2024/25 Season Tickets

[TheRevAshton]

I recall that season ticket prices were discussed during the secret meeting with Swag and a few of the senior players recently... do we think there's any chance that he's taken the feedback on board, and will offer prices more reasonable for the area?

What do you expect the prices to be this year? Of course, the league we are in will be a big factor.

If we stay up, i'd hope for the maximum adult ticket price to be £350 - in the JW Upper. £299 in the Riverside, and somewhere in the middle for the JW Lower and BBE. Though that's probably dreamland stuff with Waggott running the show...

Edited April 9 by TheRevAshton

[JHRover]

If, after the shenanigans of the last couple of seasons, the Club had any concern about attendances (which it damn well should given the numbers) then there's no ifs or buts, prices should be cut in all areas and for this to have any serious impact on the numbers turning up this would require adults to be no more than £300 plus a serious sustained push at trying to tempt people to buy.

As you say, dreamland stuff, not because it isn't possible, Nob end and Notlob have proven that it is possible and that it does work, but here we will be lucky to get prices released before June (as usual one of the latest to get them on sale, thus shortening our sales window) and we know for a fact there is going to be zero serious or imaginative approach to increasing sales other than the usual tired efforts

'We're committed (and getting paid a load for it) Are you?'

So combine expensive prices, poor quality product, no ambition to do anything other than survive and cut costs, a short purchasing window and disgraceful conduct by the owners and their underlings = another drop in numbers signing up.

[tomphil]

That horse has bolted they've missed the chances yet again presented to them by a couple of seasons over achieving.

After this season and the nonsense off the pitch again next season is a hard sell even with 20 quid knocked off early bird.  People have seen through the bullshit and know the only intention at this club by those running it here and owning it over there is to tread water year by year.

No other ambition apart from the filling squad with youth to keep costs lower so it would take one hell of a radical price cut to boost numbers.

Otherwise aside from hanging on to as many of the hardcore as possible minimal discounts and gimmicks won't have mass appeal.

[lraC]

One thing I would suggest, is buying a season ticket using your credit card. That way you are covered under the consumer credit act, should something go wrong and you don't get what you paid for.

[Miller11]

27 minutes ago, JHRover said:

If, after the shenanigans of the last couple of seasons, the Club had any concern about attendances (which it damn well should given the numbers) then there's no ifs or buts, prices should be cut in all areas and for this to have any serious impact on the numbers turning up this would require adults to be no more than £300 plus a serious sustained push at trying to tempt people to buy.

As you say, dreamland stuff, not because it isn't possible, Nob end and Notlob have proven that it is possible and that it does work, but here we will be lucky to get prices released before June (as usual one of the latest to get them on sale, thus shortening our sales window) and we know for a fact there is going to be zero serious or imaginative approach to increasing sales other than the usual tired efforts

'We're committed (and getting paid a load for it) Are you?'

So combine expensive prices, poor quality product, no ambition to do anything other than survive and cut costs, a short purchasing window and disgraceful conduct by the owners and their underlings = another drop in numbers signing up.

In our two latest sets of accounts PNE brought in £3.8 million in matchday revenue. In the same period Rovers total was £5 million. I believe this was the first year that Preston heavily reduced their early bird tickets.

There has to be a sweet spot that we definitely aren’t at yet, but I don’t think that there’s any way we’d double the amount of season tickets sold by halving the price. It’s certainly easier to make a case for a more dynamic and out of the box pricing structure than big reductions across the board based on those figures.

[Mattyblue]

And what is this dynamic, out of the box pricing if it isn’t a reduction?

[Miller11]

22 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

And what is this dynamic, out of the box pricing if it isn’t a reduction?

Cheaper tickets in certain undersubscribed areas, flexible tickets for those who can’t make all games, family discounts, added value products for those happy to spend more, etc

[Dreams of 1995]

One of the issues at Rovers is that due to the stadium always having room there is little option to sell the match day ticket if they can't attend

At Aston Villa, season ticket holders can sell their match ticket through the club for the same price as a walk on. Plenty of ST holders I know are willing to keep paying their full ST even though they know they can't attend. You list it on the website and then get 80% of the match fee

Other than reducing prices, there's little else Rovers can do until the demand increases

I suppose we could offer a flexi-ticket, where you can choose a number of games per season. We know we are likely not to sell out and so we could do this relatively risk free

Family discounts could be good

Maybe even increase the children go for free range. All under 15s accompanied by an adult go free. That could help

Really, the product just has to improve. It ain't going to happen under Steve Waggott. I think this year will be a disaster

[wilsdenrover]

4 minutes ago, Miller11 said:

Cheaper tickets in certain undersubscribed areas, flexible tickets for those who can’t make all games, family discounts, added value products for those happy to spend more, etc

I wonder whether the turnstile technology would allow for a season ticket which costs (say) £100 and then you’re charged (again say) an additional £15 each time you actually use it?

I also wonder whether any of that makes any sense whatsoever 😄

[Miller11]

1 minute ago, wilsdenrover said:

I wonder whether the turnstile technology would allow for a season ticket which costs (say) £100 and then you’re charged (again say) an additional £15 each time you actually use it?

I also wonder whether any of that makes any sense whatsoever 😄

We have proposed almost exactly this - effectively a “pay as you go” season ticket.

[Mattyblue]

13 minutes ago, Miller11 said:

Cheaper tickets in certain undersubscribed areas, flexible tickets for those who can’t make all games, family discounts, added value products for those happy to spend more, etc

Interesting ideas, and I’d have no issue in the club trying any of them - but none of those would move the dial anywhere close to a simple reduction in ST prices, as STs make up a substantial majority of our bums on seats and crowds ebb and flow on the back of the numbers sold.

 

Edited April 9 by Mattyblue

[Miller11]

1 minute ago, Mattyblue said:

Interesting ideas, and I’d have no issue in the club trying any of them - but none of those would move the dial anywhere close to a simple reduction in ST prices, as STs make up a substantial majority of our bums on seats and crowds ebb and flow on the back of the numbers sold.

 

The question is would say a £100 reduction move the dial sufficiently to maintain the level of income we currently have? 

[wilsdenrover]

3 minutes ago, Miller11 said:

We have proposed almost exactly this - effectively a “pay as you go” season ticket.

What was their initial reaction to your proposal? 

 

[wilsdenrover]

Just now, Miller11 said:

The question is would say a £100 reduction move the dial sufficiently to maintain the level of income we currently have? 

The answer to which is easy to assert through some basic market research.

They have done that, haven’t they??…

[superniko]

1 hour ago, tomphil said:

That horse has bolted they've missed the chances yet again presented to them by a couple of seasons over achieving.

After this season and the nonsense off the pitch again next season is a hard sell even with 20 quid knocked off early bird.  People have seen through the bullshit and know the only intention at this club by those running it here and owning it over there is to tread water year by year.

No other ambition apart from the filling squad with youth to keep costs lower so it would take one hell of a radical price cut to boost numbers.

Otherwise aside from hanging on to as many of the hardcore as possible minimal discounts and gimmicks won't have mass appeal.

Yeah I agree, prior 2 years saw our best opportunity to restore the base but the clown in charge as always got it wrong (here buy a 5 game bundle instead where you can save £1)

Like you say, why would anyone want to part with their hard earned to these muppets who have cocked up 3 consecutive transfer windows by not doing their job properly even though they realistically work a handful of days a year. 

[Mattyblue]

Just now, Miller11 said:

The question is would say a £100 reduction move the dial sufficiently to maintain the level of income we currently have? 

My gut feeling right now? No. With the club at such a low ebb, I doubt we’d sell substantially more than we have now.

Reductions ideally need to take place when there’s a bit of momentum around the place (or you’re in the PL and they’ll sell like hot cakes as per c2009).

Last summer after a decent season in league and cup would have been the time. This summer, good luck trying to flog good numbers at any price.

[tomphil]

Pay as you go sounds good but also suicide business sense unless it is offered to newbies only.

Half the existing ST base would probably plump for that then not turn up if we are shite or on telly or it's howling it down on a Tues night in Oct.

The only real and proven way as plenty other clubs have shown is to make a whopping early bird discount over a decent period, a decent signing and not selling your best player would also help. Yes it might mean a hit but you've got to take that and forwarding thinking it could have been subsidised.

In the grand scheme of things it's not a massive amount of money when you consider a decent cup run brought in an unexpected extra 1 mill or so.  Terrible signings also like Fleck need ironing out that money would've subsidised a few thousand young adult tickets. 

As i think we can see though the incentive of those in office at Ewood is to protect their wage and hit certain targets which if exceeded my trigger a nice bonus.

 

Edited April 9 by tomphil

[MarkBRFC]

43 minutes ago, wilsdenrover said:

What was their initial reaction to your proposal? 

 

"We'll look into it"

[wilsdenrover]

12 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

"We'll look into it"

I almost included that in my post 😄😄😄

[Miller11]

48 minutes ago, wilsdenrover said:

What was their initial reaction to your proposal? 

 

It was part of a bigger presentation with various ideas, some were better received than others and hopefully some will be incorporated.

The basic gist of it was:

- Need for entry level priced tickets in under occupied areas (limited number, very cheap)

- Slight reduction to standard ST price

- No change/slight increase to premium ST price

- Removal of barriers to stop people buying one (alternative to finance company backed DD, pro rata prices available into the season without deadlines)

- Additional benefits for those willing to pay more (the exact wording being instead of milking the hardcore offer them something extra), we suggested a number of “bolt ons” that could be sold with a ST

- Family discounts throughout the ground

- New category for U8s

- Flexi/PAYG tickets - a lot of discussion here particularly as we will have even less Saturday 3pm kick offs next year, and there is obviously a need to make sure a full season ticket remains more cost effective

[TheRevAshton]

25 minutes ago, Miller11 said:

It was part of a bigger presentation with various ideas, some were better received than others and hopefully some will be incorporated.

The basic gist of it was:

- Need for entry level priced tickets in under occupied areas (limited number, very cheap)

- Slight reduction to standard ST price

- No change/slight increase to premium ST price

- Removal of barriers to stop people buying one (alternative to finance company backed DD, pro rata prices available into the season without deadlines)

- Additional benefits for those willing to pay more (the exact wording being instead of milking the hardcore offer them something extra), we suggested a number of “bolt ons” that could be sold with a ST

- Family discounts throughout the ground

- New category for U8s

- Flexi/PAYG tickets - a lot of discussion here particularly as we will have even less Saturday 3pm kick offs next year, and there is obviously a need to make sure a full season ticket remains more cost effective

It's a start! Assume we're still likely to be looking at ~400 for an Adult ST.

Hopefully the Family discounts are taken up and are decent, I have 2 Adult and 2 Kid ST's to buy when they drop!

Edited April 9 by TheRevAshton

[Mattyblue]

Appreciate your efforts, Miller, but those proposals are tinkering around the edges and won’t move the dial.

Following on from a piss poor season at the bottom end of the second division (we’ve won one Saturday game at Ewood since October) and still big ST prices, you just aren’t going to see crowds increase, as we won’t be selling more STs than the present 9k (I’d actually be happy with that figure next season after this shambolic campaign, well, maybe not ‘happy’, but I’d just be relieved that sales hadn’t fallen off a cliff).

A substantial reduction in prices and/or success on the pitch is the only thing that could lead to c11/12k+ sales… and we won’t be seeing either under this regime.

Edited April 9 by Mattyblue

[roverblue]

Any goodwill from existing paying fans has been burnt by Waggot and Venkys so they will lose rather than gain fans in summer I think.

Maybe if they invest in some good players and we get off to a good start there is a flurry of ST sales late in the summer.

£250 in the riverside and free tickets for u15s with a paying ST holder (like PNE do) would be a good start. Gets the younger crowd in and converts them to paying fans later in life.

Given the shambles on and off the pitch though I'm not sure even that would get more through the door, especially if we flog Sammy early doors.

[Miller11]

3 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Appreciate your efforts, Miller, but those proposals are tinkering around the edges and won’t move the dial.

Following on from a piss poor season at the bottom end of the second division and still big ST prices, you just aren’t going to see crowds increase, as we won’t be selling more STs than the present 9k (I’d actually be happy with that figure next season after this shambolic campaign, well, maybe not ‘happy’, but I’d just be relieved that sales hadn’t fallen off a cliff).

A substantial reduction in prices and/or success on the pitch is the only thing that could lead to c11/12k+ sales… and we won’t be seeing either under this regime.

Obviously success on the pitch is the main driver and the only thing that will significantly increase gates.

If, and it’s a big if, we sell 12k season tickets at £250 a pop we’d bring in less ticketing revenue than we do now. Obviously there is an argument to be had about additional income (average spend of 2-3 quid a head on the concourses with the bulk going to Sodexo), and the intangibles like better atmosphere (although would 12k season ticket holders make that big a difference?), plus would we just end up cannibalising our walk ons?

There’s no magic wand that can be waved to automatically double our attendances overnight, apart from maybe promotion, that includes drastic price reductions. It’s a long term rebuilding job that has definitely become more difficult this summer.

[superniko]

I wonder what the contract with Sodexo is.

If they had half a brain between them, then there would be a clause depending on ST sales i.e. if we sell 8k, 10k, 12k, 15k+ season tickets we should be getting different income from Sodexo. It's bad enough they just offload all that to any old 3rd party, but financially it gives us no incentive to have more people in the ground if it's just a fixed fee regardless.