Crowds at Falmer

[Hova Seagull]

last night was the first Albion game I ve been to this season, and TBH the atmosphere was flat - plenty of empty seats too

I reckon with things settle down at Falmer we will average 10,500

 

[Blackadder]

Depends where we are and how we are playing.

Doing well in the Championship and you can probably double that figure!

 

[blue and white army]

We should sell out against Barcelona....

 

[patchamalbion]

We should sell out against Barcelona....

no,were get 10.500

 

[Hova Seagull]

Depends where we are and how we are playing.

Doing well in the Championship and you can probably double that figure!

there is a whole generation of Liverpool, Chelsea and Man Utd supporting kids in Sussex, and its a shame given the history of the club, a new stadium, a championship side and hopefully Brighton can win these locals kids back. It must be shite supporting Liverpool, Arsenal Chelsea & Co, when you are born and bred in Sussex - what affiliation do these kids have with clubs such as these anyway? unless dads a scouser or a Manc........

 

[blue and white army]

there is a whole generation of Liverpool, Chelsea and Man Utd supporting kids in Sussex, and its a shame given the history of the club, a new stadium, a championship side and hopefully Brighton can win these locals kids back. It must be shite supporting Liverpool, Arsenal Chelsea & Co, when you are born and bred in Sussex - what affiliation do these kids have with clubs such as these anyway? unless dads a scouser or a Manc........

Don't say that their proper fans, they never miss a game always watch their team home and away in the luxuary of their ARM-CHAIR. They love to parade around Brighton with their jersey's on on matchdays

 

[cheesy77]

if you look at hull's attendances, they were averaging between 4,000 and 7,000 in the decade leading up to the KC stadium opening. then they jumped up to 13,000 in the 1st year of the KC (when they were still league 2), and then 18,000 in league 1, and up to 20,000 in the championship.

tbh, it'd be disappointing if we couldn't match them!

 

[hopper_182]

there is a whole generation of Liverpool, Chelsea and Man Utd supporting kids in Sussex, and its a shame given the history of the club, a new stadium, a championship side and hopefully Brighton can win these locals kids back. It must be shite supporting Liverpool, Arsenal Chelsea & Co, when you are born and bred in Sussex - what affiliation do these kids have with clubs such as these anyway? unless dads a scouser or a Manc........

I agree, i understand that withdean isnt very appealing, especially to kids who see premiership, or even league 2 teams with better stadiums than us atm. i know we will get big crowds when falmer opens, i just hope it stays that way.

 

[Blackadder]

there is a whole generation of Liverpool, Chelsea and Man Utd supporting kids in Sussex, and its a shame given the history of the club, a new stadium, a championship side and hopefully Brighton can win these locals kids back. It must be shite supporting Liverpool, Arsenal Chelsea & Co, when you are born and bred in Sussex - what affiliation do these kids have with clubs such as these anyway? unless dads a scouser or a Manc........

There were kids supporting those sides in the 70s until the Bamber/Mullery era....I think we all know the gates at the Goldstone at the time.

Trust me. With a successful side with a decent ground. We will will fill it!

When I was at school. We all had our First Division sides in the early 70s but once the Albion took off we were all (well nearly all) 100% behind the Albion! (and we didn't even live in Brighton!)

 

[Hova Seagull]

I agree, i understand that withdean isnt very appealing, especially to kids who see premiership, or even league 2 teams with better stadiums than us atm. i know we will get big crowds when falmer opens, i just hope it stays that way.

in the next few years the Albion have to be really proactive marketing the club locally - for every kid under 16 let them in for a £5, with an adult, that way its affordable and you will get the next generation of fans interested in their local team again.

 

[Brighton Breezy]

if you look at hull's attendances, they were averaging between 4,000 and 7,000 in the decade leading up to the KC stadium opening. then they jumped up to 13,000 in the 1st year of the KC (when they were still league 2), and then 18,000 in league 1, and up to 20,000 in the championship.

tbh, it'd be disappointing if we couldn't match them!

I'd say Hull are a good yardstick for us. They got some decent crowds in the lower leagues with some innovative ticketing schems such as ladies nights (where I think women in a Hull shirt got in free, or for a quid or something). Result? 20,000 against OXFORD on a Tuesday night.

As long as we do a few decent deals we should aveage out ok. That said, we won't be getting 20,000 in League 1 other than maybe the first couple of games.

I would have thought 11,000 would be VERY good in League 1. 8,000 more realistic once the novelty has worn off.

Maybe add another few thousand for Championship depending how well we were doing. Particularly with bigger clubs who will start selling out away ends again.

 

[byf]

Always an interesting debate is this, so thought I'd stick my opinion in.

It really comes down to firstly what league we are in when it opens and going forward how were doing in that specific season......If its league one and when things settle down from the first 5 home games I can see on average about 7-10k if we were succesful.....obviously more for the bigger games.

In the championship....it will naturally grow....and at a guess I'd say an average of about 12-15k would be reasonable with again close to sell outs for the Palace & Pompey's of this world.

It's going to take at least a couple of years to see the potential.

It would be an amazing thing to see a packed out Falmer!

Also,a given rule for the club should be..........if any child turns up to a game in a United, Chelsea, Liverpool or Arsenal top......they get something like a free hat and scarf......the rule is they have to bin their kit they are wearing!

 

[The Grockle]

last night was the first Albion game I ve been to this season, and TBH the atmosphere was flat - plenty of empty seats too

I reckon with things settle down at Falmer we will average 10,500

I think your estimation is a little low. Mkdongs averaged just over 10,000 last season and they’ve effectively had to build their fan base form nothing. I expect that the attendances for the first 5-10 games to be pretty high and then average gates to settle at around 12000 for the first season. The test will be season two, especially if we are still in league one.

 

[Brovion]

there is a whole generation of Liverpool, Chelsea and Man Utd supporting kids in Sussex, and its a shame given the history of the club, a new stadium, a championship side and hopefully Brighton can win these locals kids back. It must be shite supporting Liverpool, Arsenal Chelsea & Co, when you are born and bred in Sussex - what affiliation do these kids have with clubs such as these anyway? unless dads a scouser or a Manc........

Even back in the 1960s kids (in Lancing anyway) all supported Brighton and a 1st division club. And it was pretty much the same as now: Chelsea, Man U, Spurs, Arsenal, Liverpool and Everton. Perhaps nowadays you'd get more Arsenal and less Everton but the principle's the same. And yes, a lot of those grew up and as adults continued to support their 'big' team over the Albion.

Anyway, yes, crowds at Falmer, always good for a debate. I personally don't attend matches at Withdean (unless I get a free ticket) because, bad fan that I am, I don't enjoy sitting on a chair in the cold in a largely, open and soulless stadium and watching poor football - and paying £24 for the privilige. Now there's three factors there: the environment, the football and the price. Change any one of those and the chances of my attending games goes up considerably. Change two and I'd be an almost definite punter; after all, I might be a bad fan but I'm still a fan. I don't think I'm alone in having this view.

EDIT: I'm ignoring any ticketing and transport problems for the purposes of this debate.

 

[Commander]

Even back in the 1960s kids (in Lancing anyway) all supported Brighton and a 1st division club. And it was pretty much the same as now: Chelsea, Man U, Spurs, Arsenal, Liverpool and Everton. Perhaps nowadays you'd get more Arsenal and less Everton but the principle's the same. And yes, a lot of those grew up and as adults continued to support their 'big' team over the Albion.

Anyway, yes, crowds at Falmer, always good for a debate. I personally don't attend matches at Withdean (unless I get a free ticket) because, bad fan that I am, I don't enjoy sitting on a chair in the cold in a largely, open and soulless stadium and watching poor football - and paying £24 for the privilige. Now there's three factors there: the environment, the football and the price. Change any one of those and the chances of my attending games goes up considerably. Change two and I'd be an almost definite punter; after all, I might be a bad fan but I'm still a fan. I don't think I'm alone in having this view.

EDIT: I'm ignoring any ticketing and transport problems for the purposes of this debate.

Excellent post.

 

[Danny-Boy]

I am concerned that the posted crowds published now, count season-ticket holders as a "given" whether they turn up or not.

In other words crowds are always "season-tickets plus however many pay outside or through the turnstiles" for the game in question.
I believe this is a tactic that many clubs have used to boost their alleged attendances, the sight of many ground TV highlights shows a staggering number of empty seating in even the Championship matches.

I know it would be difficult to record how many season-ticket holders actually turn up, but it does give a misleading impression, IMHO.

 

[Ecosse Exile]

I am concerned that the posted crowds published now, count season-ticket holders as a "given" whether they turn up or not.

In other words crowds are always "season-tickets plus however many pay outside or through the turnstiles" for the game in question.
I believe this is a tactic that many clubs have used to boost their alleged attendances, the sight of many ground TV highlights shows a staggering number of empty seating in even the Championship matches.

I know it would be difficult to record how many season-ticket holders actually turn up, but it does give a misleading impression, IMHO.

I remember when we regularly had big gates at the Goldstone and we were convinced they used to knock a few thousand OFF, to keep the taxman at bay.

You would be standing there shoulder to shoulder unable to move and the tannoy would say that todays attendance was 20-odd thousand in a ground that held 30-odd thousand.

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

EDIT: I'm ignoring any ticketing and transport problems for the purposes of this debate.

The location of the stadium will negatively impact on our crowds imho. It's all been said on here before, but the Gallstone was in a fantastic location and of course you could just turn up and pay on the day, both factors which maximised home crowd potential. It remains to be seen how many will regularly make the 'trek' to Falmer.

 

[Titanic]

I know it would be difficult to record how many season-ticket holders actually turn up, but it does give a misleading impression, IMHO.

No it wouldn't... we have to hand our ticket stub in like every one else.

 

[Napper]

Also,a given rule for the club should be..........if any child turns up to a game in a United, Chelsea, Liverpool or Arsenal top......they get something like a free hat and scarf......the rule is they have to bin their kit they are wearing!

I'd prefer an absolute kicking for the adult they are with