EDINBURGH rugby chief executive Nic Cartwright has confirmed the team are to remain at Murrayfield next season.
"We had looked at all the options but nowhere else available was big enough," said Cartwright, adding: "We looked in particular at Meggetland but the last few crowds we have had have been bigger than the capacity there. Even the Cardiff game, where
we were relatively disappointed with the crowd, we sold more tickets for that one match than we had for the first three games of the season."
Based on official attendance figures Cartwright's sums do not quite add up. The first three games of the season saw Edinburgh aggregate 4121 whereas the Cardiff match produced an attendance figure of 2395.
Nevertheless, it is fair to say that after league turn-outs peaked around mid-season, two subsequent matches have seen improvements compared to early season.
Cartwright added: "We did a big survey of the supporters, asking them for their views and I'm glad to say that they were keen to stay, which fits in well with a decision that we had just about made anyway.
"It is not ideal being in a stadium that can hold almost 70,000 but we have done a lot of planning and will be doing a lot of promotion work to increase the crowd still further next season."
It was Gordon McKie, chief executive of the Edinburgh owners, Scottish Rugby, who floated the idea of a switch to the council-backed Meggetland.
The view now, though, is that Meggetland, where the capacity is around 3000 and might stretch to 4000 with temporary facilities, would be too small. "Once we get past 5000 or 6000 I'm sure we will get a good atmosphere at Murrayfield which will make it an even better place to come," said Cartwright. "If we can get a few crowds like we did against Glasgow, then people will want to keep coming back"
Edinburgh home crowds: 1389 (Ulster), 1326 (Ospreys), 1412 (Dragons), 1638 (Llanelli), 6225 (Glasgow), 4100 (Munster), 2506 (Connacht), 2395 (Cardiff).
The full article contains 352 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
