Leeds Carnegie call for more support

Andy Key and Neil Back penned one-year contract extension to deals that expired next summer, just days after their opening day defeat at home to Bath in the Aviva Premiership, a fixture that was witnessed by just 5,509 people.

That figure was more than 1,500 down on last season's opening match against Newcastle, and a further 500 fewer than the last time Bath visited Headingley Carnegie on January 2.

A crowd of 10,146 saw Leeds secure their Premiership status against Worcester in the final home game of the 2009-10 season and the ambitious Leeds board – who ploughed an unprecedented 4.5m into the rugby budget this season (3.2m of which went on player wagers) – had hoped that such a figure would become more of a regular occurrence this season.

The club have frozen a 1.5m debt accrued over the last 12 months until next summer in the hope that challenging for a top-six finish and qualification for the Heineken Cup, allied with significant increases in gate, sponsorship and commercial receipts will help wipe out the deficit.

However, last Sunday's disappointing attendance has led both Back and chief executive Gary Hetherington to call for greater support from the Yorkshire rugby community, starting next Sunday when they host last season's Premiership finalists Saracens.

"We have been struggling with this now for 10 or 11 years, it's an ongoing problem," explained Hetherington of the club's constant battle against apathy.

"We returned to the Premiership last season with the strategy to give it our best shot. The board of Leeds Carnegie have been very bold and have taken the club into debt by borrowing significantly in an attempt to match the ambitions of the two coaches and everyone at the club.

"They do not wish to take the club into a dangerous position and this (Key and Back contracts) is a further sign of their bold approach.

"Their investment needs to be met by Yorkshire's rugby fraternity. Unfortunately in our first game we didn't get the crowd we wanted. Ultimately, the support base will be a deciding factor on whether we will be successful."

This is the third season in which Leeds have played home matches on a Sunday afternoon in an effort to attract the thousands of players and officials who ply their trade in the Yorkshire pyramid on a Saturday.

On their last visit to the Premiership, attendances improved due to a switch to Friday night rugby and an aggressive marketing deal that targeted students.

However, such a policy is no longer viable given the overlap of the rugby league season and the amount of fixtures their ground-share rivals Leeds Rhinos play on a Friday.

Leeds are very much a community organisation with links to all the main semi-professional teams and amateur union clubs throughout the county.

Their off-field Leeds Carnegie Foundation has reinforced those bonds and the fact that juniors from teams around the region play on the pitch at half-time of Leeds's Premiership matches has already boosted their average attendance. They regularly market themselves as Yorkshire's No 1 club, a claim not meant to be arrogant, more all-embracing of the white rose rugby family.

"We need the support of the Yorkshire people, because they can contribute to our success," said head coach Back. "Bums on seats at our next game is critical for raising the funds we need to buy the players necessary for us to compete at the top end of the table.

"I hope that by Andy and I signing new deals it shows that there is a long-term potential in the club and hopefully with good results this season and good support we can build a squad that can compete at the very highest level.

"We have the infrastructure in place, we need the people of Yorkshire to buy into it and contribute to our collective success."