By Dragons' Den
August 4 2009

The supporters meeting on Tuesday 11th August will be the first opportunity to hear the plans and ambitions of the club’s new owners. With seating capacity at ODP being increased to more than 3,500, the grandstand being refurbished and new pitch-side hospitality facilities being installed, Dragons' Den wonders whether the Championship will create enough interest to make this investment viable.

This meeting is an important chance for us to assess the proposals that new owner Neil Hollinshead and acting Chief Executive Terry Brown have for the future of London Welsh, from the Minis up to the 1^st XV. It is also a time for us to ask questions and to prove that communication between the club and supporters is important to us and must continue throughout the season.

Dragons’ Den, like the majority of supporters, is pleased to hear that we have at least a further season of 1^st XV rugby at ODP and that the match day facilities are receiving a much needed upgrade. According to a letter sent out to supporters, the seating capacity at ODP will be increased to more than 3,500 and new pitch-side hospitality facilities will be installed at the pagoda end of the ground. The existing grandstand is also to undergo a major refurbishment with all the seats (which were previously installed at Wimbledon’s number one court) being replaced but we can’t help wondering whether the Championship and British & Irish Cup matches will lead to enough of an increase in attendances to make all these developments necessary. If the hospitality marquee takes up most of the pagoda end of the pitch will supporters lose the opportunity to watch the game from this popular vantage point?

The main grandstand holds a relatively meagre 800 seats and there were times last season when it felt quite a lonely place to sit. When this is dwarfed by the massive 2,500 seat temporary stand that is being moved in from Harlequins will the crowd be even further spread and the atmosphere diluted? Only time will tell and the visits of Bedford Blues and then Cornish Pirates will show whether there is demand for Championship rugby at ODP.

For the sake of London Welsh, and all Championship teams, we hope that the new competition gets the required publicity and attendances rise throughout the league.