7,000 Wrexham Fans at Ewood Park

The Ruthsayer

The Ruthsayer

Well-known member
Pretty impressive for a Monday night live on the Beeb. It made me think about how a club can galvanise a whole area. I’ve been to the Racecourse a couple of dozen times (good friends in N Wales, who are fans) and anything over 4,000 was a reasonable crowd.
Do we have something similar happening (though not on the Robson scale)?
 
Football as a fashion visits different areas at different times. Wrexham and Notts County are getting it at the moment through success, similar for Chesterfield. A few mid table years and it will return to normal.

Same here, while we're seen to be competing and playing attractive football the crowds are up. If getting close but without success becomes the norm we'll drop off again.

I'm not sure about galvanising the area in any of the cases. A minority of the population follow football. Fans will argue against my view no doubt.
 
The Ruthsayer said:
Pretty impressive for a Monday night live on the Beeb. It made me think about how a club can galvanise a whole area. I’ve been to the Racecourse a couple of dozen times (good friends in N Wales, who are fans) and anything over 4,000 was a reasonable crowd.
Do we have something similar happening (though not on the Robson scale)?
Click to expand...

Their genuine fanbase will undoubtedly be up now they've finally started having a bit of success, but there'll also be loads of bandwagon jumpers from around the world because of the ownership and documentary.

It's a fairly short trip to Blackburn too.

Cup ties do bring unusually large attendances too, because it's a fun day out.
9,000 Bristol City fans went to the London Stadium, which must be one of their highest away allocations in a long time.
 
Corcaigh_the_Cat said:
I'm not sure about galvanising the area in any of the cases.
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I remember seeing figures years ago quantifying the economic value to a town of a football club being in the Prem.
Can't remember if it was general or specifically Boro, though it was significant.
I think it took into account not only the increase in visitors (home & away fans) but also soft benefits. Things like national profile, feel good factor.
And the massive increase in factories making half & half scarves. (I made that bit up).
 
Rofesleg said:
I remember seeing figures years ago quantifying the economic value to a town of a football club being in the Prem.
Can't remember if it was general or specifically Boro, though it was significant.
I think it took into account not only the increase in visitors (home & away fans) but also soft benefits. Things like national profile, feel good factor.
And the massive increase in factories making half & half scarves. (I made that bit up).
Click to expand...
I recall an article that said when Swansea got promotion to the Prem it boosted the local economy by £20m. Don't know whether that is a lot or not in the grand scheme of things but should have increased since then as well.
 
Rofesleg said:
I remember seeing figures years ago quantifying the economic value to a town of a football club being in the Prem.
Can't remember if it was general or specifically Boro, though it was significant.
I think it took into account not only the increase in visitors (home & away fans) but also soft benefits. Things like national profile, feel good factor.
And the massive increase in factories making half & half scarves. (I made that bit up).
Click to expand...
I get the feeling that half and half scarves will be boosting the economy elsewhere.

The local economy will take the same amount in from local fans, they'll just spend it nearer the ground or on getting to and from the game. If the football didn't happen they'd still spend it.

Our 2 or 3 thousand away fans boost other areas economies whilst taking their spending away from our local economy. Is that taken into account?

You can drum up all sorts of figures to suit arguments but I'm struggling to see a real benefit aside from those directly employed at the football club.
 
mbg42 said:
I recall an article that said when Swansea got promotion to the Prem it boosted the local economy by £20m. Don't know whether that is a lot or not in the grand scheme of things but should have increased since then as well.
Click to expand...
I think this is what I had in mind, but (like you) I can’t recall the report. Was probably 10-15 years ago?
 
Corcaigh_the_Cat said:
I get the feeling that half and half scarves will be boosting the economy elsewhere.

The local economy will take the same amount in from local fans, they'll just spend it nearer the ground or on getting to and from the game. If the football didn't happen they'd still spend it.

Our 2 or 3 thousand away fans boost other areas economies whilst taking their spending away from our local economy. Is that taken into account?

You can drum up all sorts of figures to suit arguments but I'm struggling to see a real benefit aside from those directly employed at the football club.
Click to expand...
Not sure I agree CtC. The average crowd has increased from 4,000 to 10,000 (every match is sold out), and this will increase to 15,000 when the lop is complete. That’s 11,000 extra bodies eating and drinking in and around the stadium and in the town.
The centre of Wrexham is more depressing g than Boro, it needs all the help it can get,
 
Corcaigh_the_Cat said:
I get the feeling that half and half scarves will be boosting the economy elsewhere.

The local economy will take the same amount in from local fans, they'll just spend it nearer the ground or on getting to and from the game. If the football didn't happen they'd still spend it.

Our 2 or 3 thousand away fans boost other areas economies whilst taking their spending away from our local economy. Is that taken into account?

You can drum up all sorts of figures to suit arguments but I'm struggling to see a real benefit aside from those directly employed at the football club.
Click to expand...
I don’t know any figures but the fact that the club has generated interest away from the town and those people including overseas visitors are going to Wrexham will almost certainly be helping the economy be it the cafes, hotels or the pubs. Good luck to them.


 
Cardiffdaffs said:
This is what tourism chiefs say


news.sky.com

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney give North Wales '£1bn boost', says tourism chief

Jim Jones, chief executive of North Wales Tourism, said the Wrexham AFC co-owners were "absolute geniuses" and the city and wider region were now being explored by "an influx of tourists".
news.sky.com news.sky.com
Click to expand...
We're getting far bigger crowds and far more away fans. It must be why you can't get into a restaurant in Boro and the surrounding area.

I know the Hilton in Stockton is doing very well, I hadn't realised it was down to tourists coming to look round Teesside.

Imagine how many billions our economy has been boosted by. Where are our Tourist Board spokespeople when you need them?
 
Corcaigh_the_Cat said:
We're getting far bigger crowds and far more away fans. It must be why you can't get into a restaurant in Boro and the surrounding area.

I know the Hilton in Stockton is doing very well, I hadn't realised it was down to tourists coming to look round Teesside.

Imagine how many billions our economy has been boosted by. Where are our Tourist Board spokespeople when you need them?
Click to expand...
On a serious note, how many away fans stay in the area for the Saturday night? We have spectacular scenery and magnificent abbeys (Rievaulx, Fountains, Mount Grace) on our doorstep, but I don’t see any evidence of the area trying to retain visitors.
 
The Ruthsayer said:
On a serious note, how many away fans stay in the area for the Saturday night? We have spectacular scenery and magnificent abbeys (Rievaulx, Fountains, Mount Grace) on our doorstep, but I don’t see any evidence of the area trying to retain visitors.
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Probably stay in Newcastle or York if they ate staying overnight.
 
NorthumberlandBoro said:
Probably stay in Newcastle or York if they ate staying overnight.
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I'm sure there are fans who stay over, in fact a Gooner I used to booze with when Iived next to the Emirates loved visiting Boro when we were in the top flight. He stayed at the Highfield when he was up here.

For every tenner he brought to our local economy there'll be hundreds exported south, spent by our fans.
 
NorthumberlandBoro said:
Probably stay in Newcastle or York if they ate staying overnight.
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Many away fans and also Boro fans stay locally around Boro games. This is obviously much more significant when in the Premier as you are talking 2000 sell out most weeks in the away end. We used to have regular meetings in town under Love Middlesbrough umbrella and from this we heard (from hotel management) how many travelling fans would leave town on a Saturday night to go to the Bigg Market in Newcastle and return home to sleep in Mbro hotels, hiring transport for this. I think this trend definitely changed by publicising the Baker Street area, which proved very popular. Billy The Bee describing it as a new Shoreditch (whether semi tongue in cheek or not - I don't know) did really help get the message out.
 
Corcaigh_the_Cat said:
We're getting far bigger crowds and far more away fans. It must be why you can't get into a restaurant in Boro and the surrounding area.

I know the Hilton in Stockton is doing very well, I hadn't realised it was down to tourists coming to look round Teesside.

Imagine how many billions our economy has been boosted by. Where are our Tourist Board spokespeople when you need them?
Click to expand...
I had family staying in the Hampton Hilton last year and there was a big bus tour company staying there from Germany, booked in for a Harry Potter tour to Durham. Tour companies often book people in Teesside hotels for all of the north east.
 
Corcaigh_the_Cat said:
All good but no graphs for money being taken out of the local economy by fans going away.

How much do you reckon travelling Teessiders have spent elsewhere that could have gone into the Teesside economy?
Click to expand...
Or maybe those fans would have invested that money on Amazon or on Netflix or on many other non local platforms while they are staycationing it instead of travelling away.
 
Corcaigh_the_Cat said:
All good but no graphs for money being taken out of the local economy by fans going away.

How much do you reckon travelling Teessiders have spent elsewhere that could have gone into the Teesside economy?
Click to expand...
I don't know, but that specific spend on a matchday is just a part of the bigger picture.

But if you want to put a figure on it I suppose I could put my finger in the air with 2000 fans x 19 games x £50 = £1.9m.
But as Rob said, I doubt all the money they spend going away would be spent locally instead.

I just thought Brighton would be a good one to look at as they have basically come from a standing start 10 years ago to where they are now with their new stadium, 20 thousand extra fans and higher profile.
 
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