Suprised no-one has mentioned this yet but surely when we have played our games this year has affected attendances. With us been a team who has historically played on Friday nights we have had a game on a monday (Salford), will play HUll on Tue and Huddersfield on a Sunday.

Perhaps the prospect of games throughout the week has put off people buying season tickets?

I also tihink that the particularly cold start to the season will have put off many of the fans who just go to the odd game.

Good one.

I stand corrected. I'm so tired this morning... thats my excuse anyway.. lol

2 of the 3 games you mentioned haven't been played yet but if you're right then the 12% drop could be a lot worse very soon.

yes i think the attendance against hull on tuesday will be another low one given its a midweek game played on sky.

what is the thinking to sky switching this to tueday?

plus do we get any additional cash for the game being shown on sky and hence loss of revenue?

I would imagine its so they can show 3 games instead of 2 on Sky. I believe its Warrington v Wigan on Friday night, Celtic v Catalans on Saturday and then obviously Leeds v Hull on tuesday.

Imagine the attendace for that one



Good chance for the Celts to get back to back wins though

I thought that too


It could be quite a good game though! [size=59Or it could be dire[/size
Good luck to all 27 who go though, God bless em.


Yeah it is, I've been very impressed with Celtic so far despite them only winning the 1 game.

Yeah I agree, I think if this game was on a friday (as scheduled) you would be looking at a pretty healthy attendance tbh. However due to it being in midweek on sky, the crowd will be severely affected imo (for travelling supporters especially). But oh well Im making the journey over, and looking forward to it also.

Updated to include Leeds' finishing position, W/D/L record as requested.

could be worse! www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/s ... ert_Bulls/

could be worse! www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/s ... ert_Bulls/

Given the fact that we still have a few good sides to come to HQ, and given the fact that summer is approaching, attendances should start to improve..though 12% is a lot to pick up! I think we may finish 5% down on last year.

Another fator in this are the 2 new sides in SL, and the fact that we only play each team once. For example, a fan may have last year payed to watch us play Bradford twice and yet will not pay for the coressponding fixture this year (i.e salford or Celtic). If this makes any sence!

I don't think that prices are much of a problem. If you have a desirable product and a captive market, which Leeds have, then you can "get away" with a price increase now and again.

It's actually not a bad step in that situation. It's a lot easier to keep your existing customers than it is to attract new ones. If you can make a little bit more from the customers that you've already got, then you're easing the pressure on your sales team.

Although I agree that the figures are slightly skewed with the teams that we've hosted, I would expect season-on-season figures to go down slightly anyway. Whether that translates to reduced revenue is a different question entirely (it's no secret that the club has focused heavily on corporate sales in recent years).

I don't think the prices or the fixtures have anything to do with it. The product on offer (the Rugby) is poor this season. If you did not have a season ticket it is far easier to say, no I wont bother this week.

Leeds make a decent signing and people would come back to watch, regardless of the fixture.

I don't agree.

Poor form has a part to play, but you can't discount the fact that Celtic, Quins and Catalans will only have brought 100 people or so, where hull,saints or Bulls would have brought 1000 or more

It does make some sense to me.

I expected the SL aggregate to increase this year (not Leeds but the whole of SL) but the average per game to fall with the introduction of the extra fixture each round.

As Leeds are currently down somewhere between 7% (like for like opponents) and 12% (over last seasons average and in comparison to the first six fixtures) that is likely to be the range of the fall 7% to 12%

I don't buy the weather argument (as it's usually pretty s[ihitt[/iy anyway) and I don't expect crowds to pick up much during the holiday season to come.

Poor form has a big part to play.

Leeds whether we like it or not, have a lot of bandwagoners. The club its self has previously made a big thing about how many fans we have from outside the are, who travel some distance. If the rugby on offer is substandard to usual and they are not season ticket holders whats to encourage them to come at the moment?

you have a point. although I'd be interested to see whether the drops are in the walk up customers, or the season ticket holders.

Having been to a few games this year, I was shocked at it being £20 to get it. Its gone up £10 in 10 years, which I think is excessive. Am I right in thinking it was only £18 last year. A £2 increase is also hard to swallow

£17 at Odsal appears too much at present for the good folk of Bradford.

My first season ticket at Headingley was 10 bob.

Shouldn't yer avatar be a sopwith camel then tvoc???

The Vulcan has been flying around since 1952 (in responce to a specification order placed in 1947) and still predates my 10 shilling season ticket by twenty plus years.

Time for an update now that Leeds have completed their Home League campaign:

Leeds : SL Regular Rounds, Home, Attendances

Comp - Year - Aggregate - No Of Games - Average - % +/- On Previous Year - =blueFinishing Position - Pl At Home - Won - Drawn - Lost

SL 1 - 1996 - 94,395 - 11 - 8,581 - ................. =blue10 - 11 - 4 - 0 - 7

SL 2 - 1997 - 120,978 - 11 - 10,998 - +28% ..... =blue5 - 11 - 8 - 0 - 3

SL 3 - 1998 - 133,801 - 11 - 12,163 - +11% ..... =blue2 - 11 - 10 - 0 - 1

SL 4 - 1999 - 202,232 - 15 - 13,482 - +11% ..... =blue3 - 15 - 13 - 0 - 2

SL 5 - 2000 - 177,435 - 14 - 12,673 - =red-6% =blue ..... 4 - 14 - 9 - 0 - 5

SL 6 - 2001 - 180,330 - 14 - 12,880 - +2% ..... =blue5 - 14 - 7 - 1 - 6

SL 7 - 2002 - 170,193 - 14 - 12,156 - =red-6% ..... =blue4 - 14 - 8 - 0 - 6

SL 8 - 2003 - 179,844 - 14 - 12,846 - +6% ..... =blue2 - 14 - 10 - 3 - 1

SL 9 - 2004 - 224,390 - 14 - 16,027 - +25% ..... =blue1 - 14 - 14 - 0 - 0

SL 10 - 2005 - 238,169 - 14 - 17,012 - +6% ..... =blue2 - 14 - 12 - 0 - 2

SL 11 - 2006 - 219,478 - 14 - 15,677 - =red-8% ..... =blue3 - 14 - 10 - 0 - 4

SL 12 - 2007 - 228,259 - 13 - 17,558 - +12% ..... =blue2 - 13 - 9 - 0 - 4

SL 13 - 2008 - 221,555 - 13 - 17,042 - =red-3% ..... =blue2 - 13 - 11 - 0 - 2

SL 14 - 2009 - 205,058 - 13 - 15,773 - =red-7% ..... =blue1 - 13 - 11 - 0 - 2

Credit crunch biting I suspect.

aside from the diminished availablity of the southstand (which probabdly only palyed a part in the really big games) the only people I know who have stopped coming are serveral who have suffered with the recession I.E not being able to afford season tickets ( I know approx 15 people who this applies to) and prehaps in the early part of the year we have lost those who are only interested if we win every game by 50 points (not, from my point of view, a totaly bad thing)

I think we have to say the current financial climate has a lot to say in the way the attendances have dropped. To be honest I think we have done pretty well to only drop by 7% and that a lot of clubs would kill to get an average of 15773. Also take into account the demographic spread of people who watch rugby league in general, these been folk lower down the bread line. These people may have really struggled to afford to go to the match. i know some will say that it only costs x to get in, but you have to take into account all the other costs such as the possible food and drink, travel etc. I think we have done well to ride the recession