Little concern as crowds fall at Sixways

10:00am Thursday 25th October 2012 in Sport Photograph of the Author By Tom Guest, @tomguestWN #WENsport

EMPTY SPACES: Action on the pitch during Warriors’ derby clash with Gloucester but with vacant seats in the stands as only 8,717 turned up at Sixways. EMPTY SPACES: Action on the pitch during Warriors’ derby clash with Gloucester but with vacant seats in the stands as only 8,717 turned up at Sixways.

WARRIORS managing director Charlie Little has admitted his concern that attendances have slipped at Sixways this season — but insists there are mitigating factors to be taken into consideration.

In their last two Aviva Premiership campaigns, Worcester’s average gate has been over 10,000, but that figure so far this term is less than 8,500, albeit based on the attendances from just three home matches.

Sixways’ stay-away fans are giving the Warriors powers-that-be a headache and will make it difficult to balance the books as the age of austerity continues to bite.

Little says Worcester have been done no favours by the fixture computer, which has handed them ties with local rivals Gloucester and Bath in their first two home games before the season has got into full swing.

However, despite these games coming so early in the campaign, the club will have been disappointed to see such poor turn-outs — 8,717 for Gloucester and 7,847 for Bath.

A 12,024 sell-out, something the club have achieved several times in recent seasons, looks a long way off based on the current numbers coming through the turnstiles.

Little admitted: “Crowds are down and I wouldn’t be doing my job if I wasn’t analysing that and looking into it. I looked at Exeter, Gloucester, Northampton Saints, Bath and us — all the clubs that own their own grounds — and they’re all down on last year.

“If you then look at who we played last season, you could say that the fixture schedule hasn’t been particularly friendly to us.

“Having Gloucester and Bath at home early in the season before the rugby’s really got going hasn’t helped.

“In some areas, such as the corporate side, we have actually done better on round three 2012 compared to the same round the year before.”

The Sixways club are often accused of overlooking their regular fans in favour of the corporate dollar, but Little insists measures are being taken to improve the Warriors matchday experience for everyone.

He added: “We are trying to address the Sixways match-day experience — for example, for the Sale game on Friday, we will be opening with Greene King, our brewery partners, the Warriors Colisseum, which will be a real ale bar in the big marquee in the north-west corner of the ground.

“That will be somewhere for the general public to go and it will be where the bars and entertainment will be, connected to the Scrum Club where people will be able to get food. Hopefully, that will improve people’s experiences at the game.

“The big screen has come into place recently and, with each game, we are able to improve the offering and we’ve looked to improve the scoreboard in the north-west corner.”

  •  Why do you think Sixways gates have fallen? e-mail: sport@worcesternews.co.uk or visit worcesternews.co.uk/sport/wrfc

Comments(20)

Worcestershire-lad says...
10:32am Thu 25 Oct 12

Why do you think Sixways gates have fallen?

TICKET PRICE

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MrSqueezy says...
11:08am Thu 25 Oct 12

Value for money, simple as. People are fed up of the hyperbole that comes out of the rugby club, have grown tired of the 'sleeping giants' claim and cannot justify £25-£35 to watch another turgid game of rugby.

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HarpoM says...
12:26pm Thu 25 Oct 12

1. Ticket prices/value for money
2. Lack of on-pitch success
3. Lack of "star" players in the opposition-wont attract the casual supporter.
4. No access to the "club" bar-ridiculous that fans cant access on matchday.

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Dandey says...
1:48pm Thu 25 Oct 12

For Mr. Little to blame fixture computer is a load of rubbish.
Stop making excuses I personally do not go and watch the rugby but I do know quite a few people who do not now go to watch because they say they have got fed up at watching rubbish evey match and having to pay a lot of money to do so.
So Mr Little get real and realize the team is just not good enough

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bigrat says...
2:34pm Thu 25 Oct 12

I think it is a combination of reasons ... Increase in ticket prices, hike up in beer prices, massive hike up in coffee prices (£1.50 last season - £2.80 this season!!), shirt prices, the fact that when watching from the North stand you get distracted with Warriors catering staff carting crates of food in front of you, no access to WRFC bar, no big signings, premiership matches not very exciting, ‘A’ team matches an embarrassment, 2nd tier cup matches a non event, no 3 pears on the shirt badge etc etc.

When we lost the Worcester badge and identity in place of the Warriors ‘brand’, Mr Little and his marketing gurus stated that it was to attract the Rugby supporters across the West Midlands (“there is no other professional rugby played North of Worcester until you reach Manchester”) .... so where are they all? Generally when the premiership was all new it was great, with real pride from the local community, but year on year I think the Warriors experience has deteriorated and I get the feeling that Mr Little and Co have gradually bitten off the hand that feeds them.

Yes, money is tight but even for fortunate people like me who can still well afford to go to each and every match, my wife and I have not renewed our season tickets this season (first time ever) and although we have been a couple of times this year we now only go when we have nothing else on whereas previously it would have been at the top of our weekend calendar. Why? Because I am getting tired of being treated like a mug and frankly I’m a little bit bored with it all. Unfortunately like a lot of industries Mr Little and co. will find it far more difficult to attract new customers than hang on to the customers they already have and suggest they he wakes up and smells the coffee.

Ps I have a 50th birthday bash to attend on Friday. Shall I go to Sixways to watch the Sale game first and go to the party afterwards? Nah ... can’t be bothered.

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HarpoM says...
3:22pm Thu 25 Oct 12

I also didnt get the fixture excuse. Gloucester at home should have been a sellout, whatever time of the season.

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zx12r says...
5:38pm Thu 25 Oct 12

At last, I have some support, If they lost 2 million last year, I shudder to think what they will lose this season.
It's over-priced, over hyped, politics ridden & now the main 'behind the scenes' fund raiser has been worked out, namely Kathy Leather, no-one worked harder than her to promote WRFC & for many years prior to Charlie-boy been elevated to his false position.
With the board now in charge, if I was you Charlie I would take cover 'cos' they be sharpening their arrows as we speak, & knowing the vindictive bunch, you are No 1 target.
You could, before you go, explain why you (& it was you) decided to remove the 3 pears & substitute it with a Cadbury's cream egg, thus destroying the Worcester connection & identity.

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dulon says...
8:34pm Thu 25 Oct 12

Well they have now recognized the bleedin obvious at last .You will never succeed to fool all of the people all of the time ,and it is now showing the realisation of the warriors fans that the team is not good enough and not coached and managed by the good enough .
My heart bleeds for Cecil and the other benefactors that believed this myth. Half price ticket being offered to bosch employees says it all ! May I suggest a good read go and buy Cecils biography it will make you choke .

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tj1270 says...
10:35pm Thu 25 Oct 12

Too many friday night games the fans that have been coming for years are getting fed up with the constant drive to give better offers to people who only come once or twice rather than week in week out this includes ex players in their 60's its time to turn it back into a club not a franchise.Get back to some tradition you don't see tigers playing half there games on friday nights think about the traveling fans play on a saturday and have some pride in your club

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Frank Gannett says...
11:44am Fri 26 Oct 12

The headline is, ahem, a 'Little' misleading.

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Lizzie R says...
5:33pm Fri 26 Oct 12

Since their promotion to the top flight just under 10 years ago, most of the performances have been mediocre with little sign of the dominance that has been promised from day one, despite a high turnover of players, including so called world-class international players which were suppose to turn things around. Fans are getting fed up with the lack of progress, yet the club will quite happily charge more and more for tickets and refreshments.

The Warriors think they're one of the big boys in Premiership rugby and can hike prices for that privilege. The truth is, their standing amongst the rugby elite is far from what they think is the case. They are average, simple as that.

And it seems the club are more interested in corporate hospitality and being in bed with Worcester Bosch.

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GreerG says...
8:59pm Sat 27 Oct 12

Well Mr Little has, in this interview, confirmed the "us & them" culture at sixways. A bar where "THE GENERAL PUBLIC" can go. Mr little season ticket holders are not general public, they are warriors fans and PAY for the privilege of watching them. The general public would be those not attending. You are far from enhancing the Matchday experience, and should listen to the loyal warriors Fanbase. And pitchview being "off limits " to THE GENERAL PUBLIC" does not only emphasise the lack of understanding, it WILL have an effect on profits. The new tent bar is not the solution.

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Brummagem Bertie says...
9:01pm Sun 28 Oct 12

Warriors ticket prices are some of the cheapest in the Premiership.
You can still get tea and coffee for £1.50, not £2.80.
There is good quality food and real ale, at reasonable prices.
The Pitchview is not off limits. The WRFC bar is, but as WRFC own Sixways, that is their right. Yes, debenture holders and corporate sponsors do have their own bar areas but they pay a lot of money for their tickets and are just as entitled to something for that money as are season ticket holders and match day ticket holders.
Every club in the Premiership is after the Corporate pound and offers exclusive facilities for the privilege. It is a pre-requisite of having enough money to compete in the Premiership.
It's not just Warriors who are suffering a drop in attendance, most of the clubs in the Premiership are suffering the same. It's called a recession. And as for the point Charlie was making about the fixture list, if you look at the attendances at other games in the first 3 rounds, he probably has a point.
As for Friday night games, they enable all those who play rugby on a Saturday afternoon the chance to attend a Premiership match. If you look at the attendance figures, Friday night games average a higher attendance than Saturday afternoons.

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dulon says...
8:37am Mon 29 Oct 12

Well Bertie the choices have been made and the results are there to see .
Your somewhat jaundiced view reflects the arrogant attitude that has been adopted by the Warriors management . In order that the club can justify increased prices and unfulfilled promises there has to be success on the field ,there has to be something that the public wants to see . The plebby public is staying away in droves and it is this arrogant attitude that has contributed . I do not think that £1500 for a non catered box seat is good value for a very mediocre product.

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Vox populi says...
12:28pm Mon 29 Oct 12

Yup - Hike in beer prices and a queue for it that takes half the game.

As for corporate boxes etc the management will get the right half of its crowd in I suppose. See how much of it is still available in a deeper recession or when team performance drops. ;-)

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Brummagem Bertie says...
1:25pm Mon 29 Oct 12

dulon, there was no jaundiced view from me, just facts.
There is tea and coffee available for £1.50, that's a fact.
Our ticket prices are amongst the cheapest in the Prem, that's a fact.
Most clubs in the Premiership are suffering a drop in attendances, Warriors are no different, that's a fact.
Real ale is £3.20 a pint, which compares very well with the other clubs in the Premiership, that's a fact (I should know, I've bought beer at every other club in the Premiership).
It doesn't take half the game to get served at the bars - in the new real ale bar on Friday, whilst the queue ran the length of the tent it took 6 minutes to be served, from someone who joined the end of the queue and timed it, that's a fact.
I think the jaundiced views and arrogance are from people on here who don't set foot in Sixways yet presume to tell the world what all Warriors fans think.

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ushmush83 says...
11:25am Tue 30 Oct 12

I used to go to watch Worcester play in the Jewson National One. I used to love it. The last season I went regularly, we were chasing promotion, had a great win against Bristol, and a narrow defeat to Newcastle in the cup, and had that shabby temporary stand at one end. You could go for a beer after the game and drink with the players. You could move around the ground, park on site, and see the Worcestershire badge on the shirt. And tickets were less than a tenner! That was rugby!

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RobertR says...
5:46pm Tue 30 Oct 12

I agree with the above comments. As former season ticket holders my wife and I got fed up paying to watch a third rate team. The final straw was the Bristol away match about 3 years ago, We now go if there's a team worth watching like Exeter. The two Pirates and Bedford games were first class. I went to the Bath match at the beginning of the season. Bath manged to win without even playing!.
Sixways is fantastic venue.The Warriors need to play good exciting Rugby to attract the fans. The All Blacks manage to.

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Respectable says...
9:03am Wed 31 Oct 12

I still, at the grand age of 45 still play very amatuer rugby on a Saturday afternoon for my clubs 3rd and 4th Team... Friday night games offer an opportunity to go out for a few beers (Great Match Prep for a Saturday...) and watch some big names / international players doing their thing. Unfortunatley most of this big names are playing for the opposition....!!

In my humble opinion the biggest irritants about the Worcester experience are..

1. In certain areas there is a largely "Rugby Ignorant" crowd who will shout and heckle the officials just for the sake of it without any understanding of the laws of the game or the calls that have been made... SHUT UP.... You might learn something..and this is not a football ground.

2. Beer and burger prices are extortionate... End of.. Try your local grass roots club and see how they compare. I saw a bloke pay almost £50 at the Sale game for burgers and chips for his family.... That must make a mediocre game an almost £200 night out...

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dulon says...
3:03pm Wed 31 Oct 12

Unfortunately we are now in a proffesional era . I am not privvy to wage demands of a premier leagur rugby players . I dare say though that young Matt Mullans demands may soon escalate ! We demand success at the proffessional venue because we are paying for it ! Hands up all those that want to support a losing team and pay for the priveledge of watching them. Well the final twist of the knife is to demand even more money for this 'priveledge' and deny the supporters access to previously accessible areas queue longer and pay more for lacklustre refreshments. You are taking the Michael somewhat and I am joining the 2000 plus people that are not attending.
Do They Get The Message ?

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