

I'm 200 miles away in Leigh, I don't want to cause any upset. It is just an idea, from the outside looking in, you have lost your identity since becoming Harlequins RL. Sport England will want the stadium used all year round, maybe this is your chance to get top notch facilities, and a home of your own, at hardly any cost, in London.

Re: Olympic Stadium : Thu May 27, 2010 8:22 pm  

sweeney wrote:

i think class has a lot to do with attendances,being in a rugby union area has a lot to do with attendances.the two sentances are one and the same

Sorry........Public Boarding School Educated poster here........and 100% league fan.

You assume that the locals know we exist......a very dangerous assumption. As for your working class target audience.....Thatcher saw to it that there is a very small section of the population that still consider themselves working class.....the sales of 52" flat screen TV's and Right to Buy council properties, together with the personal debt mountain in the UK would point to people no longer Knowing Thier Place
Londons Professional Super League Rugby League team will live or die in TW2........in my opinion that is. I am no fan of the public transport (or lack of it) around the ground, but whilst my 19yr old daughter is part of what I call the instant generation (they want it NOW!), a 10 minute stroll to the ground shouldn't tax too many people over the age of 25.....

...sell the product.....make people aware the club exists, show the local dads that there is somewhere to take their kids on a summer Saturday/Sunday afternoon where they won't be subjected to racist/foul mouthed chants on the terraces, they will se grown men hit hard and sho respect.......don't sell bands and cheerleaders.
RL is a family game...that's what makes it unique......sell that. The locations (TW2/Brentford/Charlton etc....) are not the problem. We could play in the middle of Oxford Street FFS.....you need to Market the Offering............

sorry Homer....I saw where I was taking this and have stopped myself.

Location is not the problem.............nuff said

Re: Olympic Stadium : Thu May 27, 2010 10:04 pm  

gutterfax- what has tv size got to do with class.
you mention working class,i didnt. im a born and bred londoner from east london and i know that league wont take off in twickers or the surrounding areas.league has always attracted working, lower middle class people, categorize them with whatever name you like ,(you are an exception to the rule),but an area like twickers middle,upper middle class area breeds people not typical that watch league.it will never work there.we should cut our loses and re locate to stratford where i think people may come.
if you really think that the locals dont know we are at the stoop you are naive. they have had enough time to hear about us,if they aint interested now they never will be.
if im honest i gave up thinking we would get great crowds years ago.i think we missed the boat when super league begun .the sun offers ,radio publicity with jono ,a good team,exposure on sky etc.we failed to capitalise then and pi$$ed about moving to wrong parts of london.many wont agree with me but its my opinion.i desperately want to see us succeed but i am not convinced we are in the right side of the thames.

Re: Olympic Stadium : Thu May 27, 2010 10:40 pm  

sweeney wrote:

gutterfax- what has tv size got to do with class.
you mention working class,i didnt. im a born and bred londoner from east london and i know that league wont take off in twickers or the surrounding areas.league has always attracted working, lower middle class people, categorize them with whatever name you like ,(you are an exception to the rule),but an area like twickers middle,upper middle class area breeds people not typical that watch league.it will never work there.we should cut our loses and re locate to stratford where i think people may come.
if you really think that the locals dont know we are at the stoop you are naive. they have had enough time to hear about us,if they aint interested now they never will be.
if im honest i gave up thinking we would get great crowds years ago.i think we missed the boat when super league begun .the sun offers ,radio publicity with jono ,a good team,exposure on sky etc.we failed to capitalise then and pi$$ed about moving to wrong parts of london.many wont agree with me but its my opinion.i desperately want to see us succeed but i am not convinced we are in the right side of the thames.

Made me laugh.

Re: Olympic Stadium : Fri May 28, 2010 5:37 am  

sweeney wrote:

<snip>.

TV size and class? I dunno, maybe it's just that when B&W TV landed....upper class, and then upper middle got it.
Colour...Upper, uppermiddle, midddle then working class was the order of the upgrade.....50 years later and the world and his wife can afford a 52" screen from chavgos on the never never...the point was, TV was a yardstick!
Back to the thread

Charlton......hardly TW2 is it
Brentford, until recently a Labour stronghold and a predominantly white "working class" area.....
Twickenham.......middle and aspirant middle upper class........with a bit of council thown in for flavour

What have they all got in common? SHI7 crowds for Londons SL team. And, as others have said, an 70% empty Stoop is bad enough...do you really want a 90% empty stadium with 8 track lanes between you and the players?

I repeat (sorry homer)...situ is not the problem. The posh tw@s in Richmond and Twickenham don't even know we exist...MARKET THE GAME!

Re: Olympic Stadium : Fri May 28, 2010 8:43 pm  

sweeney wrote:

i think class has a lot to do with attendances,being in a rugby union area has a lot to do with attendances.the two sentances are one and the same

No they're not. Sheffield got very similar crowds in SL to us and had similar levels of success on the field. But their city's full of soccer fans. Working class people are no more open minded to RL than middle/upper class people. Its got nothing to do with class. We need people to identify with the club and in my opinion we can only do that with either a much more succesful team with top class players or a market that's easier to capture. i.e. a smaller town with less top sports teams and normal boundaries and town centre, like Milton Keynes or Oxford.

Re: Olympic Stadium : Fri May 28, 2010 8:56 pm  

Tre Cool wrote:

No they're not. Sheffield got very similar crowds in SL to us and had similar levels of success on the field. But their city's full of soccer fans. Working class people are no more open minded to RL than middle/upper class people. Its got nothing to do with class. We need people to identify with the club and in my opinion we can only do that with either a much more succesful team with top class players or a market that's easier to capture. i.e. a smaller town with less top sports teams and normal boundaries and town centre, like Milton Keynes or Oxford.

There are 2 things that I think have nothing to do with our clubs current failings, and they are the market, and the identity. The same arguments get trotted out over and over again, and we have the same discussions every year. In the short term, the club is trying, but still falling way short of the target. The club is still in its relative infancy, and the only real concern I have right now is our reliance on David Hughes. Everything else will take years.

Re: Olympic Stadium : Sat May 29, 2010 6:38 am  

Re: Olympic Stadium : Sat May 29, 2010 8:23 am  

sweeney wrote:

stratford-fantastic stadium,locals ? interested

How do you know that the locals in Stratford would be interested in a RL team?

My personal feeling is that we need to stop moving around London - we've been back at The Stoop for five seasons now and need to make it a long term thing.