Fev attendances on the up

Featherstone’s push for Super League has been boosted by a 32% increase in attendances this season.

Rovers have been the most active of the Championship clubs in laying the foundations for a Super League licence bid for 2015, and have enjoyed average crowds of 2211 this season.

CEO Craig Poskitt said: “These figures are very encouraging and I can only stress this is due to hard work from all the off field team at the Bigfellas Stadium, we collated a great amount of data from our Challenge Cup exploits ensuring every new fan will now be on our system. 

“We are constantly striving to encourage fans to return while also exploring out – reach areas with our community team, We now have the people and strategies in place to raise awareness of what we are doing, to make the ‘Featherstone Rovers experience’ a more enjoyable one, and to spread that awareness over a wider area.”

During the last round of licensing, clubs had to average 2500 to satisfy a licensing criterion, and Featherstone have pushed towards that this season by offering all season ticket holders at other clubs chance to watch the Rovers for just £10.

Last weekend’s 60-12 defeat at home to Halifax was watched by 2806, almost 1000 up on the corresponding fixture last term.

The club added: “There is clearly a lot of work to be done to develop the reach and depth of Rovers’ fan base, but already attendance figures for 2012 bear positive comparison to some clubs already in Super League. This is work in progress. The improved attendances are not a ‘result’, merely an indicator of that progress. It would be a major error  for Rovers to sit back and admire their work. There is much to be done to engage more people from within the locality of the club, from a wider geographical area, and a broader social demographic.”