If we do not go up.
What effect on season tickets sales will it have hopefully some plastics may go
Also to keep fans would the club offer the same as this season to keep people.
If we go up via play off would the club offer a discount to current season ticket holders as despite not getting automatic place, we are still up and still get the premiership money.
Thoughts?
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If we don't go up, i expect them to continue the offer again for next season.
I also expect a number of other teams to launch the offer this summer.
can I ask why you see this as a good thing?
they may not voice thier support as much as many on here or have been going as long but their money is as good as anyone elses. Today's plastic could turn into tomorrow's ultra given a few seasons.
Not sure i agree that it will be offered again. Its a fairly generous offer and with the new impetus of money I'm not sure I would like to have put £Xm into the club and then effectively give away £5m of its money. I assume that those who put the funds in are those that will make the decision. Added to the amount of conspiracy theorists (or arseholes) who think the club are actually stopping themselves getting promoted on purpose I'm sure they will be a long debate about it.
That being said, if we do fail to go up and ST's need to be bought it may show how many people genuinely care. We'll see.
Offering the same deal again would in fact be very, very smart, it will garuntee the club £3-4m whilst we are still in the fizzy pop league and really need the money, ok, so upon promotion the club will lose £3-4m but it won't be as important as the TV money will be in. Yes the club would be worse off, but it gets the money in when it's most needed.
They are just so fecking annoying as they are clueless to the club and its history etc etc blah blah blah and so depressing to listen to.
besides that i love them all
Brunello,
I can certainly see that from an investor point of view. But i really don't think they have much choice, and long-term implications probably weren't full considered 9-nine months ago when the offer was made.
Of course it will boil down to two factors:
1. The financial position of the club if we don't go up.
How desperate will they be for short-term cash ? how can they 'sell' to the supporters to get them to renew ?
What possible other offers could work to improve short-term cash ? A three-year season ticket, paid upfront with no increase in price on promotion ? A 'tracker' season ticket, where a cash fee paid now will lead to a percentage-discounted season ticket for a set number of years ?
2. How strong do they believe the current season-ticket holders committment is to renewing on no promotion ? Could the club afford not just the income loss, but the reputational damage a chunky fall in season ticket sales would bring ? There is no guarantee that when people give up a season ticket, they will still buy match tickets on a regular basis. As we have seen with away support, once people are out the habit, its hard getting them back into it on anything more than an ad-hoc basis.
Is our support-base as a whole as committed to the club as those at other clubs ?
Would falling crowds give the perception of a club on a downward spiral, rather than one seeking to grow stronger ?
agree with most of your other assumptions but for those that think it is not finacially viable I disagree. If we lost 5000 tickets in the Championship but sold 15000 rather than given them away in the premiership which one would bring the most money in? As I said the cash injection once alleviating the short term problems actually opens up the option of not renewing the offer. I suppose deep down I think they will it is not a foregone conclusion and not such a one sided argument as you and others put.
I suppose a lot of it will depend on the run in the first team have into the end of the season, as i genuinely think that will have a big impact on sentiment of the less comitted fans.
I'm sure everyone would be up in arms if their season tickets cost more than going match by match.
Hold on a minute.........
How much did I pay for my S.T. last year?
5/10 year deals, fixed prices, regardless of what division we're in, not all payable at once or by signing up to a DD, include for 'free' seasons etc etc.
Aye. I'm 99 per cent sure he said that.
There is always a danger in creating a precedent like this one that expectations follow.
In fact, the offer would be better value to the club in year two than in year one, because it has already banked the extra revenue from year one at no cost and now gets more extra revenue in year two. Over time that incremental income would exceed the cost of an eventual payout, although I accept the marginal benefit might fall year on year.
The point about expectations is a reasonable one. But so what if the case for the offer remains robust?
It would certainly play a part in our decision-making, as it did last year. It's quite a commitment to buy two season tickets, knowing that we will only get to about half the home games (from Scotland) - in the Prem it was a given, as then we knew we had seats at whichever matches it suited us to go to, even if the ground was sold out. Also when we couldn't make it, there were often other takers for the tickets anyway. That's all a bit different now, and the main reason currently in favour of keeping them is simply that they are good seats (and lucky ones so far this season). Plus, of course, our contribution to club coffers, but it's not always that easy to be generous just for the sake of it!
But next year the prospect of a paying Championship ticket as opposed to free Prem will I think lead to an even greater fall in season ticket sales. That may not be such a problem as last year but I think to maintain a push for promotion next year a further incentive/offer may be needed.
I honestly think the fact they offered it once was good enough, if I felt that us as fans had played our part this season then maybe we could expect it again. But without going over old stuff I really think we've been poor and don't deserve the deal. I'll always get a season ticket with or without free deals etc.
I was hoping to get my money back :-)
sorry, was in OZ when previously discussed !!!
I think prices in the East and West stands ranged from £500 to £525 this season (I'm pretty sure my ones were £500) while match day prices have generally been £20 - although I believe Preston was £15 and Palarse £25 which even out anyway.
On that basis 23 games at £20 avg is £460! So cheaper to go on a match by match basis rather pay in advance for ST. In addition I'm sure there are many ST holders who can't get to every home game because of work and holiday commitments etc who then miss games that they have paid for. (Not the case if you know you can't go and don't buy match day tickets)
In the Premier League there was obviously a pressure on seating availability hence the desire to keep better seats (or indeed get one for some games) but that is increasingly not the case in the Championship where attendance is very likely to fall still further after the current campaign.
I've had STs since Upton Park but I'm seriously considering buying on a match day basis for most games with the advantage (for me) of seeing games from different viewpoints around the ground as well as making a saving on the overall price plus the games that are missed by me or others (if pricing remains on a similar basis).