This could be written about almost any of our regions, but with recent changes I think that the Cardiff Blues highlight this the most…

Did you know that over 20,000 turned up to watch the Ospreys yesterday?  The problem?  It was in Italy, not Wales.  That’s right, the Italians get (a reported) 20,543 to watch Viadana vs the Ospreys.  Even at £5 a ticket do you think the Ospreys will get close to that?

But more worrying is what is going on down at the rubbishly named Cardiff City Stadium.  There was a reported 10k there for the biggest game of Cardiff’s season so far (and a game that really makes their season worth playing on in)… but most who were there question that.

You see the reported figures have been poor at Cardiff recently, they couldn’t manage 20k to the Australia game, one the Ospreys sold out to ahead of the game a couple of years ago.  And that is reported, most people who go along to these games regularly say how it doesn’t look that many.  The reported figure, it seems, always includes season ticketers who didn’t turn up, which gives a nice boost.

So where are they?

The Cardiff Blues are paying through the nose for rent at Cardiff City Stadium, but aren’t getting the crowds to back it up.  But they should – they had 27k to a pool game just last year, in the Millenium Stadium.  The lack of atmosphere means that any game is dead anyway, even if we get told there are 8k there, or whatever.

That rent means they must be operating at a loss, a big loss – suggestion is that rent comes in at roughly £60k a game.  Add wages, costs for policing etc on top and think about how much money a ‘home game’ is going to cost, not make.

Cardiff Arms Park got crowds in, has a center of town location, had atmosphere and earned big profits for the region.  Yes a higher capacity was needed – but couldnt the MS be used, or take one off games to the new stadium?

The crowds are down, the money is down and the costs up, isn’t it time for the Blues management to say ‘we made a mistake’?

It seems not, but the suggestion is that it is not for rugby reasons but for the hope that the lease (a 14 year one apparently) the Cardiff Blues have at CAP will be bought off, giving a massive pay out that will allow loans given by prominent figures to be paid off.  I don’t know if that’s true, or the full facts on that, but it does seem that the Blues board are less than keen for the fans to know the full information in the background.

I hope they prove me wrong, come out and show why this is a good move in terms of figures and for the region as a whole.  But I don’t see it, I really, really don’t.  As far as i am concerned it is time for Cardiff to get back to their spiritual home.  No wonder a lot of the die hards are staying away, it is hard to blame them.

Some debate about this article is going on here – Rugby Rebels thread (gets a little heated)

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