Quick question, why don't the club give tickets away to schools and stuff every week? Surely its better to have empty seats filled and the school children will obviously want drinks, chips, chocolate etc bought for them.
It does (games like Millwall apart). Typically this is 1,000 to local primary schools and 500 allocated through the community trust. We've been doing it at this level since 2010, and it's manageable, although usage is about half for Saturday games and less in midweek.
The problem if you go much bigger than that is that you create so many unwanted free tickets washing around in the community that they end up in the hands of people who would pay and they begin to devalue season tickets. The more comps the bigger the risk of that, hence the schools offer has been structured and is rotated.
The home full price match sale for Saturday will have been about 3,000 at best - probably fewer, given the opposition and the home results/performances.
Add to that the 2,000 for aways and people attending on various offers (which is high for the latter but possible) and a gate of 20,000 requires the club to have issued a minimum 3,500 comps, probably closer to 4,000.
In terms of extra spend from people who get in free, it's worth having but nothing like what people imagine. Unlike tickets, there is a significant cost of sale on food, etc, and many people don't spend anything. We always worked on the assumption of £1 per head profit (from the people who turn up). But it may well be a bit more for kids.
Glad the freebies have been "structured" whatever that means in practice. About five years ago I didn't buy a ST because I had a schoolteacher mate who got me freebies to about 70% of games. His school got about 30 tickets I think and managed to give away between 2 and 5 each week! If that's typicall it makes you wonder about the attendance inflation. Happy days for me though. Shite seats (generally North Lower very low down by the corner flag) but saved me a few bob. And I seldom bought anything inside the ground, parasite that I am. Sadly he moved schools. Club has made enough out of me before and since though so I don't feel guilty about it.
The total amount of the instant jackpot is approximately equal to about 5% of the crowd for a game, so multiply that number by 18 to 20 and you will get close to the official crowd number.
Personally, I'm not really bothered whether they announced the true 'attendance' or not. It is for the benefit of the club if they get new investors in. Pointless criticizing anyone for it.
The lower North was really packed mostly parents with kids but hopefully we have harvested some future Addicks. But 20,000? perhaps a few were disguised as red seats!
Glad the freebies have been "structured" whatever that means in practice. About five years ago I didn't buy a ST because I had a schoolteacher mate who got me freebies to about 70% of games. His school got about 30 tickets I think and managed to give away between 2 and 5 each week! If that's typicall it makes you wonder about the attendance inflation. Happy days for me though. Shite seats (generally North Lower very low down by the corner flag) but saved me a few bob. And I seldom bought anything inside the ground, parasite that I am. Sadly he moved schools. Club has made enough out of me before and since though so I don't feel guilty about it.
Structured means, for example, one match will go to Greenwich schools, the next to Bexley, then Bromley, then Lewisham, then NW Kent, then Tower Hamlets. There is a bias to Greenwich and Bexley, in particular, but no school should get tickets more than twice a season, unless they come via the trust, who also have to account for them. Obviously that may change if very large numbers of extra comps are issued to boost the attendance figure.
over 20,000?? only in some Orwellian nightmare or added up on a north korean abacus. Publishing numbers like that just makes the club look preposterous. If they are obliged to publish tickets issued then call it tickets issued and don't put it up on the screen for ridicule
Being an idiot I left my season ticket at home and had to buy another ticket to get in which I hope to have refunded eventually.
Does that mean I'm counted twice being season ticket and ticket on the day?
If yes then there might be others, admittedly not many probably, too.
Left my ticket at home for the Wendies game, send my form off within the seven days, still waiting for the cheque, money must be tight at the club.
I did the same thing away to Huddersfield a couple of seasons ago, managed to ring the Huddersfield ticket office on the way to check i could buy another ticket at the ground, luckily they gave me one for free due to me already having purchased a ticket and what i chose to believe was my charming personality(im not a yob) ;-)
Comments
The problem if you go much bigger than that is that you create so many unwanted free tickets washing around in the community that they end up in the hands of people who would pay and they begin to devalue season tickets. The more comps the bigger the risk of that, hence the schools offer has been structured and is rotated.
The home full price match sale for Saturday will have been about 3,000 at best - probably fewer, given the opposition and the home results/performances.
Add to that the 2,000 for aways and people attending on various offers (which is high for the latter but possible) and a gate of 20,000 requires the club to have issued a minimum 3,500 comps, probably closer to 4,000.
In terms of extra spend from people who get in free, it's worth having but nothing like what people imagine. Unlike tickets, there is a significant cost of sale on food, etc, and many people don't spend anything. We always worked on the assumption of £1 per head profit (from the people who turn up). But it may well be a bit more for kids.
Does that mean I'm counted twice being season ticket and ticket on the day?
If yes then there might be others, admittedly not many probably, too.
Left my ticket at home for the Wendies game, send my form off within the seven days, still waiting for the cheque, money must be tight at the club.