CoF Posted November 30, 2011 Report Share Posted November 30, 2011 Weesacs post in the thread about ticket prices got me thinking more about this and I've seen this mentioned a couple of times on here but for some reason it never generates any discussion. Thought it was worthy of a thread on its own. The idea is the club needs to raise a certain amount of money from season tickets regardless of how many are sold, therefore the more season tickets sold the cheaper they become. Therefore the club can advertise season ticket prices on the condition a certain amount are sold. It's been tried before at Bradford and a few other clubs in England, all of which have been hugely successful, most doubling or tripling their season ticket sales (meaning adult season ticket prices dropped to under £100 in some cases). I imagine the local community would buy into this if it's promoted properly and has the backing of the local media. It might catch folks attention if it's advertised as the "MFC campaign for cheaper football". Being the first club in Scotland to try this would also probably mean attention from the national media as well. I can imagine there would be a bit of a buzz round ticket sales if the club kept supporters up to date with sales and prices. So... why no? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joewarkfanclub Posted November 30, 2011 Report Share Posted November 30, 2011 Weesacs post in the thread about ticket prices got me thinking more about this and I've seen this mentioned a couple of times on here but for some reason it never generates any discussion. Thought it was worthy of a thread on its own. The idea is that the more season tickets are sold, the cheaper they become. Therefore the club can advertise season ticket prices on the condition a certain amount are sold. It's been tried before at Bradford and a few other clubs in England, all of which have been hugely successful, most doubling or tripling their season ticket sales (meaning adult season ticket prices dropped to under £100 in some cases). I imagine the local community would buy into this if it's promoted properly and has the backing of the local media. It might catch folks attention if it's advertised as the "MFC campaign for cheaper football". Being the first club in Scotland to try this would also probably mean attention from the national media as well. I can imagine there would be a bit of a buzz round ticket sales if the club kept supporters up to date with sales and prices. So... why no? Great idea. I live in Ayrshire so dont go to that many games, however I would definitely part with £100 for a season ticket which would probably encourage me to make the journey up more often. More bodies thru the gate would result in more support for the team and increased sales in programmes/food. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelboy Posted November 30, 2011 Report Share Posted November 30, 2011 here's what weescas posted.... Quote The club spearheaded an initiative in 2007 to slash the price of watching professional football for the 2007–08 season.[74] As a result season tickets to watch Bradford City were the cheapest in England at £138, the equivalent of £6 per match.[75] When the offer finished at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, 31 July 2007, the club confirmed the amount of season tickets sold was 12,019.[76] The scheme enabled the club to top the average league attendances for Football League Two during the 2007–08 season, attracting more than three times more than any other club. The club won the Perform Best Fan Marketing campaign category in The Football League Awards for the scheme and earned them an invitation to the Houses of Parliament.[77][78] The club aimed to attract 20,000 fans for the 2008–09 by offering a free season ticket to anyone buying a season ticket as long as 9,000 adults sign up, but they fell 704 short of the target.[79] Joint-chairman Mark Lawn announced in November 2008 that season tickets in the Bradford End for the 2009–10 season would be available for just £99 and £138 for the rest of the ground if bought in December 2008. or Huddersfield.................... Quote Season ticket offer Chairman Ken Davy and newly appointed chairman-elect Dean Hoyle agreed to a special offer for season tickets for the 2008–09 football season. Adult tickets in the Antich Stand and Fantastic Media Stand were just £100 and tickets in the Direct Golf Stand were no higher than £175 for adults. Town sold 16,123 tickets during the offer, more than twice the amount sold during the previous season. It also beat the previous record of 14,170 set during the 1970–71 season, which was Town's first season back in the old First Division. or Hartlepool........ Quote 16 June ~ In the days of the multi-million pound footballer earning a weekly wage of £250,000 where can you watch League football for as little as £4.34 a game? Answer: Victoria Park, the home of League One side Hartlepool United. It's all thanks to a new ticket offer – if the club can sell 4,000 season-tickets before mid-July then adult fans will pay just £100 for the privilege, or £200 if the club sells 3,000. bradford - 500,000 people. 12,000 season tickets huddersfield - 146,000 people.16,000 season tickets hartlepool - 90,000 people. 4,000 season tickets motherwell 30,000 people. 3000 season tickets for us to do one of these offers we'd need to have every single person who attended the rangers semi buying a season ticket, never going to happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burn_Broomfield Posted November 30, 2011 Report Share Posted November 30, 2011 here's what weescas posted.... bradford - 500,000 people. 12,000 season tickets huddersfield - 146,000 people.16,000 season tickets hartlepool - 90,000 people. 4,000 season tickets motherwell 30,000 people. 3000 season tickets for us to do one of these offers we'd need to have every single person who attended the rangers semi buying a season ticket, never going to happen. In regards to Bradford, Cricket is the number one sport in that part of the World... Huddersfield and Bradford have also been in the lower divisions of English football for the majority of the last few decades(with a couple of seasons exceptions). They also have the spectres of Leeds United on their doorstep, with Man Utd and Liverpool not a million miles away. Hartlepool is stig central, the Victoria ground is a death trap and a good % of fans are serving banning orders. They are also shite. They too have Boro, Sunderland and Newcastle in close vicinity. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weeyin Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 If Motherwell was the only game in town, that argument would hold water. But we aren't, and it doesn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well_Jaggy Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Surely worth a try though right? If we don't increase the number of tickets sold, then the club hasn't lost out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinjy Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 How does this work in practice. Say if the club says if we sell 8,000 season tickets they will be £100. Do fans then have to promise to buy a ticket and by a certain deadline the club counts the numbers and then decides on the price. What happens if the number falls short of the magic figure. I assume fans can withdraw their offer of buying. What happens if 8015 say they will buy but when it comes to the crunch 300 pull out and don’t buy their ticket. Can’t see it happening personally but I wish we could attract enough people to make it work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 If Motherwell was the only game in town, that argument would hold water. But we aren't, and it doesn't. However, its also suggesting that only folk from Motherwell go to Motherwell games, which we all know is shite as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weeyin Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 However, its also suggesting that only folk from Motherwell go to Motherwell games, which we all know is shite as well. It is, but presumably the same is true for all the other teams quoted in the example. The point still remains that we have a much smaller fan base to pull from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelboy Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 However, its also suggesting that only folk from Motherwell go to Motherwell games, which we all know is shite as well. do you think that we draw a higher percentage of fans from outside our town than other teams? if we don't then it doesn't matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldonmac Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Suppose it could be done in that you pay full (normal) price say £250 for a season ticket at the outset on the understanding that (say) if 5000 are sold all those that paid the full price will get a refund of (say) £25, then any tickets sold from 5001 onwards are sold at £225 and if another threshold reached (say) 7500 then everyone gets a further refund of say £25 and any tickets sold from 7501 are at £200 etc. That way those who wait don't get a better deal than those who paid up front. The people who paid early benefit if a large number are sold and the Club is no worse off. Obviously the Club would need to work out exactly how much they needed to raise from Season Tickets and price accordingly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well_Jaggy Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Exactly what Coldonmac says. Obviously the finance people at the club would need to work out the split points on pricing to ensure they don't make a loss, but the idea and that kind of model is how I would see it done. I can't see how the club could lose out of it. Edit... Shit. That's my 666th post! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 do you think that we draw a higher percentage of fans from outside our town than other teams? if we don't then it doesn't matter. I'd say theres a fair chance we pull in as many folk from the surrounding area as we do from Motherwell. Just a guess though, no idea. Weeyin, probably true as well, but just given how the make up of the central belt is, I reckon there would be a higher percentage of the fanbase from outwith Motherwell than elsewhere. Like I said, total guesswork at that. Be happy if someone could enlighten me either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoF Posted December 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 here's what weescas posted.... bradford - 500,000 people. 12,000 season tickets huddersfield - 146,000 people.16,000 season tickets hartlepool - 90,000 people. 4,000 season tickets motherwell 30,000 people. 3000 season tickets for us to do one of these offers we'd need to have every single person who attended the rangers semi buying a season ticket, never going to happen. This is true but I think each club/area has to be looked individually. Motherwell are the biggest and only SPL club in North Lanarkshire - population over 300,000. Add in the fact that half the fanbase are probably from south lanarkshire (again devoid of an SPL club) means the potential fanbase (in terms of being the most successful local club for many people) is 600,000. Granted that might be an optimistic way of looking at it (some might say clutching at straws) but it's got play its part in explaining why we are massively over-supported compared to those other clubs. How does this work in practice. Say if the club says if we sell 8,000 season tickets they will be £100. Do fans then have to promise to buy a ticket and by a certain deadline the club counts the numbers and then decides on the price. What happens if the number falls short of the magic figure. I assume fans can withdraw their offer of buying. What happens if 8015 say they will buy but when it comes to the crunch 300 pull out and don’t buy their ticket. Can’t see it happening personally but I wish we could attract enough people to make it work. I'm honestly not sure how they worked it. Can't find the article but I read one club had supporters place a deposit which was refundable should the scheme fail. I can't see how the club could lose out of it. Financially maybe not but there is the potential for it to be a bit of a fan relation disaster should it fail. There is also the logistical headache of getting guarantees that people will stick by written agreements, will there be refunds etc? Plenty of potential to piss fans off if it doesn't work out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirkySuperSub Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Worth a go though, if it could be done right eh? I never got a season ticket this year as I knew I would be missing, at the very least, three home games this year. Trouble is, I've since found it very easy to find something more appealing to spend my £18 PaTG entry price, and as a result, I've only been to Fir Park three times this season. If something like this was introduced and could be worked, I'd be more than happy to pay for a reduced ticket and not mind in the slightest missing the games I knew I'd miss. Also, for what its worth, I don't know one single Motherwell fan that actually lives in Motherwell. Know plenty from Wishaw, Bellshill, Hamilton, Stirling and Dumbartonshire though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ONeils40yarder Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Also, for what its worth, I don't know one single Motherwell fan that actually lives in Motherwell. The vast majority fo our fanbase will come from Motherwell, I have nae doubt in my mind about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brazilian Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 The vast majority fo our fanbase will come from Motherwell, I have nae doubt in my mind about that. I as a rough guess I probably know more than 150-200 wellfans by name, and only about 10-20 of them reside in Motherwell so I have nae doubt in my mind you are wrong Edit: would be an interested viewer if the club could publish a population map from the infamous database of supporters, but since we have staff working horrendous hours just to keep the place ticking over I'm happy for us all to just have opinions on it for now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ONeils40yarder Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 I as a rough guess I probably know more than 150-200 wellfans by name, and only about 10-20 of them reside in Motherwell so I have nae doubt in my mind you are wrong Edit: would be an interested viewer if the club could publish a map from the infamous database of supporters, but since we have staff working horrendous hours just to keep the place ticking over I'm happy for us all to just have opinions on it for now we'll see from the wee poll I've stuck up, although it will be far from conclusive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBA Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 I would be up for it. I dont think the club could lose on this, if it worked then great, if it didnt then stick to the status quo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirkySuperSub Posted December 2, 2011 Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 The vast majority fo our fanbase will come from Motherwell, I have nae doubt in my mind about that. Still as confident? Results seem to be suggesting otherwise. Certainly the largest single percentage of fans do live in the town itself, I'll you grant that, but in the context of the poll, 22% of our fans that have posted to date currently live in Motherwell with 78% living outwith the town. To be fair, it's a pretty pointless debate anyway in the grand scheme of things... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatcalf Posted December 2, 2011 Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 Also, for what its worth, I don't know one single Motherwell fan that actually lives in Motherwell. Really? Ah know hunners, literally hunners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirkySuperSub Posted December 2, 2011 Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 Actually, since I posted, I have remembered two...so I'm a lying bastard!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.