I spent just under £85.

£20 ticket with a great view from the third row of the upper tier (no discounts, bought after the Salford game), £20 diesel (although I'm from the Midlands, so granted, cheaper), £2.50 parking Hillingdon, £7 tube. Rest food in Wetherspoons, drinks in a few pubs (beer in London isn't that expensive, even centrally if you avoid the tourist traps).

I think people just make excuses really.

We need the challenge cup because it provides main stream TV coverage of live games, with good build up and summary. Sky does not provide universal availability.

is to watch a team you dont support

August Bank Holiday is in school holidays and masses of people are away.
Every year Network Rail close the West Coast Main Line from the North West into London Euston.
The 6 week gap between the quarter and semi finals is an enthusiasm killer.
The RFL and BBC have to sort this out.

Too right we would. Only once have back a pie win and that was for the WCC series.

While i was there i thought the numbers were about right 68k,it was only watching back on tv i realised how empty the Wigan end really was also didnt see that many nuetrals either so this adds up,Hull's support was brilliant for want of a better word.

Wembley for me is too big now for the comp as it stands,to see so many empty seats at supposedly the sport premier cup competition is too much to bear either move the day or put it in a stadium that can be filled.

As for cost thought it was bad went on the rugby am coach for 95 quid all in,spent a tenner on bits inside water etc but other than that not much else,could have been worse.

You don't understand the term "neutral" do you.

And no, it really isn't that expensive. You look at other event ticket prices. Premier league football, West end Theatre, concerts. The RL CC final is cheap.

It's just many like to play the Northern stereotype.

5 years ago I wouldn't have dreamt of not attending most Wigan games. Such is the turgid 'entertainment' we are being served up over recent years I've slowly dwindled away and picked and chosen the games I attend.

Truth be told, I wasn't attending Saturday until a couple of free tickets where quite literally passed to me earlier in the week. If it weren't for that my attitude was I just wasn't all that interested. I'd seen very little this year to persuade me it was worth the effort in all honesty.
That attitude would have been unthinkable a few years ago.

I know upper of 10 members of family who went in 2011 & 2013. None even considered it this year. Most not on the basis of cost. Most on the basis of 'they aren't worth watching'.
I know plenty of friends who went to both '11 & '13 and didn't bother. A few because it was a pain getting there without the train. Most again, because 'they aren't worth watching'.
Sad really...

its clear you dont know the meaning of the word,

how many neutrals do you get for premier league games etc? The crowd is made up from home and away fans only. Went watching NFL last year at wembley and was cheaper than the CC final. £50 a ticket isnt cheap.

add that to the fact off travel expense which a lot fo what you posted might not incur as its a long way for any neutral to travel as its a northern game.

I go to Wembley every year but to be honest the whole thing is getting very stale . No imagination in the pre match activities on and off the field . Same stuff every year . It all needs revamped and brought up to date its the same old same old every year with nothing to attract the neutral or the RL club fans who's team are not playing . Shame really as it used to be a great day out .

Regards , EW

I paid £20 for a seat with a great view, at a major final. It's too cheap, we're selling ourselves short.

The pricing structure needs looking at. £20 in the top tier and £50 in the bottom tier - the difference is far too much there.

The whole top tier should be £25. £35 in Club Wembley and lower tier £40 behind the post and £50-£70 down the sides for the better seats.

50% discount in every area for concessions. Get us back up to 80k attendances.

Presumably not or it would have sold out

I'm not sure cutting £10-£20 off the ticket price would make any difference really. If someone wants to go they will go regardless if a ticket is £35 or £50. In the context of a weekend (or even just a day) in London it is neither here nor there. We need to make it something that people want to attend again, and I'm not sure exactly what the solution to that is.

I think it's about time the RFL made sure the final was more accessible too. August BH weekend is no good with holiday traffic & being the last BH before Christmas ,then add to that rail & road disruptions & it is easy to see why people may stay at home. The RFL need to be staging the game at a time to suit the fans instead of pandering to the wishes of tv stations.
As for the CC being diminished,it isn't hard to see why. Sky have blown up the importance of the Grand Final out of all proportion so there is now only room for the CC to have 3 or 4 games involving the top teams so people find it easy to say that silverware has been won for just 3 or 4 wins. The whole romance & appeal of the CC was watching Saints/Wigan/Leeds just about scraping a win at Lock Lane or Thames Board beating a middle of the table team. Many of those teams are still there with neutral supporters who would probably still enjoy a trip to Wembley if they felt more inclusion in the competition.

Move it to May/June and rotate it between Wembley and Cardiff for me. I think we're missing out not having a big game in Cardiff each year. I'm all for the traditions of Wembley but if there's a more viable and cheaper option that gives the fans a better day out or weekend away then we're daft not to use it.

I say all that though but this chat is pretty pointless for a while because aren't we tied in for another 9 or 10 seasons?

I think people just have to look in the mirror and be honest.
After the really poor turnout in the CC semi last year and again on Saturday its clear to most that there is a lot of fan disenchantment with your team.

When you really wanted to score on Saturday you started to throw it about. That was totally different to your game plan. But you looked brilliant and very dangerous. So pleased you only did this in the last 12 minutes.

I just don't get this ultra structured Wigan approach. Its not entertaining and bums on seats will carry on dropping because its just not enjoyable to watch.
We had exactly the same in our Agar years at FC. It almost broke the spirit of our fan base and we did lose a lot of season ticket holders. Some are are returning now, but its just not that easy to get them back.
A disenchanted fan takes a lot of "turning"

This is spot on. I will be there on Friday but the gang I used to go with on home games has dwindled to a couple of us. It's going to be a massive job for the club to turn it around. It's not as easy as say 'just win the GF'. We did that last year and our attendances are arguably even worse than last season.

I'm not one to say 'Wane out' but IL must realise that things need to change. We're just not exciting to watch anymore (and haven't been for a few years).

I can't speak for everyone, but a lot of my frustration comes from us making the same dumb mistakes week after week - we never learn - until it is either too late in the game to turn it around or it's part of our annual push in the last half dozen games of the year.

We have it in us to play really exciting and high quality stuff, we just hardly ever choose to show it. I won't stop attending though, got to stick with them even if it is boring a lot of the time.

We should return to a May CC Final at a northern ground and play the GF at Wembley. Simples.

Agree regarding bringing the CC final forward, this would give it more focus from all concerned, as it is more of a second fiddle to the GF when the two are played so close together. Not sure why you think swapping the venues round would help though, just sounds like change for the sake of it to me. I could also see it having a bad impact on crowds when we have internationals over here. Many people would likely choose to go to either an England game in London or the Grand Final at Wembley, not both, if they are within a month of each other.

1 week's notice to get tickets and transport sorted for a GF at Wembley? No thanks!

What I'd like to see is the Challenge Cup moved back to May/June AND Magic Weekend be the last round of the regular season before the split with 1 v 2, 3 v 4, 5 v 6 etc.

However I appreciate the logistics of doing it that way would be very difficult to plan and implement.

What about the first round of the eights? That would even up the fixture list and maybe give a revenue boost to the Championship sides who make the qualifiers.

I also agree that the cup final needs moving from August bank holiday.
For supporters with kids of school age (a significant %) I would imagine have to plan summer holidays well in advance of the final being played. Slap bang right in the middle of the 6 weeks school holidays. If you are limited to those six weeks and you see a decent deal you go for it. Taking the chance that your team will not make the final......