Kingspan Stadium to Host Pro12 Final

First topic message reminder :

New development for the League,


http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/30980843

Final is going to be annoced in advance from now on,

TBH I don't like this idea at all.

All the hosts of the final so far have been able to sell it out before hand, it rewards the team that finishes higher in the league, and what happens is say the final is Ospreys V Glasgow are all these fans expected to travel to Belfast?

Better have the higher team in the League host it, other wise I can see the final being mostly played out in with mostly neutral crowds.

Notch wrote:There is one other stadium in Wales, the Millennium Stadium.

Well there you go then, they could have used the national rugby stadium that is about 60 miles away, instead they plumped for Dublin a few hundred miles and a whole Irish sea away.

http://www.pro12rugby.com/news/16550.php - so it's not poor journalism from the Beeb

Oh and the 'selling more tickets' justification ? Try this  - "Our last five sell-out Finals were truly memorable rugby spectacles"

Absolutely, total and utter bag of steaming sh!te

Kingshu wrote:

LordDowlais wrote:

Kingshu wrote:So it was between Ravenhill, RDS, Thomond and the Liberity - Belfasts bid of the four must have been the best, not really a surprise its in Ireland as there was only one suitable Stadium outside of Ireland.

So as Swansea was the only other place, the odds were stacked very much in Ireland's favour. This is what the argument is about, it will always be stacked in Ireland's favour, because the rules that are made only favour the Irish. The fact is, every final has been played in Ireland, so even with this new way of doing it, it should have been more or less given to another country, not put up for auction, Ireland have had the final aver year so far, it was a very strong possibility that it could have gone to Glasgow or Swansea this time, but they found a way of keeping it in Ireland after all.

EVERY previous final was held in Ireland because an Irish team earned it, how can you complain about that??

So if the Ospreys or Glasgow go through to the final as top seeds they'll have earned a home final, a historic first and yet be denied and forced to travel.

Do you know what, I think that we would be better off without the Pro12 and trying something oursleves rather than putting up with being bossed around by the Irish.

Kingshu wrote:
I only think that Ravenhill or the RDS would sell out, without the local team making the final., so really it was between these two.

Hilarious. So it should ONLY be between these 2, regardless of who is top of the league, how big other crowds are, where other teams play.

Only Ulster and Leinster count. For they are truly gods amongst men. Some of the stuff on this thread is embararssing.

Kingshu wrote:EVERY previous final was held in Ireland because an Irish team earned it, how can you complain about that??

I am not complaining about that, I am complaining because teams like Ospreys and Glasgow have not been afforded the same privalage.

Unfortunately, this decision may kill off the little support that the Pro12 had in Wales and Scotland.

Kingshu wrote:

LordDowlais wrote:

Kingshu wrote:So it was between Ravenhill, RDS, Thomond and the Liberity - Belfasts bid of the four must have been the best, not really a surprise its in Ireland as there was only one suitable Stadium outside of Ireland.

So as Swansea was the only other place, the odds were stacked very much in Ireland's favour. This is what the argument is about, it will always be stacked in Ireland's favour, because the rules that are made only favour the Irish. The fact is, every final has been played in Ireland, so even with this new way of doing it, it should have been more or less given to another country, not put up for auction, Ireland have had the final aver year so far, it was a very strong possibility that it could have gone to Glasgow or Swansea this time, but they found a way of keeping it in Ireland after all.

EVERY previous final was held in Ireland because an Irish team earned it, how can you complain about that??

Why should Ireland be excluded for bidding for this one or it held against them because of their previous success??

That makes no sense, "sorry you've been too successful so we're counting it against you in the bidding"?

That would make no sense at all. Fairest way it to bid for it, and best bid wins.

Glasgow couldn't host it and couldn't have hosted it even if topped the table.

ALSO a little research semi-finals are 9th May, Final is 16th of May, 5 working days to plan arrange and sell out a stadium (min 18,000) just isn't doable, we should have seen this and guessed at the start of the year.

Also to be fair to the bidding process, would the Liberaty be sold out if Ospreys didn't make it? Say Muster V Glasgow? Bit risky as few years ago when they hosted a semi final against Munster they only attracted 10,026, would you be confident that that would sell out a final, with or without Ospreys in it?

I only think that Ravenhill or the RDS would sell out, without the local team making the final., so really it was between these two.

You're still spelling Liberty and Kingspan Stadium wrong

Welsh Magician wrote:Unfortunately, this decision may kill off the little support that the Pro12 had in Wales and Scotland.

I would not stop going to support my team because the Final was in a different country.

If thats the depths Welsh Rugby is plumbing there's a lot more wrong than this.

LordDowlais wrote:

Notch wrote:There is one other stadium in Wales, the Millennium Stadium.

Well there you go then, they could have used the national rugby stadium that is about 60 miles away, instead they plumped for Dublin a few hundred miles and a whole Irish sea away.

Because they bid for it and won. Last season, Glasgow were set to potentially have to play their home Final in Belfast because of issues getting a ground.

Chunky Norwich wrote:Some of the stuff on this thread is embararssing.

You're right there

Notch wrote:

LordDowlais wrote:

Notch wrote:There is one other stadium in Wales, the Millennium Stadium.

Well there you go then, they could have used the national rugby stadium that is about 60 miles away, instead they plumped for Dublin a few hundred miles and a whole Irish sea away.

Because they bid for it and won. Last season, Glasgow were set to potentially have to play their home Final in Belfast because of issues getting a ground.

It should never have been up for auction in the first place, it's funny how this has only happened when it looks as though an Irish province will not finish in the top two.

Notch wrote:

LordDowlais wrote:

Notch wrote:There is one other stadium in Wales, the Millennium Stadium.

Well there you go then, they could have used the national rugby stadium that is about 60 miles away, instead they plumped for Dublin a few hundred miles and a whole Irish sea away.

Because they bid for it and won. Last season, Glasgow were set to potentially have to play their home Final in Belfast because of issues getting a ground.

And trust me we were not happy about that.

The league needs to get a grip, a home final on home soil should be a privilege not random

LordDowlais wrote:

Notch wrote:

LordDowlais wrote:

Notch wrote:There is one other stadium in Wales, the Millennium Stadium.

Well there you go then, they could have used the national rugby stadium that is about 60 miles away, instead they plumped for Dublin a few hundred miles and a whole Irish sea away.

Because they bid for it and won. Last season, Glasgow were set to potentially have to play their home Final in Belfast because of issues getting a ground.

It should never have been up for auction in the first place, it's funny how this has only happened when it looks as though an Irish province will not finish in the top two.

Is it? Once again, the Welsh have as many representatives as we do on the board. As do the Scots and the Italians. So explain to me how we managed to pull the wool over the eyes of the whole board.

Notch wrote:

Welsh Magician wrote:Unfortunately, this decision may kill off the little support that the Pro12 had in Wales and Scotland.

I would not stop going to support my team because the Final was in a different country.

If thats the depths Welsh Rugby is plumbing there's a lot more wrong than this.

I think it is more to do with the fact that there was a high possibility of there being a home final in Wales or Scotland for the first time ever, only for it to be taken away by a rule change. The rule change suits the Irish teams which is again hurting the reputation of the league as being nothing more than a means for the Irish to better themselves to the detriment of Welsh and Scottish rugby. Unless European qualification is now changed for this season then Ulster in particular will have a big advantage in becoming one of the top seeds for next season's European competition. The simple question that needs to be answered is why fix something which isn't broken?

Notch wrote:Is it? Once again, the Welsh have as many representatives as we do on the board. As do the Scots and the Italians. So explain to me how we managed to pull the wool over the eyes of the whole board.

I don't know, perhaps you might want to ask the people on the board who need to keep the big Irish companies who are sponsering the league happy. Now why would they want a final in Ireland I wonder ?

Also, as stated above, it could affect the seeding for the CC.

Why not wait to do this next year instead of announcing it with a few months to go until the final? There must be something else behind this decision?

LeinsterFan4life wrote:Why not wait to do this next year instead of announcing it with a few months to go until the final? There must be something else behind this decision?

It would have been the smart thing to do, but maybe they like the conspiracy theories regarding Irish bias in the competition.

LeinsterFan4life wrote:Why not wait to do this next year instead of announcing it with a few months to go until the final? There must be something else behind this decision?

Yes, there is, the fact that there was a chance that the final might not be in Ireland for once and god forbid, an Irish side would have to try and win the final outside their own country, that is if they could get past Glasgow or Ospreys mind.

GLove39 wrote:

Notch wrote:

LordDowlais wrote:

Notch wrote:There is one other stadium in Wales, the Millennium Stadium.

Well there you go then, they could have used the national rugby stadium that is about 60 miles away, instead they plumped for Dublin a few hundred miles and a whole Irish sea away.

Because they bid for it and won. Last season, Glasgow were set to potentially have to play their home Final in Belfast because of issues getting a ground.

And trust me we were not happy about that.

The league needs to get a grip, a home final on home soil should be a privilege not random

I think the way forward is to have it rotating between the four countries and played at neutral grounds, and promote the hell out of it all year. As has been pointed out the previous system was unfair as only five teams had a big enough ground to host a home final. Also it's only been in Ireland so thats a problem too. If the Irish teams continue their dominance it won't go anywhere else which is a short-term problem. The big issue here is its announced halfway through the season, so thats unfair, and I fully agree with that. Should have announced they were doing this at the start of the season.

But I think in the long run this will be more fair if all four countries share it on rotation, roughly. It will give more people the chance to go to the Final not just fans of a few teams. It opens it up for people right across the four nations. Say Ospreys miss out on a home Final after finishing in the top two but then no Welsh side is top two for eight years. With this system the fans in Wales will get to see finals even if their teams aren't the top sides. Same with Italy and Scotland.

It also guarantees a new venue for the Final, which is a positive move. Bringing the final to more venues should be applauded. People are looking at this in a hyper short-term sense as begin favourable to Ulster- next year could just as easily be in Wales with 2 Irish teams so it will balance itself out over time.

I'm not a huge fan of doing it this year and I don't think it's been handled very well. But in the long term I think this is good for the league.

There is a 3 in 5 chance that at a finalist will be Irish, a 3 in 5 chance it will be a team from the UK and a a 3 in 5 chance it will be a non-Eurozone member - therefore Belfast is the best compromise to keep everyone, who has a realistic chance of the final happy.

LordDowlais wrote:Do you know what, I think that we would be better off without the Pro12 and trying something oursleves rather than putting up with being bossed around by the Irish.

You aren't being bossed by the Irish. Enough with the tinfoil hat conspiracy nonsense.

I can understand your angst though. I'm not in favour of this change at all. Why should the final be hosted in a country when that country's team hasn't earned the right?

Welsh Magician wrote:The rule change suits the Irish teams which is again hurting the reputation of the league as being nothing more than a means for the Irish to better themselves to the detriment of Welsh and Scottish rugby.

I wouldn't get so annoyed reading this if we weren't subsidising you and helping keep your regions afloat. I don't think Guinness and Sky Sports would be shelling out without us after all. We've been propping up this league for so long but all we get is abuse, not gratitude. Imagine where the Pro12- and Welsh regional rugby- would be without the Irish provinces? It isn't pretty. Fast train to nowheresville regionally and internationally.

We've always been very, very good friends to Welsh rugby but jealousy is a terrible thing.

Notch wrote:

Welsh Magician wrote:The rule change suits the Irish teams which is again hurting the reputation of the league as being nothing more than a means for the Irish to better themselves to the detriment of Welsh and Scottish rugby.

I wouldn't get so annoyed reading this if we weren't subsidising you and helping keep your regions afloat. I don't think Guinness and Sky Sports would be shelling out without is We've been propping up this league for so long but all we get is abuse, not gratitude. Imagine where the Pro12- and Welsh regional rugby- would be without the Irish provinces? It isn't pretty. Fast train to nowheresville regionally and internationally.

Fair play that's a corker. Cap doffed.

Notch wrote:I wouldn't get so annoyed reading this if we weren't subsidising you and helping keep your regions afloat. We've been propping up this league for so long but all we get is abuse, not gratitude. Imagine where the Pro12- and Welsh regional rugby- would be without the Irish provinces? It isn't pretty.

That works both way though pally, god the Irish can be so arrogant at times, where would you lot be without us ? Also, how are the Irish subsidising and keeping our regions afloat, if it is you doing it, you are not doing a very good job.

Notch wrote:

Welsh Magician wrote:The rule change suits the Irish teams which is again hurting the reputation of the league as being nothing more than a means for the Irish to better themselves to the detriment of Welsh and Scottish rugby.

I wouldn't get so annoyed reading this if we weren't subsidising you and helping keep your regions afloat. I don't think Guinness and Sky Sports would be shelling out without us after all. We've been propping up this league for so long but all we get is abuse, not gratitude. Imagine where the Pro12- and Welsh regional rugby- would be without the Irish provinces? It isn't pretty. Fast train to nowheresville regionally and internationally.

We've always been very, very good friends to Welsh rugby but jealousy is a terrible thing.

I don't know what you have been reading but the propaganda machine in Ireland must have been in overdrive recently. Has it not been Welsh broadcasting deals that have kept this tournament barely afloat these past few years? Was it not the Irish who climbed down last summer with the admittance that they could not do without the Welsh in the Pro12? Perhaps I dreamed all of that.

We're interdependent and we're the side of the partnership thats been more successful. That success is good news for Wales too.

The sponsor of the Pro12 is a British company called Diageo, hq in London.

The Pro12 has a board made of up members from the four unions plus a chair.

The min capacity requirement of the stadium for the final has been 18,000 for some time - hence why Ulster had to select RDS for their final in recent years.  

Up to now, the top-ranked club in the final was allowed propose a venue for the final in its own rugby jurisdiction as long as the venue met certain commercial requirements and had a min capacity of 18,000.

This season, with the dates for finals having been made shorter, the four unions that run the Pro12 sought bids from the 12 clubs to host the final.  

Why did none of the Welsh clubs put forward a bid?  Why did none of the Italian clubs put forward a bid to be the host city?

Why did Glasgow decide to put forward a bid to host the final?

If people like the old system and rules, then why are they complaining that Irish venues were used for the finals in previous seasons since the rules dictated that the venue was in the jurisdiction of the top-seeded team in the final?

Playoff History
2009-2010 - 1. Leinster 2, Ospreys, 3 Glasgow 4 Munster
Leinster v Ospreys in final at RDS - Ospreys won.
2010-2011 - 1. Munster 2 Leinster, 3 Ulster 4 Ospreys
Munster v Leinster in final at Thomond - Munster won
2011-2012 - 1. Leinster 2 Ospreys 3 Munster 4 Glasgow
Leinster v Ospreys in final at RDS - Ospreys won
2012-2013 - 1 Ulster 2 Leinster 3 Glasgow 4 Scarlets
Ulster v Leinster in final at RDS - Leinster won
2013-2014 - 1. Leinster, 2 Glasgow, 3 Munster, 4 Ulster
Leinster v Glasgow in final at RDS - Leinster won.

Well, anyway, if things keep going the way they are we might all find out what it will be like to go it alone.

A bit of a daft decision tbh. The final should be held at the club/region that finished the highest out of the playoffs ground, or a venue of their choice. Eg If it is a Ospreys v Glas or vice versa, final. It's not very fair on either set of supporters. How many willa ctually travel over? Less than 500 odd I'd imagine. Once the true cost is totalled up...

Pot Hale wrote:If people like the old system and rules, then why are they complaining that Irish venues were used for the finals in previous seasons since the rules dictated that the venue was in the jurisdiction of the top-seeded team in the final?

Pot, we didn't complain because we accepted that the Irish teams earned the home final on merrit. That was finishing higher in the league than the team they were playing.

Now if I'm sitting down on the Pro12 to decide the venue for the final for the coming season, here's what I face:

We asked all 12 clubs to put forward bids if they wished - with the existing commercial and capacity requirements.

We receive two bids - Leinster didn't bid, Munster didn't bid, Connacht didn't bid, but Ulster did.

I wonder why the other three provinces didn't make a bid?

None of the four Welsh regions made a bid - I wonder why?

One of the two Scottish clubs did - Glasgow - I wonder why?

None of the Italian clubs did - I wonder why?

Pot Hale wrote:Now if I'm sitting down on the Pro12 to decide the venue for the final for the coming season, here's what I face:

We asked all 12 clubs to put forward bids if they wished - with the existing commercial and capacity requirements.

We receive two bids - Leinster didn't bid, Munster didn't bid, Connacht didn't bid, but Ulster did.

I wonder why the other three provinces didn't make a bid?

None of the four Welsh regions made a bid - I wonder why?

One of the two Scottish clubs did - Glasgow - I wonder why?

None of the Italian clubs did - I wonder why?

Because they should not have been made to make a bid, it has never happened before, it seems that now the final looked as though it might not be played in Ireland, they put it up for auction instead of awarding it to the highest place team in the league.

LordDowlais wrote:

Pot Hale wrote:If people like the old system and rules, then why are they complaining that Irish venues were used for the finals in previous seasons since the rules dictated that the venue was in the jurisdiction of the top-seeded team in the final?

Pot, we didn't complain because we accepted that the Irish teams earned the home final on merrit. That was finishing higher in the league than the team they were playing.

Really? You accepted they earned it on merit?

These comments from you don't seem to bear that out:

"There are ample stadiums in Wales that could have been used, but hey ho, it looks like this league should be privvy for the Irish only. Our sides are just a means to an end, and end that always seems to end up in Ireland."

"So as Swansea was the only other place, the odds were stacked very much in Ireland's favour. This is what the argument is about, it will always be stacked in Ireland's favour, because the rules that are made only favour the Irish. The fact is, every final has been played in Ireland, so even with this new way of doing it, it should have been more or less given to another country, not put up for auction, Ireland have had the final aver year so far, it was a very strong possibility that it could have gone to Glasgow or Swansea this time, but they found a way of keeping it in Ireland after all."

Pot Hale wrote:

LordDowlais wrote:

Pot Hale wrote:If people like the old system and rules, then why are they complaining that Irish venues were used for the finals in previous seasons since the rules dictated that the venue was in the jurisdiction of the top-seeded team in the final?

Pot, we didn't complain because we accepted that the Irish teams earned the home final on merrit. That was finishing higher in the league than the team they were playing.

Really?  You accepted they earned it on merit?

These comments from you don't seem to bear that out:

"There are ample stadiums in Wales that could have been used, but hey ho, it looks like this league should be privvy for the Irish only. Our sides are just a means to an end, and end that always seems to end up in Ireland."

"So as Swansea was the only other place, the odds were stacked very much in Ireland's favour. This is what the argument is about, it will always be stacked in Ireland's favour, because the rules that are made only favour the Irish. The fact is, every final has been played in Ireland, so even with this new way of doing it, it should have been more or less given to another country, not put up for auction, Ireland have had the final aver year so far, it was a very strong possibility that it could have gone to Glasgow or Swansea this time, but they found a way of keeping it in Ireland after all."

Say the next five years are similar to the last five and Irish teams dominate. The Final will be played outside Ireland and give other nations fans a chance to view it. It seems that the fact Belfast is the first city to get it is diverting attention from the fact that in the long run this probably means more finals in Wales, Scotland and Italy- not less.

LordDowlais wrote:

Pot Hale wrote:Now if I'm sitting down on the Pro12 to decide the venue for the final for the coming season, here's what I face:

We asked all 12 clubs to put forward bids if they wished - with the existing commercial and capacity requirements.

We receive two bids - Leinster didn't bid, Munster didn't bid, Connacht didn't bid, but Ulster did.

I wonder why the other three provinces didn't make a bid?

None of the four Welsh regions made a bid - I wonder why?

One of the two Scottish clubs did - Glasgow - I wonder why?

None of the Italian clubs did - I wonder why?

Because they should not have been made to make a bid, it has never happened before, it seems that now the final looked as though it might not be played in Ireland, they put it up for auction instead of awarding it to the highest place team in the league.

Really?   So when do you think they took this decision to invite bids for the host city for the final?  Was it at the beginning of September when Glasgow beat Leinster, Scarlets drew with Ulster and Edinburgh beat Munster?  do you think the IRFU started putting their heads together and said "lads, this isn't looking good, may be we'd better put the final venue up for grabs this season".    Or did they change their minds again in October when Munster beat Scarlets, Ulster beat Glasgow and Leinaster managed to beat Zebre away?

OK LordDowlais lets go through this, one last time, and you can then try to argue with the logic.

9th May Semi finals, 16th May Final.

Two weeks was tight to arrange a final in (getting planning and selling tickets - its the reason Ulster V Leinster was at the RDS not Aviva), we now have 5 working days to arrange it, it can't be done in that time.

The Pro 12 organisers knew this when they put the schedule up, that there wasn't two weeks between semi final and final anymore due the the new European Cup - it should have been fed out to fans though - but you can't blame the Irish that this didn't come out sooner and they were looking at bids for the final.

So this year one week isn't enough time to arrange a final so final HAS to be arranged in advance.

So far no Irish conspiracy, and you can't blame the Irish for there only being a one week gap. This year it appears the top team was never hosting the final.

So if final has to be arranged in advance lets look at the options.

Given it has to be likely full house and capacity of over 18000. (sensible requirement and no more than was prevoiusly the case).

National stadiums are too big for the final currently, it can't be half empty, think everyone knows this.

SRU and FIR don't have a suitable venue

WRU - Liberty Stadium? Swansea V Man City Saturday 16 May 2015 | Liberty Stadium | Kick-off 15:00
- what date is the PRO 12 Final on again?, Oh wait its the 16th, same day the stadium is already being used for a football game.
so its ruled out (don't know what Ospreys fans thought would happen if they did top the league?), by this fixture going on this date it shows that the regions knew the final would be at a nominated venue at the start of the year - they must have as they give the go ahead to the fixture list.

Maybe there is some Irish conspiracy, where we arranged for Man City to play in Swansea that day to make sure Ospreys wouldn't get a home final?

The only alternatives are in Ireland, I'd even put Thomond as being too big in case Munster didn't make the final.

Can't blame Ireland for having the most suitable venues that haven't been double booked.

Irish conspiracy, I think not.

Ps I preferred the old system myself, though it was fairest and best, but it appears unions all knwo about this at the start of the year.

Pps Ulster if make the final will not gain any European ranking, as some are saying, European Ranking is based on league position, play offs don't come into in?

Pot Hale, I think you are missing the point, what myself, and other people are saying, in the past, the rule was, who ever finished higher in the league, the country that the team was from hosted the final, now all of a sudden the final has been put up for auction and the reasons used were that the other countries did not have adequate stadia. O.k that is fine, then when you look at the history of our league, Ireland has hosted every final, because their teams always finished above the team they were playing, this I can except. But baring that in mind, what should have been said was, ok we are putting the final up for auction, and as Ireland have hosted the last four finals, we will give other countries the chance to do it. But for me it should have never come to this, if Ospreys or Glasgow finish in the top two, then the highest out of the two should decide what stadium they play in, within they're own country.

The final isn't on the 16th its on the 30th May. Semi-finals are on the weekend of the 22nd/23rd/24th May.

I have to revise my initial opinion tbh. I thought it was unfair at first but now I realise that the change in the calendar has made it necessary. Kingshu is right- five working days isn't enough for a whole final to be organised. Two weeks was difficult enough. The venue must be known beforehand.

This will eventually lead to being able to use bigger stadia so its a good thing. Just poorly announced. The teams must have known from a very early stage about this- but the fans should have known at the start of the season which is when the decision to open it up would have been made.

Kingshu wrote:National stadiums are too big for the final currently, it can't be half empty, think everyone knows this.

If that is the case, then why is the Scotland national stadium being used as the option for Scottish sides to hold the final ?

So are Swansea playing Man City that day?

Serious amount of Tom kite being spouted on this thread. It's quite embarrassing for the board in general and especially the rugby section

LordDowlais wrote:

Notch wrote:I wouldn't get so annoyed reading this if we weren't subsidising you and helping keep your regions afloat. We've been propping up this league for so long but all we get is abuse, not gratitude. Imagine where the Pro12- and Welsh regional rugby- would be without the Irish provinces? It isn't pretty.

That works both way though pally, god the Irish can be so arrogant at times, where would you lot be without us ? Also, how are the Irish subsidising and keeping our regions afloat, if it is you doing it, you are not doing a very good job.

You are benefiting from the sporting tax exemption by the company being based in Ireland - that is why Dublin is the Rugby HQ of world rugby.

I'd imagine the VAT free tickets to the final in ROI was also appealing to the organisers initially as well.

Chunky Norwich wrote:So are Swansea playing Man City that day?

They must be. It has been said twice

LordDowlais wrote:

Kingshu wrote:National stadiums are too big for the final currently, it can't be half empty, think everyone knows this.

If that is the case, then why is the Scotland national stadium being used as the option for Scottish sides to hold the final ?

Scottish Rugby take the hit on the gates. The final gate goes to the organisers of the competition and helps pay prize money etc. to all the participants. Far more costly to hire a 60K+ stadium than an 18K stadium. In both cases, you need to be able to fill them.

Risca Rev wrote:

Chunky Norwich wrote:So are Swansea playing Man City that day?

They must be. It has been said twice

I have just checked Swansea F.C fixtures and their last home game is on the 16th of May, so the final could and should have been held in Swansea, without this final going to auction nonsense.

Swansea v Man City is on 16 May - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/teams/swansea-city/fixtures (Ospreys are away v Connacht that day) So that's another 'red herring' along with the selling more tickets nonsense (see above)

PRO 12 Semi-Final - 22/23/24 May - http://www.pro12rugby.com/matchcentre/fixtures_list.php

PRO 12 FINAL - SATURDAY 30 MAY @ 18:30 - http://www.pro12rugby.com/news/16550.php

Sin é wrote:

LordDowlais wrote:

Kingshu wrote:National stadiums are too big for the final currently, it can't be half empty, think everyone knows this.

If that is the case, then why is the Scotland national stadium being used as the option for Scottish sides to hold the final ?

Scottish Rugby take the hit on the gates. The final gate goes to the organisers of the competition and helps pay prize money etc. to all the participants. Far more costly to hire a 60K+ stadium than an 18K stadium. In both cases, you need to be able to fill them.

yeah and Ulster will fill their stadium with out even being in the final wont they.

The Pro12 must be praying for an upturn in Ulsters fortunes this season, and then hope another Irish province gets to the final as well, because if it is Ospreys V Glasgow, the Irish had better put their hands in their pockets because you will not get much travelling fans there.

Notch wrote:The final isn't on the 16th its on the 30th May. Semi-finals are on the weekend of the 22nd/23rd/24th May.

I have to revise my initial opinion tbh. I thought it was unfair at first but now I realise that the change in the calendar has made it necessary. Kingshu is right- five working days isn't enough for a whole final to be organised. Two weeks was difficult enough. The venue must be known beforehand.

This will eventually lead to being able to use bigger stadia so its a good thing. Just poorly announced. The teams must have known from a very early stage about this- but the fans should have known at the start of the season which is when the decision to open it up would have been made.

The top of the league is very close this year - any of the top 5 could easily win it (5pts between 1st & 5th). Last season there was 16 pts between 1st and 5th.

Since it is basically Sponsor's Day, I'd imagine playing the final in a stadium called BT Sport might not go down too well with the PRO12s media partners or an empty Murrayfield too appealing to Guinness.

LordDowlais wrote:Pot Hale, I think you are missing the point, what myself, and other people are saying, in the past, the rule was, who ever finished higher in the league, the country that the team was from hosted the final, now all of a sudden the final has been put up for auction and the reasons used were that the other countries did not have adequate stadia. O.k that is fine, then when you look at the history of our league, Ireland has hosted every final, because their teams always finished above the team they were playing, this I can except. But baring that in mind, what should have been said was, ok we are putting the final up for auction, and as Ireland have hosted the last four finals, we will give other countries the chance to do it. But for me it should have never come to this, if Ospreys or Glasgow finish in the top two, then the highest out of the two should decide what stadium they play in, within they're own country.

No I'm not missing the point.   Your previous and current argument is that Irish clubs, including those that have never hosted a final, should have been excluded from the bidding process, because three of the clubs finished first in the league in previous seasons.

I have heard no official reasons as to why 10 of the clubs who were invited to bid, did not make a bid.    Nothing has been said officially about inadequate stadia.  Swansea could have been used as part of a bid on the dates in question, but no reason has been put forward by the Welsh clubs as to why they did not make one.  I find that curious, more so than the bid being awarded to one of the two cities who bothered to put a bid forward. Perhaps your ire might be better directed at the four clubs as to why they didn't. It's not as if Welsh rugby doesn't have enough experience and success in wangling for finals and cup matches to be played in Cardiff whoever the host is.....