Seaon ticket price FREEZE then

[Knotty]

look if you dont agree with price of saeson tickets then dont buy one, if like many of you were season ticket holders last season then no doubt you would have been very unhappy with what you forked out, as the team were dire at home... i could afford to buy a season ticket but chose not to, as i think £400+ for 3rd div football, and watching it from an athlectics stadium with no roof over were id want to sit, is way, way too much, £150 yeah i could swallow that !!!

£150 for a season? Yes, we'd all love that and the ground might be full (until we lost two games in a row, of course.)

Trouble is there wouldn't be a club to watch the following season. No real problem because at least we would have had a season feeling good about ourselves because we'd only paid £150...

 

[Southover Street Seagull]

Enough people see it as value for money - that's why they won't bring the prices down. If supporters felt that strongly about it and really couldn't afford it, they should vote with their feet and the club would have to take notice.

But they aren't going to do that.

That is bollocks I am afraid, football is a captive market, once they have got you, you generally stay with your club and put up with any amount of shit that is served up.
This includes artificially high season ticket prices, I think the price is too high for the standard of football we watch, yet I will still renewing my ticket as I wouldn't miss my live football for all the tea in China!

 

[hans kraay fan club]

The simple answer to all you moaning about the price, there is a simple answer - get yourself a couple of kids!!!

£400 for yourself sounds a lot. £430 for the three of us is alright

 

[Southover Street Seagull]

Off the top of my head, I would guess that a 10 per cent reduction in season ticket prices would achieve at best a 5 per cent increase in sales of season tickets.

4,000 season tickets @ an average price of £400 brings in £1,600,000
4,200 season tickets @ an average price of £360 brings in £1,512,000

You'd have to increase sales by at least 11.1 per cent to be better off from a 10 per cent price reduction.

How about moving on from Lord B's calculations and within our capacity constraints do a Bradford, offer X amount of tickets at X price each and if more are sold then the price goes down.
The club must have a figure that they have to reach for season ticket sales each year, let's say for arguments sake that this figure is £1.5 million.

3,750 season tickets @ an average price of £400 brings in £1,500,000
4,285 season tickets @ an average price of £350 brings in £1,500,000
5,000 season tickets @ an average price of £300 brings in £1,500,000
6,000 season tickets @ an average price of £250 brings in £1,500,000
7,500 season tickets @ an average price of £200 brings in £1,500,000

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Slightly pissed off with having to pay £140 for the U21 prices despite being full-time at College, thus having virtually no time to work for the that kind of money, especially so when you see Charlton offering tickets to more precise brackets of young supports, i.e, no straight jump from U16 to U21 at the price of £75, but hey-ho, that's the way it is.

Cue violins.

£140? I'd wager your average student spends easily that much and more on beer/nights out each month.

 

[The Great Cornholio]

How about moving on from Lord B's calculations and within our capacity constraints do a Bradford, offer X amount of tickets at X price each and if more are sold then the price goes down.
The club must have a figure that they have to reach for season ticket sales each year, let's say for arguments sake that this figure is £1.5 million.

3,750 season tickets @ an average price of £400 brings in £1,500,000
4,285 season tickets @ an average price of £350 brings in £1,500,000
5,000 season tickets @ an average price of £300 brings in £1,500,000
6,000 season tickets @ an average price of £250 brings in £1,500,000
7,500 season tickets @ an average price of £200 brings in £1,500,000

And as I explained earlier, just looking at those figures in isolation is too misleading. Sell 7500 season tickets at £200 leaves around 500 tickets to be bought on a game by game basis. Selling them at £400 leaves over 4000 seats. That is an awful lot of lost revenue when big clubs come to town. You can't assume that the people who would not buy at £400 but will buy at £200 are all exactly the same people who pay £24.50 when Leeds come to town. Some of them maybe but there are a lot of big game charlies around and you need their money as well.

The board have set the prices at the level at which they feel they can generate the most income. That is modern football I am afraid.

 

[Southover Street Seagull]

And as I explained earlier, just looking at those figures in isolation is too misleading. Sell 7500 season tickets at £200 leaves around 500 tickets to be bought on a game by game basis. Selling them at £400 leaves over 4000 seats. That is an awful lot of lost revenue when big clubs come to town. You can't assume that the people who would not buy at £400 but will buy at £200 are all exactly the same people who pay £24.50 when Leeds come to town. Some of them maybe but there are a lot of big game charlies around and you need their money as well.

The board have set the prices at the level at which they feel they can generate the most income. That is modern football I am afraid.

Very good point and I didn't think of that, how about just putting up 6000 season tickets up for sale then?
With the capacity of Withdean at 8,800 and 800 of these being away fans that still leaves 2000 tickets for general sale for the bigger games.

2000 x £24.50 = £49,000

 

[Shinbreath]

Anyone know how much a season ticket is for a 10 year old in the south stand ??

 

[The Great Cornholio]

Very good point and I didn't think of that, how about just putting up 6000 season tickets up for sale then?
With the capacity of Withdean at 8,800 and 800 of these being away fans that still leaves 2000 tickets for general sale for the bigger games.

2000 x £24.50 = £49,000

Again, fine in principle but it is a huge gamble as there are no guarantees that we would sell 6000 season tickets at £250. That is effectively £10 a game and the few times we have sold one off tickets at £10 we still haven't sold out. And the Withdean factor means there are an awful lot of people who want to pick and choose their games and would probably need the price lower than £250 to be persuaded to buy one. Price the tickets at £10 at a modern stadium like MK Dons and loads of people turn up - I heard people referring to Brighton's number 7 and so on. Price them at £10 at Withdean and the relative percentage take up is much lower.

Don't get me wrong - I would much rather pay a lot less than 410 odd pounds. I would also prefer to see the ground full every week. But I also see that the only way to achieve both of these is for the club to accept reduced revenue which is revenue we can ill afford to lose. Prices have remained fairly constant over the last few years and so have the number of takers - hence the price freeze again. Take out the £92 that goes towards travel (I'm sure I read somewhere that the voucher is worth £2 in each direction but stand to be corrected) then a season ticket price of £330 is not much above average. The one debate I would support having is whether the travel costs should be included in all tickets as a lot of people, myself included, don't use them. But as we now pay a lump sum to travel companies, I'm guessing that a price reduction for those that don't use the vouchers would mean an increase for those that do which would probably be more unpopular. If that means that more people would stop using the vouchers and start stealing the parking spaces in Carden Avenue that I use then I would lose out again! So given the circumstances of the stadium and the relevant planning rules, the prices are probably about as balanced as they can get.

 

[The Great Cornholio]

You still haven't answered the question about how many of the prices from other clubs you have quoted include free travel.

And, come to think of it, two free DVDs a season. Still waiting Mr Morris.

 

[Mendoza]

Very good point and I didn't think of that, how about just putting up 6000 season tickets up for sale then?
With the capacity of Withdean at 8,800 and 800 of these being away fans that still leaves 2000 tickets for general sale for the bigger games.

2000 x £24.50 = £49,000

I think the last few seasons have shown what ever the strategy hasnt worked. The last two years we have struggled to get near 6,000 in total, with season ticket holders, general sale and away fans.

The board said it was Wilkins brand of football, so brought in Adams to put bums on seats, there was a freeze on prices again that summer, and yet the average attendance only just went up.

We all know the circumstances, and pay it, but its not working, unless there is a massive match on the line, i.e. Stockport game. We get lucky next year with Southampton, Leeds, Norwich and Charlton at home and get crowds over 7,000, but again it will be the same - Third division football infront of 5,500 people!

 

[Billy the Fish]

I think the last few seasons have shown what ever the strategy hasnt worked. The last two years we have struggled to get near 6,000 in total, with season ticket holders, general sale and away fans.

The board said it was Wilkins brand of football, so brought in Adams to put bums on seats, there was a freeze on prices again that summer, and yet the average attendance only just went up.

We all know the circumstances, and pay it, but its not working, unless there is a massive match on the line, i.e. Stockport game. We get lucky next year with Southampton, Leeds, Norwich and Charlton at home and get crowds over 7,000, but again it will be the same - Third division football infront of 5,500 people!

Disagree with most of that. The only reason crowds have been crap for the last two seasons is because we were in the wrong half of the table and putting in poor performances at home.

If we're in the top ten by christmas I fully expect us to be averaging around the 7000 mark. If we're 18th then it will be more like 5500, the same as under Wilkins and Adams

 

[Mendoza]

Disagree with most of that. The only reason crowds have been crap for the last two seasons is because we were in the wrong half of the table and putting in poor performances at home.

If we're in the top ten by christmas I fully expect us to be averaging around the 7000 mark. If we're 18th then it will be more like 5500, the same as under Wilkins and Adams

I see what youre saying, but there would still be more people in the ground if tickets were cheaper, no matter what the football was like.

More people would take up a season ticket if for arguments sake it was £350 instead of the current price. It doesnt matter what the football on the pitch was like. If there are more people to start with, there will be more people in the ground even if a percentage decide not to go on a given game.

More people would go to the game if it was £15 rather than £25 to get in for one match too.

All hypothetical prices of course

 

[The Great Cornholio]

Disagree with most of that. The only reason crowds have been crap for the last two seasons is because we were in the wrong half of the table and putting in poor performances at home.

If we're in the top ten by christmas I fully expect us to be averaging around the 7000 mark. If we're 18th then it will be more like 5500, the same as under Wilkins and Adams

Before the Doncaster game in March 2008, we were 3 points off of the play offs with a game in hand. And the attendance was 6252 - against the team 2nd in the league. There needs to really be something on the game for people to turn out in numbers. In the next couple of home games, attendances went up as the number of games remaining got fewer and the situation stayed mostly the same. And, from memory, there were lots of deals to get those attendances up as well.

 

[Billy the Fish]

I see what youre saying, but there would still be more people in the ground if tickets were cheaper, no matter what the football was like.

More people would take up a season ticket if for arguments sake it was £350 instead of the current price. It doesnt matter what the football on the pitch was like. If there are more people to start with, there will be more people in the ground even if a percentage decide not to go on a given game.

More people would go to the game if it was £15 rather than £25 to get in for one match too.

All hypothetical prices of course

Indeed, I can't argue with any of that, but it's a bit of a balancing act for the club.

If they set the prices low and we have a good season then they've missed out on £XXXXX amount of revenue, from people who would've paid £24.50 and are now paying £15. There flip side of that is the last two seasons where the team aren't very good and people just don't turn up, the problem is they can't drop the prices mid season if the standard of football isn't up to much.

There's no easy answer to this really. I think we're all agreed that prices are too high, but when you're leaking money like we are, what can you do?

 

[British Bulldog]

I see what youre saying, but there would still be more people in the ground if tickets were cheaper, no matter what the football was like.

I'm not wholly convinced on that, In the past couple of season when the club have done offers on cheap tickets for certain matches it has'nt greatly increased the number of fans in the ground.

 

[El Presidente]

How about moving on from Lord B's calculations and within our capacity constraints do a Bradford, offer X amount of tickets at X price each and if more are sold then the price goes down.
The club must have a figure that they have to reach for season ticket sales each year, let's say for arguments sake that this figure is £1.5 million.

3,750 season tickets @ an average price of £400 brings in £1,500,000
4,285 season tickets @ an average price of £350 brings in £1,500,000
5,000 season tickets @ an average price of £300 brings in £1,500,000
6,000 season tickets @ an average price of £250 brings in £1,500,000
7,500 season tickets @ an average price of £200 brings in £1,500,000

Agreed, but not all that money goes to the club, the travel voucher takes up a slice of it. There is also the issue that if 7,500 season tickets were sold, the club would have no matchday income at all.

 

[Mendoza]

There's no easy answer to this really. I think we're all agreed that prices are too high, but when you're leaking money like we are, what can you do?

Thats the problem, there isnt a lot you can do. I think that the board know, that the end of the day, we the fans, are going to pay for season tickets what ever the price.
We do it because we love it, even if we moan about it for 6 months of the year. I wouldnt have it any other way. I would rather be part of it than not. That must be the same for most supporters.

I guess the problem is that there is a perception that they have done nothing at all because the prices have stayed the same. That is why this thread started I guess

 

[Billy the Fish]

Before the Doncaster game in March 2008, we were 3 points off of the play offs with a game in hand. And the attendance was 6252 - against the team 2nd in the league. There needs to really be something on the game for people to turn out in numbers. In the next couple of home games, attendances went up as the number of games remaining got fewer and the situation stayed mostly the same. And, from memory, there were lots of deals to get those attendances up as well.

I know I'll get strung up for this because the table doesn't lie apparently, but the last two seasons have been a case of the table lying (or not telling the whole story at least)

We might have had a late surge under Wilkins, but at one point we were nearly in a relegation scrap. I don't think anyone really believed that we'd make the play-offs, especially after the public rows with the players had come out in the press.

I'm saying that we need to be consistant from the start of the season and stay in the top half of the table, winning more home games than we lose. Then crowds will get better. If not then yes, it will be 6000ish again

 

[Mendoza]

I dont know why, but this in the Argus seems to be a bit of a piss take from Ken Brown. Its hardly a REWARD is it??

Seagulls say thanks to fans by freezing season ticket prices
7:00am Friday 15th May 2009

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By Howard Griggs »

Albion have rewarded their loyal supporters by freezing season ticket prices for next season.

Managing director Ken Brown said looking after the fans was paramount to the club as they head towards Falmer.

This includes offering Albion followers longer to pay for their season tickets.

Brown said: “We were very conscious of the economic climate and we looked at various ways to make things easier for the supporters.

“As a board we made a conscious decision to delay a decision on season ticket renewals until we were sure of our status.

“We have frozen prices across the board. In some cases we are charging the same as we were four or five years ago or possibly longer. We hope that eases the cost that supporters have to bear.

“We have also introduced payment by five instalments rather than the normal three, which gives supporters longer to pay.

“One thing that has been noticeable this season is how crucial our supporters have been.

“We have a fantastic number of travelling supporters and the support at Withdean has also been good in what has been a challenging season.”

The club will be writing to season ticket holders in the next few days asking them to renew for 2009-10. Supporters will then have until mid-June to secure their seats and take advantage of the early-bird prices.

A new ticketing partner, IRIS Talent Sport, has been appointed to make it easier for fans to buy tickets for Withdean. The company are regarded as one of the market leaders, working with the likes of Everton, Liverpool, Leeds and Newcastle.