Rich3478 Posted January 22, 2013 Author Share Posted January 22, 2013 BAND D £300 SEASON TICKET PRICE Leicester £15 Huddersfield £15 Wolves £15 Bolton £15 Bristol City £13.25 Ipswich £13.25 Palace £13.25 Millwall £7.00 Peterborough £7.00 BAND D MATCHDAY TICKET PRICES ON 22 JANUARY 2013 Leicester £27-32 Huddersfield £21-28 Wolves £22-28 Bolton £17-20 Bristol City £20-25 Ipswich £24-25 Palace £19-25 Millwall £21-28 Peterborough £21-25 I have to wonder whether the club really thought through the consequences of releasing the above letter to season ticket holders. Sure, it serves its purpose to reassure season ticket holders they are getting value-for-money. But when such information can be circulated to fans outside the 16-17,000 season ticket holders through a simple upload to the internet, is it not at the same time potentially alienating the supporters who can't go on such a regular basis? The figures make interesting reading. Granted, a mark-up in price is to be expected. That's business. The club has to find a happy medium between looking after season ticket holders, maximising the volume of matchday ticket sales and subsequent profit. Clearly, if the attendances are anything to go by, that happy medium hasn't quite been reached. I look at the differentials in price there and outside of the Bolton game, where is there genuine value for money in buying on a one-off basis? When the mark-up for games such as Leicester, Millwall and Peterborough can be so significant, is it any surprise fans are staying away? This just shows how much room for manoeuvre there is within the ticketing structure? Why are we not putting more effort into it as a club? Attendances have consistently been down all season. Anyone else curious as to how the millwall game has potentially quadrupled in price other than being the last game of the season? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 The figures make interesting reading. Granted, a mark-up in price is to be expected. That's business. The club has to find a happy medium between looking after season ticket holders, maximising the volume of matchday ticket sales and subsequent profit. Clearly, if the attendances are anything to go by, that happy medium hasn't quite been reached. I look at the differentials in price there and outside of the Bolton game, where is there genuine value for money in buying on a one-off basis? I think the most interesting thing is that you're surprised. A few points: - 1. Weren't you already aware that it works out far far cheaper to buy a season ticket than for individual matches? 2. Whether happy with actual price level or not, I think most people would consider them "normal" / "as to be expected". 3. Do they not compare to our prices last season? 4. Do they not compare to the other clubs in the division? 5. You ask "whether the club really thought through the consequences" of sharing this letter. Well it pretty simple to work out the average price per game of a season ticket. I fail to see what they've told us other than add some weighting to the numbers. 6. If supporters want value for money you can either A - buy a season ticket, the majority do this; B - buy early, going by this forum few do this; or C - sit in the SW corner, it appears few do this either. I see no revelation in this, if you want value, it's there to be had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duracell Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 If ticket prices really are the reason why people aren't going then why isn't the SW corner full every weekend? Derby fans have a certain level of expectation about the performance. We're not necessarily a club full of "supporters" who are there to actually get behind the team. I know our attendances were brilliant in the Premier League, but if they were prepared to sit through those games and not a Championship game which we might actually win, you suspect they were just there to watch Premier League football... I think the main issue is with attendances is that the casual fan is bored now of watching Championship football. If you think some sort of promotion push will bring back the numbers, I think you're wrong. Even in our last promotion season, attendances weren't as good as when we first came down from the Prem. Only once we've got ourselves up again will we get bums on seats...I don't think any player, manager or slash in ticket prices can do it to the same level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich3478 Posted January 22, 2013 Author Share Posted January 22, 2013 I think the most interesting thing is that you're surprised. A few points: - 1. Weren't you already aware that it works out far far cheaper to buy a season ticket than for individual matches? 2. Whether happy with actual price level or not, I think most people would consider them "normal" / "as to be expected". 3. Do they not compare to our prices last season? 4. Do they not compare to the other clubs in the division? 5. You ask "whether the club really thought through the consequences" of sharing this letter. Well it pretty simple to work out the average price per game of a season ticket. I fail to see what they've told us other than add some weighting to the numbers. 6. If supporters want value for money you can either A - buy a season ticket, the majority do this; B - buy early, going by this forum few do this; or C -sit in the sw corner, if you want value, it's there to be had. Of course I realise it's cheaper to buy a season ticket, I'm sure 99% of fans realise this. But the gulf in price seems excessive? As for it's in line with others/to be expected. We keep talking of wanting to be a dynamic, forward thinking club. Why not buck the trend, start something rather than follow others? Might even call it stealing a march on others. The sw corner seats are no different view wise to any other corner seats, just no atmosphere. Does this make the others seem overpriced? Genuinely shocked to find football fans who don't think it's ridiculously over-priced. Banking on unflinching loyalty from fans seems archaic and very short sighted to myself. The whole match day experience is designed to get as much money as possible from the fan. Be it overpriced food, drinks, programmes, kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacko1983 Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 from a financial point of view, the fans are still there. Being able to fill the ground against Leeds and Forest at nearly £40 a ticket proves that. It just goes to show that the ticket office doesn't have a clue on what it should be charging for the lesser games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChaddesdenRam Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 If it is demand based surely the Barnsley games should be like £4 And then the forest and Leeds games £50 or £60. This is very extreme i know but if left to market forces and their was price fluctuation i am sure this is what would happen. Does anyone actually know how it works at these American clubs?? can some people that bough the ticket 10 weeks in advance of the game pay a tenth of someone sat in the seat next to them that bought the ticket on the day is it that extreme because frankly at Derby the difference is not that big. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Of course I realise it's cheaper to buy a season ticket, I'm sure 99% of fans realise this. But the gulf in price seems excessive? Yes I agree. Unfortunately our ST prices do seem particularly low; the majority of our attendees are (unsurprisingly) ST holders; you don't want to lose a load by bumping up the price too much in case they just stop coming. As for it's in line with others/to be expected. We keep talking of wanting to be a dynamic, forward thinking club. Why not buck the trend, start something rather than follow others? Might even call it stealing a march on others. Indeed, I've heard of this company called Digonex that do some Dynamic pricing thingy that some clubs and trying out. The sw corner seats are no different view wise to any other corner seats, just no atmosphere. Does this make the others seem overpriced? Yes I think so. Genuinely shocked to find football fans who don't think it's ridiculously over-priced. Banking on unflinching loyalty from fans seems archaic and very short sighted to myself. The whole match day experience is designed to get as much money as possible from the fan. Be it overpriced food, drinks, programmes, kit. I completely agree. 'http://www.dcfcfans.co.uk/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 If it is demand based surely the Barnsley games should be like £4 And then the forest and Leeds games £50 or £60. This is very extreme i know but if left to market forces and their was price fluctuation i am sure this is what would happen. I'd be interesting to see that to see the effects. Obviously ST holders/pricing would be an issue, but yeah, why not just let it run it's course see what we end up with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenportram Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Cutting prices to increase attendance doesn't necessarily increase revenue. If it did every club in the country would be doing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich3478 Posted January 22, 2013 Author Share Posted January 22, 2013 Vast majority of clubs across the country seem to be losing money and experiencing falling attendances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChaddesdenRam Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 True you would have to work out the revenue gained etc from the displacement of all the people that dont come when the prices are what they are currently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddie Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 If you want a bargain relatively speaking, guys, buy a season ticket. If you can't afford one, save up. Skip one pint every other night (or better still, learn to brew your own) and you will soon have enough cash for next year's season ticket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jourdan Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 I think the most interesting thing is that you're surprised. A few points: - 1. Weren't you already aware that it works out far far cheaper to buy a season ticket than for individual matches? 2. Whether happy with actual price level or not, I think most people would consider them "normal" / "as to be expected". 3. Do they not compare to our prices last season? 4. Do they not compare to the other clubs in the division? 5. You ask "whether the club really thought through the consequences" of sharing this letter. Well it pretty simple to work out the average price per game of a season ticket. I fail to see what they've told us other than add some weighting to the numbers. 6. If supporters want value for money you can either A - buy a season ticket, the majority do this; B - buy early, going by this forum few do this; or C - sit in the SW corner, it appears few do this either. I see no revelation in this, if you want value, it's there to be had. Yes, I'm well aware of the value in purchasing a season ticket and no I'm not surprised there is next to no value in purchasing tickets on a one-off basis. What surprises me is that it is those fans who do buy tickets on an infrequent basis that the club is finding it difficult to either attract or retain and the club are not doing anything, from what I can tell, to reach out to those fans. If I worked in the ticket sales department, I would be concerned that despite our average attendance being 23,284 and the second highest average attendance in the division, it still equates to a fall of several thousand on previous years. It would be especially concerning since we have been playing consistently good football at home this season with one or two exceptions. Something you couldn't say in recent years. Usually it is consistently rubbish with one or two exceptions. We were unbeaten at home throughout October to early December. But still our attendances only peaked at 25,000 during that time for the Leeds game and that was with 3,000+ Leeds fans. Leeds at home is usually a 30,000+ gate. So is it a question of us winning games and playing good football? No, we've been doing that. Like Duracell says, it could be that fans are finally losing patience with life in the Championship. But again, it is not like being in the second tier is an alien experience. It's been the case for ten of the last eleven seasons and this season our attendances have been noticeably lower. It could be that fans are tiring of Clough and this regime. But again, we've had it much worse and this is probably par for the course. Sure, I would expect attendances to increase if we were promoted but so too prices. In the current financial climate, I just think the club are a bit out of touch charging the prices they do. Generally, they could be brought closer in line with their sale value in season ticket packages, which are more reflective of the true value of Championship football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChaddesdenRam Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Cutting prices to increase attendance doesn't necessarily increase revenue. If it did every club in the country would be doing it. Ok i did some Math here is my calculation on how being extremely "radical" with the ticket price changes would impact revenue. I Chose the Charlton game as that is our lowest attendance this season. Feel free to criticise my calculations however you want i could be talking absolute rubbish for all i know: a/img18/6720/screenshot20130122at204 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenportram Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 The biggest problem is you assumed a 7000 increase in non season ticket attendance (or over 200%) based on what evidence? im pretty sure that there were tickets sold for more than £22 also are you charging £8 for concessions too? without knowing the elasticity of demand you cant be sure what increase you would get. if the increase was only 4000 in non season ticket attendance you would actually have list money (about 10,000 working in my head) is the potential increase in revenue of 14k worthy of such a risk? oh and if you charge a flat rate of £8 a seat you can only charge £8 for away fans robbing yourself of £14 a head on them too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenportram Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Didn't read your bit at the bottom about not getting 7000 extra fans sorry but the other factors mentioned also need taking into account Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenportram Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Looking at it again the amount of season ticket revenue is irrelevant as it will be constant regardless of walk up attendance. factors not taken into account would be concession prices, number of concessions, loss of revenue from away fans (you have to charge away fans the sane as home fans in comparable seats which is why the North Stand is fixed prices) come to think if it the North stand being fixed price may be a factor on the demand model as it could be seen as unfair to charge a lot more for the same category seat in the NS as the East Stand or SE corner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChaddesdenRam Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 See this was my thoughts. There are too many permutations and combinations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B4ev6is Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 hey hang on a secound if your saying letting people in for £4 a game like barnslay i am a season ticket holder, and my season ticket nearly cost me £385 nearly 400 pounds and thats a lot of money, and then a learn people who pay ticket by ticket bases get in cheaper than a season ticket holder. i think then all season tickets should be like 200 to 300 pounds. and then it would make it fair on us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoungUttoxRam Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Tbh I'd rather us have a stadium of around 20,000 fans who the majority want to make a bit of noise and get some atmosphere going, rather than the 33,010 that turned up for forest with those around me who hadn't been many games as the attendances show generally got on my tits with trying to find where they sat 5 minutes after kick off, shouting clough out because we weren't winning, slating every player and leaving early. Those kinda folk are the stereotype to follow Man Utd on tv every week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.