wasn't under the Richardson and Glover regime had staff that was milking the employment and took money way and above their value for money, this was the problem and reason for where we are now recovering from them said years, yes its amazing how fans can have the wool pulled over the eyes me included

You cannot compare Leeds Utd with SL as a product (Superleague always comes first for me) but regarding pricing - I paid £27 for a family stand ticket against Wigan Athletic on Boxing day and only £21 in the South Stand against Birmingham on Saturday. Seating at Cas Tigers and WTW is £24. Not much difference IMO.

I also went to Elland Rd on Boxing Day and paid £32 for my ticket, after watching the game my genuine assessment of the value of what I'd watched would be about £3.20.

The comparison with ticket prices at football is a false one and is a red herring. LUFC (for example) vary ticket prices by game and the quoted price of £32 is probably what would be charged to away supporters. But actually if you want to look at football there is an example of how clubs make season tickets work for the fans - they provide "value" (over paying on the gate) and encourage loyalty by providing fringe extras and getting people to attend every game. Personally I would need paying to attend but you can see how powerfully football clubs use their season ticket schemes. I am not sure how much LUFC season tickets are but I presume they start at about £400-£500.

For example, my colleague has a Bradford City season ticket (forget the standard of football for now) which cost under £200 and that gets him into around 20 games, which would cost ~£20 per game should he pick and choose. That's a significant saving over paying on the gate and attending the majority of games. On top of that, once a couple in a group of friends get a season ticket then others follow suit.

Putting aside the "true die hard fans" that would buy a season ticket "come what may" to support the club, the real issue is keeping the viewers we got when we were selling more tickets because they were cheaper. Small increments might have been the way to go to keep people on the season ticket "treadmill". A sharp increase tends to focus people's minds into making a decision whether to continue or not. At current pricing there is not a significant saving over paying on the gate, especially if there is a good chance that you may miss a couple of games and the club also has a history of discounting tickets for lower category games to get more through the turnstiles.

From my point of view, I was willing to get a season ticket at the early bird price (even though I tend to miss a couple of games) but the person I attend with was not. His decision was based on the "OAP" concession as he is 60-65. Whether I think he is right or wrong is irrelevant and he won't change his mind, therefore I haven't renewed either as we have always gone together. It's not a massive decision for me as I tend to miss a few games for various other commitments and both of us will continue to support the club, buy shirts and pay on the gate. In my mind that doesn't make us lesser fans, we are just doing what suits our circumstances.

I don't think the season tickets should be "on the cheap" but I think they are currently too highly priced to sway those floating fans who may/may not buy a season ticket. There is also the sheep mentality where one buys, some others may do too but this also works in reverse when people choose not to renew.

maybe you should have gone to headingley boxing day then

Apologies WTID, you seem to have issues far beyond the price structure of the new season tickets and for any fan to be turned away from the club, for whatever reason, is never a good thing.
The club has been through massive amounts of turmoil and change ever since I started watching in '88 and the financial issues under the Richardson era and then under the Glover regime have certainly caused damage which will take many years to repair and some of the changes under the new management haven't always been well received.

Mind you, I still don't get football over RL !

I have to agree here - I paid £220 for my season ticket but I already know of 2 home games I will miss. So I now get 12 (or maybe 13) games for my £220. If a couple of those games are discounted to get fans in (as has happened in the past), or if I end up missing another one then I'll be no better off than if I'd paid on the day.
I'm happy to pay in advance and take the risk but there's a lot of people out there who aren't. For the club, getting the guaranteed income in advance has a big advantage but there's a real balancing act to be done to maximise that advantage.


For me the way to go on Students and 60-65 concessions would have been:
Students - They are the future and we need to keep them coming so a student discount should still have been available (£150 maybe - based on £10 per game), but NUS card produced at time of purchase and shown on the gate.
60-65's - This may have been a tricky one to manage (given the state of our customer database) but anyone who had a discounted season ticket last year and fell in the 60-65 bracket should continue to get a discount (advertise it as a loyalty bonus so there is no accusations of discrimination), all those who were 59 last year and therefore paying full price, continue to do so until they are 65 (not ideal but could have worked)

Good post. When i picked my ST up not long before the deadline in November i was told sales were 'around 1500', so i'd guess by now given the end of the deadline and xxmas 2K would be about the figure. Can't see too many buying now at £250, it just isn't worth the pay out up front for the saving gained. The jump in prices this year was a big one when you remember that the previous years early bird offer was £150 before rising, a near 50% jump to £220 will have put some existing holders off straight away, it so very nearly did me. When you throw in the concession removals and what is a pretty sp 'benefits' package that comes with it then it's no surprise that numbers are down. I said at the time the prices were released i expected income from sales to be much the same but numbers to be down. MC replied he thought that wouldn't be the case and would be very disappointed if so. I guess he now knows just how tough a job it is to get people through the gates. Personally i'd have gone for a £199 ticket for existing holders when renewed within 6 weeks and kept the concessions in place, make it look like they gave a damn about loyalty, it is a two way street. They could have then risen the price to £225, then £250. My guess is there will be a slight average decrease in attendance again this year. If the team is successful then it may well pay off in walk up fans and rise (although ticket offers may be needed for that, lessening the ST value again) but if we struggle then the budget is going to be tested. I've said it before but for reason both on and off the field getting off to a poor start is not an option. We need to hit the ground running.

Isn't there anybody else out there who just buys a season ticket because it helps the club? Any benefits are just a bonus.
For yonks I used to just pay match by match as I thought the extra income benefited the club. It was only when Eric France offered that extra payment if we bought tickets before the £million game with Cas (when we didn't know what division we would be in) that I switched to season ticket.

I don't think the majority of people think exactly like that tbh.

My view is that the "extras" I pay for are my way of helping the club - such as paying into the lottery (I don't know anyone who has been on the winners list yet), buying the shirt, purchasing food and drink in the ground rather than outside, buying away tickets through the club where I can etc etc.

However with the wider fan base, the goodwill element will only get the club so far.

Don't forget the free games for Academy

Are you sure the academy games are included this time , but then again the academy players are still the same as last season (on the clubs web site ) so do we have one next season

I wonder if a number of have 'defected 'to Cas' in search of glory.
There was always, in days gone by, the 'floaters' who would follow the more successful of the three clubs .
My Granddad was one in the 50's and 60's,changing in particular between Fev' and Trinity.