Will rugby become Exeter's dominant sport?

[urinal]

From a crowd-pulling point of view the Chiefs are winning hands down with crowds of 9,500 and 7,500 respectively. The crowds against the likes of Leicester, Bath, Saracens, Northampton and Wasps are likely to be sell-outs. Mainly due to a sense of witnessing something new, people are travelling in from all over the South-West and around Exeter on a day where both rugby and football teams are playing home games, the city's bar and restaurants are thanking their lucky stars (just wait until Leicester are in town).

The Chiefs have made an excellent start and for those who haven't been following, the team is currently third in the Aviva Premiershiip and the idea that it will a force to be reckoned with in the coming years is gaining more popularity within the ranks of rugby commentators.

Bearing this in mind, is Exeter destined to become a new Northampton where football will become secondary to rugby or does Exeter City FC have the potential to rival the Chiefs?

 

[Jim Shepherd]

If everything reamins equal then the Chiefs will (continue to) get bigger crowds, more media exposure and more "big" games, even European ties. So, in that sense rugby will be more dominant.

But, as you say, a proportion of the crowd uplift, although I don't think anyone quite knows how much, is due to traditionally non-Exeter rugby supporting folk coming along to see Prem rugby in the South West. As long as the stuff on the pitch stays attractive and competitive then I would assume this will continue.

On the flip side City are on the cusp of having one of their most successful season ever, in terms of League finish and football still tends to get the first billing in media sports bulletins. And, as long as the stuff on the pitch stays attractive and competitive then we will continue to get crowds above our traditional average level..

Football has never been dominant in Exeter, just maybe better supported, and while the Chiefs are near the top of their game I think that will be how rugby is viewed too.

 

[Northants Grecian]

far too early to say - but found myself more interested to see that 2000 less attended this time round while we were 800 down ...

Northampton is a far bigger fish than the football but do also get far more people from outside ... but we are talking 13.5k to 5kish ..

If the chiefs remain at 7.5k and stay up, then the answer will become yes ...

If the crowds drop off over the cold, hard winter and they end up going down .. then probably no ...

 

[urinal]

There were 2,000 less spectators at yesterday's game and this was to be expected due to the decrease in the number of opposition supporters. Bath will be a completely different kettle of fish.

 

[Jim Shepherd]

There were 2,000 less spectators at yesterday's game and this was to be expected due to the decrease in the number of opposition supporters. Bath will be a completely different kettle of fish.

And that maybe gives a better idea of the Chiefs' "core" support, c 7,000 as opposed to ours c 4,800. Given the relative catchment areas there is probably not a great deal of difference in who is going to watch either.

Of course there may be some choosing to do one rather than the other, but on the whole the numbers suggest overall that more people are watching live professional sport in Exeter than has been the case.

But dominant? No, just better exposed in medai terms due to the improving status, just like we have become over the last 3 years.

 

[Pete Martin (CTID)]

On a superficial level, I don't care that much.

We can't do much to influence it anyway at the moment. The Chiefs had their own ground that they could sell to make money to build a new one. We haven't had/don't have that. We have had a long history of poor management and a total lack of vision. It is only since 2003 that that has changed and it has left us a long way behind.

The Chiefs have a Stadium and facilities that are the envy of many other rugby clubs. The south west is traditionally a big rugby following area but Exeter hasn't historically had the club to support that demand. Now it has.

I see no reason why both clubs can't co-exist and develop and improve in tandem, with one giving the other moral and promotional support.

I know Tony Rowe at the Chiefs personally through my work and it is clear from talking with him that he does take an interest in ECFC and wants to see us do well, as he knows how important it is to the city as a whole. He is a driven man who has single-handedly masterminded the whole Chiefs improvement and development on and off the pitch with a real energy and a determind vision.

We have "20/20" and it is our new vision for ECFC and SJP. We just need to believe in it, work together to achieve it and maybe, one day, we will rival, or even overtake, the Chiefs attendances again.

UTC!!

 

[urinal]

I would put the core support at around 7,000 too while many more will come to watch the Chiefs at the "bigger" games.

I'm probably more interested in the second part of the question: does ECFC have the potential to be bigger and what needs to change in order for it to do so?

 

[Hants_red]

we will rival, or even overtake, the Chiefs attendances again.

UTC!!

Is this something that we need to work on? Are we being complacent about our attendances, which won't be helped by the current economic situation? There are still plenty of footie fans around that don't go to SJP, how do we attract them.

 

[Pete Martin (CTID)]

It needs to be remembered that there was a big sea change for us (and all other lower league clubs) when live Premiership matches started being regularly televised.

For example in the just post-war years we were often averaging crowds in excess of 10,000 (more than the Chiefs are getting today) and attendances rarely dropped below an average of 8,000+

In the 60's average crowds dipped, in the 70's they dipped again. Through the 80's and 90's they only went above 4,000 in promotion drives. Through the early noughties and the Conference years they bottomed along at circa 3,500, but our first year back in the Football League saw 4,939 and last year it was 5832. If we have a moderately successful season this term and we keep playing like we are, I suspect it will go up again.

So, we are indisputably making progress, but there is much to be done. The biggest issue is around improving SJP to support regular Championship football and that is far and away the biggest challenge of all.

 

[Northants Grecian]

I would put the core support at around 7,000 too while many more will come to watch the Chiefs at the "bigger" games.

I'm probably more interested in the second part of the question: does ECFC have the potential to be bigger and what needs to change in order for it to do so?

If that is true, why were the chiefs not getting this number regularly while in National League 1 ... am pretty sure your core is a lot lower ...