[Football] Why fewer bums on seats at PL games?

[chaileyjem]

Me also, away is way to go. The Albion ‘share’ scheme was and is a predictable disaster and I’ll be amazed if thousands of further STHs don’t renew in Feb.

Not sure it was predictable - The club consulted with people on this board, and other fan groups - afaik none expressed negative feedback at the time (We are Brighton were v.positive about it in their announcement article for example and then have been highly critical of it ever since) . There were also other ST tweaks introduced post covid. (eg: transferring name of a ST holder to someone else for free that nobody ever mentions but presumably have been well received. But subsequently because of other factors - more demand from people wanting to use it mostly (due to prevalence of Covid or fear of Covid mostly) and the knock on effect of the Ticket Exchange either not selling out or being open only at last minute alongside it has complicated things - and thus its had a lot of negative feedback - on NSC / social because its not as easy as just sharing a physical ticket and its not free. And agreed i personally find it a bit of a faff. Club tbf argue that thousands of fans have signed up and are using it regularly. I suspect thats true as well.

Agreed. People won't renew . but thats mostly because around 1500 season ticket holders (sometimes more, sometimes less ) don't renew every year for all sorts of reasons. Many of which have been cited on this thread. A lot of them aren't new reasons (price, move away, evening games, TV, fall out of love with football, job , family, ) and most aren't to do with being in the Premier League. But of course a long running health crisis will impact in ways we still don't know yet. And its heartbreaking reading some of the stories on NSC over the last few months of people losing connection with the club because of health fears or worse.

But not mentioned much on this thread is that currently - even after a year of Covid and no fans at football for 15 months - have more season ticket holders than ever before at the Amex and the 1901 is sold out for another 5 years. I'd argue , just as the team on their current run, that the fanbase is a lot more resilient than you (and others) are portraying it as...

 

[chaileyjem]

This, absolutely. Not really feasible anymore to treat someone to a nice day out at the Albion without incurring silly levels of cost for transfering a ticket that's already been paid for

Agreed the cost and the faff put some people off but its certainly feasible and thousands have signed up and are doing it so presumably people are still having a nice day out at the Albion except when we draw. And is £20 to share your ticket and £15 to be a member really "silly levels of cost" (for entire season). or are you just saying it should be free (fair enough).

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Agreed the cost and the faff put some people off but its certainly feasible and thousands have signed up and are doing it so presumably people are still having a nice day out at the Albion except when we draw. And is £20 to share your ticket and £15 to be a member really "silly levels of cost" (for entire season). or are you just saying it should be free (fair enough).

Fair enough for defending the club's stance. But yes, yes I am saying it should be free, simply on the basis of it was free previously. No real reason that shouldn't still be the case so long as the person being gifted the ticket provided, for reasons of covid, contact details and photo id

 

[chaileyjem]

Anfield:

75% off those prices for 0 to 16 year olds.
50% for 17 to 21 year olds.

Great for families, getting kids hooked on a club.

Arsenal fans for example talk of being ripped off when going as a family.

Currently the half season ticket prices for the Albion are
u10s - 75% off
u18s - 45% off
u21s - 30% off

https://tickets.brightonandhovealbion.com/subscriptions

 

[chaileyjem]

Fair enough for defending the club's stance. But yes, yes I am saying it should be free, simply on the basis of it was free previously. No real reason that shouldn't still be the case so long as the person being gifted the ticket provided, for reasons of covid, contact details and photo id

I'm not sure the club would agree with me its a faff but i'm certainly persuaded that plenty are put off by the cost. Although its a bit cheaper now they've reduced the Albion+ membership.

 

[Bozza]

And is £20 to share your ticket and £15 to be a member really "silly levels of cost" (for entire season). or are you just saying it should be free (fair enough).

There are different use cases.

If you are a small group of friends or family who have historically shared season tickets to some degree, then the scheme works well and the cost is entirely reasonable, I think. I don't know anyone who does this personally, but I've read of enough people on here to believe there's probably a reasonable number of fans who do this.

However, if you expect to go to every game - which is certainly my scenario - then you may consider the cost to be prohibitive (or "silly", if you will). I didn't pay the £20 sharing fee up front because I expected to be at all games so, when something came up which meant I couldn't attend a game, it meant there was a requirement to pay £70 (£20 sharing fee pls 2 * £25 memberships) just so someone could use my tickets as a one-off. Needless to say, it didn't happen. £15 helps your argument, I appreciate, but it was £25 when this happened to me.

And that's where the scheme falls down.

 

[e77]

For me:

Kickoffs: The whole 1730 on a Saturday thing is getting tedious now. It is also costing me more than £20 to attend a match I have already paid for on Boxing Day as Seagull Travel are the only game in town.

Games on TV: I am sure someone will prove me wrong but I don't remember so many of our games on TV.

Covid: Funnily enough it doesn't worry me too much but if it did I imagine the train journey there and back plus no one wearing masks in the concourse would cause problems.

Might I throw in with away games there doesn't seem to be cheap train tickets anymore.

 

[chaileyjem]

There are different use cases.

If you are a small group of friends or family who have historically shared season tickets to some degree, then the scheme works well and the cost is entirely reasonable, I think. I don't know anyone who does this personally, but I've read of enough people on here to believe there's probably a reasonable number of fans who do this.

However, if you expect to go to every game - which is certainly my scenario - then you may consider the cost to be prohibitive (or "silly", if you will). I didn't pay the £20 sharing fee up front because I expected to be at all games so, when something came up which meant I couldn't attend a game, it meant there was a requirement to pay £70 (£29 sharing fee pls 2 * £25 memberships) just so someone could use my tickets as a one-off. Needless to say, it didn't happen. £15 helps your argument, I appreciate, but it was £25 when this happened to me.

And that's where the scheme falls down.

I've had a ticket that has been available this season. My middle son has gone to uni.
So for that ticket i stumped up for the sharing fee, persuaded my son to pay to be a Albion + member (he's not a Albion fan but likes going to PL games) and he's been to 4 games so far i think - so its been worth it. For Leeds though - he was away on a break and i wanted to take Mrs CJ. She wasn't that keen to come (she never is !) but has come in the past but this time the thought of signing her up to be an Albion + member , paying £28 and spending nearly an hour setting up the account etc / emails / logging in / logging out etc meant i didn't bother. So yep. agreed .

 

[Change at Barnham]

When some current season ticket holders decide not to renew next season they will find it easier than they thought to get a ticket for any home match.
I can't think of a single game when there hasn't been tickets available at some point.

It will then be very hard to recapture those fans to become season ticket holders again in the future.

The option to go to watch decent local non-league games instead is very tempting.
Also cherry picking the Albion's most convenient games to attend by buying one off tickets whenever you want.
Not wasting money on matches that you have pre-paid for that you can't attend, and are then not allowed to gift to someone else at the last minute.

Surely the club won't be surprised at what happens if they continue with the current arrangements?

 

[Dave the OAP]

I see the argument about passing tickets to friends and family which i have done many times and I know people will say it’s only £20!

Personally I think the reason for non attendance , I note Southampton had lots of gaps in the stand, is that people are bored with the football. I think it is obviously very clever to be able to pass the ball around the field without actually causing any pressure…did anyone see Man City against United, where the second half they took the decision to practice their passing……and there has been a thread on here about “ do they get bonuses for passes made rather than goals scored”. It’s really to a lot of people a non event and that is why I have seen many mates walk away from it…certainly walked away from being STH.

For some years now I have said that I can take or leave it and certainly with Tottenham and Brentford, I will leave it.

 

[Bozza]

When some current season ticket holders decide not to renew next season they will find it easier than they thought to get a ticket for any home match.
I can't think of a single game when there hasn't been tickets available at some point.

It will then be very hard to recapture those fans to become season ticket holders again in the future.

The option to go to watch decent local non-league games instead is very tempting.
Also cherry picking the Albion's most convenient games to attend by buying one off tickets whenever you want.
Not wasting money on matches that you have pre-paid for that you can't attend, and are then not allowed to gift to someone else at the last minute.

Surely the club won't be surprised at what happens if they continue with the current arrangements?

The club absolutely do want to keep STHs renewing and I think all their efforts at the past renewal window - and they DID go to a lot of effort - illustrates that.

I have no doubt the club will very much have its finger on the pulse with regard to STH attendance, sharing, effectiveness (or otherwise) of the ticket exchange and will try to make practical improvements where they can.

 

[1066familyman]

I see the argument about passing tickets to friends and family which i have done many times and I know people will say it’s only £20!
Personally I think the reason for non attendance , I note Southampton had lots of gaps in the stand, is that people are bored with the football. I think it is obviously very clever to be able to pass the ball around the field without actually causing any pressure…did anyone see Man City against United, where the second half they took the decision to practice their passing……and there has been a thread on here about “ do they get bonuses for passes made rather than goals scored”. It’s really to a lot of people a non event and that is why I have seen many mates walk away from it…certainly walked away from being STH.

For some years now I have said that I can take or leave it and certainly with Tottenham and Brentford, I will leave it.

On the footballing front, I can take possession based football all day long. I love it!

What I don't love so much is the Premier League 'experience'. I find it lacks excitement when you're playing in a league you have no realistic chance of winning. Years of mid table mediocrity or flirting with relegation, with the odd sniff of European football maybe, is a all a bit meh. Give me playing in The Championship all day long. Easily the best League to play in for me.

Also Var. There are several other reasons I chucked in our season tickets just before Covid hit, but Var was really high up on the list of reasons I stopped enjoying going to games.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

I see the argument about passing tickets to friends and family which i have done many times and I know people will say it’s only £20!

Personally I think the reason for non attendance , I note Southampton had lots of gaps in the stand, is that people are bored with the football. I think it is obviously very clever to be able to pass the ball around the field without actually causing any pressure…did anyone see Man City against United, where the second half they took the decision to practice their passing……and there has been a thread on here about “ do they get bonuses for passes made rather than goals scored”. It’s really to a lot of people a non event and that is why I have seen many mates walk away from it…certainly walked away from being STH.

For some years now I have said that I can take or leave it and certainly with Tottenham and Brentford, I will leave it.

Respect to all those who have done the very hard miles all these years from, say, Devon, North Wales, Birkenhead etc etc. Or have a full and varied life outside of football. Seems like the Amex Honeymoon Years are firmly over. The poll options all reflect a significant hit on Amex attendance

 

[dsr-burnley]

There are different use cases.

If you are a small group of friends or family who have historically shared season tickets to some degree, then the scheme works well and the cost is entirely reasonable, I think. I don't know anyone who does this personally, but I've read of enough people on here to believe there's probably a reasonable number of fans who do this.

However, if you expect to go to every game - which is certainly my scenario - then you may consider the cost to be prohibitive (or "silly", if you will). I didn't pay the £20 sharing fee up front because I expected to be at all games so, when something came up which meant I couldn't attend a game, it meant there was a requirement to pay £70 (£20 sharing fee pls 2 * £25 memberships) just so someone could use my tickets as a one-off. Needless to say, it didn't happen. £15 helps your argument, I appreciate, but it was £25 when this happened to me.

And that's where the scheme falls down.

It falls down really badly on that point.

It would be interesting to see a survey on how many club season ticket holders (this could apply to any club) went on to their first game on someone else's free spare ticket. It'll be a significant proportion, I dare say. If instead someone had had to pay £45 for that first game, would they have gone on?

You can't become a supporter without going to your first game, by definition. If the club makes the first game unattractive because of price, then a potential lifetime supporter has been lost.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Would add there's no such thing as only £20 or whatever. Still a big chunk of money that doesn't need paying in most people's view

 

[Driver8]

It’s the kickoff times that cause the biggest problems for me with my long journey to home games. 3.00 pm games I can do in a day so not a problem. 5.30 pm games or early games mean an overnight stay which are a pain.

The traffic in the South East is also getting worse which doesn’t help.

 

[sparkie]

Just noticed this was a poll as Tapatalk keeps them secret.

So for me :

Covid concerns - maskless concourses, omicron trains.
Price - Difficult because in a sense it is throwing money away but I currently don't mind keeping my season ticket direct debit going until Barber kicks me out for not attending.
Out of habit - for sure, but I can make it a habit again pretty easily.
Other - Passing on tickets - My seat never sells on the exchange but c'est la vie. It would be fantastic to be able to have a handful of designated users for my ticket if I couldn't go - people who are hard to pursuade to sign up as albion members.

 

[Justice]

The 8000 ST waiting list scam raised £200k in Albion plus membership fees.

 

[Bry Nylon]

The 8000 ST waiting list scam raised £200k in Albion plus membership fees.

To be fair, not really as any Albion+ membership fees paid were deducted from the ST cost (I believe).

 

[Justice]

To be fair, not really as any Albion+ membership fees paid were deducted from the ST cost (I believe).

I was meaning the waiting list very quickly evaporated. My son was something ridiculous let’s say number 7856 on the list one week to you can now buy a ST two weeks later