Salford owner Marwan Koukash counting cost of low Super League crowds
Saturday 14 March 2015 14:37, UK
Salford owner Marwan Koukash is braced to lose up to £20,000 at Sunday's Super League home game against Wakefield because of low crowds and high stadium rent.
Koukash estimates he could lose between £15,000 and £20,000 if initial projections of a crowd of under 3,000 at AJ Bell Stadium prove correct, and says the costs of playing home games will rise even more over the next two years due to the sliding-scale contract he entered into with the stadium owners when he bought the club just over two years ago.
"It was either that or no club," Koukash said.
"It is in the top three most expensive stadiums in Super League.
"Next year, it will be the most expensive and the year after it will be 40 per cent more expensive than any other.
"We need a lot more people to come to the games to just break even."
Koukash, who has previously warned that 2015 will be the most crucial year for the club, infamously tweeted a month ago “I have had enough” in the aftermath of the team’s 52-6 home defeat to St Helens.
Since then, Salford have gone some way to pushing for a play-off spot with a win over Hull and taking a point from their trip to Catalans Dragons.
First Utility Super League
Sunday also looks to be a chance for points, with Salford expected to overpower wooden-spoon favourites Wakefield.
With games coming up against Castleford, Widnes and Huddersfield, an upbeat Koukash sees an opportunity to consolidate a mid-table spot ahead of tougher fixtures with Leeds and Wigan.
"I feel the team is moving forward," said Koukash.
"After the St Helens game I felt deflated, really down, but in the last two games we have shown that with ball in hand we are a very capable side.
"In my opinion, the next four games are all winnable and, if we get at least three wins, it is going to give us confidence going into the big games against Leeds and Wigan over Easter.
"The next six games could shape our season."
Australian scrum-half Michael Dobson is back from a two-match injury absence to help the Red Devils' cause while the Wildcats are without former Salford second rower Matty Ashurst, who is out with a groin tear.
Wakefield coach James Webster said his squad had a few "bodies banged and bruised" but would go into the game believing they were capable of an upset.
