Here We Go Again - Doug King's Latest Pricing Shambles (3 Viewers)

[clint van damme]

I went to London yesterday by train, a Tuesday.. It was packed full of Liverpool fans of all ages. Think about that one, Liverpool weren't playing, the train was going North to South. But following the bank holiday weekend Liverpool celebrated their league title win. I'm sure lots of Liverpool fans are priced out. I know long standing Liverpool fans who can't get tickets. All those fans coming back down south aren't season ticket holders.

What it illustrates though is the power of consumer demand. It doesn't matter what team it is, doing well attendances go up, doing poor and attendances go down.

The brutal truth is successful football teams care little about kids when there is a queue of adults waiting to pay more for that seat.

Comparing us to Liverpool is pointless.
They've had decades of top level success. Even when they went through a fallow period league wise they were still bagging trophies including a champions league.

 

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[Ccfcisparks]

I might be looking at £1000 plus tomorrow if rumours are true , for me , a 13 and 16 year old

That would be deeply disappointing

Im yet to add on the 250 plus for the CBS parking too

Obviously somebody will come along and tell me how amazingly great value it is and cheap etc

How much is parking for the game on the CBS?

 

[Ccfcisparks]

From a business perspective DK hasn’t done much wrong to be honest. He’s just optimising revenues. He got away with it last year and he will chance it this. Until there’s a decline in attendance it’ll keep going this way

 

[Evo1883]

How much is parking for the game on the CBS?

Last season it was 250 , waiting for prices tomorrow

 

[clint van damme]

From a business perspective DK hasn’t done much wrong to be honest. He’s just optimising revenues. He got away with it last year and he will chance it this. Until there’s a decline in attendance it’ll keep going this way

Don't disagree with that.
Coventrys attendances in 10 or 15 years time won't be his concern.
Short sighted of supporters to get on board with it though in my opinion.

 

[Ccfcisparks]

Don't disagree with that.
Coventrys attendances in 10 or 15 years time won't be his concern.
Short sighted of supporters to get on board with it though in my opinion.

Might be short sighted, it’s nice to see a full CBS though.

 

[rockwoodfleet]

Yet paying some crook for a dodgy firestick which takes money away from the club is all acceptable

 

[quinn1971]

A club like ours isn't going to stay on a never-ending upward trajectory.

Long way to go yet,

 

[Mild-Mannered Janitor]

It’s a different era but we paid full adult prices at 16 when I left school, plenty of apprenticeships around then so was way different, would hope it’s still a good deal for the 16-21 year olds and their parents as not many working at that age nowadays with study and Uni or crappy minimum wage for the u21’s below minimum wage

 

[Hobo]

Comparing us to Liverpool is pointless.
They've had decades of top level success. Even when they went through a fallow period league wise they were still bagging trophies including a champions league.

Why have we had an increase in demand. Because we have the momentum of coming through the Leagues, winning mickey mouse trophies, getting to play off finals and an FA Cup Semi Final.

Our increased attendances have little to do with super cheap kids prices. It's to do with the fact we have been relatively successful as a team. If we were still in the bottom 5 of League 2 our attendances would not have gone up even if we said kids can come in for a £1.00

 

[Hobo]

Im not sure that extreme pricing due to high demand is a good thing .. its still shit

Neither do I, it's a hard balance to find. But if the public keeps paying the prices they won't come down. That is the real problem people still pay the price. I am just stating what the situation is not that I agree with it.

 

[torchomatic]

Wonder how King will spin getting rid of the young adult band?

Remember him saying fans needed to do their bit, turn up and support in numbers. We've done that. So, what's the justification?

Proviso, if true, of course.

 

[clint van damme]

Why have we had an increase in demand. Because we have the momentum of coming through the Leagues, winning mickey mouse trophies, getting to play off finals and an FA Cup Semi Final.

Our increased attendances have little to do with super cheap kids prices. It's to do with the fact we have been relatively successful as a team. If we were still in the bottom 5 of League 2 our attendances would not have gone up even if we said kids can come in for a £1.00

You've totally missed my point.
Pricing kids out now may mean losing them for the future.
We won't always be having the relative success we are having now.
Selling tickets is easy at the moment. But we need to be realistic.

At some point we're going to need supporters through the gate when the product isn't what it is now.

 

[Skyblue Bangkok]

@Saddlebrains is known to be accurate and my post was written in the hope Doug will have a rethink rather than have to do anymore U-turns.

It's ironic when clubs are doing well we are told it's a business and when they are in trouble financially it's a " community club".

 

[bigfatronssba]

I really don’t understand the logic of this thread.

Do we currently have a problem in attracting families and young people?

If you’re answering yes to that then I suggest a trip to specsavers before the next game at the CBS

 

[clint van damme]

I really don’t understand the logic of this thread.

Do we currently have a problem in attracting families and young people?

If you’re answering yes to that then I suggest a trip to specsavers before the next game at the CBS

If you don't understand this thread maybe nip down yourself and get some reading glasses

 

[bigfatronssba]

If you don't understand this thread maybe nip down yourself and get some reading glasses

Well perhaps you can explain.

Do you think we have a problem in attracting young people to games?

 

[clint van damme]

Well perhaps you can explain.

Do you think we have a problem in attracting young people to games?

Can link the posts where anyone has said that?

 

[bigfatronssba]

Can link the posts where anyone has said that?

So I go back to the point of not understanding the logic.

If we don’t have a problem, what’s the issue?

 

[clint van damme]

So I go back to the point of not understanding the logic.

If we don’t have a problem, what’s the issue?

How do you know we don't?
FZ aside we have expensive kids tickets, Evo has said he could be looking at a 25% increase.

We should be getting as many youngsters through the gates as possible and setting pricing that encourages that.
We still don't sell out most weeks, we should be trying to get those seats filled and expand our support base. Other clubs have done it, expand the family zone and associated prices if necessary.

 

[bigfatronssba]

How do you know we don't?
FZ aside we have expensive kids tickets, Evo has said he could be looking at a 25% increase.

We should be getting as many youngsters through the gates as possible and setting pricing that encourages that.
We still don't sell out most weeks, we should be trying to get those seats filled and expand our support base. Other clubs have done it, expand the family zone and associated prices if necessary.

I don’t sit in the FZ, yet all around me there are families.
The family area outside the ground is packed every game.
There is huge demand for the FZ, which suggests the tickets there are underpriced.

You say we should be getting as many young fans in as possible. The way to do that is to make tickets free for all u21s. Is that feasible?

 

[Deity]

Having the right pricing for kids is important to me not at a personal level but for the future of the support base.

I would have discounted season tickets with a cap on the total number available for non adult, and similar for a match day.

Many clubs have waiting lists for season tickets and we could create one for junior season tickets / match day tickets if demand out stripped supply.

 

[clint van damme]

I don’t sit in the FZ, yet all around me there are families.
The family area outside the ground is packed every game.
There is huge demand for the FZ, which suggests the tickets there are underpriced.

You say we should be getting as many young fans in as possible. The way to do that is to make tickets free for all u21s. Is that feasible?

Who said make them free? If you want tob usè that level of argument are you suggesting all season tickets should be a grand?

Try using some nuance.

 

[bigfatronssba]

Who said make them free? If you want tob usè that level of argument are you suggesting all season tickets should be a grand?

Try using some nuance.

I am

They should be at a price that the average person can realistically be expected to afford, also considering the financial sustainability of the club.

What people can realistically afford is reflected in attendances, and not a few people on a forum getting upset.

All the people on here moaning will renew anyway, suggesting that they can afford it.

 

[clint van damme]

I am

They should be at a price that the average person can realistically be expected to afford, also considering the financial sustainability of the club.

What people can realistically afford is reflected in attendances, and not a few people on a forum getting upset.

All the people on here moaning will renew anyway, suggesting that they can afford it.

But it's not about now, how many times?!
We're in one of the clubs most succesful spells, selling tickets now is easy!

It's about not going back to rattling around with 15k crowds next time we're shit.

And as for moaning, I've consistently said I'd pay more for my ST to subsidise the lowering of kids tickets, others may not agree, that's fair enough but I'm prepared to shoulder some of the burden towards what I'm asking for.

 

[Kilclines curly mullet]

Judging by the amount of kids / teenagers / young adults at the CBS last season, season ticket prices are not an issue.
I expect prices to go up this season and that’s fine, we would be the first to moan if tickets prices remained the same but we didn’t sign anyone this summer because of that.

 

[bigfatronssba]

But it's not about now, how many times?!
We're in one of the clubs most succesful spells, selling tickets now is easy!

It's about not going back to rattling around with 15k crowds next time we're shit.

And as for moaning, I've consistently said I'd pay more for my ST to subsidise the lowering of kids tickets, others may not agree, that's fair enough but I'm prepared to shoulder some of the burden towards what I'm asking for.

I understand want your saying about building for the future, it’s your suggestion that we’re not doing that is what I’m questioning.
We don’t currently have a problem in attracting families. If we did I’d agree with you on pricing. We are building up the future fanbase .

 

[Covcraig@bury]

Adults 16+ full price . £600
Juniors 12-16 £200
-12 £150
OAPs 60+ £475 with proof of drawing your pension
This is based on my thoughts only, and at no point has anyone influenced me . T&Cs apply

 

[clint van damme]

I understand want your saying about building for the future, it’s your suggestion that we’re not doing that is what I’m questioning.
We don’t currently have a problem in attracting families. If we did I’d agree with you on pricing. We are building up the future fanbase .

Fair enough on the first paragraph.
On the 2nd, we are building our young fanbase with certain initiatives I agree, as you mentioned earlier the whole match day experience for example, but we'll have to agree to disagree on the pricing, I think it's counter productive.

 

[Deity]

Of course the logical thing to do would be to base your pricing on demand … ie lots of demand now so don’t reduce and if demand reduces then reduce pricing … the problem is that you need young fabs already hooked if you want them to turn up in the darker days ….

my sons rarely miss matches now but it’s not that many years ago when I was having to persuade them to go on the Lg2 and early lg1 seasons ….

 

[Sick Boy]

They haven’t even been released yet ffs

 

[clint van damme]

They haven’t even been released yet ffs

We had some of the highest child prices (outside of the FZ) in the league last season so it's still a valid debate.

 

[stevefloyd]

Bring back kids for a quid to sell out and lose to Accrington Stanley again

Who are they !

 

[pusbccfc]

But it's not about now, how many times?!
We're in one of the clubs most succesful spells, selling tickets now is easy!

It's about not going back to rattling around with 15k crowds next time we're shit.

And as for moaning, I've consistently said I'd pay more for my ST to subsidise the lowering of kids tickets, others may not agree, that's fair enough but I'm prepared to shoulder some of the burden towards what I'm asking for.

Unless we had a major (worse than 2012-2017) decline, days of us getting 15k are long gone.

We've done what we should have done 20 years ago and that's have some relative success and a matchday experience that drags people in.

I want the next generation to come through but equally kids prices in many places are going through the roof.

 

[Gynnsthetonic]

Who are they !

Exactly!