R the fans starting to come back?

[godlike1]

Eventually ??????

Over 7000 home fans there at the Pompey game. Only problem is that after that performance will they keep coming back?

Lots of on the day buyers which the ticket office staff need plenty of credit for serving so quickly, the que was no more than 15mins long

[RedJ]

If we're near the top of the league they'll keep creeping back.

[CusworthRovers]

I think a little more haste than 'creeping' is needed Red J, especially with only a handful of home games left. Sky may rule out a decent crowd for Swindon, so we re fast running out. There looked to be loads of freebies/newbies on Saturday, which we desperately need to return

[Spud]

There were complimentaries for school attendance from Trinity Academy in Thorne, not sure if it was the same for other schools.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Must admit I was extremely disappointed with the attendance. I thought on a decent day weather wise, on the back of a good result and given we're top of the league, there would have been in excess of 8000.

[mjg]

not all fans come back when they are top of the league.i said after the brentford game (wich we won) i wont be going again this season . i got offered a free ticket on saturday and i turned it down,top of the league or not i am not sitting there through that tosh again this season.

[IDM]

I take it you missed the "tosh" served up at home to Yeovil, Hartlepool, Scunthorpe etc?

[DaveOfDonny]

not all fans come back when they are top of the league.i said after the brentford game (wich we won) i wont be going again this season . i got offered a free ticket on saturday and i turned it down,top of the league or not i am not sitting there through that tosh again this season.

Are you a fan? Then again, with that post, I would say no.

True fans will sit through all the so called 'tosh' just to get behind the team, so we had a bad performance, does that justify your fair weather fan attitude?

[Norfolk N Chance]

Eventually ??????

Over 7000 home fans there at the Pompey game. Only problem is that after that performance will they keep coming back?

Lots of on the day buyers which the ticket office staff need plenty of credit for serving so quickly, the que was no more than 15mins long

Thats was a good performance just cos we didnt win?

[Belle-Vue-Ghost]

not all fans come back when they are top of the league.i said after the brentford game (wich we won) i wont be going again this season . i got offered a free ticket on saturday and i turned it down,top of the league or not i am not sitting there through that tosh again this season.

Oh dear

*Facepalm*

[DonnyBazR0ver]

True fans will sit through all the so called 'tosh' just to get behind the team, so we had a bad performance, does that justify your fair weather fan attitude?

Just hold on here gents! It's this kind of attitude that is more likely to send us further backwards than forwards.

'True fans', fair weather fan, glory hunters?" At the end of the day, paying customers of any persuasion are welcome in my book and, like any customer they will make a judgement on what they experience.

Irrespective of how many matches we've been to, how long we've been going, whether we go to away matches and whether we sing does not make us any better or worse than the next person.

Just caught a snippett on TV about Bradford Bulls last night and how they have managed to increase the family engagement, especially attracting more women to the games. So much so the percentage of women attending is around 40%.

Also the TV coverage about Bradford City where a few barriers have been broken and more of the Asian community are now attending their matches.

It's about time we, collectively as a club, started to smell the coffee and get to grips with reality of who are fans/customers are and/or could be !!     

[mrfrostsdad]

Well said Donny Baz.
No, we haven't played well at home his season - with some exceptions. If our home record was good we would already be promoted. But in general it hasn't been entertaining. Of course some people will  spend their 22 quid on something else if they are not enjoying it. I know loads of people who consider themselves to be 'fans' of football teams who never go to watch them.

One thing this would tend to prove is that reducing ticket prices to £10 for the remainder of home games would not fill the ground

[Bristol Red Rover]

Make it cheaper for women you mean? That could result in some very ugly looking stubbly females at the Keepmoat 

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Ha Ha.

Be interesting to see how many ST sales up to 31st March. Last season, the numbers were not published to the best of my knowledge however up to 26/03/2011, 2900 ish purchased at the early bird rate.

Since 2009 ST sales have declined from 8000 to around 4500 ish.

I understand JR is holding a forum tomorrow night. From the invites I've heard about, it looks as though they may have targeted non ST holders. Anyone going?

I hope it's a worthwhile event and the club gets more good feedback from those who may not be as regular as we would like them to be.

[RedJ]

Ha Ha.

Be interesting to see how many ST sales up to 31st March. Last season, the numbers were not published to the best of my knowledge however up to 26/03/2011, 2900 ish purchased at the early bird rate.

Since 2009 ST sales have declined from 8000 to around 4500 ish.

I understand JR is holding a forum tomorrow night. From the invites I've heard about, it looks as though they may have targeted non ST holders. Anyone going?

I hope it's a worthwhile event and the club gets more good feedback from those who may not be as regular as we would like them to be.

Is he?...

[hoolahoop]

Is he ?

[dknward2]

Yes he is my parents who are both season ticket holders have been invited. It says it's about the new catering company

[Halffullred]

Been season ticket holder for last five years but decided against it this year,but when the new management duo took over it I decided to go online and get next seasons season ticket only to find new season ticket holders pay extra,I am not paying more for the same seat as an excisting season ticket holder,all these offers mean nothing to me,just would be happy with a fair price

[Spud]

Imo it's reward for the existing st holders to balance up all the offers through the season everyone else has had. Get over it.

[mrfrostsdad]

We have just reached the 1000 mark.
If we don't go up I can see a very big reduction in sales compared to this season (which I think was about 4300?) Maybe 3000?
Even if we get promoted I can't see us getting anywhere near the 8000 mark again.
I'm afraid the interest just isn't there any more

[DearneValleyRover]

I doubt that its down to no interest, yes some have fallen out of love with football, the experiment will have tarnished the club forever in some others eyes, some will have moved away/abroad but primarily the lack of disposable income will be the major factor for most,

[Barmby Rover]

Former ST holder, attendance occasional this season (York, Crawley, Scunthorpeand a couple of others that I can't remember momentarily). It will not matter to me whether they are top of the league, rlegation strugglers, whatever, I will go when I can, the big difference now to the time when I was a ST holder is money. buying two tickets, travel, something to eat for the day, I am looking at a £ 70 bill for a trip. I realise that others who are not resident like me have an even bigger bill, but it is all down to disposable income.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

All good points and relevant factors. Looking to be objective to turn the tide I agree and don't think going back to 8000 ST holders is achievable in the relative short term

However it's responses like this that hold they key for me.

"Been season ticket holder for last five years but decided against it this year,but when the new management duo took over it I decided to go online and get next seasons season ticket only to find new season ticket holders pay extra,I am not paying more for the same seat as an existing season ticket holder,all these offers mean nothing to me,just would be happy with a fair price"

Here is someone who has a desire to get back on board a buy a season ticket but finds himself at odds with the price and backed out of the transaction. I believe that are at least a 1000 more folk like this out there.

For the last few seasons I and others have pleaded with the club to come up with a ST pricing proposal that:-

* Gives great value and substantial savings compared to the individual match price
* Rewards loyalty with further discounts or a range of rewards that can be chosen by the season ticket holder.
* Cash or other Incentives off the £399/£349 prices for purchasing early and/or by cash.
* Maintain the £399 & £349 prices throughout (No deadline as such)i.e no adult should pay more than these top line prices.

The club keep going down the same route where the saving over the match price isn't sufficient to change enough peoples purchasing behaviour from "I'll pick and chose my matches" to "I'll have some of that!"

The early bird price freeze followed by the inevitable hike in price after 31 March as said before, shows little imagination and will not do much to stimulate the return of fans like our friend above.

Overall, we have a ST pricing structure that I believe is priced between 10 & 20% too high to generate new business. As we are beginning to see, Rovers will have one of the more expensive Championship ST price structures, never mind League One !!

PS, I renewed online as this facility is available for the first time. My ST is £399 yet I paid £400.50. Do you know paying that extra £1.50 leaves a bad taste in my mouth!! The club has to start absorbing these niggling charges !

[viking87]

Former ST holder, attendance occasional this season (York, Crawley, Scunthorpeand a couple of others that I can't remember momentarily). It will not matter to me whether they are top of the league, rlegation strugglers, whatever, I will go when I can, the big difference now to the time when I was a ST holder is money. buying two tickets, travel, something to eat for the day, I am looking at a £ 70 bill for a trip. I realise that others who are not resident like me have an even bigger bill, but it is all down to disposable income.

Yeh I can back that. £60 a pop for most saturday home games. Yes I want a season ticket, but only to miss 10+ home games? Even the thought of missing a game when I have a ticket is horrible. And I'd be spending above means because I'd want to get to more matches. Just impossible at the moment. Also, I'd want to be around fans that are like me. Standing, shouting, Singing etc that's also a big choice when you get that seat permanently aswell. 

[IDM]

I can afford a ST (just) or individual match tickets but for me the petrol cost is a killer.  More than doubles the cost of coming to the game. I don't buy a programme (most of the info is eventually available online anyway) and I rarely buy food or drink as it is much cheaper to bring my own.

That's a harsh reality that probably applies to many more.  I also have family commitments that make a ST impractical, commitments that have changed in recent years since I last had a ST.

For me it is nothing to do with the lesser entertainment currently on offer, but I can see why the style of play over the last year or so can put some off.  Never for me, as you never know when the next great performance will come.

[Belle-Vue-Ghost]

Some great points above.  My circumstances reflect a lot of these points too.  I manage around 8 games a season (mixture of home & away) because I live on the south coast.

Fortunatley for me I COULD afford a ST next season but wont be getting one because the travel cost would probably be quadruple the amount of the ST.  But thats not the clubs fault, thats my fault for falling in love with a southener 

Anyway, I'd like to know if the club plan on still doing the 5, 10, 15 game tickets next season.  I'd be very interested in buying a 10 game one at some point over the next few weeks but I dont think they'll be on sale.  A 10 game ticket is vertually a half ST.  If the club put next seasons multi-game tickets on sale too, along with season tickets it might encourage those who want to pick & choose their games to shell out in bulk NOW.  The fan would make a small saving on the individual match ticket price, the club would have some money in the bank before pre season.

Win Win?

[Capmeister]

Dingle's ST price £320. No time limit on purchase as at Donny. No marketing trickery. They play some attractive footy by all accounts. Just a shame I have no desire to watch em. Think ST prices for our club are among the most expensive of Yorkshire sides :o(

[idler]

I won't be renewing mine due to travel costs but will buy a 10 game multi-game ticket when they come out.
Some great points above.  My circumstances reflect a lot of these points too.  I manage around 8 games a season (mixture of home & away) because I live on the south coast.

Fortunatley for me I COULD afford a ST next season but wont be getting one because the travel cost would probably be quadruple the amount of the ST.  But thats not the clubs fault, thats my fault for falling in love with a southener 

Anyway, I'd like to know if the club plan on still doing the 5, 10, 15 game tickets next season.  I'd be very interested in buying a 10 game one at some point over the next few weeks but I dont think they'll be on sale.  A 10 game ticket is vertually a half ST.  If the club put next seasons multi-game tickets on sale too, along with season tickets it might encourage those who want to pick & choose their games to shell out in bulk NOW.  The fan would make a small saving on the individual match ticket price, the club would have some money in the bank before pre season.

Win Win?

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Anyway, I'd like to know if the club plan on still doing the 5, 10, 15 game tickets next season.

I think it's going to be a cert that these will be offered again next season. I think with the 'can do' attitude of the club they will endeavour to accommodate fans and sell tickets in multiples in addition to half season tickets.

As we have tried to impress on the club, they should be able to sell season tickets on a pro-rata basis once the season starts, whether it be for 22, 21, 20, 19,18, 17, 16 games etc. 

[silent majority]

Been season ticket holder for last five years but decided against it this year,but when the new management duo took over it I decided to go online and get next seasons season ticket only to find new season ticket holders pay extra,I am not paying more for the same seat as an excisting season ticket holder,all these offers mean nothing to me,just would be happy with a fair price

OK, I don't wish to be funny but we're talking about 87p per game here.