Home At Last

Mini Murrayfield, in the absence of a better name meantime, is complete and has been handed over to the club.

So this might be a good time to explore the thought that there are two things that bring a crowd in to watch rugby.

1. Winning

2. Having your own home.

There may be other factors but these are the two main ones.

Where is the evidence for this assertion? It may be obvious but let's back it up with a close to home example.

In 2007 Glasgow Warriors started playing at Firhill. In their first season there the average attendance was 2290. In the first season at Scotstoun some 5 years later their average attendance was 4424. That’s a 49% increase.

You’ll know, because they never forget to tell you, that they won the PRO12 in 2015 and in the season that followed that success the average attendance became 6961. So that’s another 37% increase.

Increase 1 - Proper home

Increase 2 - Winning rugby

It is therefore a pleasant surprise to see that, without the benefit of a trophy or a proper home,  Edinburgh’s own attendances have increased over the years. It’s nowhere near as linear but the big headline is this- 

Edinburgh Average attendance in 2007-2008 = 3078

Edinburgh Average attendance in 2018-2019 = 9253

It is of note that between 2015-2019 the overall average of attendance at Edinburgh games is 6580 but the average attendance for games played at Myreside between January 2017- March 2018 (roughly a seasons worth)  was only 3910 despite the fact that a sell out at Myreside would be in excess of 5000.

This demonstrates that a secondary temporary home is even less attractive than a first temporary home.

For anyone who takes issue with my figures on the basis that they include 1872 matches and Cup matches don’t bother. That's like saying florists shouldn’t count their takings on the run up to valentine's day.

So, the first step is complete. We have our own home home and equally importantly it is OUR home. 

The next step is regular winning rugby. As hard as the stadium has been to get done this may be even harder but us Edinburgh fans are a hardy lot in one aspect at least, we’ll turn out for even moderate success as has been shown in the Cockerill era.

Unsurprisingly, there has been criticism of the stadium.

It’s too small. It’s been designed that it can be expanded if we find another packet of regular supporters hiding out back. For the big games there’s a fairly decent alternative a few short steps away.

It’s too big. Well, which is it? I guarantee it’ll be sold out more often than not.

It looks temporary. You don’t get The Kingspan (£20M) for what the SRU have paid.

The pillars. No different to how it was at Myreside and I didn’t miss a moment there.

I even saw someone complain that, and I kid you not, “it’ll be really windy”. 

Unfortunately there is an element of our support who, unless there is a fully liveried up maitre’d bringing them canapes at half time to a heated seat complete with massage panels, will feel let down. 

I can’t wait. I’ve got my seat picked out (in my head) and I’ll be celebrating with an overpriced beer (see what I mean about entitled) what I hope will be a bright, blue and burnt orange future. 

PS if you want to see the attendances for all Edinburgh games between 2015-2019 then head over to the standalone pages where i’ve added a chart. More years to follow when I find the time.