I see the new stand has been erected

[Dick Knights Mumm]

Let's just see how it all pans out. There are ways to fill seats even if you are not getting the full whack - and the generation required to fill Falmer will be getting to see games.

 

[British Bulldog]

If you want to sing from the club hymn sheet then Yorkie is certainly the lady to conduct you. I believe you can buy copies from the Seagull shop in Queens road.

The fact is that the club cant fill the seats it has and certainly wont in Div 1 so why bother, we are only meant to be at Withdean for another 2 years!!!! I would rather the money was spent on players.

So does'nt it make sense to start increasing the fanbase now before we get to Falmer?

I'm well happy the club have increased the capacity at the Withdean because it's given me the opportunity to take my 13yr old lad to watch the Albion.

Now he talks as much about the albion as he does about his beloved Chelsea and he wants me to get season tickets.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

We might well find ourselves in the playoffs again. Who is to say we won't. I am sure we could have filled the new Withers for the Swindon tie. For that alone it is worth the money spent.

Plus they can really push home and get students and more and more kids coming, in lieu of getting the next generation coming - pre-falmer.

The amount of kids watching at the Chelsea youth game, shows potential......

 

[Albion Dan]

NEWSFLASH - WE MIGHT NOT GET IN THE PLAYOFFS.

We might have 2 completely empty stands next season and we might struggle on the playing side because we gambled on a stand for only 2 seasons use when we already have spare seats, and neglected the playing side of the club.

 

[blockhseagull]

NEWSFLASH - WE MIGHT NOT GET IN THE PLAYOFFS.

We might have 2 completely empty stands next season and we might struggle on the playing side because we gambled on a stand for only 2 seasons use when we already have spare seats, and neglected the playing side of the club.

NEWSFLASH

We need to increase revenue...at least the extra seats MAY give us that chance

 

[Seagullible]

NEWSFLASH - WE MIGHT NOT GET IN THE PLAYOFFS.

We might have 2 completely empty stands next season and we might struggle on the playing side because we gambled on a stand for only 2 seasons use when we already have spare seats, and neglected the playing side of the club.

please top being so blinkered and negative. The extra seats WILL be used and ARE needed. There is a big gulf between Championship and League 1 and the squad we have would do well IF we went down. Some people just can't be happy can they

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

Albion Dan - you seem to keep repeating your point ignoring everyone else's responses. There is not a lot of point to it is there ?

 

[Grendel]

We might have 2 completely empty stands next season and we might struggle on the playing side because we gambled on a stand for only 2 seasons use when we already have spare seats, and neglected the playing side of the club.

Alternatively, we might not.

 

[British Bulldog]

Maybe certain people would prefer to stick with tried & tested supporters rather than invest in "one's for the future!"

"This is a local club for local people; you're not welcome"


The nimby's must love reading some of the stuff on here.

 

[Albion Dan]

If we had put the seats in last season or beginning of this I would have been in full agreement with the outlay, but the ship has sailed in my opinion, and we are going down. We are 2 seasons from a move to Falmer, AND WE ARENT SELLING THE SEATS WE HAVE!

The only way I can see how we would get a return on Investment is if we will be at Withdean longer!!!

I work in Commercial and I would never take a gamble on such a short period of opportunity to return investment when there isnt even the demand at present and the produce on offer is about to get worse.

If people cant see that argument then Im concerned.

 

[34064 Fighter Command]

If you believed some of the nonsense on this thread, then we might as well not build Falmer either, because, let's face it, we'll never fill it !

Isn't that exactly the arguement on Falmer Parish Council's website ?

Gate revenue is a vital cash stream to any club, and you have to have seats for people to sit in if you want to try to increase it. ( Unless you'd prefer the cost of the season tickets to go up instead ). More seats = more people = more gate revenue = bigger playing budget = better players = better football = more people etc etc..... I'm sure someone at the club is capable of doing the maths as to what level of occupancy & what ticket price is competitive to make them break even, or are you suggesting Martin Perry can't add up ?

 

[bhaexpress]

If we had put the seats in last season or beginning of this I would have been in full agreement with the outlay, but the ship has sailed in my opinion, and we are going down. We are 2 seasons from a move to Falmer, AND WE ARENT SELLING THE SEATS WE HAVE!

The only way I can see how we would get a return on Investment is if we will be at Withdean longer!!!

I work in Commercial and I would never take a gamble on such a short period of opportunity to return investment when there isnt even the demand at present and the produce on offer is about to get worse.

If people cant see that argument then Im concerned.

Well as you're an 'expert' tell us all how you invest with no capital, no assets and not much credit ?

 

[Seagullible]

If we had put the seats in last season or beginning of this I would have been in full agreement with the outlay, but the ship has sailed in my opinion, and we are going down. We are 2 seasons from a move to Falmer, AND WE ARENT SELLING THE SEATS WE HAVE!

The only way I can see how we would get a return on Investment is if we will be at Withdean longer!!!

I work in Commercial and I would never take a gamble on such a short period of opportunity to return investment when there isnt even the demand at present and the produce on offer is about to get worse.

If people cant see that argument then Im concerned.

Now you're being a fuckwit! They've been trying to get the seats in for a while but have had opposition whichhas delayed them being put in. These seats are vital to allow extra revenue so we CAN AFFORD players

 

[blockhseagull]

If we had put the seats in last season or beginning of this I would have been in full agreement with the outlay, but the ship has sailed in my opinion, and we are going down. We are 2 seasons from a move to Falmer, AND WE ARENT SELLING THE SEATS WE HAVE!

The only way I can see how we would get a return on Investment is if we will be at Withdean longer!!!

I work in Commercial and I would never take a gamble on such a short period of opportunity to return investment when there isnt even the demand at present and the produce on offer is about to get worse.

If people cant see that argument then Im concerned.

This is a decision that was made over a year ago..... not last f***ing week. The seats were needed and will be used so shut up

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

Why is nearly everyone assuming that the new seats wont be filled ? Putting in additional seating makes it easier for fans to get a ticket when previously they wouldn't have made any effort because of the application process - now rather than writing in for tickets they'll be able to book over the phone in more numbers than before. If we stay in the Championship we'll get near capacity crowds for some games e.g Pompey & Leeds. Even in League 1 our attendance figures maybe the same or better than they are for this season. As the away end only holds 900 approxiamately there could be 8 clubs selling out their allocation with another 5 or 6 bringing 500-750 fans with them next season if we were to be relegated. The club is building up a fanbase for the future so it makes sense to let the kids in now at bargain prices and fill the seats at Withdean so the momentum gathers for when they become paying adults at Falmer.

 

[blockhseagull]

Why is nearly everyone assuming that the new seats wont be filled ? Putting in additional seating makes it easier for fans to get a ticket when previously they wouldn't have made any effort because of the application process - now rather than writing in for tickets they'll be able to book over the phone in more numbers than before. If we stay in the Championship we'll get near capacity crowds for some games e.g Pompey & Leeds. Even in League 1 our attendance figures maybe the same or better than they are for this season. As the away end only holds 900 approxiamately there could be 8 clubs selling out their allocation with another 5 or 6 bringing 500-750 fans with them next season if we were to be relegated. The club is building up a fanbase for the future so it makes sense to let the kids in now at bargain prices and fill the seats at Withdean so the momentum gathers for when they become paying adults at Falmer.

Spot on, making it easy to obtain tickets whether it be by phone or online will help more people come and see the team..hence building up a bigger fanbase for falmer.

I know alot of people have questionned the away fans attendances may drop if we go down...however i have been disappointed by alot of clubs this season who have had poor away support, Reading, Leicester etc. So although they will obviously be lower it might not be as significant as people say

 

[Lady Whistledown]

What the club needs at the moment is to try and re-establish a bond with the thousands of fans who haven't bothered for a good few years because of the constraints of Withdean.

No other club in the league is in our position- they all have floating fans who might come along one afternoon if the weather's nice and the other half's gone shopping etc. When we played at the Goldstone, people could decide on the spur of the moment to go and watch a game, as they still do at most other clubs. They haven't been able to do that at Withdean for years, because of the capacity and ticketing requirements. Some fans have been drifting away from the club when, if it was any other team, they would have been converted to full time fans when we got promoted three times.

What the spare capacity allows us to do now is to go out into the local community and start building bridges- to say to people, hey, there are seats available, why not come down one day. Even if it's not the same people each week, they can target their marketing to recruit the lost generation, which they haven't been able to do for years because we had no spare places. They can advertise seats to people in different areas around Sussex, and to kids, for example.

We'll certainly need the extra fans at Falmer, so the club needs to be able to start recruiting now.

 

[blockhseagull]

What the club needs at the moment is to try and re-establish a bond with the thousands of fans who haven't bothered for a good few years because of the constraints of Withdean.

No other club in the league is in our position- they all have floating fans who might come along one afternoon if the weather's nice and the other half's gone shopping etc. When we played at the Goldstone, people could decide on the spur of the moment to go and watch a game, as they still do at most other clubs. They haven't been able to do that at Withdean for years, because of the capacity and ticketing requirements. Some fans have been drifting away from the club when, if it was any other team, they would have been converted to full time fans when we got promoted three times.

What the spare capacity allows us to do now is to go out into the local community and start building bridges- to say to people, hey, there are seats available, why not come down one day. Even if it's not the same people each week, they can target their marketing to recruit the lost generation, which they haven't been able to do for years because we had no spare places. They can advertise seats to people in different areas around Sussex, and to kids, for example.

We'll certainly need the extra fans at Falmer, so the club needs to be able to start recruiting now.

What is the capacity going to be when these seats are open?

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

I also think that the club should be promoting the fact that fans buying tickets over the phone can pick up their tickets from the collection point at Withdean rather than depend on the post. This is the nearest thing to a pay on the gate system and may encourage people to attend as a spur of the moment decision (as long as it is more than 2 hours from kick off time)

 

[London Irish]

If we had put the seats in last season or beginning of this I would have been in full agreement with the outlay, but the ship has sailed in my opinion, and we are going down. We are 2 seasons from a move to Falmer, AND WE ARENT SELLING THE SEATS WE HAVE!

The only way I can see how we would get a return on Investment is if we will be at Withdean longer!!!

I work in Commercial and I would never take a gamble on such a short period of opportunity to return investment when there isnt even the demand at present and the produce on offer is about to get worse.

If people cant see that argument then Im concerned.

The reality is though with the ongoing Lewes appeal delay, getting Falmer in two seasons is very unlikely, isn't it? We have to accept that even if things go well, we will need Withdean for 3 more seasons. That's a good opportunity to make extra revenue for the club.

And why do you keep coming out with this point that we are not filling the seats? We set a stadium record just a few weeks ago.

The progress on expanding the stadium was begun two seasons ago but was held up by political problems at the council. We have successfully fought through those problems and it would have been a strange U-turn by the club to give up halfway through that process.

If there is spare capacity next season, then this will be the opportunity for the club's commercial department to think of imaginative ways of selling them. We already have new family stand discounts, we could have student discounts and maybe school discounts. This is all an excellent preparation for when we face the same challenges at Falmer, and we will get an immediate pay-off from all the new fans that the club is creating.