[Albion] ESU and WSU open for Coventry game

[kingcole]

ESU = 955 (32 of which are WC seats on the wings)
North = 24 (all are front row/WC seats)
WSL = 8 (all are front row/WC seats)
ESL = 22 (of which 18 are family only and of these 12 are front row/WC)

So, only 926 seats for sale with no disability/age restrictions.

Wonder why our less mobile fans are skipping this is such high numbers?

 

[Hotchilidog]

Everyone who wants a ticket for this game should get one, so I imagine the level of promotion has been just fine.

Anyone who thinks this should have been a quick fire sell out is mistaken. I'm hopeful the ESU will sell out this week which will give us a fairly healthy 23-25K crowd for this tie.

The decision to open the ground in a piecemeal fashion is perfectly understandable from a cost point of view imo, given the reduced fan interest in the cup over the last few years. The pace of ticket sales thus far seems to support the club's stance.

 

[Perry Milkins]

Does anyone know what the weather is going to be like and do they have any uncouths who could scare me with bangers?

They do not have as many really tough guys as Palace. Remember Palace give it large to Millwall, ourselves, Charlton and Bromley FC. They are really very good fighters and know how to wear a hoodie and Balaclava ( Palace that is). In the case of the latter I think Gregory Porter is an Ultra.

They sing good songs as well and make a good noise..whoooa, woa...

I did not go to the Cup game as I knew they would run amok in the town as they are really tough. I mean how frightening.

 

[B.W.]

The club have definitely ****ed up on this one... would like to see an apology... I won't...

 

[Moshe Gariani]

Everyone who wants a ticket for this game should get one, so I imagine the level of promotion has been just fine.

That doesn't make a lot of sense.

I'm not sure McDonalds would measure their sales strategy on the basis of being happy if everyone who wants a Big Mac can get one.

 

[B.W.]

ESU = 955 (32 of which are WC seats on the wings)
North = 24 (all are front row/WC seats)
WSL = 8 (all are front row/WC seats)
ESL = 22 (of which 18 are family only and of these 12 are front row/WC)

So, only 926 seats for sale with no disability/age restrictions.

Wonder why our less mobile fans are skipping this is such high numbers?

Car parking probs?

 

[Perry Milkins]

The club have definitely ****ed up on this one... would like ton see an apology... I won't...

I suspect most England cricketers would as well

 

[B.W.]

Everyone who wants a ticket for this game should get one, so I imagine the level of promotion has been just fine.

Anyone who thinks this should have been a quick fire sell out is mistaken. I'm hopeful the ESU will sell out this week which will give us a fairly healthy 23-25K crowd for this tie.

The decision to open the ground in a piecemeal fashion is perfectly understandable from a cost point of view imo, given the reduced fan interest in the cup over the last few years. The pace of ticket sales thus far seems to support the club's stance.

No it doesn't... if they'd opened the ESU earlier, we would have got more ticket sales... ergo, the club ****ed up...

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

I can't see that the WSU will open now.

Of the £18 ticket fee, £4 is travel levy and VAT also needs deducting.

So I doubt opening the WSU would break even at this point.

Any waiting for WSU to open should #DropTheNerve and buy now.

 

[Bozza]

I do find the lack of promotion mystifying. We have a great opportunity to get to the quarter finals for only the third time in our history and yet I can't recall getting any recent emails about tickets. The most recent official tweet I could find was on Feb 2nd and you have to go back to the same date to find a news article on the official website. I appreciate the appeal of the FA Cup is not what it was, but couldn't they try a bit harder?

No doubt there will be some promotion later this week, but Monday morning for a lot of people is a "getting things done" time and a few timely social media reminders this morning could have added "Get Coventry tickets" to a lot of peoples to do lists.

Avenues available to the club that, as far as I can see, they make no use of whatsoever:

- NSC - seriously - buy that big banner at the top for a week. It won't cost much and it will be shown approaching a million times. That the club have never actively looked at NSC as an advertising solution, yet have repeatedly paid The Argus just strikes me as bizarre, even putting my obvious bias aside.

If they're lazy, they could just have this: https://nortr3nixy.nimpr.uk/content.php?713-Test on every single NSC page.

- Facebook re-marketing. Upload the email address of every fan who has NOT bought a ticket to this game and allow FB to market to them. Highly targeted, yet cheap.

- Facebook re-marketing 2: Upload the email address of every STH who has only bought one ticket to this game and allow FB to market to them: "You can buy three more tickets!" Highly targeted, yet cheap.

- Instagram. Use the story feature EVERY SINGLE DAY to reference that Saturday's game is genuinely historic. Don't just upload crappy phone snaps, use some of the design/marketing talent in the club to produce some bespoke imagery for it. "Tickets available NOW - swipe up to buy" - you drive the users straight into the ticketing site.

- Snapchat - as above. Use the story feature to drive home the significance and the price.

 

[Moshe Gariani]

The club have definitely ****ed up on this one... would like to see an apology... I won't...

Something a bit like this from Swansea to their fans...?



"WITH SWANSEA CITY’S ALLOCATION OF AWAY TICKETS SOLD OUT FOR THE FORTHCOMING PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURE AT BRIGHTON, THE CLUB HAS RECEIVED NUMEROUS QUERIES REGARDING THE SALE PROCESS.

The club appreciate that a number of supporters were disappointed to miss out on the opportunity of making their first trip to the Amex Stadium, so we would like to clarify the process.

As is the case with all away fixtures, the club is offered various allocation options, normally varying between approximately 1,000 and 3,000 tickets depending on the capacity and segregation layout of the stadium in question.

Once the club confirms its first preferred option, it could have the commitment to pay for all the tickets whether they are sold or not, depending on the opposition club in question.

The club also has the option of increasing its allocation within a set period of time, if it did not take the full allocation at the first request.

Again, the club usually has to pay for the majority of unsold tickets if it does not reach a minimum sales level set by the opposition club.

The club looks at many factors when deciding its preferred option. This includes the number of tickets sold for the previous fixture between the two clubs; the significance of the game; the travelling distance and the general trend of away tickets sold so far during that current season.

It is not an exact science, but the club uses its best endeavours to satisfy expected demand from supporters, while also trying to limit any losses from unsold tickets, especially as the club already subsidises away tickets by £10 each for Jack Army member to the tune of around £300,000 per season.

In reference to the Brighton game, the club had the allocation options of approximately 1,100; 1,850; 2,550 or 3,000 tickets.

The club chose 1,100 as its first option safe in the knowledge that it could increase the allocation by a set time.

Once the club saw we were closing in on selling the 1,100 tickets, we increased our allocation and commitment to 1,850.

One month prior to the fixture date, the away club is required to provide their final ticket commitment. At the time we needed to make our final decision, our ticket sales were around 1,200 and, as such, the final option we chose was 1,850.

Based upon historical data and ticket sales trends, we believed the remaining available tickets would meet the required demand.

When the second option of Brighton tickets sold out, the club requested a further allocation, but the deadline had passed and Brighton, quite rightly, had already started to sell the additional capacity to home fans.

Despite all the data and research described earlier we used to reach our decision, the club recognises that in hindsight we got this one wrong. We underestimated the desire of our supporters to make their first trip to the Amex Stadium and the number of fans who chose to purchase tickets later than usual in the sales process.

As a result, the club apologises to supporters who have missed the opportunity of making the trip to support Carlos Carvalhal and the squad.

The club is constantly reviewing its processes and will carry the lessons learnt from the Brighton fixture into future decision-making."


#Don'tHoldYourBreath

 

[Peter Grummit]

I can't see that the WSU will open now.

Of the £18 ticket fee, £4 is travel levy and VAT also needs deducting.

So I doubt opening the WSU would break even at this point.

Any waiting for WSU to open should #DropTheNerve and buy now.

There are also logistical issues about opening WSU this late in the day. For example, ordering enough beer. Imagine the bunfight on here if there was no beer in WSU!

PG

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

I like the fact that they (Swansea) admit they got it wrong......

 

[kingcole]

Something a bit like this from Swansea to their fans...?



"WITH SWANSEA CITY’S ALLOCATION OF AWAY TICKETS SOLD OUT FOR THE FORTHCOMING PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURE AT BRIGHTON, THE CLUB HAS RECEIVED NUMEROUS QUERIES REGARDING THE SALE PROCESS.

The club appreciate that a number of supporters were disappointed to miss out on the opportunity of making their first trip to the Amex Stadium, so we would like to clarify the process.

As is the case with all away fixtures, the club is offered various allocation options, normally varying between approximately 1,000 and 3,000 tickets depending on the capacity and segregation layout of the stadium in question.

Once the club confirms its first preferred option, it could have the commitment to pay for all the tickets whether they are sold or not, depending on the opposition club in question.

The club also has the option of increasing its allocation within a set period of time, if it did not take the full allocation at the first request.

Again, the club usually has to pay for the majority of unsold tickets if it does not reach a minimum sales level set by the opposition club.

The club looks at many factors when deciding its preferred option. This includes the number of tickets sold for the previous fixture between the two clubs; the significance of the game; the travelling distance and the general trend of away tickets sold so far during that current season.

It is not an exact science, but the club uses its best endeavours to satisfy expected demand from supporters, while also trying to limit any losses from unsold tickets, especially as the club already subsidises away tickets by £10 each for Jack Army member to the tune of around £300,000 per season.

In reference to the Brighton game, the club had the allocation options of approximately 1,100; 1,850; 2,550 or 3,000 tickets.

The club chose 1,100 as its first option safe in the knowledge that it could increase the allocation by a set time.

Once the club saw we were closing in on selling the 1,100 tickets, we increased our allocation and commitment to 1,850.

One month prior to the fixture date, the away club is required to provide their final ticket commitment. At the time we needed to make our final decision, our ticket sales were around 1,200 and, as such, the final option we chose was 1,850.

Based upon historical data and ticket sales trends, we believed the remaining available tickets would meet the required demand.

When the second option of Brighton tickets sold out, the club requested a further allocation, but the deadline had passed and Brighton, quite rightly, had already started to sell the additional capacity to home fans.

Despite all the data and research described earlier we used to reach our decision, the club recognises that in hindsight we got this one wrong. We underestimated the desire of our supporters to make their first trip to the Amex Stadium and the number of fans who chose to purchase tickets later than usual in the sales process.

As a result, the club apologises to supporters who have missed the opportunity of making the trip to support Carlos Carvalhal and the squad.

The club is constantly reviewing its processes and will carry the lessons learnt from the Brighton fixture into future decision-making."


#Don'tHoldYourBreath

What a great statement. If I was a Swan fan I would be totally understanding of their clubs reasoning on this. It was great to see them say sorry too.

Well, thanks to Swansea, we now know what allocations are offered to away fans and when they to decide by.

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

Avenues available to the club that, as far as I can see, they make no use of whatsoever:

- NSC - seriously - buy that big banner at the top for a week. It won't cost much and it will be shown approaching a million times. That the club have never actively looked at NSC as an advertising solution, yet have repeatedly paid The Argus just strikes me as bizarre, even putting my obvious bias aside.

If they're lazy, they could just have this: https://nortr3nixy.nimpr.uk/content.php?713-Test on every single NSC page.

- Facebook re-marketing. Upload the email address of every fan who has NOT bought a ticket to this game and allow FB to market to them. Highly targeted, yet cheap.

- Facebook re-marketing 2: Upload the email address of every STH who has only bought one ticket to this game and allow FB to market to them: "You can buy three more tickets!" Highly targeted, yet cheap.

- Instagram. Use the story feature EVERY SINGLE DAY to reference that Saturday's game is genuinely historic. Don't just upload crappy phone snaps, use some of the design/marketing talent in the club to produce some bespoke imagery for it. "Tickets available NOW - swipe up to buy" - you drive the users straight into the ticketing site.

- Snapchat - as above. Use the story feature to drive home the significance and the price.

Are you after a job?

 

[Bozza]

Are you after a job?

Not at all, no.

I am genuinely bemused at how the club operates at times though.

 

[Hotchilidog]

That doesn't make a lot of sense.

I'm not sure McDonalds would measure their sales strategy on the basis of being happy if everyone who wants a Big Mac can get one.

Why doesn't it make sense. You can still buy tickets for the game. Demand has not yet been exhausted?

If the whole ground was opened at the outset, there is little evidence to suggest this game would have sold more tickets than have currently been sold.

No-one is being prevented from going to the game. If you are an Albion fan and have been before you will be aware the game is on and you will make your mind up accordingly to go or not.

As I understand it Coventry will be getting a share of the ticket revenue, as will the FA, so with a reduced ticket price featuring a £3 travel subsidy (which the club take the total hit on) the Albion are not set to make an awful lot of extra cash from ticket sales, yet their costs will stay the same. It seems logical to me.

My only issue with a reduced capacity would be if it clearly prevented fans who wants to go from going. We have yet to reach that point. As it happens we are set to get a pretty decent crowd.

 

[timbha]

No it doesn't... if they'd opened the ESU earlier, we would have got more ticket sales... ergo, the club ****ed up...

yes, but how many more sales and would they justify the additional costs, shared profit with Coventry, etc? I'm astonished that people leave it so late to get their ticket and then expect prime seats - I bet they never queued up at the Goldstone or indeed Withdean for tickets on the day of sale.

I genuinely believe that there's a cohort of fans who look for any excuse not to part with their money. There are no bad seats at the Amex

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

Not at all, no.

I am genuinely bemused at how the club operates at times though.

Tongue was firmly in cheek.

Agree, IMO if the whole ground had been opened up from the beginning, at the prices they are charging, at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon, against a club who will bring 4,500 supporters, it would have been close to a sell out by now.

 

[Peter Grummit]

I like the fact that they (Swansea) admit they got it wrong......

For all his undoubted merit, this is the one thing you won't ever get from Barber. Or @Trigaaar.