[Archived] Season Tickets and Stand Closures

[only2garners]

Still think we are seeing gate numbers massaged upwards for all sorts of reasons.

IMV, we have had a number of games where attendances have been sub 10,000.

I also suspect games are played with season ticket numbers which I think are overstated by the creation of free season tickets to be used at the club's discretion ('ghost tickets') eg count as part of the gate!

Find it difficult to believe anything that comes out of Ewood Park these days.

Like just about every other club Rovers' attendances include all season ticket holders whether or not they come to games on the entirely logical basis that they are tickets that have been sold. So every Rovers home game this season has started with over 10,000. Add away fans and match day sales and the declared numbers sound about right to me. Of course if you don't believe that 10,000+ STs have been sold then you will be suspicious.

[Mike Graham]

Like just about every other club Rovers' attendances include all season ticket holders whether or not they come to games on the entirely logical basis that they are tickets that have been sold. So every Rovers home game this season has started with over 10,000. Add away fans and match day sales and the declared numbers sound about right to me. Of course if you don't believe that 10,000+ STs have been sold then you will be suspicious.

When did Rovers start counting ST holders please o2g? It must have been very recent (ie. in the last 2 or 3 years). Also I do not know any other clubs who do this.

I believe the ST sales by the way....I also worry for next season given the number of the ST holders who have given up mid-season due to the tripe on offer at Ewood,

I know quite a few who have given up 100% on it until the lunes go . .. Simpler

True

[AndyNeil]

It appears though that a hell of a lot more have stopped going this time around, at least 5-6000 more than last time,

the reason seems pretty obvious to me.

don't mind admitting when I get it wrong and to be fair, that's a good point.

[West Yorks Rover]

Yes true. If they'd have (or been able) to sack that p##### after relegation I think we'd have retained a few thousand more and have similar to Bolton who lost 5k on relegation.

Well you have a point there, that 'Gangster's fag' certainly cost us a fair few.

[McClarky]

Interesting comments from Rangers shareholder, Sandy Easdale:

Asked whether they would be in sufficient number in order to sustain Rangers in the short-term, Easdale said: "We've got all the numbers; me and [chief executive Graham Wallace] are confident and the board's quite confident that we'll meet those numbers.

"To answer the question, some of the fans will say when I answer it that, that it's blackmail or we're putting them into emotional blackmail.

"But I would say that, in 140 years, a lot of boards and directors came and went but there's only been one club.

"If you're loyal and you support the club, then come out and support the club. It doesn't matter who's running the club or who wants to run the club; the main thing is the loyal supporters need to come out, by a man, and stand by the club.

"That's what the club's been built on: loyalty."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27142340

Could similar be applied to Venky's tenure? Emotional blackmail or not, football clubs are ultimately based on loyalty of their supporters.

Rangers have only been in existence for about 2 years though, they have won no major trophies and have only played in the lower leagues. The old club was liquidated and no longer exists.

[only2garners]

When did Rovers start counting ST holders please o2g? It must have been very recent (ie. in the last 2 or 3 years). Also I do not know any other clubs who do this.

I believe the ST sales by the way....I also worry for next season given the number of the ST holders who have given up mid-season due to the tripe on offer at Ewood,

I don't know for sure but I've been on the Fans Forum since 2007 and they were doing it then. And as far as I know the vast majority of professional clubs do the same.

[Tom]

You'd think it would be easy for them to get the actual number now though, in fact they will know it instantly now it's all electronic

[Stuart]

Rangers have only been in existence for about 2 years though, they have won no major trophies and have only played in the lower leagues. The old club was liquidated and no longer exists.

Maybe in some legal document somewhere but the supporters are still the same people.

Supporters make the club, ergo it's the same club.

[Mike E]

You'd think it would be easy for them to get the actual number now though, in fact they will know it instantly now it's all electronic

In fact it'd be EASIER to just count the attendees than it would to figure out which are ST holders and which aren't and come up with a total.

[Stuart]

By eye.

[West Yorks Rover]

By eye.

By eye.

It's the buggers that keep moving around while you're trying to count em that mucks it up.

[Baz]

In fact it'd be EASIER to just count the attendees than it would to figure out which are ST holders and which aren't and come up with a total.

With electronic counting it makes no difference, the count will take seconds to actually do its not like they have season ticket stubs to count is it, just count the number of season tickets plus the number of non season ticket tickets sold. (I imagine they'll count the fans who have bought a one-off ticket but not turned up in the numbers too.)

[Paul]

I understand the police have to be given the accurate attendance during the game in case of emergency.

The club know the real numbers regardless of what is published.

[McClarky]

Maybe in some legal document somewhere but the supporters are still the same people.

Supporters make the club, ergo it's the same club.

Wish it was, then they could pay off some of the other clubs and local businesses who they ripped off during their existance and failed to repay as the club was liquidated. Not to mention the millions they owed the taxman.

[stanhillrover]

Announcing the attendance as the number of tickets sold rather than the actual number inside the ground is something done across the country.

I've been to Arsenal and Man Utd many a time where there are hundreds, even thousands, of empty seats yet they announce it as a capacity crowd. Why? Because they have some season ticket holders who don't even bother turning up for some games, yet still get counted.

When we played Leicester away this season on a Tuesday night they announced a crowd of 20,000+. No way on this earth was that accurate. I've often been on Stanley this season for midweek games or when Rovers haven't been playing and thought their attendance figures were well wide of the mark as to the actual crowd.

Don't think its fair to make out its just some desperate attempt by Rovers to fabricate the actual attendance. Lots of clubs do it.

[only2garners]

Arsenal's declared average attendance this season is just over 60,000, about 300 under capacity. It's pretty obvious just watching on TV that that's not the actual attendance for many games.

[AggyBlue]

It's all a far cry from the days of 'pay at the turnstiles' when crowds always seemed to be declared as much lower than the actual

[ABBEY]

Or selling your tear out ticket and blagging another at nuttall st office

[thenodrog]

It's all a far cry from the days of 'pay at the turnstiles' when crowds always seemed to be declared as much lower than the actual

That cos of one or two 'Directors' turnstiles.

[Tom]

According to a tweet I've just seen from sporting intel Rovers have had the biggest decrease in average attendance (33%) from relegation season to the following one of any relegated club in the last 10 years

https://twitter.com/sportingintel/status/459758654972256257

[perthblue02]

According to a tweet I've just seen from sporting intel Rovers have had the biggest decrease in average attendance (33%) from relegation season to the following one of any relegated club in the last 10 years

https://twitter.com/sportingintel/status/459758654972256257

Taking the positives Tom, at least we had only the second worst % drop in income after Portsmouth

[levi]

It's all a far cry from the days of 'pay at the turnstiles' when crowds always seemed to be declared as much lower than the actual

I was just about to post the exact same thing!

in the old second division days people were always saying the club was announcing attendances lower when we had a big crowd to avoid paying tax

how times have chaned

[JAL]

A couple of questions to the fans forum people,

How much money has been spent on stadium maintenance during Venkys reign ?

What immediate plans do the club have to repairing the rapidly crumbling foundations to the Riverside.?

[tomphil]

A couple of questions to the fans forum people,

How much money has been spent on stadium maintenance during Venkys reign ?

What immediate plans do the club have to repairing the rapidly crumbling foundations to the Riverside.?

Don't bring that up it'll give the knitted jumper one the ammo he needs to close it.

[JAL]

Don't bring that up it'll give the knitted jumper one the ammo he needs to close it.

Who's the knitted one ?

Theres a big cost outlay required on the ground regarding the Riverside stand so the question has to be are these owners committed to repairing, maintaining and even improving Ewood Park if they are committed long term to Blackburn Rovers football club