Rugby: Chiefs laud fans for 13,500 attendance

A big crowd turned out to watch the Chiefs beat the Bulls at the Rotorua International Stadium last Friday night. Photo / Ben Fraser

The Chiefs have applauded local rugby fans for turning up in big numbers for their latest match at the Rotorua International Stadium - but any decisions on when they might return to the city are still a long way off.

The crowd for the Chiefs v Bulls encounter on Friday night was reported to be over 13,500 people, slightly higher than the average crowd attendance for games at Waikato Stadium this year.

"We were thrilled. I think the number was around 13,000 and to be honest that was a very pleasing outcome," Chiefs chief executive Andrew Flexman said.

He said it would not hurt Rotorua's chances of getting the Chiefs back to the city in the future, but exactly when that might be was hard to tell.

"Once the season is put to bed there will be a massive review. And obviously the bottom line is very significant. Balancing that with the way the regions we have played in have embraced the Chiefs is also important."

Flexman was clear that it was very difficult to predict when Rotorua could expect another Chiefs game. He said one thing was for sure they considered the market in the Bay of Plenty to be very important.

While the Chiefs have voiced concerns about Tauranga's Baypark Stadium in the past, Flexman hinted there was potential to return there in the not too distant future as well.

The match on Friday was the first Chiefs regular season match back in Rotorua since 2008. Flexman said, possibly as a result, there were a few hiccups around putting on the event on Friday night.

He said some of the issues included traffic to and from the stadium, as well as some smaller issues such as catering and an electricity problem.