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Gloucester Growing
By BrianC June 20 2005
The start of the 04/05 season saw Gloucester playing in an increased capacity Kingsholm. Their home ground's size was increased from 11k the previous season to 13k.
Gloucester Growing

Gloucester 2004/5 Season

8-5-200 ZP Gloucester vs Newcastle 23-16 Kingsholm 6206
30-Apr-05 ZP Gloucester vs Saracens 13-14 Kingsholm 13000
09-Apr-05 ZP Gloucester vs Leeds Tykes 15-33 Kingsholm 11396
12-Mar-05 ZP Gloucester vs Northampton 18-26 Kingsholm 12203
19-Feb-05 ZP Gloucester vs Bath 17-16 Kingsholm 13000
29-Jan-05 ZP Gloucester vs Worcester 28-16 Kingsholm 13000
02-Jan-05 ZP Gloucester vs Leicester 13-28 Kingsholm 13000
26-Nov-04 ZP Gloucester vs Sale 24-14 Kingsholm 12365
12-Nov-04 ZP Gloucester vs Wasps 17-27 Kingsholm 13000
9-oct-2004 ZP Gloucester vs NEC Harlequins 29-23 Kingsholm 11471
25-Sep-04 ZP Gloucester vs Newcastle 31-17 Kingsholm 13000
11-Sep-04 ZP Gloucester vs London Irish 23-16 Kingsholm 11265
Season Average 11909

As was foretold in last season's Whither Rugby article on Gloucester even this additional capacity was insufficient. Of their 11 home games this season six have had capacity crowds. This despite the fact that on field Gloucester have had a relatively poor campaign. Things started brightly enough but faded in the second half of the season They finished 6th with 47 points, a poor season by their recent standards. Their Director of Rugby, Nigel Melville, has since been ousted from his post.

Long in the shadows of their major West Country rivals Bath, Gloucester have not only overtaken them, they now look set to move clear.

Further expansion of their Kingsholm ground to 16k is on the cards. Initially it was hoped that this would be in place for next season but it has now been deferred for a year. This combined with Bath's inability to expand the Rec. and intransigence when it comes to moving will only see the gap increasing, perhaps even to a point towards the end of this decade where Gloucester's average home gate is double that of Bath's.

There appears to be an almost insatiable appetite for club rugby in the West Country. Of the two clubs based there Gloucester are the ones who are making the most of it.

Gloucester 97/98 - 04/05

Season Average Att. Position
(Out of)		 Final ZP
Position		 Percentage
Growth
97-98 7588 3rd(10) 7th(12)
98-99 6077 5th(10) 10th(14) -19.9%
99-00 6820 5th(10) 3rd(12) 12.2%
00-01 6874 5th(11) 7th(12) 0.8%
01-02 9095 3rd(11) 3rd(12) 32.3%
02-03 9544 4th(11) 1st(12) 4.9%
03-04 10232 4th(12) 4th(12) 7.2%
04-05 11909 2nd(12) 6th(12) 16.4%
Variation '97 - '05 57% 5th(12)
Crowd Growth Absolute 4320 5th(12)
Average Growth 7.7% 6th(12)

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