What a London home game would actually be worth to Gloucester

As Premiership teams look to invest more and generate higher commercial income, sides are increasingly looking to the larger London stadiums – such as Twickenham or the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – as potential stages for domestic season games.

Gloucester are no different, and may well be the next Premiership side to host a home game away from their home base.

According to one source from within the club who spoke to RugbyPass, the Cherry and Whites could earn approximately £50,000 extra by hosting a game away from Kingsholm in one of the capital’s giant stadiums.

Whilst it hasn’t been confirmed that they will be hosting a tie away from Kingsholm,  RugbyPass was told that the club would consider the move, but not just for the increased profit.

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“£50k is a lot,” said the source, but “it also puts us in the spotlight as a national and international club.”

Most club’s view is that the game isn’t necessarily about the bottom line and that fan experience will be taken into account. The publicity generated from larger crowds and media attention make such fixtures hard to turn down.

Recent games away from Premiership sides’ regular grounds have been successful, most notably with over 80,000 supporters turning up for Harlequins versus Saracens at Twickenham.

Gloucester’s strong fan base could well help them gain a similar crowd despite being a club that sits far outside of the capital.

“That for me is ridiculous"

Townsend is not pleased with how English rugby bosses have scheduled the weekends leading into the #SixNations https://t.co/lODZZ3Bybk

— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 16, 2020

The Cherry and Whites are yet to play away from their natural home in the city centre, but with money being tight around the clubs it could offer a helpful if relatively modest windfall.

Fellow West Country sides Bristol and Bath have played each other at Twickenham and made it commercially successful, with over 60,000 in attendance at English rugby’s headquarters.

With the right amount of media attention, publicity and ticket sale pushes, Gloucester moving to the big city could well be the move that well and truly puts them on a map Europe-wide.