[Archived] Season Ticket Sales

[philipl]

If I remember correctly, the season ticket this season brought unscheduled bonuses in terms of some reduced Cup prices and a free European match. There are also away ticket priorities as well.

[MarkBRFC]

If I remember correctly, the season ticket this season brought unscheduled bonuses in terms of some reduced Cup prices and a free European match. There are also away ticket priorities as well.

We had a couple of free European matches last season in our season tickets.

We didnt have any this season, they were made very cheap though.

The away match ticket priorities really doesnt count as there is never any problem getting away tickets, unless we draw Burnley in the cup or something.

[RevidgeBlue]

Damage, two points, ST holders do NOT pay more than walk on's, if you lose out through not being able to attend a few games, you're quite at liberty to pay on a match by match basis.

Secondly, if you raise walk on prices to a disproportionately high amount, you'll just lose them altogether meaning ST prices would have to take a huge hike to compensate, thereby punishing the people you should be trying to reward.

[RevidgeBlue]

We had a couple of free European matches last season in our season tickets.

We didnt have any this season, they were made very cheap though.

There were far less individual match by match promotions this season because it was decided prices were cheap enough in the first place.

[Damage]

If I remember correctly, the season ticket this season brought unscheduled bonuses in terms of some reduced Cup prices and a free European match. There are also away ticket priorities as well.

i cant believe many people buy their st in the hope that they may get a cheap cup match!? how many st holders took the offer of reduced ticket price vs coventry?

that just is not an incentive for the occasionals to buy a st and its no incentive for me to renew my st!!

[RevidgeBlue]

i cant believe many people buy their st in the hope that they may get a cheap cup match!? how many st holders took the offer of reduced ticket price vs coventry?

There was no reduced ST price for Coventry. Maybe with the benefit of hindsight there should have been.

(The promotion tried was a kid for a quid with every full paying adult)

[Damage]

We had a couple of free European matches last season in our season tickets.

We didnt have any this season, they were made very cheap though.

The away match ticket priorities really doesnt count as there is never any problem getting away tickets, unless we draw Burnley in the cup or something.

it would certainly help if more "desirable" away matches were sold out. how many of 3000 at Feyenoord were non-st holders? About 50% from my observations! Price was not an issue then. And how many occasionals were at Celtic and Burnley? Again a massively disproprtionate figure! They do want to support BRFC but they have to be given a reason to commit to a st. These people used to be commited but they found others things and realise that finacially there is not incentive!

[Damage]

Damage, two points, ST holders do NOT pay more than walk on's, if you lose out through not being able to attend a few games, you're quite at liberty to pay on a match by match basis. But BRFC cannot afford to take that attitude! Most people miss a few games a season now because of fixture changes - if I take your advicewhich is looking increasingly likley then it wont just be the matches that i cannot make that I will miss! I will also miss the reading match on a cold wednesday night, and the pompey match at 5pm on a sunday (my mums promised to make sunday roast). So my + kids input to the club will plummet by 50%. Not because I cant afford but because it just makes economic sense. maybe I'll buy some games or have a rocking night out with money saved?

Secondly, if you raise walk on prices to a disproportionately high amount, you'll just lose them altogether meaning ST prices would have to take a huge hike to compensate, thereby punishing the people you should be trying to reward. I disagree - we have cheapest tickets around - less than the dingles even and yet we have managed to scrape an extra 2000 people! The occasionals wont come more regularly - it suits their lifestyle to pick and choose their games! Make em pay for that privilege and also offer them an incentive to commit!

[sussexrover]

Damage, you suggest that there are between 10-15000 people who attend as walk ons, but this only equates to 2-3000 per game. Therefore this suggests that on average they are only attending around 4-5 games per season - I doubt the % of those who will suddenly jump to attending 19 games a season is that great.

Yes I agree increase the incentive to buy a ST - but at the expense of driving away those who are only ever going to be walk-ons (at least in the short term)? Where are we going to find future ST holders from if we dont encourage them to come as walk-ons as a way of getting a taste for it?

OK I agree that those of us who live further away are never going to be the clubs priority (rightly so) but those who are going to be most influenced by price increases are likely to be those who are local (Purely because the cost of ticket is a greater % of the cost of the whole day including transport etc).

[CAPT KAYOS]

So your incentive is what I presumed to force all or the majority of fans onto a season ticket.

This leads me back to what I call Rovers 'uniqueness' and would not work

Outside, the top 4 as so called- we must be the most succesful team (unprecedented) -yet it doesn't seem to have made that much difference even with the price reduction this season ( encouraging maybe but I would hazard a guess to say the club probably expected more including the lapses returning) - and by doing so to the levels you suggest may not be viable to the staure of the club or the budget it needs to operate within to compete at least on a minimum level.

Lots of reasons have been covered on this mesage board as to the why's and what fors but there are alot of mitigating issues within the game itself that need addressing before Rovers can combat their problem areas.

IMO - One of them is the enjoyment of the game on a match day basis - I have heard it many a time also mentioned on this MB and you touch upon it yourself in your posts - there is much more competing with the game and the monies that go into it and alot of the time it becomes a 'chore' going to the game.

Within their means , I feel Rovers are trying their best and deserve a bit of respect for it but the walk on fans are as much needed as the S/T holders - the difficult part is finding the balance and the way forward.

[b12_simon]

There was no reduced ST price for Coventry. Maybe with the benefit of hindsight there should have been.

(The promotion tried was a kid for a quid with every full paying adult)

It was £19 for adults, £15 for adult season ticket holders.

[RevidgeBlue]

They do want to support BRFC but they have to be given a reason to commit to a st. These people used to be commited but they found others things and realise that finacially there is not incentive!

Why should people who have got out of the habit of going apart from the occasional extra special game suddenly rush to buy a ST because walk on matchday prices go up?

The two things simply don't follow.

If anything you'd have to tempt them back gradually to a few games with a combination of reasonable pricing AND a good product on the pitch then hope they eventually upgrade to a ST.

[Damage]

There was no reduced ST price for Coventry. Maybe with the benefit of hindsight there should have been.

(The promotion tried was a kid for a quid with every full paying adult)

yeah so the fa's kid for a quid scheme was a failure at BRFC! the occasionals dont want to see this kind of "dross" (and even at £10 per adult there would hardly be more than another couple thousand on the gate). The occasionals come for the big matches - sting em for the pleasure, and give em an actual incetive to commit to a st.

[Hughesy]

As for renewing tickets, the club are doing all they can. They offer you the option of direct debit or pay now.

I do however think the club should try offer a new initiative - Club only season ticket creditcard, which can only be used to purchase things connected to BRFC like – Additional Home/Cup/away tickets, away travel, club shop (What’s that!), Promotions like the Walker way brick etc.

It would work the same way as a credit card, only difference being that you would have the choice to pay it all off within 3 months from purchase (interest free) on any season tickets, additional tickets or away tickets/ travel OR you could choose to pay a monthly minimum (set at say 10% of the balance – which would be roughly the same as a direct debit payment for your season ticket) AND if you only pay your minimum then they club add a % of interest each month (set at a low rate).

Reasons for this are simple.

1 - To help fans purchase tickets, when sometimes an extra game date may fall before pay day – i.e. Cup Match and which the fan would like to go to, but cant afford to spend there last £15 on a ticket.

2 - To Help fans spread the cost like the direct debit scheme

3 - Help Rovers get increased ticket sales both home & away + earn some extra cash from interest.

[CAPT KAYOS]

yeah so the fa's kid for a quid scheme was a failure at BRFC! the occasionals dont want to see this kind of "dross" (and even at £10 per adult there would hardly be more than another couple thousand on the gate). The occasionals come for the big matches - sting em for the pleasure, and give em an actual incetive to commit to a st.

Not so much the dross Damage - moreso what I was trying to get at.

The romance with the FA Cup has gone - the 3rd round FA Cup used to be a big thing from the draw to the coverage on match of the day - most of what used to occur on a Saturday rather than being spread over x2 days and a draw on a Monday lunchtime.

[Damage]

Damage, you suggest that there are between 10-15000 people who attend as walk ons, but this only equates to 2-3000 per game. Therefore this suggests that on average they are only attending around 4-5 games per season - I doubt the % of those who will suddenly jump to attending 19 games a season is that great.

I am guestimating - if some offical figures are available to show that 90% walk-ons attend 90% games then I will meekly walk away. Howvere from personal knowledge of many occasionals I know many that only attend a few matches per season.

Yes I agree increase the incentive to buy a ST - but at the expense of driving away those who are only ever going to be walk-ons (at least in the short term)?

If they are only ever going to be walkons then they should pay a premium (significant!!) for there non-committment.

Where are we going to find future ST holders from if we dont encourage them to come as walk-ons as a way of getting a taste for it?

People like myself - st holders taking their kids. Why would anyone become a future st holder without any incentive to do so? pay match by match "its more cost effective and lifestyle flexible!"

[Damage]

There were far less individual match by match promotions this season because it was decided prices were cheap enough in the first place.

Good! Those £5/£10 match promotions for the walkons were extremely counter-productive. Better to put the money in st incentives.

[Damage]

I don't understand... You mention there is a supply and demand problem at Rovers but there at least two games in the season where we "sell out" - Liverpool and Man Utd. The ironic thing is that if we did demolish the riverside and reduce our capacity, we'd then be selling out for many more matches and then crying out for a stadium expansion.

Shows that the occasionals want to watch the big matches cos they are exciting but they cant be arsed with the pompeys and fulhams. Fine but if the product is that much better they should pay a big premium. If fact so big that there is a really big incentive to commit to a st. It will also act as a disincentive to people like me not renewing and becoming a match-by-match punter. Many have doen this and if the financial incentive remains weighted in favour of the walkons many more will do the same.

I think this is argument comes more from the fact you're disgruntled that away supporters are allowed to bring up to 7,500 fans and almost no other Premiership club allows this on a regular basis. The stadium was built while we were a top side when tickets were more in demand (by Rovers fans). Get over it, let's take the money from their fans and just move on... eh? is that supporting my argument or not? confused.

[Damage]

So your incentive is what I presumed to force all or the majority of fans onto a season ticket. not force - offer an incentive

This leads me back to what I call Rovers 'uniqueness' and would not work

Outside, the top 4 as so called- we must be the most succesful team (unprecedented) -yet it doesn't seem to have made that much difference even with the price reduction this season ( encouraging maybe but I would hazard a guess to say the club probably expected more including the lapses returning) i'll say it again - where is the incentive for the occasionals to commit to a st? there is none! lets change that situation- and by doing so to the levels you suggest may not be viable to the staure of the club or the budget it needs to operate within to compete at least on a minimum level. why not? ticket income would almost certainly increase from this kind of price structure

Lots of reasons have been covered on this mesage board as to the why's and what fors but there are alot of mitigating issues within the game itself that need addressing before Rovers can combat their problem areas. exactly! but the one thing BRFC are in control of is price structure - they should be more daring in creating incentive for st holders - realising who is comitted - and maximising revienue from those that arent committed

IMO - One of them is the enjoyment of the game on a match day basis - I have heard it many a time also mentioned on this MB and you touch upon it yourself in your posts - there is much more competing with the game and the monies that go into it and alot of the time it becomes a 'chore' going to the game. so once again - lets make an incentive for them to get a st!! if they arent ready to commit make em pay more, and even more still for the premium games

Within their means , I feel Rovers are trying their best and deserve a bit of respect for it but the walk on fans are as much needed as the S/T holders - the difficult part is finding the balance and the way forward. erm no they arent needed as much. far from it. if the walkons are as important then I am going to become one and save myself a tidy few quid. I agree that BRFC have been bold but I have they been as savvy as could have been?

[modes98]

It was £19 for adults, £15 for adult season ticket holders.

Also £7 for Young Adult ST holders. Which went down nicely, apart from the crap football.

[Damage]

Why should people who have got out of the habit of going apart from the occasional extra special game suddenly rush to buy a ST because walk on matchday prices go up? because they see that there is a value incentive to attend. If I can have 19 matches for £250 st vs 5 walkon tickets at say £150 I will seriously consider committing to a st. Now it depends whether you think a high enough percentage of walkons will still want to attend those 5 special matches. I am of the belief that there are a high enough number.

The two things simply don't follow.

If anything you'd have to tempt them back gradually to a few games with a combination of reasonable pricing AND a good product on the pitch then hope they eventually upgrade to a ST. why? they would see an incentive. st for the price of 9 walkon tickets - wow that is an incentive to commit!

[Damage]

ok enough from me - think Ive said my piece!

[USRoverME]

Granted, I'm never going to have a BRFC ST (19 cross atlantic flights a season is a bit too much for me), but even thought it would make me mad as a local, much of what damage says has a lto of truth to it.

One point to correct. someone mentioned that a person currently coming to 4-5 matches a seaosn will not all of the sudden go to 19.

That's probably true, but not damage's point. (following figures aare purely for discussion) His point is that if that same person spent say 150 GBP on his 5 tickets a season, and then realized that for 200 GBP he'd get tickets to 19 games. That's an offer you HAVE to look at and think about. You might not take it (schedule means 5 is the max you can make, really hard done by in finances, etc) but you'd still think about it.

It might mean you got to 8 a season since you have the ticket, and you might give/sell that seat to a friend for 2-3 more games.

In the end BRFC fills the seats and gets more $$ in (and might even drag 1-2 new people to a match) with little to no effort.

If the fan stays keeps coimg to his 5 matches a season, then BRFC bleeds a bit mre cash from them

The damage is if you manage to alientate the fan. But in the end, if you price it so that BRFC is still a competitive ticket price in the scheme of the prem, you likely aren't forcing someone to stop coming for purely financial reasons (espeically since the club did try to give $$ back this season.)

apologies for my horrendous typing

[CAPT KAYOS]

The damage is if you manage to alientate the fan.

In my opinion US I think this has already happened, maybe not necessarily by the Rovers but football itself - which is why Rovers are struggling.

As I have said in response to Damage the scope might not be there for Rovers to lower S/T to that level across the board - also arguably as stated , we must have been the most succesful club outside the so called top 4 recently and that still doesn't appear to be making any difference.

I can undertsand with what Damage is getting at and agree mostly with what he says - I just feel it would be to no avail at the Rovers in doing that to such a degree. At the end of the day its upto the club, but I suppose they could always try it to test the water.

[USRoverME]

re: numbers, I was pulling numbers out of the air to make a point.. but I thuink the math(s) would look a bit different as damamge proposed, since the 5 tickets may cost more under this proposal.

I also don't think your categories of reasons for why people stay away is really comprehensive. sure finanaces and budgets is a problem for some. but this proposal focuses on all occasionals. Their reasons are likely vastely different so no one solution will get them all. But you'

ve tried teh financial incentives (lower STs, the kid for a quids, special reduced games, etc..) and not much made a dent. So you gotta change it up.

So, what damage is proposing is that you make extra money AND potentially raising gates by enticing someone to spend a bit more in search of a deal.

After all, we all spend a bit too much at times because somethign we want is on sale, even if we shouldn't.

the idea is to see if you can't get people to stretch a bit to get the st as its a good deal ompared to what you'd spend anwyays. And of course, once they have teh ST, they may/likely will come mroe often, because they havet eh ticket, they paid for it, might as well use it.. etc.

Also, in theory, which is easier to budget for.... one big expense at a fixed time each year, or a lot of little expenses that arrive at random intervals (derbys, big cup games, etc).