[Archived] 'taking Back' The Darwen End

[Ben-2000]

Dont be naive. There are many, many scouse or United fans knocking around blackburn or darwen - they will get hold of tickets without a problem via friends or by going in person to ewood. Yes they may not be on the database but if they provided proof of address then the club would more than likley give them a ticket if they are from near by.

They would do that anyway then, whether we give them 3k or 8k... not many scouce/manc fans round here will be ST holders at at their relevent ground therefore wouldn't get a ticket for Ewood no matter how many we give them.

[philipl]

Just as well that the Baggies fans are banished to the Darwen End Upper tier or this would be a truly terrifying spectacle:

West Brom supporters are to wear lifelike masks of boss Tony Mowbray in a show of support at the club's final Premier League game this season. Organiser Dean Walton will distribute 1,800 masks to Albion fans travelling to the match at Blackburn. (The Sun)

Mind you we could out frighten them by wearing Tugay masks!!

[Hughesy]

They should bring a decent following, unlike Pompey. Wonder how the clubs other initiative is going on? Anyone know?

[BlueWhiteDynamite]

on bbc breakfast this morning on their paper review they showed a front page article from a national newspaper about football finances, in the middle was a picture of the rovers badge and said 1875, does anyone know which paper ran this story? (sorry if its been mentioned)

[Hughesy]

So was it an article about us, or about finances in general?

And what has the 1875 got to do with it? Is that the total debt of clubs??

[BlueWhiteDynamite]

So was it an article about us, or about finances in general?

And what has the 1875 got to do with it? Is that the total debt of clubs??

I had a search and its on the front page of the Times. The article is

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/foo...icle6237472.ece

but there's a picture of the rovers badge, I dont know if its related to the article or not, Todays front page is:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/newspaper.../?days=Thursday

I presume its something to do with the foundation of the club, any one buy the Times? Cant find it on the website

[Hughesy]

Il take a look in WHSmiths at dinner

[Bob the Builder]

So was it an article about us, or about finances in general?

And what has the 1875 got to do with it? Is that the total debt of clubs??

The text says 'Blackburn Rovers in 1995 the last club outside the 'Big four' to win the Premier League'

Todays Times front page

[Hughesy]

So its an article about how the money should be shared more equally across the league - I agree.

"Of the £1 billion that comes to the league, 50 per cent is distributed equally between all clubs, 25 per cent is paid out according to the finishing places, and 25 per cent according to the number of television appearances. The result is that there is a 1.6:1 ratio in earnings between the top and bottom clubs. Ministers accept that the figure has improved considerably over the years but believe that more can be done. They argue that if more revenue came from the Champions League it could be used to iron out inequalities. That position is believed to be supported privately by the Premier League"

I think the sensible approach would be to split the 50% (As currently) & 25% (TV) equally, with the league placings earning you extra money. So thats a gauranteed £37.5m for each club + placing money.

They are also calling for the clubs in Europe to share their prize funds with the rest - which I dont agree with.

[MCMC1875]

So its an article about how the money should be shared more equally across the league - I agree.

"Of the £1 billion that comes to the league, 50 per cent is distributed equally between all clubs, 25 per cent is paid out according to the finishing places, and 25 per cent according to the number of television appearances. The result is that there is a 1.6:1 ratio in earnings between the top and bottom clubs. Ministers accept that the figure has improved considerably over the years but believe that more can be done. They argue that if more revenue came from the Champions League it could be used to iron out inequalities. That position is believed to be supported privately by the Premier League"

I think the sensible approach would be to split the 50% (As currently) & 25% (TV) equally, with the league placings earning you extra money. So thats a gauranteed £37.5m for each club + placing money.

They are also calling for the clubs in Europe to share their prize funds with the rest - which I dont agree with.

Of the Football League tv money, 80% coes to The Championship, 12% to Div 1 and 8% to Div 2. Very tough on Stanley!

[Stuart]

A Rovers populated Darwen end, consigning the away fans to the top tier, has been a massive success so far. Not just because we've won both games but the difference it can make to the match atmosphere and almost certainly the match officials.

One example: There was a bit of a slide tackle yesterday which ended up with a Portsmouth player going over the advertising hoardings at the Darwen end. Any other day and the away fans would have been baying for blood possibly ending in a free kick and a booking - despite it being a fair challenge.

It really makes Ewood the fortress it used to be. As another example, Peter Walton took charge of the sucessive Spurs and Wigan matches, and the difference in the refereeing outcome was noticable. I say refereeing outcome because I'm not sure the standard of refereeing was any better just that we got more of the benefit of the doubt.

We really need some ideas as to how to make a business case for filling the Darwen end with home support for every game.

I've had a quick go, assuming an extension of the current deal, and also assuming that we would sell out a 5000 seat allocation at full price for away fans - which probably isn't realistic but makes the loss making scenario near to worst case.

Tickets

5000

Games / Max Price / Offer Price / Loss Per Match / Total Loss

4 / 35 / 7 / £140,000 / £560,000

6 / 25 / 7 / £90,000 / £540,000

6 / 20 / 7 / £65,000 / £390,000

3 / 15 / 7 / £40,000 / £120,000

====================

19 Home Games = Total loss of £1,610,000

This would mean we need to improve approximately 3 places up the league from where we would have done otherwise. Unless someone can spot a major flaw in these assumptions/calculations, the questions are then:

1) Would a full Darwen end lower make that much difference to our league position?

2) How would current season ticket holders react to the club selling tickets throughout the season as 3-game £20 bundles?

3) Would the uptake for seats continue? I.e. would we fill the section every game?

4) Would this mean reduced season ticket sales overall and simply that the current crowd would change were they sit, and how they buy tickets, reducing the income even further due to the losses in other areas of the ground?

5) Otherwise, how else could we fill this section without opening it up to away fans?

[1864roverite]

I think Jisty, the whole concept of season tickets are going to have to be readdressed.

Rovers "ticket" money is not overly massive, and I say that in comparison with southern based league teams (where it notoriously expensive to watch them).

There has to be changes with ticketing scenarios and it is even happening at the big clubs. Look at manure, they charge for tickets when the fans dont even want them !

some of your suggestions are quite valid.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

5) Otherwise, how else could we fill this section without opening it up to away fans?

I'm baffled by that one Jisty.We have shown with these three home games against LESS ATTRACTIVE opposition that we DO have the support to fill the Darwen End with our own fans.

As Roverite states the club makes little money from gate receipts so why simply not slighty lower the price for season ticket holders while at the same time introducing more 3 games for 20 pounds offers.The club lowers the price of a season ticket so that they are still the cheapest option over the course of a season......SURELY everyone happy?

Rovers make take a small hit on gate money but the effect of having our own fans beind both goals cannot be under estimated.Everyone I know has commented positively about the greater atmosphere and matchday experience these last two games and maybe the improved atmosphere and wins for the team are no mere coincidence!

I have argued the point many a time that Rovers the club are far too 'away fan friendly' for their own good.This is simply not reciprocated when we travel away....IT REALLY IS TIME TO TAKE EWOOD BACK ONCE AND FOR ALL!

[Blue blood]

The current pricing initative if marketed further around Lancashire could have a huge impact on our gates, as it is far better value than any of our competitors. The £20 for 3 games is better value than pne in the championship for example, watching a higher level of football.

Wherever I have been, especially as a uni student, me and my mates will often go and watch the football for something to do. If it was known that Blackburn prices were as low as £20 for 3 games I'm fairly sure that most of them would come to ewood; the extra time and money spent on travel being more than offset by the ticket price - not to mention the better quality of the game. Another factor in deciding to go and see a team play is for the atmosphere - and with the darwin end full of rovers fans the atmosphere has been markedly better, and would be yet another pull factor for the club.

I really think that this should be the way forward for the club and could pull extra fans in from all over lancashire. Even just taking uni students into consideration - there's three uni campus which are reasonably close - plus another opening in burnley (I assume it won't have dingle fans in it - you still need some sort of intelligence to get into uni) which is another potential market of 50,000 people.

[tony gale's mic]

Yeah and I think success might breed success in this respect. If word gets round about Ewood picking up it'll make others consider starting to go again. I think low attendances can sometimes become a viscious cycle as less and less people want to go to a ground thats a third empty.

[gumboots]

Yeah and I think success might breed success in this respect. If word gets round about Ewood picking up it'll make others consider starting to go again. I think low attendances can sometimes become a viscious cycle as less and less people want to go to a ground thats a third empty.

Went in the club shop after the match yesterday and it was interesting to see the number of kids with parents in there. Many had doubtless come in on the cheap tickets offer but were then buying into the whoe experience of wanting shirts etc. It has helped that we have won both the cheap offer games so far but then that's a bit of a chicken and egg situation. would we have won without the extra support?

[chocky]

There are probably only 3 teams that fill the Darwen end...Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City...even then I seem to remember City did not fill it and Bolton's numbers have been down lately...take the miss to fill the bottom tier with Rovers fans...If we can make the Darwen end a hit with Rovers fans and a lot less noise from being full of Mancs it has to be worth it...

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Went in the club shop after the match yesterday and it was interesting to see the number of kids with parents in there. Many had doubtless come in on the cheap tickets offer but were then buying into the whoe experience of wanting shirts etc.

And that without a doubt could go some way to making up the difference of lowering match prices and losing gate money...increased revenue through merchandise,stadia catering etc throughout the course of a season.

I really do hope the club can find someway of making this happen...Ewood has been a much better place these last two games.

[JAL]

The current pricing initative if marketed further around Lancashire could have a huge impact on our gates, as it is far better value than any of our competitors. The £20 for 3 games is better value than pne in the championship for example, watching a higher level of football.

Wherever I have been, especially as a uni student, me and my mates will often go and watch the football for something to do. If it was known that Blackburn prices were as low as £20 for 3 games I'm fairly sure that most of them would come to ewood; the extra time and money spent on travel being more than offset by the ticket price - not to mention the better quality of the game. Another factor in deciding to go and see a team play is for the atmosphere - and with the darwin end full of rovers fans the atmosphere has been markedly better, and would be yet another pull factor for the club.

I really think that this should be the way forward for the club and could pull extra fans in from all over lancashire. Even just taking uni students into consideration - there's three uni campus which are reasonably close - plus another opening in burnley (I assume it won't have dingle fans in it - you still need some sort of intelligence to get into uni) which is another potential market of 50,000 people.

Precisely, good points Blue blood. Id like to think that this offer extends itself far wider than just to the Lancashire region but then dont think the club should'nt protitute itself to the world in offering this deal but just put it out in a very conservative manner and see what comes back through the gates( let the world come to you if they so chose and not you go cap in hand to the world).

Maybe John Williams might just have stumbled on something that hes been trying for years to achieve since he first came to the club that now puts him in a position to achieve that is growing the brand of Blackburn Rovers football club.

Whatever its created interest in something that was fast becoming boring and a bit of a turn off which can only be commended.

[stuwilky]

Interestingly, I know someone who isnt a Rovers fan who saw this offer and has been two the last two matches. They live in Lincoln.

[Ben-2000]

I agree that the atmosphere has been much better since Rovers fans have been in the Darwen End and it MUST continue... max 3,000 in the upper tier for away fans whoever they are. I'm sure Williams and Co are doing the Maths and next years prices should be interesting!

[Iceman]

The thing is, we dont normally fill the stadium so we losing money by not getting people through the gates. The 3 games for 20 pounds, means that we at least make some sort of money as well as getting more people into the stadium. More people brings a better atmosphere and this is a positive move by the club.

[dj54nna]

I think the Taking Back Ewood initiative has been an overall great success.

However, I ended up sat behind a couple of pretty unsavoury characters in the Darwen end on Saturday. Both had terrible personal hygiene, would not sit down and made various racist and 'Al Qaeda' based chants in the direction of some Asian supporters sat a few rows in front. They were easily within earshot of the copper stood at the top of the stairs and he did absolutely nothing.

It's a shame that cheap tickets are a big attraction for scumbags.

[chocky]

I think the Taking Back Ewood initiative has been an overall great success.

However, I ended up sat behind a couple of pretty unsavoury characters in the Darwen end on Saturday. Both had terrible personal hygiene, would not sit down and made various racist and 'Al Qaeda' based chants in the direction of some Asian supporters sat a few rows in front. They were easily within earshot of the copper stood at the top of the stairs and he did absolutely nothing.

It's a shame that cheap tickets are a big attraction for scumbags.

They are not only in the Darwen end mate...

[Ozz]

I hadn't thought about this problem until I came across it on Saturday. Unreserved seating sounds great, but when you have a five year old girl with you you need two seats together, and I would guess if you have more kids with you getting seats all in a row as it were may be even harder. I got two seats on row one, and of course the rain came down in biblical proportions at around 3.15pm on Saturday so we spent the rest of the first half under the stands!