News

Credit crunch bites into Ospreys

Monday 06th October 2008

Liberty Stadium: Not filling up enough

Ospreys Managing Director Mike Cuddy says that the dip in crowd levels, which he attributes in part to the current economic crisis, is making sustenance of the Ospreys on a long-term basis a worry.

The Ospreys have a 20,000-capacity venue, but have so far attracted only 8,500 as their biggest gate of the season, pretty paltry fare for a side flying high in the Magners League.

"Our numbers remain lower than where they need to be to ensure long-term sustainability," said Cuddy in the match programme for Sunday's game with Quins.

"The stark reality is, if fans don't start to get behind the four regions Welsh rugby's future looks bleak."

"Crowd levels are considerably down on the figures from last year and this is giving the Ospreys cause for concern," said Cuddy's match programme.

"The desire from within the Ospreys is to compete with the best sides in England and France, and the stark reality is that we can only do that if we are getting the numbers through the turnstiles."

It is of greater cause for concern for Wales as well. Of the XV that took to the field against England at the start of last year's Grand Slam Six Nations campaign, thirteen were Ospreys.

The Neath-Swansea amalgam has been by far the most successful of the four Welsh regions, taking two Magners titles and the EDF Energy Cup, and have been a roaring success off the pitch as well.

There are now bus services bringing fans from further reaches of the region - nicknamed Ospreylia - to matches, and several match ticket prices have been cut as incentives to bring the fans in.

But it seems that with most of the matches televised and the price of a night out at the rugby hitting at least �30 ($54) per person, people fearful of the current economic climate are eschewing that particular treat. After all, the game is live on the tube...

"You can put it down to a number of things really, every time you turn the television on there's the dreaded credit crunch," he told BBC Wales' Scrum V rugby show during the Harlequins game.

"Sunday afternoon games are not something we're used to in Wales, we've had a Tuesday night game, a Friday night game, a Saturday and a Sunday.

"It's not so much a warning to fans, we just want as many as possible for every game."

But it may herald a wider warning to clubs and regions who are shelling out the cash and relying upon tickets and attendances to sustain them.