Hypothetical question regarding the Amex and season ticket sales.

[seagullsovergrimsby]

That would be 30k though, thats more than several established Premier League clubs get already. Lets not get TOO carried away.

By the time we get into the Premier League we will already be running coaches to home games from Kent , Hampshire , Surrey and South London though.

 

[Sheebo]

Croydon Seagull - I was going to ask a very similar question.

Mine was basically do people feel we'd have sold out had we been mid table and not on the verge of the championship. My thoughts are that we 100% still would have sold all season tickets - just due to the stadium being so impressive. Everyone's been talking about the stadium for about a year now - the duccess on the pitch and garuntee of going up has only happened recently - bearing in mind presentations and the huge uptake in STs started after xmas when promotion was nowhere near assured.

 

[grummitts gloves]

Millwalls stadium is decent !

Colchester is a probably the lowest of the the new ones. If we built something similar then no

Chesterfields is ok though for a "basic" ground and if we did a bigger version of this then I reckon there would still be a massive buzz but prob less demand

Even the bowls which while uninspiring still tick alot of box's and if we had say a smaller St Marys , compared to Withdean I think people still would of been going mad for it.

I agree, Millwalls ground does look decent, but nowhere near as good as The Amex, a truly beautiful design of a football stadium. Maybe because of the way it fits the landscape. It will take something special to match it.

 

[Smithy]

I was in Stanmer Park earlier and the stadium looked so impressive. I just stared at it in awe for ages. It's stunning design is obviously going to have an effect on people wanting to go, hence more ST's sold.

 

[Freddie Goodwin.]

We've been waiting for this for so long and it's been a fight that most sports fans in Sussex have either been involved in or taken more than a passing interest. The stadium is a big story on it's own, when was the last time the City of brighton & Hove really built anything to compare?

At the start of the season, when we had no idea how the team would pan out, the 'Falmer feever' was already there. I think we would have still sold very well wherever we finished in this league. the ground was our holy Grail, promotion was an added bonus.

In all this long wait, i've seen grounds thrown up in a few months and it was a huge frustration that ours would take so long to build however, it soon became apparent that our's is something special and it's ours. Hard to believe, eh?

 

[clippedgull]

Assuming an average season next year in the Championship I wonder how many renewals will be made? Will the 12 month DD interest free option still be there? It was always going to sell out this first season, that could be judged pretty early on when the corporates sold out months before they thought they would and 400 more corporates had to be added to the East Stand which have also sold out.

 

[tubaman]

For the coming season it is the stadium AND the style of play (and results) that has created so much interest. The season after next will be the real test. The Amex will not be so new and shiny so it will be down to the team and how well they are doing on the pitch that will keep the DDs going. Lets hope that Gus stays put.

 

[Sheebo]

Assuming an average season next year in the Championship I wonder how many renewals will be made? Will the 12 month DD interest free option still be there? It was always going to sell out this first season, that could be judged pretty early on when the corporates sold out months before they thought they would and 400 more corporates had to be added to the East Stand which have also sold out.

I think you're doing it a bit of a disservice there to be honest - I wouldn't have said it was always oing to sell out - even after the fairly fast initial 2k 1901 take up. It's a massive achievement by the club and fans mate. Yes it will be interesting re next yr - I for one won't be renewing - this first season is a special one off I think.

 

[Seagull Steve]

I think that most of the season tickets would have still sold. As Freddie Goodwin says, the stadium has been the talk of not just the city, but far beyond. For me as a returning supporter who in all honesty didn't do that many Withdean games, the DD option definitely swung it for me and I hope they continue that for many seasons to come. I also think that their will be some who cancel the DD if we don't do that well next season, I just hope it doesn't dissuade the club from carrying on with the scheme. A lot of times at the end of the season, a lot of football fans feel flat and next season seems a long way away, but this year it will seem worse, because we are so excited by the stadium and the football we have been playing. I can't bloody wait.

 

[The Grockle]

Assuming an average season next year in the Championship I wonder how many renewals will be made? Will the 12 month DD interest free option still be there? It was always going to sell out this first season, that could be judged pretty early on when the corporates sold out months before they thought they would and 400 more corporates had to be added to the East Stand which have also sold out.

I would have thought the DD option will be here to stay, I would have thought it has its advantages for the club, in terms of insuring regular monthly revenue.

 

[Uter]

I agree but we don't seem to have left any room to manoeuvre beyond the corners/second tier should it ever be needed.

I wonder if the middle tier of the West Stand could be continued round the corners and about half way along the North and South stands. The slope of the roof would make it impossible to continue much futher.

The only other thing I can think of is to lower the pitch a little to add a small number of extra rows. Rangers are the only club I know of to have done this.

Obviously there would be quite a few drawbacks from doing this: The impact on sightlines, the fact that these new seats would be prone to getting wet, the need to reduce the size of the pitch, a new under-soil heating system. It might not be cost-effective even if they were sold out every match.

 

[Tricky Dicky]

Current Albion fans and diehards maybe. I'd watch us play in a cesspool (or even Gillingham).
But new fans ? Not a chance. There is NO WAY we'd have sold this many season tickets to new fans if it wasn't for the fact the stadium is so impressive and iconic. It cannot be overstated how much that has played a part in the upsurge in interest in this club.

I would say, in much the say way that some people don't go to Withers because it is not a nice experience, then equally some will go more readily to the Amex due to the potential nice day out, even if not exactly die hard football or Albion fans.

 

[8ace]

The only other thing I can think of is to lower the pitch a little to add a small number of extra rows. Rangers are the only club I know of to have done this.

Chelsea have lowered there pitch as well I believe.
One thing Rangers have also done is add some extra seats at the front of the Govan upper tier:

We could possibly do something similar with our middle tier.