Paul Ackford: Premiership heading for a crisis as attendance

[PM76]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyu ... -fall.html

In the telegraph about the possibility of a British/ Irish league and a section with Peter Tom's view.

[Bill W (2)]

A reasonable article altough I do not think it sheds too much further light. All still pretty murky in fact.

[TTRITH]

The regulations should be very simple.

A quality pitch acceptable by the league standards.
A Home and an Away Dressing room.
Enough toilets to comply with hygiene regulations regarding to the capacity of the stadia.

To be completely honest, what else do the clubs need?

[Bill W (2)]

To be completely honest, what else do the clubs need?

Adequate car parking and access;
Adequate corporate hospitality facilities pre and post match;
Adequate entertainment facilities for the directors;
Adequate catering and bar facilities.

[Cliffeclimber]

I rather think that what you describe, Bill, is what the fans want. I'm sure the players would be quite happy with the basic facilities as described above.

[Bill W (2)]

I rather think that what you describe, Bill, is what the fans want. I'm sure the players would be quite happy with the basic facilities as described above.

The players must remember who pays their salaries!

[Tyzot]

Sky / ESPN !

[Bill W (2)]

When needs musts the devil drives!

[fleabane]

The ground requirements were designed to be self serving for the premiership clubs. Was Rotherham not denied promotion because of their lack of facilities? As I remember, these requirements were part of a discussion about whether or not there should be relegation and promotion, and the ground issue was one way of keeping out non-prem clubs. How are clubs to be helped to improve their facilities if they are not given the opportunity to increase their income through promotion?

If Pirates qualify for promotion, but are denied it, I think there would be a sound legal argument along the grounds of "if we can't get in, why are the likes of Sale and Wasps allowed to stay in?"

This article may not say anything new, but it does demonstrate how the top four or five clubs are slowly preparing to move themselves forward if the premiership fails to allow them to be more competitive. I for one would like to see a competitive European league, or at least a British Isles league, all rather better than a wet Friday night at the beach.

[taffyboiy]

the most telling point in that article (for me anyway) was that clubs with a stadium which is a nice place to be were the ones making money.

What is the causality here? Is it as simple as 'provide a good rugby facility and people will come?' Or is the pleasant stadium simply a by-product of good management that creates a profit?

I know that in the past a concrete bowl with nothing in the way of facilities was deemed plenty for a major sporting occasion, but these days, fans want a bit more for their money. There's no point in the marketing suits trying to sell rugby as this amazing fun experience, if you turn up to the game and find yourself struggling to see the action in a smelly, crumbling, rubbish place to be. As such I agree that the clubs wanting to come up must have proper facilities, but what about this: clubs which top the championship but don't have the facilities win additional prize money in place of promotion which they have to spend on upgrading, and clubs in the premiership whose facilities aren't up to scratch get a deadline to make it so, and they can't spend all their money on salaries in the meantime!

[Old Hob]

I think the key passage in all this is:

Is it important to me as commercial director to have a strong and growing game in the north of the country? Absolutely. Sky’s barriers don’t stop in the Midlands. Aviva don’t stop selling insurance products in the Midlands. Of course it’s hugely important to us to keep those clubs going.”

[POSTIGER]

I think there are bigger problems coming up on the rails for a lot of French clubs.

[mol2]

It is farcial that sides can be denied promotion because of their ground, yet those that are already there don't have to meet the same standards!

It would be interesting if, for example Sale were relegated yet permitted to stay up because another side, with a better ground (but not meeting the league standards) top of div 1!

I would prefer that the side relegated went down regardless so no team artificially benefits from double standards.

[BJ.]

It would be interesting if, for example Sale were relegated yet permitted to stay up because another side, with a better ground (but not meeting the league standards) top of div 1!

Having been to Edgeley Park, I fail to see how another club can have a better ground yet fail to meet the required criteria.

[Alatoruk]

Adequate car parking and access;
Adequate corporate hospitality facilities pre and post match;
Adequate entertainment facilities for the directors;
Adequate catering and bar facilities.

how many parking spaces exactly are there at welford road ??

isnt there a thread about catering moans ??

we might have a great ground, that is moving in the right direction but not that long ago it didnt tick any of those boxes.