Amex and Rugby Union

[Eeyore]

Wasps were based in London for over 100 years, so I think it's pretty fair to call them a London club. They were at Adams Park for a little over 11 years, not 15. I've no idea where their fanbase comes from but I wouldn't mind betting that most of them came from London rather than Wycombe. Do you think it likely that most of our gates when we played at Priestfield were made up of people from Gillingham? They'd have been a few but they'd have been a minority.

They have quite a few in Sussex as well. Although it is historically Quins territory.

 

[Milano]

From my experience about 9 out of 10 rugby fans hate football and all that they see it standing for so feck them. Do not want to see the pitch knackered to accommodate another sport with no affiliation with the area. 5,000 to 8,000 crowds max after the novelty wears off.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

From my experience about 9 out of 10 rugby fans hate football and all that they see it standing for so feck them. Do not want to see the pitch knackered to accommodate another sport with no affiliation with the area. 5,000 to 8,000 crowds max after the novelty wears off.

That's the complete opposite to my experiences. I regularly watch London Scottish and there is no anti - football sentiment.

Many of the big Brighton RFC supporters are Brighton fans to boot.

If anything, rugby fans should pity the association cousins. They have cheapish tickets and can drink beer within view of the pitch.

 

[atfc village]

People have a go at Franchise club Mk Dons[Which i don't agree with]Yet Rugby just seems to accept all these franchises.

 

[Eeyore]

People have a go at Franchise club Mk Dons[Which i don't agree with]Yet Rugby just seems to accept all these franchises.

Not in England. There are no franchises. Although Wasps fans may have some issue with that statement. Irish have a long lease at Reading, Sale have stayed in their region, Saracens have a permanent home now. The others have long established quarters.

The Welsh, Irish and Scots regionalised there professional set up for the economics of the game, but local club identity is strong. NFL- Rugby is not.

 

[Notters]

They would need to get the permitted number of outdoor events increased from 50 to fit in a full rugby and football Season.

Personally can't see a problem with it, but I imagine Falmer Parish and the Universities might have.

I think it's 56 at present.

 

[8ace]

If all these rugby teams are so well supported why haven't they built their own grounds intsead of sharing with tinpot football teams like Reading.

 

[Gwylan]

If all these rugby teams are so well supported why haven't they built their own grounds intsead of sharing with tinpot football teams like Reading.

The rugby teams all do have their own crowds: the problem is not the lack of support but the fact that they're too well supported.

I used to be a season ticket holder at London Welsh. It was a great experience to pop along to Old Deer Park for an afternoon, have a beer and stand on the touchline watching the game. There was a small stand but it looked like it was about to blow over any moment. When it was an amateur game, LW used to get crowds of about a thousand and ODP could comfortably hold that.

However, when the Welsh started climbing the league and made its way to the Prem, there was no way that the ground could hold the number of people who wanted to come to the game, so the club had to groundshare with Oxford. That's a story that is repeated up and down the country.

Sky brought some good money to rugby and the clubs get decent crowds but it's not even close to the amount that football gets - certainly not enough to build new stadiums. And many of the clubs are London clubs would probably have a good deal of difficulty developing them even if they did had the money. There's no way that Richmond council would allow Old Deer Park to be redeveloped, for example

 

[8ace]

The rugby teams all do have their own crowds: the problem is not the lack of support but the fact that they're too well supported.

I used to be a season ticket holder at London Welsh. It was a great experience to pop along to Old Deer Park for an afternoon, have a beer and stand on the touchline watching the game. There was a small stand but it looked like it was about to blow over any moment. When it was an amateur game, LW used to get crowds of about a thousand and ODP could comfortably hold that.

However, when the Welsh started climbing the league and made its way to the Prem, there was no way that the ground could hold the number of people who wanted to come to the game, so the club had to groundshare with Oxford. That's a story that is repeated up and down the country.

Sky brought some good money to rugby and the clubs get decent crowds but it's not even close to the amount that football gets - certainly not enough to build new stadiums. And many of the clubs are London clubs would probably have a good deal of difficulty developing them even if they did had the money. There's no way that Richmond council would allow Old Deer Park to be redeveloped, for example

Just had a quick look at some of their attendances this year - slightly better than Crawley Town.

 

[Brovion]

People have a go at Franchise club Mk Dons[Which i don't agree with]Yet Rugby just seems to accept all these franchises.

I know MK Dons are always referred to as 'Franchise FC' but there IS no franchise system for football or rugby. Rugby clubs have moved out of their ancestral homes when the popularity of rugby meant the old grounds became too small with no possibility for expansion. (A bit like MK Dons but I've no wish to re-open that can of worms).

As someone who nowadays prefers rugby union to association football I think it would be brilliant if we could have a rugby team at the Amex. Ideally I'd want it to be local (and ideally a combination of the Brighton and Hove Clubs!), not a London team re-locating. However I accept that for a vast number of reasons it ain't going to happen.

 

[Gwylan]

Just had a quick look at some of their attendances this year - slightly better than Crawley Town.

Exactly. Even playing 50 miles from home and bottom of the league, they're still getting four or five times the gate they were getting at ODP - the ground just couldn't have coped with those sort of attendances

 

[8ace]

Exactly. Even playing 50 miles from home and bottom of the league, they're still getting four or five times the gate they were getting at ODP - the ground just couldn't have coped with those sort of attendances

No need for an Amex sized stadium then.

 

[strings]

I don't think Wasps would have ever come here - there were looking for stability. In Coventry they have that - they play in a stadium that they own (Coventry City FC being the tenants). After years of renting, Wasps were keen to build something for their future. Looks like it is working, too.

Will be interesting to see what Bath do - it seems their plan to sympathetically redevelop the rec has fallen apart.

 

[Gwylan]

No need for an Amex sized stadium then.

Indeed - but no-one has suggested that (although moving to Crawley would be a bit closer than Oxford). Amex would have been great for the Wasps though (before they moved to the Ricoh that is)

 

[fleet]

It would be lovely to see the pitch fecked up every other week so that 5000 people can watch rugby union locally.

This - but doubt it would be 5000!

 

[Everest]

Looks like it won't be happening.

HT Toulon 22-6 Wasps