An interview with Paul Barber

[Clive Walker's slaphead]

Put the cost of the travel up. Why should the club fund the cost of you getting to a game. Many are travelling from Worthing etc - how much would a train ticket from Worthing to Falmer cost under normal circumstances. A lot more than a bloody quid.

 

[Gazwag]

It is not rocket science and exactly what should be done then those that cannot prove it pay accordingly.

Glad I do not have a free bus pass as a pensioner as BHAFC respond by saying f*** you pay our travel tax regardless.

But of course you are perfectly happy to accept the fact that everybody else pays to subsidise your children s season ticket(s), maybe the club should just charge everybody a full price would that be fairer.

 

[Weststander]

The bottom line would be how much your ST will cost next season. It's that time of year where all our bills go up and yet looks like another year of pay rise freeze or just 1% pay rise. Most of us will renew and may moan about it, however there will be a few who will be priced out of a ST, the club will need to get the cost right or risk not filling the ground.

I fully agree with you and have said a lot of similar points on nsc before.

Normally everyone disagrees as there do seem to be lot of affluent nsc albion fans who would cough up whatever the club charges.

But the £8m loss changes everything.
No way should TB subsidise losses like that, on top of spending £100m of ultimately his own cash on the amex and lancing.

So its over to us now.

 

[Buzzer]

i didnt, you can pin the rap for that one on the spanish.

My Catalan girlfriend will like that. She hates the Spanish* - and the fact that Brighton fans go ape about our Spanish contingent when 2 are Catalan, 2 are Basque, 1 is Valencian and that Leo bloke God only knows where he's from. Argentina? Spain? El Dorado? Del Monte?



*the country, not the Millwall supporting all round good egg on here. I'm sure she'd like him.

 

[Weststander]

But of course you are perfectly happy to accept the fact that everybody else pays to subsidise your children s season ticket(s), maybe the club should just charge everybody a full price would that be fairer.

Not a subsidy.
Required to create a fan base for the future, otherwise Sussex kids will end being just tv fans of PL clubs.

 

[Clive Walker's slaphead]

Come off it - all clubs and in fact anyone in the entertainment business charges less for kids than adults

 

[pottert]

The cost of a season ticket was raised by £30 last season to incorporate the fact that the travel voucher was not being used.so am I to believe that the £95 I pay for a coach & the £30 that my st was increased by set to increase again

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Yes. The longer journey is also £1.20 cheaper.
They can check tickets at Lewes but no chance at Brighton.
It's not my fault you live in Plumpton or wherever.

I don't live in Plumpton. I live in Firle and travel in by train from Glynde (where the travel voucher isn't valid). This means I have to pay £1.85 (with a railcard and online discount) for my ticket from Glynde to Lewes and back. The travel voucher from Lewes to Falmer (and return) saves me precisely 20 pence on the rail fare. Am I complaining? No.

 

[drew]

So all this talk relates to the year 2012, ie our first year at falmer in a 22k stadium. The capacity will go up by an extra 8k so based on an average price of say £30, that is an increase in ticket revenue of £240k per match or £5,520,000 per season (23 games). I believe the I read somewhere that the average spend on concessions per ticket was about £10 so that is an extra £80k per game or £1,840,000 per season. A total of £7,320,000. Not far off the deficit but then we should be getting a better shirt sponsorship deal. Not particularly scientific calculations and no doubt there are many other factors, eg additonal staff costs for the extra 8k as well as the ongoing loss for transport. But is the situation as black as some people are painting it?


Alternatively, if I'm missing something bleeding obvious then perhaps someone can point that out?

 

[Weststander]

So all this talk relates to the year 2012, ie our first year at falmer in a 22k stadium. The capacity will go up by an extra 8k so based on an average price of say £30, that is an increase in ticket revenue of £240k per match or £5,520,000 per season (23 games). I believe the I read somewhere that the average spend on concessions per ticket was about £10 so that is an extra £80k per game or £1,840,000 per season. A total of £7,320,000. Not far off the deficit but then we should be getting a better shirt sponsorship deal. Not particularly scientific calculations and no doubt there are many other factors, eg additonal staff costs for the extra 8k as well as the ongoing loss for transport. But is the situation as black as some people are painting it?


Alternatively, if I'm missing something bleeding obvious then perhaps someone can point that out?

Remember one sixth of everything you've guesstimated goes to hmrc in vat, and wont reduce losses.

 

[8ace]

I don't live in Plumpton. I live in Firle and travel in by train from Glynde (where the travel voucher isn't valid). This means I have to pay £1.85 (with a railcard and online discount) for my ticket from Glynde to Lewes and back. The travel voucher from Lewes to Falmer (and return) saves me precisely 20 pence on the rail fare. Am I complaining? No.

So you should be all in favour of my scheme then
I've now decided it should only be free on the train between Brighton and Falmer, that way the club don't have to give any money to FCC (GE and FGW as well maybe). I'm also scrapping the Stagecoach subsidy.
f*** me I'm good at this, I've already saved the club loads of money - maybe I should waste Paul Barber's time by emailing him about my idea

 

[drew]

Remember one sixth of everything you've guesstimated goes to hmrc in vat, and wont reduce losses.

True, so one sixth of £7.2m will take it down to £6m which gives an annual loss of £2m not accounting for any increases in tv revenue, shirt sponsorship etc.

As I said, the picture isn't as black as painted. Not ideal, but far from as black.

 

[El Presidente]

True, so one sixth of £7.2m will take it down to £6m which gives an annual loss of £2m not accounting for any increases in tv revenue, shirt sponsorship etc.

As I said, the picture isn't as black as painted. Not ideal, but far from as black.

You've assumed we will have 30,000 turning up for every match, we won't.

 

[drew]

You've assumed we will have 30,000 turning up for every match, we won't.

I know that but I'm making the point that the picture is not as black as it is being painted.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

So you should be all in favour of my scheme then

No. Your scheme will simply reduce the number of people travelling to games by public transport and clutter up the roads.

 

[Wozza]

Come off it - all clubs and in fact anyone in the entertainment business charges less for kids than adults

Chelsea don't. Not for one-off matches, anyway.

 

[8ace]

No. Your scheme will simply reduce the number of people travelling to games by public transport and clutter up the roads.

Don't agree with that at all, with everyone I know the fact that public transport is "free" doesn't influence their choice of transportation one bit.

 

[User removed 4]

Chelsea don't. Not for one-off matches, anyway.

For away fans or home fans , they certainly charge less for kids for home fans .

 

[Brovion]

Don't agree with that at all, with everyone I know the fact that public transport is "free" doesn't influence their choice of transportation one bit.

It does me. I usually walk down from Fiveways and catch the 25 bus from the vogue gyratory and make the return journey afterwards. I do this because it's 'free'. There is no way would I pay the extortionate in-city bus fares to do the same journey, especially as the service isn't door-to-door. I would drive/be driven. (As I do if I'm picking tickets up from the ground as the standard buses won't accept proof of purchase as a travel voucher - although the P&R buses do).

 

[Papa Lazarou]

My tuppence worth:

I have a rail season ticket from Worthing (well Chichester) to Croydon (soon to be extended to zones London 1-6 at great cost) and I'm happy to pay extra to support the cost of travel to Falmer.