Exclusive: Saints voluntarily move key Heineken Cup match to Milton Keynes
NORTHAMPTON Saints have revealed they are to move another lucrative European tie away from Franklin’s Gardens after deciding to stage the game in Milton Keynes.
The club has opted to hold the Heineken Cup match with Irish giants Munster, due to be played at the end of January, at Milton Keynes’ stadiummk. The move, to be revealed by the club today, is the third time Saints have staged a European game away from Franklin’s Gardens in the last year.
However, it represents a turning point for the club as it is the first time officials have voluntarily chosen to move a match out of the town.
Last year’s European adventure resulted in the club being forced to move Heineken Cup quarter-finals and semi-finals away from Northampton because Franklin’s Gardens was not big enough to stage the prestige matches.
Saints bosses say the latest move out of Franklin’s Gardens, which has a capacity of around 13,500 to the 21,500-seat stadium in Milton Keynes, will allow more home fans to see the match.
But the decision is likely to leave pubs, bars and hotels in Northampton out of pocket, with Munster traditionally boasting one of the biggest travelling support of any side in Europe.
Last season, a study was commissioned by Saints bosses and found moving the quarter-final against Ulster away from Northampton cost town centre businesses an estimated £1 million in lost trade.
The club has said it is lobbying European rugby bosses to stage the match on Saturday, January 21, 2012, to ensure stadiummk is filled for the game.
Officials have also revealed a “considerable amount of work” has already been done to ensure lessons have been learned from last season’s two matches.
Saints chief executive, Allan Robson, said: “It will be a massive match in January and we want to give as many Saints supporters as possible the opportunity to cheer their team on against one of Europe’s best.
“We had two memorable days in Milton Keynes last season. But we also learned plenty of lessons and have gone to great lengths to make sure that we have got it right this time.
“We have made a point of replicating as closely as possible our seating plan into stadiummk so that season ticket holders are in the same place as they are at Franklin’s Gardens.
“The most important thing is that we pack out stadiummk with Saints supporters.”
Tickets are going on sale from noon on Tuesday, October 4. For details visit www.northamptonsaints.co.uk
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Comments
There are 35 comments to this article
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john wright
Friday, October 14, 2011 at 11:11 AMFriday 14102011 we have our £62 back on credit card, so thats that?
john wright
Thursday, October 6, 2011 at 04:28 PMto Chris Weremouth I have been away visiting the north so have only just opened my computer, i note from the clubs e-mails to me you have changed the Munster game, to an away match at Milton Keynes, despite all the clubs recent remarks about the importance of playing at Fortress Franklins. Having spent my working life enforcing law in the courts and onsite, i consider your actions a Breach of Contract and a contravention of The Sales of Goods Act. We bought our tickets on the clear understanding matches would be played at Franklins Gardens, like it says on the ticket you issued to me? Prima facia breech of contract & Sale of Goods Act? So i ask you to reconsider this insulting and stupid idea that will cost your fans a great deal of extra money in a time of recession and hardship. After the last game against Munster at Franklins Gardens , i had letters in the Chronic and Daily Mail describing what i considered the best game of Rugby i had ever seen and i included in that the many international i had seen as a RFU Honorary Steward. The journalist & TV covering the match all picked up on the fantastic unmatchable atmosphere created at the Gardens that day by Saints loyal fans. Who in their right mind would want to loose advantage that against Munster? Do you intend doing this when we play the Tigers because same rational you use applies? i have over 20 e-mails from saints mates complaining about this bad idea, some wont go to MK, others want their money back, some say they are so fed up they will never go again, others think we should take a class action against you for breach of contract or ask trading standards to prosecute you for failing to comply with Sales of Good act? Nobody wants this, so why treat fans like rubbish, who you can discount at your whim? i have had six letters published supporting your ASDA bid, i really feel a fool now, particularly over your crocodile tears about the loss of money to the town and its traders if games are played at bloody MK Dons? All bull manure! My next door neighbours are 80 years young season ticket holders and their & their daughter and family will not go to MK, thats a loss of 6 people in just one street, and they want their money back. You e-mail us daily trying to flog us goods, why didnt you consult fans before getting up everbodies nose, you made a large profit last year, you can afford to provide buses if you choose to, and as you have done in the past before you made such excellent profits? Share holder and member of 23 years, supporter for 50 years.
BQ
Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at 02:18 PM@Em S #32. An Extraordinary General Meeting sounds like a great idea. Will it be turned from an idea into a meeting? The Saints board won't do it voluntarily. They will have to be pressured into it.
Em S
Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at 11:50 AMMeet the new boss. Same as the old boss. The Saints should call an Extraordinary General Meeting to allow fans and shareholders to debate issues surrounding the move of the Munster game to MK and what the long term future is for the club at Franklins Gardens. If the board won't call the meeting (and what are the odds they'd agree to a meeting where they could face a vote of no confidence?), fans should use the club's constitution and company law to force it. Robson and his board members should do the decent thing, resign and let true fans of rugby in Northampton take over the club.
Kaz G
Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at 04:30 PMWhen a Lib Dem knocked on our door and asked us to vote for her, my husband (a Saints fan) wasn't particularly pleasant to her. It now seems she told us the truth about what was going on at Franklins Gardens with Asda. This will be the last time my husband buys a season ticket and the other fans he knows are all thinking the same. They will continue to support the team but they are not prepared to line the pockets of a bunch of rich businessmen who have no respect for the sport, the players or the fans and are only in it for themselves.
steve rodhouse
Monday, October 3, 2011 at 10:27 PMOh I forgot ChrisWearmouth, doesn't Mr Robson have the b@lls to comment here or is it beneath him?
steve rodhouse
Monday, October 3, 2011 at 10:20 PMObviously not many people are sad enough to support all three of our teams (Football, Cricket and Rugby). Nobody seems to have noticed that sport has not only sold it's soul to the rich 4x4 prawn sandwich brigade at the Saints but also sold true fans down the river to the TV stations yet again!! How else can they explain the Saints kicking off at precisely the same time that the Cobbler's game is scheduled to finish? Oh I forgot we not only have to cater for that creep Winkleman at MK but the stay at home fans who can't be bothered to shift their f@t @rses off the settee on a Saturday afternoon. Come on moderator do you worst!
AbingtonAll
Monday, October 3, 2011 at 10:11 PM"NN3 man" - at least Northampton has a town centre! MK is a centreless dystopia. It's rail links are hardly that much better - unless you count a very irregular rail service to Bedford as being a great addition. The reason they have money to burn on building a big sports stadium is because they sold out their countryside and have allowed vast subruban sprawl of thousands of environmentally unsustainable little lego box houses...
AbingtonAll
Monday, October 3, 2011 at 10:07 PMIt's easy to forget that this is a private sector business we are talking about and not some fluffy charity. The fat men in suits who run the club are only interested in boosting their wealth and business profile. They don't care about the town or its people - just profits. That is why they were happy to sell out the town to an american multinational (Asda - Walmart) with a deal that would damage the retail businesses in the town centre. Now they have shown that they are happy to sell out local business close to the stadium if they can make a quick buck. I fear they will be in MK within 5 years (just look at Saracens). The actions of the local Conservative Party now look particularly ignorant...
Pending Moderation
Sunday, October 2, 2011 at 10:48 PMWords to describe the Saints board cannot be used on this web site without risk of deletion by the moderator. I agree with what other posters have said. The Saints board has been economical with the truth time and again about their development plans when all along their game plan (no pun intended) was to chase the money available by moving to Milton Keynes. And comparing what some councillors were saying a few weeks ago about supporting the Saints plans with the absence of any comments from them on this scandal, what price that silence?
dinger123
Sunday, October 2, 2011 at 06:58 PMBeen a season ticket holder for a good few years . get the feeling this will be happening more often in the future . With things being tight in these troubled times i had to think long and hard about renewing this season. I suggest that saints directors take a look at whats happening on the field at the moment. If they can spare a couple of minutes from trying to screw every penny out of the fans . The way it going the game will be meaningless and stadium MK nearly empty . I for one will not be renewing next season if this happens.I bet its played on a friday night just to rub salt in .I feel i paid for a ticket for the gardens no mention was made of stadium MK you going to lay on some coaches ? . No one seems happy about this & im afraid to say the only way you can stop this from happening again is to stay away from the game as the directors dont lisen to the fans but they would soon notice the drop in income
Ryan S
Saturday, October 1, 2011 at 02:54 PMDoes the Chron Moderator exist? Seems he or she never does any work. There are "pending moderation" posts on thiis web site going back months.
Can you believe it
Saturday, October 1, 2011 at 01:24 AMAs s Dons fan I am glad that the Saints want to revisit a super stadium again. It is a very confortable stadium which needs filling up occasionally. I will even turn up to watch,. If I were a Saint's fans though I would on principle refuse to attend this match. If on the Saints Board I would be hoping that this decision obviously designed to put pressure upon the local politicians does not backfire in rightous indignation from the many inconvenienced fans. Money talks and apparently Pete has given the Saints a good deal.
lady muck
Friday, September 30, 2011 at 11:09 PMMK Saints...nice ring to it....get used to it...every game will be an away game.
Ryan S
Friday, September 30, 2011 at 10:32 PMsorry i'm from southfields!!! and nice day you have made many of the same points I tried to make in post 16 - but my post was immediately listed for moderation!
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