Season tickets

[Bevendean Hillbilly]

Don't listen to Dave, he missed the Tranmere game because he was "Doing Something" with his missus, Methinks the little blue pill has opened up opportunities which he finds more appealing than sitting in H block in the freezing cold watching our lot trip over their own feet.

 

[Brighton Breezy]

I suppose its all down to how much you can screw out of the loyal fans who you know will buy a ST come what may, and give an incentive like a DVD, that is supposed to come out at Christmas and because the franking machine didnt work, comes out in the middle of January with Xmas offers and party details in it!

I just think it is not all about the cost anymore....I think people are genuinely fed up with the whole situation and are chosing to do something different - hense the crap gates. The really odd thing is that with the Falmer decision and supposed action on the tenderning side, people should be up and really positive....trouble is when you get loyal 1000%ers like Storer69 getting hacked off, then things are getting bad!

Agree competely.

I have seen far worse Brighton teams than this one and not been tempted to stop going until now.

I think the club has slightly over-estimated the number of people who will go regardless of incentives, price, quality of football, rubbish being touted in the press and how season ticket holders are treated.

I have just honestly had enough. Home games are now more of a chore than an experience I enjoy and I just can't justify forking out £400 plus for the pleasure.

 

[Publius Ovidius]

Don't listen to Dave, he missed the Tranmere game because he was "Doing Something" with his missus, Methinks the little blue pill has opened up opportunities which he finds more appealing than sitting in H block in the freezing cold watching our lot trip over their own feet.

No mate...tripping the light fantastic....

Every Monday and Tuesday night!!!

Football used to be my one and only hobby and I actually used to get excited looking forward to a game on a saturday or midweek.

I am really sad that that feeling has gone now...it may come back when we have a nice shiny new ground...but after 32 years of supporting them, we have found something else to do. - still go satdi's though.......

 

[Easy 10]

No sooner is your back turned though Dave, and Lord B is jumping in your phone-in seat. DISGRACEFUL behaviour.

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

There was a very interesting piece in the Argus last week - I didn't actually see it commented on here - where the Argus were asking people who still have their ST if they will continue to renew, and also asking people who had given up their ST why they had done so.

I gave up my ST this year - first yearwithout one since we came back to Brighton.

IMO the whole Withdean/match day experience is crap - if it was considerably cheaper and we were watching better football I might consider getting a ST again.

At the moment NO chance.

The club have to realise that whilst having Falmer on the horizon is great, many fans like me will pick and choose their games. Once you don't have a ST then you will go much less frequently, and if the team is crap, even less so.

 

[Bevendean Hillbilly]

No mate...tripping
Every Monday and Tuesday night!!!

Actually, Hallucinagens might enhance the Withdean experience, chomping your way through a bag of shrooms might make it seem like you are watching Pele captaining Brazil against Platinis France at the Nou Camp on a balmy summers evening rather than watching El Abd biting someones leg whilst Cox goes on a mazy 60 yard dash only to fall flat on his face on the edge of the 18 yard box under no pressure.

 

[portlock seagull]

I will run naked round the Withdean running track, stopping every 20 foot to let people throw darts at me if the club HALF the price of season tickets.
QUOTE]

Then this Bradford-style ticket arrangement is certainly worth campaigning for.....

 

[sully]

If season ticket prices are dropped dramatically now, what happens for the first season at Falmer?

I'm sure there'll be plenty of complaints if they double in price again. The club really have to be very careful here.

I no longer have a season ticket for many reasons. Part of that is that I don't enjoy the Withdean experience myself, so I don't want my kids to be put off supporting the Albion by thinking it's a boring afternoon / evening out.

 

[Gritt23]

I will run naked round the Withdean running track, stopping every 20 foot to let people throw darts at me if the club HALF the price of season tickets.

Suddenly, I'm hoping they keep the prices as they are.

 

[Gritt23]

I think one suggestion that I heard which is a pretty good one was that you could buy a Roving ST for the stand behind the goal......in other words, it is not seat specific ( which I think should be looked at at Falmer) but instead allowed you to take a mate/family etc and be able to sit by them.

With my current ST, if any of my mates were feeling specifically motivated to come along, they would end up down one end of the pitch and me the other.....having a roving ticket should alleviate that.

On another point, I would be interested to know just what the overall %age of home receipts are actually merchandising, food etc. I wouldn't have thought it was that huge.

Not a chance! Far too sensible.

Don't forget that football can't even manage a pay on the gate system these days. You either queue at a ticket office to buy a ticket before walking round the stand to hand it over at the turnstile (Yeovil) or you are allowed to actually hand cash over at the turnstile, but they still feel the need to hand you a ticket stub as you walk in for no apparent reason (Cheltenham).

Far more likely that an alternative to a set seat number would be some randomised row based on your initials and a seat number which is your weight multiplied by your age divided by the number of spanners in a B&Q deluxe tool kit.

 

[blue'n'white]

I like DTG's idea of the "roving" season ticket. Thats a very good shout buying a ticket for a stand as oposed to a specific seat. This would then enable more flexibility when a STH wants to take an occasional fan along, or a son/daughter to the odd game now and then and still be able to actually sit with them at the game.

Maybe the South Stand 'wings' could also accommodate the "Roving Season Tickets" (say blocks A & B and H & J). Sit where ya like, and anyone who buys a single ticket for any of those blocks can also sit where they want within those blocks.

Why WOULDN'T this work ?

Apologies if this has already been replied to (didn't read the whole thread) but I am sure that the League authorities would veto this. Their argument being that they "need" to know who is sitting where so that if there's an "incident" (throwing items, offensive chanting or whatever) connected with that seat they can seek out and punish the miscreant. With a "roving" season ticket - which I think is a good idea because people would get there earlier and spend more money at the club - you could not do this

 

[blue'n'white]

One other idea is if the board would give substantial discounts to those who paid early. Keep STs at this year's prices and then knock £150 off the price making the season ticket £320 for those who renew/buy before a certain date, £100 off if you renew/buy before the next date and £50 if you renewbuy before the next date and full proce if you renew/buy after all those dates. This would give the club increased money early to help the cash flow. I would love the club to cut prices to £200 but I very much doubt it'll happen.
Personally I don't know about next season - me and Mrs b'n'w have both got season tickets and £940 is a lot of moolah to shell out especially when you can't get to midweek matches. If it was say £640 and a guarantee of a choice of seat when we got to Falmer I think i would be very much more tempted.

 

[Al Bion]

...a guarantee of a choice of seat when we got to Falmer I think i would be very much more tempted.

I think this is one of the key things the club should do with this year's renewals - all those that renew their season ticket for next season should get guaranteed first pick of the seats at Falmer (behind current 3/10 year ticket holders).

Any that buy their first season ticket for next season or renew for the following season get second choice etc.

If we could introduce roving season tickets, or at least free seating in certain blocks, this would possibly help improve the atmosphere too as groups of mates could sit together.

 

[Gritt23]

Apologies if this has already been replied to (didn't read the whole thread) but I am sure that the League authorities would veto this. Their argument being that they "need" to know who is sitting where so that if there's an "incident" (throwing items, offensive chanting or whatever) connected with that seat they can seek out and punish the miscreant. With a "roving" season ticket - which I think is a good idea because people would get there earlier and spend more money at the club - you could not do this

But if that was the case you would never be allowed "unreserved seating" which we get at a lot of away grounds, so I'm not sure it can be against the rules.

 

[1066familyman]

Roving tickets ?.........Great idea !

The chief reason I ain't bought a ST is because I can't afford the lump sum ; great price for my U10 though @ £19 !, but the catch is, mine would be suuuubstantially more.
But also, because my mum comes along with us for most games but can't come to all, it would be awkward organising seating arrangements if me and my boy had season tickets but not my mum.

We've missed 3 home games so far this season ( Walsall, Cheltenham FAC replay, Huddersfield ) and will definitely miss Orient.
My boy has had 2 free tickets from Seagulls Club, and I organised Luton & Forest games on a group rate for his football team. Throw in Gillingham cheapy, JPT & FAC prices, and all in all we've had a good deal from the club.

Come the end of the season then, I probably wouldn't have saved much by buying a ST.
But at £200 with a 'roving' option.......I'd snap that up !

 

[Lord Bracknell]

I think in the Bradford case they had to sell so many for the discount to kick in.

So if the club were to say Season tickets at £200, but we have to sell 6,000 otherwise they will be say £300 if we sell between that and 4,500 or £400 if we sell less than 4,500. Then I am sure all STH's would be actively trying to pursaude other Albion fans to get a season ticket and would do much of the clubs advertising for them.

The problem with this approach is that the Club have a financial interest in NOT pushing season ticket sales.

6,000 season tickets @ £200 = £1.2 million

5,000 season tickets @ £300 = £1.5 million

4,000 season tickets @ £400 = £1.6 million

And the fewer that get sold, the higher the potential income from casual sales if we get a good run and start pushing for the playoffs.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

The other problem is that the Albion will still have to stump up around £70 a season ticket for the transport element that is built into the price. And don't forget VAT.

A £200 season ticket delivers only about £100 to the football club.

A £400 season ticket delivers about £270 to the club.

 

[Basil Fawlty]

I would definitely snap up a Season ticket for 200 quid, but I can't see it happening through.

 

[Jim in the West]

This is exact;y the debate that should be going on. Lord B makes some very valid points, but on the other hand:

2,000 STs @ avge £450 = £900,000
5,000 STs @ avge £250 = £1.25m

It's a big gamble, but if the club bit the bullet and offered STs @£250 for anyone who renewed/bought one pre April 30th, they could see a real rush, and get valuable cash in the bank. The prospect of watching the Albion for a tenner a game is VERY enticing, even to the waverers. The upside is that we could be watching the Albion in front of 7,000 plus next season - which would (a) go some way to re-creating the lost atmosphere, and (b) encourage a few more folk to buy a ST just in case they found they couldn't get a seat when they wanted to go. At £250 a throw, it wouldn't matter if you missed a few games.

I have a real fear that if ST prices continue in the £450+ bracket, there will be fewer than 2,000 ST holders next season.

Another option is to offer the £250 ST prices to (a) those who have STs this season, plus (b) those who go to at least 6 of the remaining home games this season - helping perhaps to put bums on seats in the last few months of this season.

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

I have a real fear that if ST prices continue in the £450+ bracket, there will be fewer than 2,000 ST holders next season.

QUOTE]


If that's the case the club is in BIG trouble, as I can see a price freeze, or even a 10 % Discount at best.

FOr me to get a ST again, the cost must average out at no more £15.00 per game and half of that for my 14 year old. At those prices I might think about it.