& yet the RFL can't sell out either of our premier events the CC & GF & are abysmal even with promoting our national team !

Having recorded game 2 today & seen part of game 1 *work dictated* I was struck by the Big Event feel & thought to myself that I must attend one year soon.
Having gone online to check ticket prices I found that the range for adult general admission was approximately £45 - £155 per person & unless I am mistaken you could not buy just 1 ticket only 2 or more * I did search on ticketmaster on my phone* for the next event.

Now, at £155 p/p for a premium centre line seat normally I would be horrified & turn & run, however as a real one off or even once a year treat I would go for that or at least a very good seat up to around £100 - £120 such is the spectacle pur on.

I was wondering what views you all have as to why us Brits can by into a big 'ol slice of American pie but not our major RL events ( I have my own ) & would like to hear them !

I won't be visiting this thread until I have watched the game to avoid spoilers !

The NFL spend way more money promoting there events in the UK

It's not even close

It comes down to the product on offer. The NFL London games are seen to be a product worth paying for, and they're an event that people want to be at. Yes, you might not like American Football, but clearly a lot of people do. Crucially, they sell it to a very diverse audience of people and amongst those people are those who are willing and able to spend £150+ for a ticket. Look at the amount of celebrities that were interviewed pitchside during the game, and similarly look at the number of celebrities that will be at the NBA games at the O2 - they're events people want to be seen at.

The CC Final simply isn't that good a product. Yes, the games can be exciting every now and then, but as an overall package, it doesn't cut it.

Let's face the hard truth that this "greatest game" and "the best kept secret in sport" nonsense is just that - nonsense. The sport in its current guise doesn't appeal to that many people and all of the advertising and promotion in the world doesn't change the fact that England v France on a cold Wednesday night, or the CC Final iun is about as appealing as piles.

The sport as a whole needs to focus on putting on a product that people want to pay for, and stop trying to sell it exclusively to people who are waiting for a discount code to appear.

The NFL London Series is exactly the result of what the RFL should be doing - stop paying too much attention to the people who already buy the product, and spend more time talking to and listening to the people that don't. The problem is that the RFL and the clubs are petrified of doing that.

it may have sold out, but bear in mind, its 83k people that can't/don't want to fork out thousands to go to america to watch this stuff.

I don't think its a fair comparison.

compare it to the Denvor test match then, surely 60-70k Americans would have wanted their fix of Rl as the can't/wont fork out to come over here.

It might not be a fair comparison in that sense, but it's an event that is taking a big bite out of the market for sports in the UK. RL has to acknowledge and respond to that.

not sure its the big event factor that sells it out, its to tens of thousands on NFL uk fans that buy the tickets as they get first dibs and it sells out pretty quickly, you have to buy a season pass all 3 games to be guaranteed tickets. and NFL tv season pass holder get first dibs., and there is a waiting list. NFL is very well supported in the Uk NFl do not need to do too much marketing or make it and "event) they sell them selves. unlike RL were an international, match within less than 20 miles of 3 of the top 4 super league clubs last year can only get 4.5k. Rl fans wont turn up for there own "events" so what should anybody else. if CC final and international matches were all sell outs then people outside the sport would think, that's the hottest ticket in town i want some of that, we then would not need big marketing.

ps it took me about 3 years to get a season ticket and had one 3 years in a row, renewals get early buy options aswell, there are very few tickets for individual games that get sold to general public.

Well no, as you've not got 60-70k americans that have fallen in love with RL, due to EA pumping out a (high quality) video game every year since the early 90's.

Let's address this issue, people haven't just started liking NFL for no reason, my generation and below mainly fell in love because of john madden football on the megadrive, thats how they got their roots over here over the last 30 years.

i was being deliberately a bit flippant. i love NFl and i got my fix and my team from channel 4 in the 80's and Dan Marino at the Dolphins still my team watch all there games on season pass and seen them in the flesh twice. in the mid 1980's american football was everything RL was not, and still is to some extent. whist i still think RL is the best team sport on the planet the perception of the game outside of RL circles is still that it is a northern flat cap n whippets sport and stop and start and a poorer version of union. and even quite a lot of its own fans want to keep it that way. american football up until the 19060's was seen as a north eastern seaboard college types only game, baseball was king in the states. but expansion and the merger of the leagues and the introduction of the super bowl tuned it into the biggest sporting league in the world. we still cant sell out a 10k stadium in leigh for an international game.

You’ve been able to buy tickets for this for nine months and everyone has known exactly who the fixture would be. None of the tickets are kept aside for whoever two clubs will be playing as anyone will just turn up.

In Rugby League’e two biggest games you have to keep tickets aside for the two finalists and you don’t know who that will be in either final until three weeks before in one and a week in the other.

You could expect to be in the final as a fan of a team and buy tickets in advance and then your team could lose and not make it so you don’t bother going to the final.

The comparisons are so different that it’s not worth the comparison. If we had a one-off game that we knew who the fixture would be between nine months in advance then there’d be a comparison.

And more fool all of those sheep anyway. Gridiron is by far the most boring code of football by a ing mile. Anyone who enjoys a live game of that dirge needs their life re-evaluating. Proper loada shyite! There’s more standing around doing nowt than the worst game of rugby union could ever dream of being as boring as.

Having played both, I can definitely say American Football tired me out a hell of a lot more. Yes, there's standing around but you're going 100% when moving, whereas Union is more of a slow meander to the other end after some muppet boots the ball away.

Your last paragraph sums up that you clearly have a perception of american football that is simply not true, the game is not as stop and start as you think it is, maybe it was a few decades ago, but the NFL addressed that, when the game is in play it flows pretty quickly with real explosive moments, the stop and start is more for advert breaks which brings in the revenue, they don't have sponsors plastered all over the players strips so revenue comes form tv adverts. also the perception you have is the kind of perception people have of RL, its stop and start does not flow like union, they just run into each other and fall down, they are not skillful, there all fat northerners. etc. people have said to me how do you watch that its 3 hours its boring, but when you are there you simply don't notice the time. and as the 3 hours included all stoppage (except overtime) half time each quarter break, an Rl match from ko to finish is 2 hours. soccer closer to 2 and a half.

RT, really need to pick your brains here on the NFL ticket front.
I too got into American Football in the 80's & Miami Dolphins were & kind of still are my team, these were the days of Miami Vice, Dan Marino v Joe Montana & 'The Refrigerator' , nothing was cooler to a then 11/12 year old lad than all things American.
Roll on 35 years & I suppose I am just a fan of NFL but have only got back into the game over the last 18 months or so, I now follow the Texans, Patriots, Cowboys 49'ers & Redskins but still have a leaning towards Miami Dolphins,

Around the age of 15/16 I was still playing RL but for a short spell joined a locally organised group to maybe play a little Gridiron, in the end only actually going to some training sessions a few times & not playing a competetive game, it was TBF a pretty shoddy ramshackled mini league set up that didn't last due to poor organisation.

I digress, so back to my point. I would love to know more about ways in which to secure tickets for NFL London Games events as ideally I would like to get the best seats possible (general admission) up to around that £155 mark.
Again, when I looked at upcoming events it appeared not to be an option to buy 1 seat on it's own with only options of 2 or more ?

Please tell me in more detail about this season ticket thing & how to secure best seats, also if you have bought a season ticket but can only get to one game, can you sell on/sell back the other 2 games for example ?

Been 3 times to the NFL at Wembley and as a full day experience it is absolutely light years ahead of anything SL offers at its major finals. The fan parks around Wembley before the game are great, with a buzzing atmosphere. The pre game entertainment was always good and even during the game (because of all the stoppages) they do so many things to full the gaps. The things which I always thought were super cheesy, such as Kiss Cam, Dance Cam, etc, I actually thought were really good fun and keep you entertained.
The NFL just has so much more money to pump into this event than the RFL do to run the CC/SL finals.

I've got a season ticket of the NFL at Wembley and pay £75 a seat for top tier half way line 5 rows back. the same tickets are around £55 for the challenge cup final.

I've probably been to twenty Challenge cup finals in the last 30 years. NFL is streets ahead in many ways.

1) Matchday experience - Lots going on, often big name pop artist doing pre match (not has been dredged up from years earlier).
2) Crowd- Far less drunken idiots than the challenge cup final
3) Nostalgia factor - as some people have stated on here I got into NFL in the 1980's and it's kept it's glamorous feel.
4) Merchandising - Different league
5) Product on the pitch - Flowing game lots going on when the game isn't, fabulous athletes.
6) Novelty factor - I can go to an RL match every week and probably go to 25 to 30 games a year. NFL there are 3 opportunities a year.

RL's problem is perhaps that it has followed the technical side of NFL - Defensive patterns, match analysis, sports psychologists, concussion protocol, video ref. But has never worked on any of the above with any great purpose.

Our game is also of course handicapped by the fact that Sponsors aren't particularly interested in it because it has watched by people with a low social demographic (compared to union and NFL). It is still however incredibly embarrassing that even after giving away thousands of tickets the RL can't fill the challenge cup final and neither can the FA for England games. The NFL do with no discounts at all.

So you buy your NFL London season ticket at what 3x £75 so £225 ? What if you can't make 3 trips to London that year for example, any way of selling on one or 2 games ?
I don't think I have the spare time *circumstances* or funds for 3 London trips as I would want to stay over & not have to do the whole London in a day thing !

i have 4 so buy it for Circa £900.

this year I'm going to two games. i'm using two seats at each game. So of the 12 seats I'm using 4, I've flogged all the rest to mates at cost. If I wanted to make some cash I'm sure I could sell them on Stubhub.

If you are interested in a couple of tickets for next year i can probably sort you out.

Is there something you have to join to be able to buy season tickets ? The ticketmaster website is as clear as mud !

My mate played for Leigh Razorbacks back in the 90's...an amazingly talented side, with no overseas players !

think once on general release you can simply buy them at face value or at Ticketmaster rip you off sister site.

it was a few years ago now i originally signed up on NFL uk website on waiting list, when i then got tickets the following year i got email asking to renew as priority customer which i did. The tickets come individually (or did) so you can sell them on if you don't want all the games. Noticed of the years that same faces and you often get chatting, but often seats where taken by new faces each game.

Sign up to NFL uk similar to our league and you get offered and news and can be asked to go on the waiting list.

i do something similar for athletics as well get early tickets and discount on best seats, we should do same for RL but as we all keep pointing out we cannot even sell out Leigh for an international.

Thanks RT, I presume then that ticketmaster is not the direct route for tickets even though it comes up top of page & more often than anywhere else ?
I think I will do as you suggest, 3 weekends in London is a bit of a stretch too far financially for me with hotels, travel etc, could maybe do 2 games a year.

Interestingly & as pointed out on Facebook, it is easier to buy an NFL jersey of any club than it is a RL jersey, Fanatics is massive & based in Manchester, they cover all of NFL, NBA, NHL, F1, Football, easier to get NFL gear than SL, NRL or Championship RL merchandise.

Just got back from the Chargers game. As you will see from my picture of Phil Rivers I'm a big charger fan and yesterday was the first time I've seen them play live.

Paid £60 for a ticket but struggle to pay +£40 for a RL event.... Ask why?

Well for my £60 I get:
3 hours of match time
4 hours of tailgate partying before the game
Access to the huge NFL store before and after the game
Free hot dog
Free subway sandwich
Take part in NFL games
Cheerleader druling
I got to meet an NFL player saturday
I got to meet legends of the game over May years

What else do I need to say?

Thats pretty impressive

Sad to say it but this weeks game looks like being the lowest attended full international at the KCOM to date. 20,324 is the lowest ever for a very weak NZ side in 2007, all others have been 23K+ but this time round the top tier isn't even on sale with a few days to go, and lots of green lights in the blocks that are on sale too.

If we can't sell an International game in RL mad Hull then we really are in trouble. The National side is the best it has been since the 90s, the Kiwi's and the Haka always have marketing appeal, yet we can't sell a 25k RL hotbed ground out.The RFL rely far too much on outdated tactics such as spamming e-mails out from what is probably an antique list of e-mail address and expecting casual fans to sign up for 'Our League' to get a promo code to get £5 off.