Quote: Phuzzy "So your solution to dwindling crowds is to alienate a large proportion of our loyal fanbase in favour of a demographic who have amply shown that they stop following (if indeed they ever followed at all) at the drop of a hat? In addition, how many new fans would actually fork out £20+ quid a match or a few hundred for a season ticket because there was a bar they could go to before the game? I'd put that number somewhere around zero. Meantime the club loses thousands every week supporting a half empty facility instead of a thriving, well supported, all-inclusive one just to satisfy the vanity of people like yourself who think they're somehow a special case by virtue of being younger than someone else.
Great business plan.'"
I'm not in that age demographic. I have however noticed how much it is missing from the stands.
Let's assume that none of the existing loyal fanbase felt in any way alienated by the existing provision that has kept them coming for the last few years and wouldn't immediately leave because an additional facility has opened up, alongside the existing facilities that they clearly have found adequate up til now.
Let's also assume that the marketing department at Wigan has been tasked with some kind of response to the dwindling crowds.
PART of that solution might be to look at the matchday experience, no? I find it odd that anyone would object to attempts to engage/re-engage with non-attending supporters and looking at doing things differently to maybe encourage them to purchase firstly a one off and then as a result attending more regularly.
If the actual plan of the fanzone is to just to attract the pre-match income from drinkers that already use the South Stand Bar or concourse then that's their call and will make some impact on club revenue, but I'd like to think there's a wider plan to it all.
