Pro 14 - General Thread

[blockhead]

Ospreys beat Scarlets 21-10 to grab the last spot in next seasons Heino.
What a season to forget for Scarlets.

[fourthirtythree]

They do it every year to some extent, but the Pto14 Dream Team this year is some top level trolling. Have at it!

https://www.the42.ie/pro14-dream-team-n ... 6-May2019/

[blockhead]

They do it every year to some extent, but the Pto14 Dream Team this year is some top level trolling. Have at it!

https://www.the42.ie/pro14-dream-team-n ... 6-May2019/

This is the otherside of the "leinster used 155 different players this season" debate.
We want medals, gold ones.

[blockhead]

Total attendance this season for the Pro14 was 1,260,547.
Thats down 43,000 on last season.
The average attendance was 8,239. Interestingly, if you remove the Saffers home games from the equation the average attendance for the Pro12 teams has been higher in the last 2 season than ever before.

Leinster ave 17,243 up 450
Ulster ave 13,835 down 828
Munster ave 12,918 down 370
Connacht ave 6013 up 180

[johng]

..

[blockhead]

BTW I did not include last seasons Pro14 final into the calculations.
Connacht having a Pro14 average of over 6K is very impressive.
Not long ago it was around 1,500.

[neill_m]

Some chat that the Pro 14 final for 2019/20 season will be at the Cardiff City Stadium. Nothing official yet.

[blockhead]

Some chat that the Pro 14 final for 2019/20 season will be at the Cardiff City Stadium. Nothing official yet.

33K, that's very unambitious considering the last 3 seasons. Agreed it should be in Wales, why not the Principality?

[neill_m]

Some chat that the Pro 14 final for 2019/20 season will be at the Cardiff City Stadium. Nothing official yet.

33K, that's very unambitious considering the last 3 seasons. Agreed it should be in Wales, why not the Principality?

I believe that each year the Principality hosts Monster Trucks around the same time of year as the final, which is a big earner for the stadium. That is not a joke, being serious.

[OTT]

It should only be there if there are no other bidders, if Wales don't really want the game ie won't bid for it with the Principality Stadium then it should be in Scotland, Italy or Ireland.

My memories of that stadium from the 2011 Challenge Cup Final are that it was basically just a barn. Facilities were absolutely cr@p, I could not believe it was a new build. After getting 47k fans this year why would you want to go smaller.

Now if it is the only bidder, fair enough.

[Xanthippe]

It should only be there if there are no other bidders, if Wales don't really want the game ie won't bid for it with the Principality Stadium then it should be in Scotland, Italy or Ireland.

My memories of that stadium from the 2011 Challenge Cup Final are that it was basically just a barn. Facilities were absolutely cr@p, I could not believe it was a new build. After getting 47k fans this year why would you want to go smaller.

Now if it is the only bidder, fair enough.

Would love the Pro14 to do what the EPCR ERC promised and then reneged on - imagine the final being in the San Siro

[blockhead]

It should only be there if there are no other bidders, if Wales don't really want the game ie won't bid for it with the Principality Stadium then it should be in Scotland, Italy or Ireland.

My memories of that stadium from the 2011 Challenge Cup Final are that it was basically just a barn. Facilities were absolutely cr@p, I could not believe it was a new build. After getting 47k fans this year why would you want to go smaller.

Now if it is the only bidder, fair enough.

Would love the Pro14 to do what the EPCR promised and then reneged on - imagine the final being in the San Siro

Yeah, with about 10k at it. And that's with Benetton in the final.

[Dave Cahill]

The EPCR never promised the final would be in Italy.

[wixfjord]

San Siro would also be a huge risk for a Pro14 final.

What happens if no Irish or no Italian team gets there and you're left with 20k in an 80k stadium?
The optics would be terrible.

Even the two football teams have trouble 3/4s filling it. They are actually looking to build a better, reduced capacity stadium.

[Xanthippe]

The EPCR never promised the final would be in Italy.

Sorry that should have said ERC

[rooster]

San Siro would also be a huge risk for a Pro14 final.

What happens if no Irish or no Italian team gets there and you're left with 20k in an 80k stadium?
The optics would be terrible.

Even the two football teams have trouble 3/4s filling it. They are actually looking to build a better, reduced capacity stadium.

The football stadium in Bologne holds over 38k and would work well for PRO14, a lot would go there on a long weekend break

[wixfjord]

San Siro would also be a huge risk for a Pro14 final.

What happens if no Irish or no Italian team gets there and you're left with 20k in an 80k stadium?
The optics would be terrible.

Even the two football teams have trouble 3/4s filling it. They are actually looking to build a better, reduced capacity stadium.

The football stadium in Bologne holds over 38k and would work well for PRO14, a lot would go there on a long weekend break

Aren't they rebuilding that over the next few years too? (Italian stadiums really are generally awful!)

[rooster]

San Siro would also be a huge risk for a Pro14 final.

What happens if no Irish or no Italian team gets there and you're left with 20k in an 80k stadium?
The optics would be terrible.

Even the two football teams have trouble 3/4s filling it. They are actually looking to build a better, reduced capacity stadium.

The football stadium in Bologne holds over 38k and would work well for PRO14, a lot would go there on a long weekend break

Aren't they rebuilding that over the next few years too? (Italian stadiums really are generally awful!)

Could be, they have rebuilt a few others in the region, there was one they talked about using at one stage for a few Zebre matches.

[paddyor]

Aren't they rebuilding that over the next few years too? (Italian stadiums really are generally awful!)

They are, would be quite a feat to host it in the San Siro.

[Dave Cahill]

The problem with Italian stadia is that they are designed by brilliant Italian architects but built by legitimate Italian businessmen.