Cuts In Ticket Prices Should Be Just The Start
DIRECT Bolton have broken ranks with clubs trying to hold the line on pricing and announced they will slash season tickets by an average 10% next year.
A lot of clubs have made one off concessions this term to put bums on seats for those games most affected by the downward drift in crowds. Wigan, Blackburn and Bolton have all cut prices for the visits of less glamorous opposition (yes, that means Boro) while Riverside chiefs sensed which way the wind was blowing and slashing prices for the visit of Charlton, the televised game with Liverpool and have pegged ticket costs for the FA Cup games against Bristol and Mogga.
They are to be commended for that. But now it is time for Boro to bite the bullet, stop tinkering around the edges of the pricing structure and follow Bolton in announcing an across the board reduction in season ticket prices too.
Bolton's 10% cut is welcome, as are the public pronouncements recognising the economic sacrifices that supporters have made in recent years - but the finincial impact on the club
will be minimal. TV income will almost double when the new mega-deal kicks in next year. The truth is clubs could easily afford to cut more off ticket prices and still be quids in.
Clubs have a golden opportunity to use the money to slash prices and regenerate the feelgood factor experienced in the early days of the Premiership. We can have the facilities, the star names and a value for money experience. Clubs can fill the grounds, expand their community base and still make more money than ever before.
The balance is important. No one would want to see their club becoming uncompetitive. But by the same token the punative price rises of the past decade are not sustainable. On average prices have risen 7% a year since the move to the Riverside, a rate that far outsrips both the rate of inflational and the rise in incomes in a low wage economy like Teesside and many diehards have been squeezed out.
The clubs need to take a few steps back to rebuild their fan base and the new TV boom gives them the chance. But we should demand that the changes are not just economic. It is not just about knocking a few quid off the price. The windfall gives clubs the chance to renegotiate their relationship with the loyal supporters and with their communities.
It is an opportunity to regenerate the Red Book ideal: to create a genuine inclusive membership scheme with real benefits. We could easily rattle off a dozen good ideas on here to push the club onto a new level: a partnership with local bus operators to facilitate effective matchday travel, satellite shops and ticket offices in the outlying towns, real consultation and fans representative on the board, a symbolic share issue, kids for a quid for season ticket holders, pre-season Riverside open days, a return to friendlies at local non-league sides, you name it it should be on the agenda for change.
It should not just be about changing in pricing structure but changing the mentality of clubs .
***Jonathan Woodgate agrees too. Boro's loan star told the Gazette that this season's ticket price offers have boosted the atmosphere and opened the door to a new generation of fans.
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Anthony Vickers
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Good to see some teams like bolton and blackburn drop prices. So dont see why boro can't. Gibsons not in it for the money so i hope he drops prices too.
Its not about optimising revenue from ticket sales but more to do with subsidising ticket prices from tv money.
Chairman need to remember that the club is there for the community and not to maximise their revenue and make the club worth more.
Like you say ticket prices have risen above inflation for over 10 years now. Also there were the stealth ticket rises when we moved to the riverside from ayresome. the club got away with big rises.
Amen to all of that, Vic.
I wouldn't suggest all of the bucks goes into ticket reductions though.
Some needs to be earmarked for investment in the squad. That's the other side of the customers perception of value.
People won't go to see rubbish or relative lack of success -even if it's cheap. The quality of the team on the park and the squad - with the manager and coaches is what delivers the product.
If its worth buying people will pay a fair (and hopefully reduced and affordable) price.
Will the Gazette campaign on this?
**AV writes: Well, I don't know about the front half of the paper but certainly will.
if none of that money gets passed onto the fans then we have to ask where will that money end up?
More than likely players and agents pockets, larger transfer fees, take more risks in the transfer market,more players on big wages in the reserves.more foreign players coming over which hinders the progress of local lads
Time to bin the category A ticket prices as people budget for man utd by not going to another game.
we had the sell out crowds back in 1997 when the prices we at least 40% cheaper.
if only we all had payrises inl ine with ticket prices inflation over those 10 years
lets hope the chairman see sense otherwise we could see a national boycott by fans on a particular mnatch day. how about no one takes to their seats until after kick off?
also like to add its not as if that without that extra money we wil get relegated just as if we have that extra money we can catch the sky clubs
AV
Havent we debated the subject on Untypical Boro and the message boards before we had this forum?
There is nothing new in the subject, what does need to change is the willingness of both parties to partake in the process.
The fans have tried to give feedback via the various fans forums, we have often tried to help the club but in general meet with NIHS - not invented here syndrome.
There has been some movement in ticketing policy but have the club he willingness to grasp the nettle?
Lambie has already said the fans will get the club they can afford. This statement has two aspects, either there will be a diminishing fan base with a shrinking club or there can be growing of the fan base where the lifetime worth of the fan is considered and valued.
To take the latter approach means the club has to got to go to the people to bring them back to the club, to feel valued, to see customer focus. And that includes all aspects such as those mentioned by AV and the core product as defined by JP.
Fortunately we are seeing some signs on the latter in that the coaching and playing side of the club are realising the fans need entertainment not education as promoted by the previous regime.
It wont happen overnight but the fan base wants to be involved and they only need to be encouraged to start coming back.
There is one large BUT here though. Fans have to believe the club has bought into the concept and show this through their actions.
Congrats to Bolton, Blackburn AND Boro for recently reducing admission prices. Its definitely time for clubs to get real about this matter.
As for the fat (out of touch with reality) parasite who runs the club I support, yet again he will not slash prices for what is basically a second rate UEFA Cup match on Thursday. He should have learned his lesson with all of the empty seats from the Brummie cup match. I predict about a 20,000 gate at St James tomorrow night.
It is definitely a good thing to let kids in cheap as they are the fanbase of the future but that simple fact is obviously too difficult for a lot of the big time charlies involved in football these days to understand.
A few weeks ago on local radio a club spokesman said that among other factors in the pricing policy they looked at prices of comparable Premiership clubs. Blackburn was mentioned, let's hope they follow the lead from Bolton.
I am confident that Steve Gibson will step up to the plate on this one. He has already seen the benefit of lowering prices for cup matches. He knows the importance to the club of big gates at the Riverside and I believe he thinks the club should be accesible to all the people of Teesside.
I will be very surprised and disapointed if prices for next season aren't reduced significantly. Not to do so would send out all the wrong signals and would increase the exodous from match day attendances.
Reduced ticket prices combined with the teams more exciting style of play could be a powerful combination to creating regular near full houses and recreating the exciting times of the Juninho era.
Go for it Gibbo, seize the moment!!
Just a quick point that i do believe tickets should be reduced for the simple fact we are going to lose a generation of fans due to people not being able to afford tickets and everything that comes with a match day.
With the clubs now receiving more money than ever from TV rights this is the perfect oppotunity. Why not offer buy one season ticket get one half price? Or buy a season ticket for the big 5 games of the season? Try a 10 game season ticket for adults and your child for a fiver.
You just have to look at SKY TV on how they mix and match there Digital packages.
Good to see in the gazette Woodgate understands the fans feelings too. Lets hope next season the cheaper tickets extends to all games
Jonathan Woodgate today urged Boro to keep offering fans bargain ticket prices to boost home gates.
Saturday's FA Cup attendance against West Brom was the second highest of the season, only the "kids for a quid" win over Charlton eclipsing it before Christmas.
Woodgate revelled in the big match atmosphere against the Baggies and believes punters will keep on flocking through the Riverside turnstiles if they continue to get value for money admission.
The classy central defender said: "It was good to have the stadium full. I think they made the right choice in putting the prices down.
"Not everyone has got a lot of money in Middlesbrough and when you put the prices down people will come and hopefully they will keep on doing it.
"It gives the kids a chance to come to games as well and it was good to have the stadium full. It was a good atmosphere."
Its in MFC's best interest to reduce tickets and achieve near capacity crowds because if kids and adults (parents) arent attracted riverside then the kids drift away and end up suppoorting chelsea/manutd because they watch the games on sky tv.
At the moment the big 4 are getting stronger and stronger as their fan base increases due to being on tv so much and the rest of the teams like boro are getting smaller and smaller. it will end up back to crowds of 1990s unless the club are proactive.
the premier league will just end up like scottish/portuguese leagues where the 4 teams are dominant and other teams are just making up the numbers
**AV writes: There is a noticeable trend of the Riverside crowd towards middle-age. The lads who started back in 1995 are not nudging towards their 40s. A lot of the family groups have thinned out as kids reached 16 and full-price tickets while a lot of the lads in their late teens/early 20s - once the heart of the crowd - are struggling with first houses, cars and families whilel on relatively low wages.
AV,
I think there is a problem with many fans in their 20s-40s who have since moved outside the area-perhaps down south. got families to bring up and like you say big mortgages, bills etc and feel that the cost of driving up to the game and buying a ticket can be nearly £100.
Don't know the figures but i would guess 10-15% of season ticket holders live over 60 miles from the Riverside and probably find it difficult to make midweek games.
Middlesbrough has a reputation of people working all over the country. if you live away during the week then at weekends you might prefer to spend time with your family
its not just about the fans who live within 4 miles of the Riverside. An example was last season with european games on a thursday. many fans would have to take time off work to get up for a thursday game and then if there is a home game on sunday,2 long trips in 4 days is expensive and time consuming.
**AV writes: Yes, I think that is another factor. The annual Premier League in-house fans' survey showed something like 94% of ST living within 15 miles of the ground but there is no saying how many work away during the week.
Alf
You are right in that crowds will continue falling unless the match is made the feature of the week for many people.
There have been many pin pricks to discourage individual fans over the years. Like several clubs in the premiership we know we are there to make the numbers up as far as the title is concerned. The fans are not stupid and dont expect the title. Treat them well and they will gradually come back with the next generation as well.
AV rightly stated about the average age of the fan rising, if the club dont take action it will worsen.
There are many actions the club can take, many will take some time to come into effect and make a difference so the club has to do something that shows they mean business.
The most obvious starting point is getting bums on seats so that means ticket prices - a tangible clue to the fans that the club wants people to come. The clever stuff can run in parallel to getting people back in the ground.
The biggest blight is the money going on salaries and agents. I dont mind players getting paid a decent salary but I wonder how many like myself saw that the womens team were struggling for sponsorship. The players helped out but I dont know the figures. I guess a weeks wages from even a squad member would have sorted out kit and travel for a year.
I know the club operate on a commercial(ish) footing and have to pay a going rate but if all the new money goes out of the door to players and agents then it will only create even more disenchantment.
Any reduction in prices has to be a good thing, however I do not think that a 10% reduction in prices will make much difference to the overall size of crowds that go to the Riverside.
Season ticket holders need to feel valued, and as such other incentives need to be dreamed up to retain the current crop of seson ticket holders, and to entice the next generation of fans.
All season ticket holders should get free tickets to home cup games. This might end up costing the club nothing, as Boro could be drawn away from home in all the games. But at the least the gesture would have been made.
A free or token priced (£20) junior ticket should be provided with every adult season ticket. The kids brought along are going to hopefully be the next generation of fans.
Season ticket holders should be given the option to buy a ticket in a specially designated area of the ground where you sit where you like for each game (a singing section as such).
I think that this is great news - a great first step. At last a little bit of movement that could really start the ball rolling. I just hope that it does and that it stays like that over the long term and that this isn't just something to keep us all quiet for the time being. Who knows, I guess that time will tell.
TB
**AV writes: I have deleted this comment because there is no way that was the real Commisar. Very Naughty.
Keep the prices high and keep the riff raff away.
We dont want "these" people who have little or no money to attend soccer matches anymore.
"These" people do nothing but wear scruffy clothes, swear a lot and attend the match in an inebriated state.
People should be made to wear a collar and tie for soccer matches and training shoes, hoods and jeans should be banned forthwith.
Lets implement these rules and bring some much needed discipline to the soccer stadia. Who knows it may rub off on the indisciplined ruffains who maraud in packs around our streets.
**AV writes: Alright, I'll let you have this one. I like a flimsily constructed spoof as much as the next bloke.
boro reduce the price for man utd visit and what happens a full house. the price for the return, £35-42 half that if your under 16 or over 65. this is great ticket pricing but only for mangreedy united. or is that normal for the big 4 teams.
**AV writes: Yes, sadly thi sis normal for the big teams. It's £48 at Chelsea. The normal away price at Man U is £36.
At clubs like Boro, Bolton and Blackburn gates are generally down. especially in cup games, and the economics logic is that falling demand means a cut in prices.
The big clubs are still getting close to sellouts and the logic is prices are maintained and in some cases even increased.