Aviva Premiership
Sale shift home matches to Saturday
ESPN Staff
April 11, 2014
Sale have impressed this season © Getty Images
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Sale Sharks will play their home matches on a Saturday next season with the management opting to move the games from their traditional Friday night slot.

The club have played their home matches on a Friday since 2002 but they have seen attendances drop at their new AJ Bell Stadium, a ground they moved to in 2012. According to Brian Kennedy, Sale's co-owner, the "main reason for non attendance would appear to be transport problems that accompany" and following supporter feedback, they "enjoy their experience better" on a Saturday.

Gordon McKie, chairman of Sale Sharks added, "Saturday afternoon kick off times will allow us to reach out to a much bigger potential audience across the wider community and schools. On the transport front, the difficulties in reaching the stadium on a Friday evening are well documented and we believe our supporters will be able to make a day out of game-day on Saturdays rather than having to rush to and from the stadium on Friday evenings.

"The board of directors have agreed to the move for 2014-15 season but we will revisit matters once the promised new road and bridge are in place. To assist our supporters, we will continue to provide a free shuttle service from the Trafford Centre and may increase the number of buses if demand increases. I know this decision will not be popular for everybody but we ask our fans to continue to support us as we believe that the decision is in the best interests of the club at this time.''

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd

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