: Sun Mar 15, 2009 6:46 pm
Have you considered how much the LV= stand costs to open? For a club clearly haemorrhaging cash, it makes no sense to open unless signs of increased attendances occur. I'd divert your issue over opening the other stand to the chairman (messiah) who covers the clubs losses. Have you considered that he wanted to minimise his losses in the interim if at all possible and that it might have been his financial decision, not a 'club lack of ambition'? In the meantime the nth and sth stands make sense for any overspill.
Plus, opening the LV= would cause half the 4k to go over there and the atmosphere in both would be drastically reduced. Ask anyone who used to attend in the late 90's what 2k in the East stand feels like. Or anyone who came to the Cas fixture last year (2112 - eugh). Might'nt have been the worlds biggest gate yesterday, but then at least the atmos was magic.
As for the common complaint of using the East over the LV (sorry, I know this has been discussed ad naseum) - the facilities beneath the East are magnificent for starters. Also, if Sky (the biggest benefactor of the game) can only film from one side of the pitch, AND they request the club fill the East, then it makes every sense to stack the other side full of people. Part of the problem with RL in London is your average Londoners perception of the sport as minority. As long as they continue(d) to see half empty stands on Sky TV, this will persist and the sport will continue to be generally viewed as a joke down here.
Sports fans are notoriously fickle. If the team get on a roll, people will want to come along and be associated with winners and you'll see things improve....perhaps then you'll see the LV= stand opening up as per Manly?
It'll be interesting to see what happens to the demographic of the fanbase as the season progresses as most of Quins home fixtures are on Sat's at 3pm. I can see how this time works for most hardcore fans and also ensure the club max out on travelling away support (not something a club should be built on I hasten to add...) but I've just had a scout through the SL fixture list and NO other club has any home fixture on a Sat @ 3pm. Could it be that the community game throughout the land plays on Sat morns/afternoons and other RL clubs have built their fan bases around the amateur game....? I've already read many postings about the lack of kids at games; how on earth are the RL loving kids of London & the South supposed to get to games to see their heroes....? It's utterly illogical.
