Same discussion in the close season again...
The first time I went to the Stoop was the 1999 season, I think it was the Gateshead match. There were big adverts in the Metro (when it was just a London free rag). I'd only been to one RL match before and that was the Challenge Cup Final earlier that month. (The misguided northerner earlier in the thread should be informed now that the Challenge Cup Final does not register with Londoner's the fat, baldies in their tight colourful replicas, with funny accent and beautiful daughters are just thought to be football fans.)
I went with my dad and brother, we showed up at Twickenham station and wandered towards the ground and somehow found our way (a very long way along the two main roads). We went to the shack in the car park to get tickets and were given 3 loyalty cards, which was stamped with a reward that increased in value (a pint/Virgin Cola, a pint and programme, a ticket, can't remember the rest) for every match attended. The incentive worked and we all went to every other home match that season and discovered the quick way to the ground!
I'm afraid to say that since 1999, I've been to the Valley once and to Griffin Park once (both freebies for winning the Bronco Fan Fantasy League). I watch all the Super League on offer on Sky but have had no desire to go back.
It's got nothing to do with how rubbish the team is, but the whole RL experience. In 1999 the Stoop was a dive, the "half-stand" and the two temporary ones with the crappy blue seats. But it was different. It was different to other sports on offer in London. The Nandos hut, the cheap Fosters, Buck, the sun, and the biff! It was a glorious first and last summer of live rugby league for me and the family.
To me London rugby league is about that experience. I didn't want to watch RL in a soulless echoing football stadium with only half a stand open. It put me off and by the time London RL returned to the Stoop, that lovely scrapheap had transformed into something resembling a football stadium. Cold, shady, can't wander or change ends, etc.
The "on the road" fixtures were tempting, but not for long. Why football stadiums? Some suggestions to try and recreate that unique experience: Blackheath RU, Crystal Palace athletics (temp. stands on the track), Underhill (the closest London has to a Castleford-esque real RL ground), Prince's Park Dartford (unique eco-stadium), Tooting & Mitcham (lovely new main stand). If any of these were to shock and provide bumper attendances then a long-term investment/purchase agreement could be achievable, affordable and essential upgrades made.
It's obvious that the future of the London Broncos lies away from the Stoop, the same discussion happens every year, while the number of attendees drops (I assume), by this I mean the number of different people who attend a Broncos match. The club seems more and more dependent on a loyal band of supporters and just cannot seem to attract new fans, even for a single match a year.
Sorry to go on, but until the board recognise that they have to provide Londoners with a unique sporting experience then nothing will ever change. Londoners already have their sporting loyalties and need something unique offered before it even registers on the radar. Who are the London Broncos?
