season tickets

Quote: pocket 4's "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.'"

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.