Ipinwigan wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2025 7:43 am
They are flogging a dead horse, Londerners just aren't interested in Rugby League.
I disagree, but equally agree
The amateur game is growing and has been for years in London, although still well behind union in that sense.
The issue is that London for all of their existence have never really had a home like a Central Park / Knowsley Rd etc, and are hermits moving around trying to find somewhere. surely that doesnt help at all in either finding an identity and building a loyal fanbase.
From a game perspective and the availability of the media, we need London to be in SL. If we can build a strong London team, then there will be more media interest (sad but true) and the potential to start securing better TV deals / more interest in broadcasting the sport
Ipinwigan wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2025 7:43 am
They are flogging a dead horse, Londerners just aren't interested in Rugby League.
I disagree, but equally agree
The amateur game is growing and has been for years in London, although still well behind union in that sense.
The issue is that London for all of their existence have never really had a home like a Central Park / Knowsley Rd etc, and are hermits moving around trying to find somewhere. surely that doesnt help at all in either finding an identity and building a loyal fanbase.
From a game perspective and the availability of the media, we need London to be in SL. If we can build a strong London team, then there will be more media interest (sad but true) and the potential to start securing better TV deals / more interest in broadcasting the sport
They are definitely throwing their money away, it's never worked and never will.
Ipinwigan wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2025 7:43 am
They are flogging a dead horse, Londerners just aren't interested in Rugby League.
I disagree, but equally agree
The amateur game is growing and has been for years in London, although still well behind union in that sense.
The issue is that London for all of their existence have never really had a home like a Central Park / Knowsley Rd etc, and are hermits moving around trying to find somewhere. surely that doesnt help at all in either finding an identity and building a loyal fanbase.
From a game perspective and the availability of the media, we need London to be in SL. If we can build a strong London team, then there will be more media interest (sad but true) and the potential to start securing better TV deals / more interest in broadcasting the sport
They are definitely throwing their money away, it's never worked and never will.
There are a lot of sports "Londoners aren't interested in", like RU, basketball, cricket etc when you compare to football. But it's possible to find a sustainable niche there. You'll need a bit of luck and some sustained investment but there's no reason why crowds around 5-10k aren't possible once every two weeks in a market that large.
The amateur game is growing and has been for years in London, although still well behind union in that sense.
The issue is that London for all of their existence have never really had a home like a Central Park / Knowsley Rd etc, and are hermits moving around trying to find somewhere. surely that doesnt help at all in either finding an identity and building a loyal fanbase.
From a game perspective and the availability of the media, we need London to be in SL. If we can build a strong London team, then there will be more media interest (sad but true) and the potential to start securing better TV deals / more interest in broadcasting the sport
They are definitely throwing their money away, it's never worked and never will.
There are a lot of sports "Londoners aren't interested in", like RU, basketball, cricket etc when you compare to football. But it's possible to find a sustainable niche there. You'll need a bit of luck and some sustained investment but there's no reason why crowds around 5-10k aren't possible once every two weeks in a market that large.
There might well be potential for larger crowds, but have they ever consistently got larger crowds.
Last season watching on TV it looked like about 1500 at the most, loads of empty seats, in what was a small ground.
How many chances do they need.
We have bigger fish to fry, in trying to keep the so called bigger clubs going.
Wigan would be up s**t creak without a wealthy backer.
They are definitely throwing their money away, it's never worked and never will.
There are a lot of sports "Londoners aren't interested in", like RU, basketball, cricket etc when you compare to football. But it's possible to find a sustainable niche there. You'll need a bit of luck and some sustained investment but there's no reason why crowds around 5-10k aren't possible once every two weeks in a market that large.
There might well be potential for larger crowds, but have they ever consistently got larger crowds.
Last season watching on TV it looked like about 1500 at the most, loads of empty seats, in what was a small ground.
How many chances do they need.
We have bigger fish to fry, in trying to keep the so called bigger clubs going.
Wigan would be up s**t creak without a wealthy backer.
about 3.5k last season with Huddersfield at 5k and Salford about 5.5k
as we've said they and this article alludes to, they have been nomads in London, not establishing a solid base to work from
One of the problems RL has is our Northern roots, and Southern biased media. London is our route into that, and given how poor our recent TV negotiations have been, it can hurt to have them in
to your final point, all clubs would be up S*** creek without a wealthy backer - see Salford's current situation, and Huddersfield looking to move to smaller ground to save money
I think Huddersfield are moving to a smaller ground to meet IMG requirements.
I don't have any figures but believe London did best for crowds at Charlton*. There were certainly plenty locals there when we played them. If true, my guess is that it's because Charlton is more of a working class area than Wimbledon.
* Wikipedia confirms that "The 1996 season also brought the best London home attendances since the first season at Craven Cottage."
Match details:
London Broncos 13-34 Wigan
Date Saturday, 17th August, 1996
Referee David Campbell (St Helens)
Venue The Valley (London)
Attendance 10,014
We walked back to the pub in Tooting after the match (less than a mile) last season at Wimbledon an area in London which has a very large NZ and Aussie ex pat population . When they saw our Wigan shirts everyone was asking why we were there . The were not aware that the London v Wigan game was on that afternoon . Seems a universal problem in RL that the promotion of the game is poor and especially outwith the Heartlands . I got off the Tram yesterday at Murrayfield with my Wigan shirt and Scotland RL fleece on (no I wasn't moonlighting I live there) and was asked several times what's Scotland Rugby League .
EDINBURGH-WARRIOR wrote: ↑Sun Feb 02, 2025 4:54 pm
We walked back to the pub in Tooting after the match (less than a mile) last season at Wimbledon an area in London which has a very large NZ and Aussie ex pat population . When they saw our Wigan shirts everyone was asking why we were there . The were not aware that the London v Wigan game was on that afternoon . Seems a universal problem in RL that the promotion of the game is poor and especially outwith the Heartlands . I got off the Tram yesterday at Murrayfield with my Wigan shirt and Scotland RL fleece on (no I wasn't moonlighting I live there) and was asked several times what's Scotland Rugby League .
EW
that really is one of the biggest problems with the game, and one that i believe we need a presence in London to help with on a bigger scale in terms of TV contract(s)
the initial emphasis should be on the clubs, but equally in areas outside of the traditional heartlands i believe that the RFL should help with promotion, but we all know how poor they are at that when they dont promote International games that are being played over here
i know a lot of advertising is done on all forms of social media but that alone isnt the answer. I know over recent seasons Wigan have had billboards up advertising upcoming games. That wont cost the earth as the one i drive past on a regular basis was a temporary one in a pub car park on a main road, and caught the eye very easily
How can a club in London having to pay London salaries thrive on a salary cap of £2.1m?
Wigan manage the SC with all sorts of exemptions so a successful London based club has no chance.
All club personnel have to live, pay rent/mortgage and the costs in London are massively more than the North of England where Super League, bar Catalans, is based.
The Salary Cap has proved utterly pointless. It was to stop clubs spending beyond their financial limits which is very obviously not working. It was also supposed to make it a more even competition but with only three clubs winning it since 2006 then that idea has failed miserably.
The only way London Broncos can succeed is by removing the salary cap and allowing owners to invest their money in player recruitment and development, marketing etc to the level required to have a thriving club in the capital.