Local Support For Twickenham Stadium

The RFU recently commissioned a MORI survey on the views of the local community relating to Twickenham Stadium. This was done to test the perception, particularly at local council level, that there was widespread opposition among residents to increased activities at the Stadium.

The MORI survey showed, however, that as many as 78% of local residents either supported or had no opposition to Rugby League matches at Twickenham Stadium, 78% supported or did not oppose athletics being held and as many as 66% either supported or did not oppose concerts being held at the Stadium. Only 13% tended to oppose concerts, 18% were strongly opposed to them and 3% were don't knows.

As for bars being open after rugby matches, 49% of all residents felt that it was better or made no difference if they were open, 21% thought it was a little worse with them open, 20% much worse and 10% were don't knows. However, among those living within 800 metres of the Stadium 60% thought it was better or made no difference if bars were open, with 14% feeling it was a little worse and 16% a lot worse.

The independent survey conducted by MORI revealed that local residents who hold favourable views on Twickenham Stadium generally outweigh those who hold unfavourable views by more than four to one. Almost half of all residents polled felt that Twickenham Stadium had a positive impact on the area and more than half of those living nearest to the Home of England Rugby shared this view.

Of all residents questioned 48% held very or fairly positive views on the Stadium and 26% held neither positive nor negative views. Only 15% held fairly negative views and 5% very negative, with a further 5% of don't knows.

Three quarters of local businesses held favourable views on Twickenham Stadium and almost half considered it to have a positive impact on their business. Only 5% of businesses polled held fairly unfavourable views on the stadium and 5% very unfavourable.

Major concerns related to traffic congestion, the worst problem associated with the Stadium for residents, with 56% of all residents finding match day traffic a problem. A further 42% are either not affected a lot or not at all, with 1% of don't knows. However, when spontaneously asked about disadvantages of living in the area, two in five mentioned problems relating to transport or traffic. As it is unlikely that these residents are thinking solely of match days, it points to the fact that rugby at the Stadium exacerbates an existing problem, rather than creating something new.

The Controlled Parking Zone, introduced by the local councils to help alleviate problems of on street parking on match days appears to have brought a degree of success. Although one in four (27%) of residents say that street parking is a problem, three in five and as many as 45% even living within 800 metres of the Stadium do not encounter a problem.

When asked about the behaviour of crowds visiting the Stadium very few local residents or businesses feel that this causes them any problems at all. In fact, 61% of residents and 75% of businesses felt that crowd behaviour caused no problems at all, compared to 4% and 1% respectively who said that behaviour caused a great deal of problems.

Said RFU Chief Executive, Francis Baron, "The RFU chose to conduct this survey at a time of the year when local residents and businesses were most likely to be affected by the Stadium, with capacity crowds attending our two Lloyds TSB Six Nations matches. The interviews took place between the Ireland and Wales home games to ensure that any problems or benefits associated with the RFU and the Stadium would be recent and relevant. As the Stadium is part of the community and a major employer within it, it is gratifying to discover that most of our neighbours and neighbouring businesses hold favourable views on the Stadium.

"The full MORI report has been submitted to the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Council and the Metropolitan Police and we are keen to continue the dialogue with them on improving match day operations. We believe that the MORI findings will prove helpful in providing hard data on which decisions can be taken."

MORI Quality

1. MORI's reputation for excellence stems from our insistence on quality at every stage of a research project. We will not accept interference from clients who wish to bias results in any way. We are happy to confirm that at no stage in this project has the RFU attempted to impose leading questions, or seek anything other than a genuine representation of the views of the audiences concerned.
2. MORI interviewed 1,200 residents, 300 living within 800 metres of the Stadium, 300 in Hounslow and 600 in Richmond, by telephone between 8th and 21st February 2000. MORI also interviewed 100 local businesses, which deal directly with the public, by telephone between 18th and 22nd February 2000.
3. Copies of the MORI report are available from the Communications Department at Rugby House.