Ticket prices, we are in a double dipper..

[foxaholic]

When the prices are cut to £5 and £10 for sme cup matches the attendance is usually half the normal hardly an incentive to cut and this has always beeen the case

[brockmyster]

When the prices are cut to £5 and £10 for sme cup matches the attendance is usually half the normal hardly an incentive to cut and this has always beeen the case

If you cut the prices for a league game more people would come, lets face facts not many people want to spend a cold evening watching us play Macclesfield in the league cup

[fleckneymike]

When the prices are cut to £5 and £10 for sme cup matches the attendance is usually half the normal hardly an incentive to cut and this has always beeen the case

Shhhh that doesn't fit with the theory at all.

[purpleronnie]

Not sure what the problem is, leicester city is a business if people are willing to pay £30 then that's what they'll charge.

[Vlad the Fox]

Ticket prices aren't coming down while the costs of running a football club are so high.

Wage capping and maximum transfer fees should be the way but won't be as the big clubs have too much power in the game.

[Trav Le Bleu]

Not sure what the problem is, leicester city is a business if people are willing to pay £30 then that's what they'll charge.

If the stadium is half full, then this is an indicator that people are not willing to pay £30?

Not only does a full stadium provide extra sales of food/booze/programs, etc, it creates an atmosphere that brings people back, makes the players feel as they are appreciated, possibly making them play better and thereby reaping the reward of the Premiership (whatever THAT is, I'm very deluded with all that.)

[Corky]

If the stadium is half full, then this is an indicator that people are not willing to pay £30?

Not only does a full stadium provide extra sales of food/booze/programs, etc, it creates an atmosphere that brings people back, makes the players feel as they are appreciated, possibly making them play better and thereby reaping the reward of the Premiership (whatever THAT is, I'm very deluded with all that.)

It's not half-full though, it's three-quarters full on average, which is comparable with the rest of the league.

[purpleronnie]

If the stadium is half full, then this is an indicator that people are not willing to pay £30?

Not only does a full stadium provide extra sales of food/booze/programs, etc, it creates an atmosphere that brings people back, makes the players feel as they are appreciated, possibly making them play better and thereby reaping the reward of the Premiership (whatever THAT is, I'm very deluded with all that.)

but like a poster previosly said financially they'll be worse off if they reduce the prices.

[5waller5]

Dropping ticket prices to get bums on seats is counterproductive. If you work on the very basic assumption (I've ignored season tickets for simplicity) that we have 20,000 people paying £30 per match thats £600k per match. If you dropped prices by just £5 you'd need to attract 24,000 supporters just to make the £600k, drop prices to £20 and you are looking at a crowd of 30,000 just to make £600k.

The simpler answer is to improve the product and shudder 'match day experience' and get more people paying willing to pay premium prices.

You're ignoring a few other factors ....

If 20,000 people on average turn up that's 20,000 opportunities looking at advertising boards, engaging with sponsorship etc.

50% more in the ground = selling that adspace and sponsorships for 50% more.

20,000 gives plenty of seats available in the cheap areas, no problem parking etc.... so casual attendees can do so in the cheaper areas and the club car parks aren't full.

10,000 less fans = say 3000 less kids walking past the megastore and pulling their dad's arm to buy a £35 shirt.

10,000 less thirsty fans at half time.

1,000 less £1.50 yorkie bars, pies, pints, cokes, programs at £1+ profit each .... yeah not much until you multiply by 25ish games.

A meal in the restaurant, a box, etc etc - all £70 plus per game x 25 games x say 1000 punters....

Also don't forget that by dropping the prices the whole stadium has a little more money in their pockets to spend at the club - not just the extra people.

Then you've got the empty restaurant syndrome ... more people will want to attend something busy than an empty stadium with no atmosphere .... it's why restauranteurs put you in the window, it's why we join the back of a queue.

Also the last tickets to sell are almost always the most expensive at any event ... so having plenty of space means you never sell those last few expensive highly profitable seats. Think about the airline industry for the best illustration of that one.

It's terrible business having a stadium less than 2/3rds full.

[5waller5]

Whatever the price was the average attendance wouldnt change. The casual fan is exactly that someone who doesn't go every game so the expectation of getting 5000 more fans on ticket price is wrong, are biggest attendance last year was about 27000 so assuming that fixture would have had most of the casual fans there it would involve them all coming every game so why wouldn't they just get a season ticket? The club also has to justify the price of a season ticket, why would someone buy one if it was cheaper to just buy a ticket for every game?

Basic supply and demand, it would and does.

[Guest MattP]

If you cut the prices for a league game more people would come, lets face facts not many people want to spend a cold evening watching us play Macclesfield in the league cup

I'd quite happily spend £25 to watch us v Forest.

I wouldn't go at home to Burton on a Tuesday night if it was free.

No point moaning as prices are not coming down, I absolutely dread to think what we'll be paying if we get to the Premier League.

[yorkie1999]

They should have a last chance ticket they sell 5mins before kickoff for a fiver. That way they would increase the amount of bums on seats without risking a loss of revenue because most fans want to be there for the kick off, but fans who are a bit skint can still get to watch most of the game.

[Corky]

They should have a last chance ticket they sell 5mins before kickoff for a fiver. That way they would increase the amount of bums on seats without risking a loss of revenue because most fans want to be there for the kick off, but fans who are a bit skint can still get to watch most of the game.

That seems like a decent compromise, although there will be complaints from people who paid full price long before though, so it will need so good marketing.

[5waller5]

They should have a last chance ticket they sell 5mins before kickoff for a fiver. That way they would increase the amount of bums on seats without risking a loss of revenue because most fans want to be there for the kick off, but fans who are a bit skint can still get to watch most of the game.

Seems like a great idea ..... BUT, they'd have to take their seats in the last few mins of the half - Imagine how p*55ed off you'd be having to get up and let them get to their seats whilst we have a corner!!

[Babylon]

They should have a last chance ticket they sell 5mins before kickoff for a fiver. That way they would increase the amount of bums on seats without risking a loss of revenue because most fans want to be there for the kick off, but fans who are a bit skint can still get to watch most of the game.

Or everyone waits until 5 minutes before kickoff as they don't think spending another £25 is worth getting in the ground early.

Not feasible, not allowed.

[Trav Le Bleu]

Plus huge queues at the stadium minutes before kick-off.

[Babylon]

You're ignoring a few other factors ....

If 20,000 people on average turn up that's 20,000 opportunities looking at advertising boards, engaging with sponsorship etc.

50% more in the ground = selling that adspace and sponsorships for 50% more.

20,000 gives plenty of seats available in the cheap areas, no problem parking etc.... so casual attendees can do so in the cheaper areas and the club car parks aren't full.

10,000 less fans = say 3000 less kids walking past the megastore and pulling their dad's arm to buy a £35 shirt.

10,000 less thirsty fans at half time.

1,000 less £1.50 yorkie bars, pies, pints, cokes, programs at £1+ profit each .... yeah not much until you multiply by 25ish games.

A meal in the restaurant, a box, etc etc - all £70 plus per game x 25 games x say 1000 punters....

Also don't forget that by dropping the prices the whole stadium has a little more money in their pockets to spend at the club - not just the extra people.

Then you've got the empty restaurant syndrome ... more people will want to attend something busy than an empty stadium with no atmosphere .... it's why restauranteurs put you in the window, it's why we join the back of a queue.

Also the last tickets to sell are almost always the most expensive at any event ... so having plenty of space means you never sell those last few expensive highly profitable seats. Think about the airline industry for the best illustration of that one.

It's terrible business having a stadium less than 2/3rds full.

You think every club in the country hasn't done the numbers? Look at all the half empty stadiums with teams charging a fortune around the country, the numbers simply don't stack up enough.

[Jace]

Excuses excuses!!

My new excuse is the holiday inn is full

[yorkie1999]

Or everyone waits until 5 minutes before kickoff as they don't think spending another £25 is worth getting in the ground early.

Not feasible, not allowed.

Yeah but you'd miss the start of the game and you're taking a chance where you sit. Surely with this new swipe card system they'd know instantly where seats are available and the blokes in the turnstyles could sell them.

[Babylon]

Yeah but you'd miss the start of the game and you're taking a chance where you sit. Surely with this new swipe card system they'd know instantly where seats are available and the blokes in the turnstyles could sell them.

I wouldn't care about missing 5 minutes if it meant saving £20. It's not fair and it's not allowed.

[5waller5]

You think every club in the country hasn't done the numbers? Look at all the half empty stadiums with teams charging a fortune around the country, the numbers simply don't stack up enough.

Have you met many commercial directors of football clubs??? You'd be surprised at how little of this thinking is done.

Even if they have they'd have to guess the answer because you can't run the same game on the same day with one set of ticket prices and then do it again with another.

I wasn't really making any point anyway apart from it's just not as simple as ticket price v attendance, there's lots of factors to take into consideration, often not done so.

[Babylon]

Have you met many commercial directors of football clubs???

Yes I used to work with them.

Even if they have they'd have to guess the answer because you can't run the same game on the same day with one set of ticket prices and then do it again with another.

It's what every company up and down the land has to do, they all make projections. I'm sure the business men and women worth several hundred million are quite used to making projections on their business.

I wasn't really making any point anyway apart from it's just not as simple as ticket price v attendance, there's lots of factors to take into consideration, often not done so.

I've looked at the accounts a few times and food, shirts etc is a very small percentage of profits.

[Jace]

If you market something like a football ticket by dropping the price at the last minute it may work the first few times but long term you are seriously going to ruin your product and stop people from buying it. For a start people will stop buying it hoping to get it last minute so you lose all your existing revenue and normal price sales, and secondly you will piss your customers off that do pay full price and put some of them off from buying the product all together. Good short term strategy but long term could ruin the club

[Guest MattP]

Didn't realise how big other football income was, are transfers included in that?

Twice the amount of sponsorship and corporate stuff...

[fleckneymike]

You're ignoring a few other factors ....

If 20,000 people on average turn up that's 20,000 opportunities looking at advertising boards, engaging with sponsorship etc.

50% more in the ground = selling that adspace and sponsorships for 50% more.

20,000 gives plenty of seats available in the cheap areas, no problem parking etc.... so casual attendees can do so in the cheaper areas and the club car parks aren't full.

10,000 less fans = say 3000 less kids walking past the megastore and pulling their dad's arm to buy a £35 shirt.

10,000 less thirsty fans at half time.

1,000 less £1.50 yorkie bars, pies, pints, cokes, programs at £1+ profit each .... yeah not much until you multiply by 25ish games.

A meal in the restaurant, a box, etc etc - all £70 plus per game x 25 games x say 1000 punters....

Also don't forget that by dropping the prices the whole stadium has a little more money in their pockets to spend at the club - not just the extra people.

Then you've got the empty restaurant syndrome ... more people will want to attend something busy than an empty stadium with no atmosphere .... it's why restauranteurs put you in the window, it's why we join the back of a queue.

Also the last tickets to sell are almost always the most expensive at any event ... so having plenty of space means you never sell those last few expensive highly profitable seats. Think about the airline industry for the best illustration of that one.

It's terrible business having a stadium less than 2/3rds full.

These are pie in the sky figures. It's bums on seats which bring the revenue steams and sadly its the bums on the posh seats which bring the most.

Food concessions bring in very little income as they are limited in terms of sales and mark up. Essentially you have a 15 minute trading window where you are selling products with little mark up potential. The reasons cinemas are switching to ticket sales at concession stands is to get you to buy popcorn as that is where their money is (4p material cost £4 sale price), those margins aren't possible at football. Any perishable goods like pies, pints, pasties, burgers are a sure fire money loser as any over prep on your part and you're left with dead stock after half time. The money is in pop and hot drinks but not at the £1 levels you imagine

Advertising is a very limited market too. look at some of the boards around the ground, how much do you suppose local double glazing and carpet firms actually pay?

The shirt sale idea is also a fallacy, once you've bought the shirt thats you done. It's a one off cash injection, unless you attract a different new set of fans every home game you aren't going to shift many additional shirts. Also bear in mind that the club also get lumbered with lots of dead stock year on year when the kit cycle moves on.

Clubs do the calculations on food sales, shirt sales etc on a match by match basis and the returns don't justify a price drop.