|
Post by Hatboy on Jun 17, 2019 21:48:18 GMT
They are they want to try and sell as many season tickets as possible before announcing the £18 match day price because they know they won't get many through the turnstiles on match days, see you at Haringey
|
|
|
Post by scottishsaint on Jun 17, 2019 22:33:11 GMT
They are they want to try and sell as many season tickets as possible before announcing the £18 match day price because they know they won't get many through the turnstiles on match days, see you at Haringey I'm no football club owner, but I would've thought you can sell more season tickets if people know how big the saving is compared to the matchday ticket price.
|
|
|
Post by lagerman on Jun 18, 2019 7:55:11 GMT
Yes, l agree with you there Hatboy, but the trouble is, there will probably be people that can't commit to buying a Season Ticket as they won't make many or all of the games. They, and visiting Supporters from teams coming to play us, are going to be the ones to suffer any matchday price increases, and if it has gone up to £18, we are going to be slaughtered by other teams supporters if there's hasn't gone up too. But it was always £2 or £3 cheaper anyway, elsewhere. Also l guess, anyone who couldn't fork out outright for a Season Ticket, may suffer a matchday price increase too, although l don't know if this Membership thing that the Club are running, would help them with any discounts.
|
|
|
Post by Boomer on Jun 19, 2019 18:11:37 GMT
|
|
boojiboy
Saints Reserve Team Player
Posts: 322
|
Post by boojiboy on Jun 19, 2019 18:24:39 GMT
The pricing level and the delay in announcing it is shocking. Truely embarrassing. We will be the laughing stock of the league - in fact we have been for the last few years at the previous level.
If the club is losing money, what efforts have been made to bring in other investors?
|
|
|
Post by scottishsaint on Jun 19, 2019 18:32:49 GMT
What a joke. And a special two fingers up to those who casual 'floating' supporters who might fancy a game if the notion takes 'em on a Saturday morning who don't realise they'd only be paying £16.50 if they bought the ticket in advance
I agree with boojiboy - maybe the owners should look to outside investment, increasing the number of directors etc, better publicity and fund-raising initiatives rather than spending most of the time complaining about how much it costs to run a non-league football club or how desperately in need of a new ground we are.
|
|
|
Post by saintsdad on Jun 19, 2019 18:33:45 GMT
What costs are these? How does every other club in the division (and many in the division above) manage to cope?
Ridiculous.
|
|
|
Post by notsorecentconvert on Jun 19, 2019 18:34:02 GMT
I certainly appreciate the difficulty of balancing the books, especially when clubs with bigger budgets or wealthier backers continue to push up wages for the players, but £18 for Division Six football is kind of barmy. Leyton Orient in League 2 is £20. On my free weekends or midweek I can't see myself parting with that, plus the cost of parking, I'm afraid. I'm not sure what the answer is, because I want the team to be competitive, but it's a vicious circle.
|
|
|
Post by jimicus on Jun 19, 2019 18:54:01 GMT
So if i turn up with my two kids on match day its £36! Wow.
Season tickets for all three of us is £352.
So in 10 games i save money.
Season tickets it is. But i tell you this. To pay for the increase its no visiting the clubhouse, no matchday program, raffle, golden goal or food and drink from the burger van.
|
|
boojiboy
Saints Reserve Team Player
Posts: 322
|
Post by boojiboy on Jun 19, 2019 18:59:30 GMT
I would also be interested to know the rationale behind the different pricing between tickets bought in advance and tickets bought on the day. I think that this is happening at a few clubs now but I just don't understand. Maybe someone from the club could explain. What additional costs are incurred by people paying on the gate?
By applying any differential in the pricing will make people think twice about turning up knowing they could have bought a ticket cheaper in advance.
|
|
|
Post by lagerman on Jun 19, 2019 19:25:50 GMT
We're going to get slaughtered by visiting supporters! My friend who used to come occassionally, said he's not coming at all now, this coming season, so they have lost him
|
|
|
Post by notsorecentconvert on Jun 19, 2019 19:27:29 GMT
That's a good point. Encouraging people to buy a ticket in advance for something that is not going to sell out makes no sense whatsoever. There's nothing in it for the club if someone buys an advance ticket for the match and then doesn't use it because it's likely that the buyer would feel irritated to have wasted money and wouldn't bother unless 100% certain they'd make the game. We all have busy lives, sometimes it's not possible to know until matchday whether it's possible to go to a game. The extra £1.50 for having other things going on, or for making a last-minute decision to pop along, feels like a penalty.
With automated gates there is scope in future for really imaginative ticket pricing. Pre-paid Oyster-style cards that work on the turnstiles, at the burger van and the bar and in the club shop could work well for both fans and the club.
Prices could then be elastic depending on a whole host of factors. Unappealing midweek game where you want to get a few through the doors? Knock a few quid off, or include a programme or give discounts after poor results. But allow an 'over-pay' facility too. I suspect there could be some surprising responses then.
|
|
boojiboy
Saints Reserve Team Player
Posts: 322
|
Post by boojiboy on Jun 19, 2019 19:44:14 GMT
Does anyone know what is happening with the new ground? This comes across as a message to the Council, I thought the same thing when the price went up to £15.
|
|
|
Post by casper on Jun 19, 2019 19:45:16 GMT
Maybe someone from the club could explain. What additional costs are incurred by people paying on the gate? From experience at work, there will be additional cost on insurance if you are handling cash and the insurance will specify certain requirements to keep premiums lower, i.e security measures Bank will also reduce charges if more card payments go through and there is less cash for them to process.
|
|
|
Post by casper on Jun 19, 2019 19:50:13 GMT
One thing that annoys me about all this is the large increase in prices all in one go.
If prices had increased by a pound each year, supporters would have grumbled but it would be easier to find the extra quid a game. Suddenly three quid is quite steep.
|
|
|
Post by Boomer on Jun 20, 2019 0:52:39 GMT
|
|
|
Post by casper on Jun 20, 2019 5:33:09 GMT
So will there be a 20% increase in the playing budget this season to justify the increase? Thought not ...
|
|
saint2015
Saints Youth Team Player
Posts: 188
|
Post by saint2015 on Jun 20, 2019 6:08:05 GMT
There needs to be on field justification for this hike and a proper push for promotion or it'll cost the club revenue through falling gates. On the advance purchase tickets how advanced does it have to be?
|
|
|
Post by desaint on Jun 20, 2019 7:16:49 GMT
Whilst I always kept an eye on the club's results, I only started regularly attending games last season because I felt I was being priced out of Premier League / Football League games.
I loved attending on a regular basis but this disgraceful increase in ticket prices means I'll most likely attend just a handful of games this time around. Real shame.
|
|
|
Post by Saint on Jun 20, 2019 7:44:38 GMT
Shocking decision by the owners that will do so much damage to the club and it’s support. A slap in the face for every single fan.
|
|
albanian
Saints Reserve Team Player
Posts: 372
|
Post by albanian on Jun 20, 2019 7:57:37 GMT
Really disappointed to see the owners have gone through with this. St Albans may be a wealthy city, but that's not reflected in our fan base, which is no different from any other club in the division. Judging from the response so far, this will actually result in a decrease in revenue (not just attendances). It's very hard to see what the justification is. I will not be going to home games next season and urge others to consider doing the same. Yes it's only the price of an extra pint, but as fans we need to take a stand and show we have limits. If the owners can't afford to sustain the club then they either need to reduce the budget or look for additional investors. £18 is too much for 6th tier football and maybe we need to consider whether we're sustainable as a club at this level.
|
|
|
Post by minty on Jun 20, 2019 8:26:00 GMT
I can only echo everyone else's views on this. A massive own goal by the club which undoes much of their good work in the community. However I think that we may be being used as pawns in the whole new ground/council episode! They seriously need to reconsider this. I can see they are going to have a lot of fan protests on their hands this season!!
|
|
|
Post by Hatboy on Jun 20, 2019 10:31:04 GMT
So will there be a 20% increase in the playing budget this season to justify the increase? Thought not ... There'll be a budget cut by Christmas
|
|
|
Post by citycentresaint on Jun 20, 2019 10:56:56 GMT
Ridiculous. Probably not far off you would pay to watch Watford or Luton.
All the goodwill built up over the years feels like it has been eroded.
Doubt I will bother attending home games next season.
|
|
|
Post by casper on Jun 20, 2019 11:19:25 GMT
|
|
porkypig
Saints Youth Team Player
Posts: 241
|
Post by porkypig on Jun 20, 2019 16:50:14 GMT
This will have a big impact on the club, reducing attendances at home games and some away supporters won't bother coming and who can blame them.i wouldn't mind but the standard of football is even that great! Big mistake.
|
|
lios
Saints Trialist
Posts: 9
|
Post by lios on Jun 20, 2019 17:50:08 GMT
I drive down from Hitchin for every home game. I think I may now have to watch the Canaries. Sorry St Albans but I think you’ve now gone too far.
|
|
jupes
Saints Trialist
Posts: 75
|
Post by jupes on Jun 20, 2019 18:41:15 GMT
I'm done.
|
|
|
Post by notsorecentconvert on Jun 20, 2019 19:36:24 GMT
It'll be interesting to hear the prices at other local clubs at our level, Hemel and Wealdstone, for example.
18 sheets is too much for me to go along on a whim. I got to six home games last season and so the club may not consider the money lost from a supporter like me to be that significant. They'll be missing out on £108 so in the grand scheme of things it's what, half a week's money for a fringe player? I don't know.
But the thing is, I usually bring someone else along. On Boxing Day there were five of us but even then the others winced a bit at £15.
I do appreciate how hard it is for the clubs, though. Wages at this level are clearly ludicrous but there's always two or three clubs that push the boat out and force up the prices that the players can demand.
But the cost in goodwill today cannot be underestimated. Is it worth it?
Selling 800 tickets at £18 – after VAT is deducted – puts £12,000 in the till. Selling 800 tickets at £15 – after VAT is deducted – puts 10,000 in the till.
But crucially, selling 600 tickets at £18 (after VAT is deducted) puts £9,000 in the till.
The difference adds up over the course of a season, of course.
Thing is, as supporters we always grumble and say 'no more' and threaten not to buy a pint or a burger or a programme or to go to fewer games, but we always buckle and they probably bank on that.
|
|
|
Post by lagerman on Jun 20, 2019 20:24:13 GMT
Well, that's the thing anyway, for me. I simply couldn't boycott buying burgers etc, at the food can, just as l couldn't boycott the Clubhouse, as l like my food and l like my beer, and its what l've been doing for the last 13 or 14 years since l've been supporting the Club, but l can see people doing that
|
|