Doveoverdave posted:
cpwigan posted:
Raging Bull serious question. Why have Bradford bulls crowds started decreasing? they went up dramatically at one point in time.
The Bull's attendance record has always been a mute point. There is no doubt that they has had surge in support during the summer era, however their crowds have always been inflated by the issuing of free tickets throughout the borough via the schools etc.
Maybe, give their current financial state, they have stopped doing this?
Perhaps, Dave, but free tickets don't have that much effect on income, unless it's a capacity crowd. Of the recipients of free tickets, those who would have paid for tickets are outnumbered by those who bring paying parents, as a rule. There's also the boost to incidental sales like programmes, food & drink, raffle tickets etc. Most importantly, there's the long-term effect of getting the kids interested.
I was briefly involved (through the college), some years ago, in the Wigan drive to get youngsters on board, and it's that initiative which has been partly responsible for our rise in attendances over the last 10 years.
15% of Wigan fans are under 16 yrs old. That's a couple of thousand youngsters, and a high proportion of those were first intrduced by the schools & colleges marketing drive, which did include free tickets for a while.