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poor attendances ! will this be falmer in years to come ?



berkshire seagull

New member
Jul 5, 2003
5,707
reading
north stander said:
poor attendances now. so what come falmer.you don't have to be blind to work out why for the low crowds.having a poor team and no money to spend may have something to do with it.if this starts to happen at falmer.the club could be in big trouble.the attendances start to drop as does the revenue.with such big cost in having to get falmer up and running.the club cannot afford to make any mistakes on taking the huge gamble on falmer.and as we all no mr knight does not like to gamble...........
Christ how can you compare withdean and falmer dear o dear.

just think of falmer sitting there with a load of mates like it should be on footy day.
Know look at falmer all round and work it out:nono:
 






El Presidente

The ONLY Gay in Brighton
Helpful Moderator
Jul 5, 2003
40,016
Pattknull med Haksprut
Ernest said:
So really it doesn't matter how much marketing you do if you serve up a shite product you won't get paying customers thru the door.

Unless of course you are Sheffield Wednesday, currently averaging 22,500 in Div 2 despite winning only 3 home games out of 14 so far this season.

Having said that, the only alternative to going to Hillsboro on a Saturday afternoon is to sleep with your sister, so you can't blame them
 


berkshire seagull

New member
Jul 5, 2003
5,707
reading
RoyalAli said:
absolutely. 1995 was very much a one-off, and had we been prometed, we'd have had to have converted Elnm park to seating, with an 8,000 capacity, so we'd have been turning away tens of thousands of fans, and ending up in the financial shit.
Tens of thousands you mean 10k:lolol:
 


Simster

"the man's an arse"
Jul 7, 2003
54,955
Surrey
Indeed El Pres, and the same goes for Man City who were getting 30,000 sellouts in division 2 - despite being mid table at Christmas and never being in the hunt for a top 2 spot.

People will come to see a winning team, but people will also watch an ordinary team given the right marking and price structure.
 




Robot Chicken

Seriously?
Jul 5, 2003
13,154
Chicken World
I hope it'll be pay on the day and none of this all ticket nonsense.

Although Falmer will "only" have a 22,500 capacity to start with, new tiers could be added. The total potential capacity could be up at 60,000!
 


C1 BHA

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
1,680
Wiltshire
If we're playing the same sort of football at Falmer, you'll have the same 5500-6000 diehards rattling around in a high degree of comfort.
 


Inkerman

New member
Sep 3, 2003
428
Berkshire
Downloaded Penguin said:
I hope it'll be pay on the day and none of this all ticket nonsense.


How will that work with having to assess the amount of Park & Ride buses that will be required?
Too many and money is wasted. Too few, when 2,000 more than expected turn up, and we'll all be whinging.
 




perseus

Broad Blue & White stripe
Jul 5, 2003
23,461
Sūþseaxna
15,000 @ £30 = £450K
22,500 @ £20 = £450K
30,000 @ £15 = £450K

It is the marketing people that have calculated the optimum capacity for profits.

It is not the whole story. It is the strategy used by supermarkets, not the entertainment business.

If you have an insufficient capacity or poor conditions, and turn people away or discourage people, you have dissatisfaction.

28,000 @ £20 = £560K

would be my suggested initial capacity for Pende

The option to increase this capacity would have been available for Village Way South. I am not sure if this is the case for Village Way North?
 
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BRIGHT ON Q

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
9,248
Icy Gull said:
"If we build it they will come"

I believe it really is that simple.

i couldnt agree more.If we get Falmer it is a whole different ball game.I hope not just the missing thousands come back but a whole new load of Albion supporters.
 






Scoffers

Well-known member
Jan 13, 2004
6,868
Burgess Hill
I think what is important is that our minimum gate should be increased. If you forget the mickey mouse games, our smallest gate at Withdean is around 5,500. Even if we do poorly at Falmer, this number ought to be a lot higher (say around 8,000 to 9,000) as fans will be able to pay on the door, more families should be able to go, more away fans, more fans will go because they should be able to stay relatively dry if it rains, cheaper tickets (I hope) should attract more fans.

Now if the team starts to play well, the 12,000 to 15,000 number mentioned above is certainly realistic- and who knows, if we manage to do well in Division One and get close to promotion, I reckon we could get a much higher gate than that.

Hold on, the stadium has been approved yet! God I hope it gets approved soon, it's driving me crazy !!
 


perseus

Broad Blue & White stripe
Jul 5, 2003
23,461
Sūþseaxna
It will be all in the details (prices, transport, pay on the day etc.) if Scoffers predictions are correct. Get it right and he will be right, maybe even underestimating the crowds, get it wrong and the crowds will be lower.
 


perseus

Broad Blue & White stripe
Jul 5, 2003
23,461
Sūþseaxna
Elaborating on my last message in response to Scoffers.

It is obvious that Scoffers got his figures from matches at the Goldstone. In that respect there cannot be much argument. However, the attendances nationwide are now 20% up on those figures so there is scope for larger crowds. Secondly since the early 1970s the Goldstone crowds were actually down by at least 10% and maybe 20% by poor facilities, crushes for big matches, and rotten parking. People would not go because it was a bit cruddy.

Because people are so addicted to their motor cars (not me) and because the local public transport from outlying regions is impractical, I would suspect thae park 'n ride planned for Falmer will have a severe reduction in attendances, perhaps by as much as 20% (I would say it could be a 40% reduction).

I would have thought that any person from outlying Portslade would drive down to the railway station and take the train in to Falmer, but people do not operate rationally and they would rather get snarled up in a traffic jam near the ground.

I do not even think the worst case scenario is NOT getting Falmer: the worst case scenario would be getting Falmer with all the restrictions that we have at Withdean. There will no point having a bigger ground because the fans will not go in sufficient numbers.

???
 




The Wookiee

Back From The Dead
Nov 10, 2003
15,384
Worthing
We will never get massive crowds at Falmer, unless they sort out ticket pricing and the way tickets will be available.
I would probably expect 7000 season ticket holders in the first season, more away fans will visit, and if tickets are available on the day and advertised correctly, I think we can only expect crowds of around 12000, which would be OK for a middle table type season in Div 2, when successful expect most games to be sold out.
But we will never consistently sell Falmer out week in week out.
 


Scoffers

Well-known member
Jan 13, 2004
6,868
Burgess Hill
I have to agree with you perseus. I live in Burgess Hill and getting to Withdean and back on the train is a nightmare, you go sailing past the ground and then have a 10 minute walk back, which is not too bad, but the big problem is getting the train back to Burgess Hill, you have to wait ages, and there is never any information when you get to the station - so I do the park and ride, which is ok going, but unless you leave early, you have at least a 20 minute wait queuing up for the bus. The temptation to drive to the ground and park illegally (i.e. against the Winthdean rules) is immense. - And that is now, what on earth it will be like taking the park and ride for Falmer with potentially 3 times as many people, I dread to think. Does this mean we might have to wait an hour for to get on the bus? Will the trains be any better organised - as a seasoned commuter, I very much doubt it.
 


perseus

Broad Blue & White stripe
Jul 5, 2003
23,461
Sūþseaxna
Now the Public Inquiry is over, I think it is fair enough to express any reservations about Falmer, as the opposition can no longer take advantage of the flaws.

Reservations so they can be resolved, not glossed over, not implemented to appease the politicians. I have heard the club representives praise the success of the Withdean arrangements. I assume this was to get the politicans to support the cause, not because they actually work: they are the trouble.

If, or probably when, Prescott gives the go ahead (with conditions possibly). Surely, the small details can be sorted by agreement with all the parties involved?
Surely the Albion have NOT agreed the details yet? (Pay by ticket in advance is surely not cast in stone: I would expect this to be just when the Police recommend/order special ticket arrangements?)

The premium payment on top of the ticket price. This is vaunted as a success. This I do not like. It penalises groups who decide to go mob-handed in a large car or van. To penalise drivers, better to charge the motorist per car or van: this money I expect to go into the coffers of the Universities which why they are supportive: they have been bribed.

The Park 'n Ride causes people to leave early, yes? I have never used it. We (as a group by car) would sooner park outside the zone and walk in. I'd sooner park at the railway station and take the train in, but the driver is so reliant on his car that he never takes public transport.

In the final days of the Goldstone, I used to cycle five miles in, avoiding parking and traffic problems, avoiding waiting an inordinate times on the station and getting there and back as quick and less tired than if I had to walk a long way to the car.
 


Scoffers

Well-known member
Jan 13, 2004
6,868
Burgess Hill
I agree (again). I am actually against Falmer in terms of access, primarily because of the smallness of the site. What is the point having a Railway station by the ground if the line between Falmer and Brighton can only run a limited number of trains. What is the point in having access to a major road route (A27) if you have very little parking space. I can just imagine all the queued up traffic on the Falmer road slip road! I admit that I have not studied the Clubs plans for handling much larger crowds, just that I have severe reservations about how it will work in reality.
 






perseus

Broad Blue & White stripe
Jul 5, 2003
23,461
Sūþseaxna
There is always can be a snarl up everywhere whilst people use their cars.

But just like the London fiasco, the answer is not to penalise the motorist but to make the alternatives better.

To transport large number of people (crowds over 14,000) the best way is by train (which is why the stadium has to have a railway station). This is why Falmer is the only choice in Brighton & Hove. (There remains a question of how the plans would then get to their local railway station: I assume the trains from the north will go in and out of Brighton on the same special trains without changing trains.)

I think that this train problem can be resolved. It is part of changing habits and shared by all clubs. Buses need drivers, surplus buses, and cause the rush to exits.

My inclination was to think that the Village way South option would have been better for everyone, that the transport snarl up could have been organised better and that both the politicians and South Downs lobby were right out of order in not coming to an arrangement. We know why they didn't because the south downs lobby were outright opposed to the plan and were making no compromises (and I got this from a written reply from the South Downs Conservation Board).

So I want not just a lukewarm response from the SOS (Prescott) over Falmer but an uncritical endorsement without conditions. I wish the VWS was before the Public Inquiry as well, but this failure can be put down to Brighton politicians.

PS: I would like to see a plan of the new transport arrangments and all the stuff the fans need to decide how to get to the new stadium on a web site somewhere. There are still questions unanswered.
 


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