Quote ="TV BOY"I think if RL in flurishing in another area other than the heartlands then I think they should get a crack at some games being played in that area. I don't know what the leagues down that way consist of or how they are supported but it is a long way for them to come to watch an international up here so we may be supprised with the turn out from a game there.'"
There's a couple of thousand who regularly buy tickets to Wembley, Old Trafford, Magic and/or internationals. We exist as a participant sport, rather than a spectator sport, without a top level club to get behind.
The RLWC would do three things for us. First, and perhaps most important, it would keep together the fantastic coalition of partners committed to promoting the sport. This includes 2 local councils, the biggest pro sports club in the SW (Bristol City), the tourist board, and a group of other sports development people, including Bristol Rugby, Touch Bristol, and Street Games, who have never previously worked with the RFL in the region. And it's not just about the obvious: for example, we have a local arts centre promising a programme of RL theatre and cinema. We have the council's big screen set to run promo videos at all the major outdoor events.
Second, and closely related, we'd get two years of support from these partners to push playing opportunities locally. This ranges from schools projects, to workplace touch at the largest employers in the region (the councils and the NHS), to street festivals and community engagement days.
Finally, and after 2 years of promo, we'd give the local community the chance to be a part of the world's biggest RL comp. Anyone who thinks you can't sell international sport to a new audience should try to get tickets to the Olympic table-tennis or archery for 2012.
