Thetownend.com

So with the club announcing next season's season ticket info next week, what do we think will be announced.

I think they will freeze prices again for next season to try and encourage people to renew and to also encourage new ST holders to get one for next season.

They are using the feel good factor to encourage people, it is very early though I think last year renewals was April.

I wonder though if they will do something so people can renew or sign up when they get their wembley tickets try and encourage a few of the casuals to sign up.

Maybe they need ther money early as they are expecting a few more fines from the FA so need to ensure they have the money to pay them off :>)
 

Woah Nelly.....

We need to finish this season first

Some Oxford fan somewhere is going to say we're putting them on sale really early because of cash flow problems.

 :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

They put them on sale from March last season, with the deadline originally at the end of April for early bird prices.

Wouldn't mind a free shirt if we hit 6k which I think we'd do if we were to go up this season (was 6k the target the other season???)  :D

hopefully they do start selling in april as it runs parallel with my student loan therefore none of this saving up milarke!

I'll get mine as early as possible again.

Think I'll be getting a couple next season...

You get in free dont you

Having moved back to Swindon, I would love to get one. But, I had a season ticket last season and in the PL season and look what happened. I'm scared I will make my hat-trick.

And more than likely I would get an overseas job again just after I bought the bugger

Shouldn't really get one as finances are a bit tight at the moment, but bugger it, I will renew our three anyway.

I think anyone who doesn't get a season ticket, regardless of how many away games they attend, has no right to call themselves a true fan.

I'm pretty sure we will renew ours, unless the prices go up dramatically.

At the current rates you only need to go to about half of the games to make it work financially.

They'll need to increase the prices I think. We will go up and the give away price of this season isn't sustainable.

I shall be getting one. I was going to get one this season but didn't bother and now I have been to enough games this season to warrant it now

FACT.

If they can get their promotional material sorted at least for when the wembley tickets go on sale then those fair weather fans that go to wembley enjoy it they may see the prices and decide to get a ST thus ivreasing sales - all part of the marketing plan

They absolutely need to tie this in to the wembley ticket sales and organise some sort of offer when buying them, even if it's only small like perhaps one of this seasons shirts when signing up to a season ticket if you present your wembley stub....something to get the wembley daytrippers interested. Season ticket leaflets being sent out with every Wembley ticket is an absolute must.

If this is the plan then it's top marketing on the clubs part. Need to take advantage of the "feel good factor" while it's here....

Can't really afford to do renew it, but I will probably end up doing it.

Hopefully they don't go up too much, maybe they will do a buy now at league 2 prices sort of deal, and then increase them if we get promoted.

If it goes up (which i think logically it should) i think it will be by a reasonable increment - i'll be renewing (mines a cheapo student one anyway...)

I assume you mean reasonable as in not much, rather than reasonable as in high %.

Fact is we've had it good for 3? seasons now with cheap prices. If it goes up then fair enough.

As you say we have had three seasons of very good prices, however the prices didn't go down (much) when we got relegated so I'm not sure that getting promoted will be reason for a significant increase.


I have a feeling, that the prices will remain similar if bought before the end of April, and will then go up after that.  Thus getting people to commit to a season ticket before we know which league we will be in next season.

But to be honest, even a 10% increase isn't actually that much really. As it only equates to the price of one matchday ticket.

A lot will depend on what they plan to make Matchday prices, I believe we are the second most expensive in Division 2


Season Ticket Prices for 2011-2012 were good value for renewals (£259 Side Stands = £11.26 per game), however this was if bought before 3rd April. It then went up to £299 (£13 per game) upto 30th April for Renewals and new Season Ticket Holders. It then went up to £399 which is £17.34 per game. At the time (and I have a PDF of the form), matchday prices were advertised as £20 for the Side Stands; however thiey ended up being £25 which for League 2 Football must put off the casual fan.

I have it on good authority that matchday prices to remain the same for next season and season ticket prices to increase by on average £100. Prepare for the backlash!

No football for me then next season if thats the case.

If true that is very steep, I'd be surprised if ST's went up by that amount, next season is the right time to be encouraging new ST holders on the back of 'hopefully' a promotion season and the feel good factor, ramping prices up wil lnot go down well.

Isnt it is the next few days they are announcing details ?

Details will be in this Saturdays program according to the O.S

I'll be pissed off if they go up by anymore than £50 to be honest. I think the current ST holders should be rewarded for showing their loyalty after last season's shambles.

Can't see that being true because it goes against everything Jeremy Wray said in a recent interview on the Radio where he said that the club were looking to reward Season Tickets Holders and not punishing them by hiking the prices of season tickets up which is why match day tickets were increased

No chance. You can't just whack them up by 40%.

Unless the comparison was last years early bird with next years "worst price".

Given that JGIAA works in the ticket office on matchdays, I'd say there was a fairly high chance of him being right.

As Batch says it could be £100 between the early bird prices and the new price, but the club were still trying to hit 6K.

In fairness the ticket office, who sell tickets, said there would be 10K at last nights game :)

Only joking JGIAA, didn't know you were connected with the club.

You're giving away my (non-secret) identity! I'm now going to be like the black sheep that no one likes.  :D

Who said anyone liked you anyway :) ?

Cunt.......

So are you the blonde kiddie who looks like Justin Bieber?   ;)

Dependants on what I've done  :D

Safe to say that blonde kiddie is not JGIAA....

£350 for me DRS renewal according to my saucy source who had a look at a programme today

How much was it this season?

£259 I think

269 I think :|

Could have been 259

My premonitions are coming true!

Haven't had a ST for a few years now, Was thinking about getting one for next season.. Is £350 the renewal price? Don't think I can really afford 400+ at the moment..

early bird renewals last season were definitely 259 just checked.

if 350 is confirmed as early renewal this season that is quite some hike.

I believe it was £350 for the early renewal but I am in the middle of the DRS
let's hope me bet for us to be champions comes in, that'll sort it

did your hp say they were tiered prices within the same stand then?

hope to god the under 10 free if a junior red is still in place

Cost will count me out i think

£15 per game on average, still better than buying at the gate each game I suppose

Fuck STs, a true fan would be at the box office before every game.

no details - I've just mailed him to check for more

If true it's a big increase but as Trashbat7 says it's still not bad - we've been spoilt over the last few years.

I think that's the problem, it is a big % increase but we are going from rock bottom to a more  normal level. Its not going to be popular, but since we don't have the details it may be this is a worse case increase example.

My own finances are a bit tight, what with Wembley, car MOT/service, etc, etc. Here is hoping the early bird discount is more than the normal 30 day window.

Agreed. An understandable, if large, increase. Hopefully they will let you spread the payment over 6 months again, with Wembley and travelling down for all these Tuesday night games at the moment at around £60 a pop not an ideal time to be forking out for a season ticket.

Hopefully Batch is right and it’s a worst case scenario, though for the club to progress on and off the pitch we have to be a part of that by funding it.
I think the last 3 seasons have been very generous if you compare ST prices to buy on the gate

no more details - he just had a quick look - we'll find out tomorrow !!

I really hope this is incorrect, because if the early bird price jumps to £350, that will count me out.  My husband has just lost his job and our priorities have to be elsewhere.

I certainly won't be paying £25 on the gate either, so unfortunately it means I'm unlikely to go at all and neither is my  son!

It will be disappointing if people that stuck by them and renewed this season are priced out of it next season.  Bearing in mind also that alot of us renewed when there was still a possibility that Paul Hart could be our long term manager!

If this is true, it will just about be as crap an end as possible to a dire week for me  :(

It's also crossed my mind that if they do hike them this much, it might make people who haven't already got Wembley tickets to think twice and use the money towards a ST?  

Same as joteddyred, can't afford those increases.

Will be cheap ticket offers only next season then. Just as we were starting to become good again, typical.

This price (if true) will put us back to the usual 3500 season ticket holders.

Effectively we could end up with lower gates than this season even if we are in League 1, unless they're considering dropping the pay on the gate price?

On what do you base that then ?

On the fact that's what we used to get when the prices were high, plus there's a recession on! How many new season ticket holders will pay £400+ next season?

Wow, that is a big increase, if we are still trying to build our ST base then this is the wrong way to go about it, putting £100 on top will discourage people from getting a ST and stop some renewals.

I can understand an increase in prices as they need to get more income for L1 with wage caps etc in place

I really hope this is a top price though for after renewal as I would fear instead of growing the ST database in may decrease with people not being able to stretch that far in the current climate.

On the flip side some people who have paid week by week may see the benefits of buying a season ticket next year

1)  We're starting with a base of (approx) 5500 season ticket holders - that's an awful lot who would decide not to renew on the back of a fantastic season.
2)   £350 is about what we were paying before the change of ownership (I think) - £15 per game is still a pretty good price.
3)  We're likely to be in a higher division, watching what everyone seems to think is a much better brand of football than in recent years.
4) It's likely that many of the 'pay on the day' fans from this season will consider a season ticket to be good value, especially if there is a payment plan available.

£350 sounds like a lot, but when you think about it that's £15 per game, so £15 every other week. It's not a lot when you think of it like that.

It's only money. Fuck it. We'll all be dead one day. Just spend it.

I'm a student, I love spending money.


Which isn't mine and I have to pay back some day

My youngest will stop qualifying for the free under 10's deal next season - an extra 90 quid on mine, maybe 15 or 20 quid on older son's and 100 quid or so for youngest would suddenly see me having to find £550 or so, when it was £330 for this season.

If the prices were kept the same I could probably scrabble up £410, but £500 plus will see me revert to coming to watch games on the odd occassion after 5 seasons with a ST coming to most games.

That is a big increase. It very unlikely, but i'm hoping the concession price doesn't go up as much.

Wait until you find out there is a £15 per ticket booing fee on top ;)

Sorry no laughing matter, it is a shame if true. I can see a reasonable amount of renewals but we were just starting to build a bigger base.

As I said, I hope to god the early bird doesn't do the normal of only lasting 30 days.

As I didnt renew this season I was going to get a season ticket - so mine would be a new season ticket.

If £350 is the early bird renewal price - how much would I be looking to pay £400?

Thats awfully steep compared to this season. I'd have expected an increase in tickets in general - and I know that as a 'new' fan i'd have to pay more but an extra £100 on early bird renewal prices!!!

Anyone that doesn't buy a season ticket because of the "price" isn't a real fan.  ::)

Come off it...£259 to £350 would be what, a 35% increase??? 

That would be utter lunacy and destroy at a stroke what this board have carefully and sensibly built over a number of years, aiming for year on year development of the fanbase.

I'll be waiting for the real life numbers tomorrow before getting too worked up about this.

Hopefully the £350 will be for a new season ticket holder, about £300 for a renewal would be about reasonable you would like to think. keeps the existing fanbase while encouraging new fans

The give away prices can't go on forever. This years prices were not sustainable. Turn up on the day fans were hit harder than this and have partly funded the cheap season tickets. The balance was wrong and it looks like the club are addressing this. Still a £10 saving per match(if the freeze matchday prices)+ the benefits. We will be promoted so its an improvement in football quality. Increasing matchday prices would be a mistake

Why would the board budget using an unsustainable model arriba? It would only bite them later.

300/350 for renewal/new sounds more stomachable.

As long as the matchday prices go down, you can't complain about the st increase I guess.

Disappointed at no bites for my earlier comment.

Just come back from the club shop. The woman in the shop, who was being asked about ST prices, wasn't letting anything slip bar there will be an increase, and from her body language, I wouldn't be surprised that they are £350 next season, which is the price they were 5 years ago.

This season's ST, was in effect, a price cut due to the VAT rise last Jan, and we have been spoilt since the new board came in. £350 is cheaper than most othe L1 teams, and the woman in the club shop that the club will be offering ST's to be paid by instalments over 12 months interest-free..

Anyway we'll soon find out tomorrow...

I have last seasons leaflet

£259 for the Don Rogers stand was based on the Matchday price being advertised as £20 (at least that's the price it states on the renewal form I downloaded), but you had to renew by the end of March or it went up to £299 before the end of April or £399 afterwards.

There's no doubt renewals were good value last season; but you had to commit early, after May it was a major increase of £100.

There use to be a time when you renewed your season ticket at the end of the season not three months before the season finishes.

Clearly if there is a massive hike in Season Ticket Prices it will put some people off, especially in the current financial situation. Pay on the day is ok if you are doing well, but if we are struggling or there is bad weather it's easier for people to say I won't bother going.

Anyone with a ticket stub from the Oxford game will get a £60 discount.

PDF of it if anyone wants it - http://www.swindontownfc.co.uk/staticFiles/7e/6d/0,,10341~159102,00.pdf

We will indeed.  However if the club are going to offer 12 months interest free, I would tend to think they are feeling the price will be a struggle for some?

As Batch pointed out, it will be interesting to see how long the early bird period lasts for?  I think it's ridiculously early to be bringing out next season's prices especially with Wembley coming up.

This year was 12 months interest free, they added an admin fee/arrangement fee on that which was an extra £30.

If the early bird prices aren't good enough people will hang on for a bit and dare I say if we don't go up then it'd be a stupid strategy as we won't sell enough.

Personally think the early bird prices will be similar but the prices will get hiked up a lot by April, will try and get people locked in before the worst happens (not that I think it will, but it'd be daft not to rule it out).

I'm planning on getting a ST again next season after missing out this season, was hoping they'd be £300ish or below.

An extra £50 isn't a deal breaker, just means I'll have to tell the wife she's got £50 less to spend on prams.

If it goes up too much I'll just leave the wife at home.

No problem with a price increase. The product is a good one and one we know will be invested in properly, to a greater extent if we cough up. Wouldn't say that a few years ago....

A £100 increase would be the club shooting themselves in the foot massively. At the moment I fight tooth and nail to get Saturdays off work to do every game I can, with that increase i'll be bombing most home games off unfortunately and just doing the really big ones plus whatever away games I fancy.

If they really want to push people away then £100 increase would be the right way to go about it and a shame. About £40-60 would be reasonable.

If the £350 figure is correct, I'm assuming that this will be the early bird price as the full price tickets last season (after the early periods) were £399 and I can't see the price being less.

So if that is the case and the increase on the full price tickets is similar to that on the early bird prices, we could have season tickets costing £490.   :eek:

The balance between STs prices match day prices is too heavily in favour of STs with match day prices stupidly high.

Hopefully an ST increase will reduce match day prices to a more reasonable price.

Absolutely

More like in the pub before every game  :D  :pint: :pint: :pint: :pint:

Maybe, but £350 only means the tickets are £15 per match, so it isn't that much in comparison  :shrug:

Why don't you break it down to cost extra per day, it'll seem even less then.

35% is 35%.

15 quid a game sounds like good value to me, stop thinking about how much we've paid this season, or last, instead think about what the product's worth. I'd suggest watching us play in League One under PdC is worth more than that.
If personal finances rule out £350.00 a season that's a shame, but The Club, imo, have got this about right. If we want to be successful long term, both on and off the pitch, we need to be run as a business, not a charity.

We haven't got promoted yet ;)

I was merely pointing out its a large % increase, which it is. That's IF its even true. I'll reserve judgement on being happy or not when I see the actual prices and T&Cs.

That's assuming he stays...

It's a massive % increase but in reality our STs have been absolute bargains for the past few years.
At £350 we'd be moving closer to the average price in the lower leagues I think.
Cheltenham's ST's in their stand down the side of the pitch were £370 (early bird price) for this season, so at £350 we'd still be cheaper than that.
Top prices for early bird at Oxford was £326 and Bristol Rovers £410.

I'm sure all would agree that we have a premium product in comparison to any of these, so in that context the £350 (or £15 a game) still seems good value to me.

Yes - good value, and if I only had to buy one I wouldn't hesitate.

Its all speculation at the moment, but I have my fingers crossed for some doscounted family deals.

£410 at Bristol Rovers!! Robbing Pirates!

I suppose they can justify it on the great view you get.

Perfectly put, Moonraker.

Every Swindon fan, and due to this season, many new fans, have lapped up the success that this season has bought.

The last few years of season tickets have been ridiculously cheap. Let's meet the club half way and pay our due's.

£15 a game is hardly extortion, is it?

Should stop the gratuitous booing though!

We've been underpaying for a couple of years, it still represents good value. However, the new fans that might not be aware of this may see it differently and be put off renewing.

If these prices are correct, the board's biggest job will be to publicise them in context of other clubs' prices when possible. For example, saying that X number of clubs in league one charge more than this (presuming we get there). That way the price is seen more in relation to other clubs and less in relation to recent bargain prices.

If they just chuck price increases out there and hope for the best it'll be disappointing for all.

Has anyone actually confirmed the prices yet?

Season ticket prices for 2012/2013
Town end adults £320
Concession £280
Young adult £25
Junior £120

Side Stands
£350
Concession £280
Young £250
Junior £120.

All for renewals to 31st March.

2 adults 3 juniors £850 1 adult 2 Young £700 and 1 adult 2 juniors £500 all renewals to 31st March





Just been posted on the "Swindon Town Fans" facebook page.

Junior £120

Oh FFS. I assume that means U10.

Seriously, if anyone thinks £279 -> £470 is a fair price increase they can go fuck themself.

what about 'new' customers?

We would be getting the gates we currently are regardless of the amount of season ticket holders we have. That has meant the club has lost alot of revenue due to the ridiculously cheap season tickets. Like i said earlier,they had the balance wrong between season tickets and matchday tickets. The gulf was way to big. We have a big wage bill and that will grow next season if we want to get where the club and manager has stated.

I'll probably be a new customer next season. Prices pending.

^^^^
This, are these prices renewals for existing ST holders??

Why so little difference between the Town End and the side stands?

Maybe with hindsight, but if we hadn't done well we wouldn't. WE don't even know which league we are in next season FFS.

If my 2 season tickets really has gone up to £470 from £279 that could be that for STs for me. Back to pick and choose games. I'm gutted but I can't see getting £470 within a month, a month including Wembley, is going to happen. And I ain't paying > £500 which is likely after early bird.

I don't think we would at all. It wasnt too long ago we were getting sub 4k in league one when prices weren't discounted. The cheap season tickets have done our gates wonders.

Don't forget the monthly installments option.

Still a bit disappointing though I agree

+ admin fee + a credit agreement. No thanks.

Its going to be interesting to see the messaging that accompanies this. Thats one hell of a hike given we're in recession and as Batch says people also have Wembley to pay for. I understand it may put us on a par with others but how many people are going to see that rather than the big increase.

I think the calculation must be that people will look through that if (hopefully when) we get a result at Wembley and win promotion.  Not unreasonable...but they may have to reconsider if it doesn't pan out that way.

I could have sucked in the £90 rise through gritted teeth. It the cost of the lads ticket on to that it the killer (if that £120 is right, if not wahay and apologies)

Wooot woot woot U10s still free according to Rose (presumably with Jr Red mebership)

Woot woot, Batchs are back. Batchs are back.

Glad for you Batch! Would be a shame for you all to be missing out.

There is no way we wont be promoted automatically.


For you that is a big rise and i can understand your frustration but matchday tickets were hammered at the start of this season and they have to get the balance right now. I think £350 for a seat on the halfway line is good value. The club will lose plenty of season ticket holders but will be gambling on a good season next and plenty of pay on the day fans.

This season was an expensive hike for me as sharing a family ticket turned into an adult and young adult ticket - from about £300 to £440 ish. My daughter now works Saturdays but i was going to renew on the basis that this year we've probably broken even - not now. So overall, it'll be less money up front from me but in the long run it'll cost more with matchday prices for her.

The difference was the football was utter shite then,the board were utter cunts and we had an unpopular manager. We will get good gates if the team is doing well regardless of season ticket sales.

Hope so!


Thankfully U10s are free so all is well.

What is a shame is it will reduce the fanbase just as it looked like it was gaining groundswell. I understand its easy to say keep it cheap when I'm not the one making up the wage bill defect.

I agree the matchday prices got hammered too much this season.

Any mention of whether they will do half seasons for next year? Tokyo to Swindon is a bit a commute...

The price is ok.

Having to find the money by the 31st March isn't. Having just shelled out a couple of hundred quid on tickets for Wembley and still having the cost of the day itself to factor in, I can't see that I'm going to be able to find £350 a week later.

I really like where I sit and the people that sit round me, but I can't see me being able to renew. Tough decision to make.

Get a bloody job. If you're at the game today Nemo, I've got Bruce Rayton with me.

I've got a bloody job, which is why I'm in London! Not there today, will be back Tuesday.

This has been posted on twitter, the program leaflet..

http://t.co/VVGyBVAF

Spot on Barnard.

I was under the impression Wray said season ticket holders would be rewarded?

Barnard has a point actually, a price rise like this should really come with more than a month's notice, and it wouldn't have cost the club anything to put this out at Christmas, would it?

Surprised at such a high rise, would of prefered if we went up £50 this season and £50 next season, but we've been spoiled with recent prices so not too shocked, still a decent price compared to other teams.

I can't see why the deadline has to be so soon either.

Gary Rose said he has a Q & A with Nick Watkins on Monday about Season tickets so should get more info then, was asking people to tweet him with suggested questions if theres anything specific people want to know..

I've asked why there's so little difference between side stands and Town End, and about the short renewal period around the same time as Wembley. I've also asked how many tickets the board expect to sell, as it sounds like there'll be an inevitable drop in sales quantity, if not revenue.

Not that any of these affect me, but they're important questions.

Club red is closing, and half season tickets will not be offered

What Gary Rose just tweeted if anyone is interested.

Eh, wasn't expecting half season but that is annoying. Don't suppose there's a student on here who'll be wanting a season ticket until Christmas by any chance?

Is that Town End matchday tickets up to £19?

They're £19 now aren't they?

Dunno, have a season ticket. Didn't realise they were that expensive on the day.

£190 next season

Very very disappointed at this and surprised at the Board, who have been so good in general. I appreciate we may have been paying under the odds in comparison to other clubs, but this rise in one hit is far too much.

Expecting people to commit in a month when we have an expensive day out to Wembley is an absolute joke imo.  What is the price after this?

This will potentially affect the number of people who go to Wembley and is certainly going to put people off renewing and new people joining up.  Who's to say we'll keep hold of Paolo if we get promotion anyway? For all we know,  it could end up being £90 more to watch a similar load of crap to last season.

I don't think there's much to justify your first point. We can't complain at paying the going rate simply because we've been offered bargains the last few years.

The point about the short deadline is valid though, seems very unfair to expect people to find money that quickly, and paying in installments works out more expensive.

Last season it cost us £616 for our ST's once card fees & postage were taken into account.

To renew next season will be nearly £1000 including feess & postage. :eek:

I know what you're saying, because they couldn't really increase for this season when it was clear we'd be playing bottom tier football.  I still feel that a £90 rise in one go is an awful lot?

It's a bit of a shitter having only been given a month to get it in.

I don't understand the logic with the price rises.

At an educated guess, I'd say the extra revenue we'll gain from price increases will probably be offset by the amount of people that won't renew.

I'd have thought that if prices were maintained (or increased my a nominal amount), with the extra interest promotion would generate, it would be more of a money spinner.

Agreed Sam.

I dont mind the price increase, that was to be expected. However i am pissed off that if i want to renew at early bird cheaper prices then i have to find another £100 just like that. If the early bird was extended until the end of april that would be a lot better.

I know some people will say just go through the installment plan. Why should you have to. I know i would prefer to pay all up front rather than get sucked into another credit agreement.

What I would like to know about the instalment plan is this - is there a credit check?
I ask this because last year they said there was no credit check required when there was. Zebra Finance are a bunch of clowns and they fucked my credit file up by searching it 4 times, I do not have bad credit, I have 2 credit cards, an overdraft, mobile phone contracts etc and they still declined me. I was lucky Nick Watkins was willing to let me finance it directly through the club...

Yeah there's definitely a credit check, my only gripe is how quickly I need to get the money rather than the actual cost/increase, I still need to sort out transport to Wembley + all the crap that comes with the day out. If we had an extra month or say this had been announced a month sooner I could probably sort the cash no problem, I just don't wanna get into another credit agreement for the 3rd year running.

http://www.swindontownfc.co.uk/page/SeasonTickets/0,,10341,00.html

Did anyone else notice this under ST holder benefits?

"Free matchday entry into the Legends Lounge (capacity dependent)"

Are they going to start charging non-ST holders?

If I get a new season ticket in theh DRS next season it will cost me £380.

I dont think I have ever paid that much for a season ticket before.

If it means we are going to continue to turn down bids for our players and push forward, then I can just stomach it. Luckily for me my out goings are minimal and £380 is bugger all.

If we sell Caddis, Ritchie, Ferry or anyone else in the summer - then well, doesnt seem as worth it!

Jeremy Wray saying if we're in League One, our ST prices will be in the lowest third of that league, and will gladly bet that our league position won't be.

I've thought about it and I'm glad I can afford to renew before the end of March. I have sympathy for those who can't.

I still think the rise as a % is too high and the deadline is too short, and will kick the club in the nuts a bit.

One bit I'm a bit confused about is that the early bird 12 mth credit deal works out £5 more expensive than the other 9 mth deal.

I completely agree.  Whilst it was inevitable to have a price increase in Season Tickets i think the club are being unreasonable to only allow the early bird offer to run until the end of March.  Had it been extended until the end of April then that would be more acceptable.

I'm not paying £30 for an Installment plan so for that reason I will probably end up having to be a non season ticket holder next season just because I won't be able to afford £350 by end of March and i flatly refuse to pay such a steep admin charge of installments.

In the long run i will end up paying more on match day tickets because I can't afford to pay the one lump sum by the end of March.

The "admin fee" is £35 for 12 month plan and £30 for 9 month plan. The admin fee is basically a sneaky way of charging interest while pretending the instalments are interest fee. If it were straight interest you'd expect to pay more of it over 12 months than 9, and this is no different.

Also note £2.50 per ticket transaction fee on debit cards and £5 per ticket credit cards.

I feel that the club have done us proud on and off the pitch since they came on board. Ok, Malpas, relegation and Wilson not being able to control the dressing room apart, things have been good. Now things are on a roll and the club and us fans are looking forward to next season in the 1st division. I think we will be among the favourites to go up again next season, I also believe that we will too.

Currently my ST in the DR works out at £11.30 per game and has done so more or less for the last three years. Success does not come cheap and an increase to approx £15 per game is more than reasonable. My criticism if there is any is that they have been a tad on the low side making next seasons rise seem excessive.

Installment deals look good to if you can't find the £350 all in one go. Just bare this in mind. If we go up again at the end of next season, watch them jump up another £100 for season 13-14 in the championship.

Better get saving unless you want to pay £25 on the day.

I think the club have missed the point though.  It's not the price increase it's the poor timescales the club have given on renewing on Early bird that will cost them for some season ticket holders to renew next season

I think the price is perfectly reasonable, if a little disappointing. The lack of notice is unprofessional and will put a lot of people into serious hardship.

Going to have to have a long look at the priorities, as the reality is that I can't afford the £500 for the family ticket and go to Wembley.

I hate the thought of not going to the JPT final, but I don't want to have a season as a non-season ticket holder and then have to pay even more for one next time I can afford it.

Real shame the early bird offer doesn't run through to the end of April.

the renewal deadlines always get extended dont they?

I think they have done in the past, hopefully they will see sense and do itagain

I hope so because with stumping up for Wembley then expecting fans to be able to pay another £350 for a season ticket is a bit unrealistic.

Like I said before no problems with price increase just the timescale

If you can, get a Credit Card with a 0% interest period & use that to buy your ST's.

It saves you the admin fee and you only have to pay £5 as the credit card fee.

Have to agree with those grumbling about the deadline. I'd have gone for the renewal prices across the board with no timescales.
This is deffo a gamble by the board on future success. There will be a reduction in those buying season tickets but that wont matter a jot if we are having a good season next.
I expect it to be good and will be lumping on us as soon as i can get a price.

It's a shame because there is still a risk of them not extending the date which will mean some people will have to make the choice between Wembley or getting a season ticket for the cheapest option. ( potentialy all out of the same wage packet )
There hasn't been enough warning about the early bird price deadline.

I kinda forgot that ST need to be paid for by the end of March
Kinda wishing id gone for a cheaper Wembley option?
Dads OAP tickets gone up £100 he's not happy they hit the old folk this time haha
Gonna be bit weird as one of the guys that sits next to us sadly passed away a couple of weeks ago and it's left a big gap - we will miss him terribly

His last footballing memories would have been happy ones, I guess.  Sorry to hear that he passed on, but good to go out on a high.

You are never going to please everyone however we are all "victims" of this great success we are having.

Wembley and season ticket renewals.

Still value for money and everyone is entitled to an opinion here as well as budget constraints.

I want success this year and next so if I have put my hand into my pocket a little deeper next season then bring it on. 100% behind the Manager, Players and Board.

Football is back in Swindon.

Digby?

Yep  :(

Is that the guy who worked at Tyco?

Yep I believe so  :(

Knew him, he worked as a mainentance guy and i worked there for five years driving.

Shocked and sorry when i heard the news in the week..a guy i knew well....but i didn't if you get my meaning.

Yeah it is. I went to his funeral this week, so many people there I didn't get in but stood outside. 54 is no age

Sorry guys.  JFW had mentioned OAPs earlier in her original post so I had it in my head that the chap who died must have been quite old...and my comment was pitched at that.  Probably sounded insensitive given that he was only 54.  As you say, no age at all.

You are right though Ardiles, point stands luckily and not insensitive at all.

Regarding the prices, bit of a shame, but I think we all knew the super cheap season tickets would have to end sooner or later.

The problem the board have got is that we are hitting a bit of a wall at 8000 fans. The high prices/all seater/gentrified supporter culture of today doesnt suit us at all. To tap into Swindons real potential supporter base you have to make it more of a working class thing.

No easy answers. But one thing the hardcore supporters can do is stop slaughtering the fairweather fans, they need encouragement, not slagging off.

Agreed but sort of makes the early bird slightly less attractive which seems to contradict the point of the early bird,

Also am I alone in being a smidge suspicious that on the day season ticket price hikes are announced that the club mention the extension talks with PdC????

Anyhow looks like a TE season ticket is incoming!

I'll always go in the town end even if it costed the same as the side stands, but it's almost as if the board want to encourage people out of there and into the Arkells/DRS. I guess the board know people like me don't necessarily pick their stand based on price.

Going to have to work out if I can afford to pay up front, but having looked at the finance deal I'd rather pay on the day than get tied up into a credit arrangement to save £3.50 a game.

Also I see that even if you were to 'renew' in May 2012 you would still have lost your seat which goes on general sale after 30th April 2012.

Didn't think I would be such a whinge bag but that's a bit shit.

Couldn't agree more. Living in Singapore, regrettably I can only get back for a handful of games a season at present which sucks arse. I hate the idea of being a fairweather fan, especially as I've had ten season tickets over the years. Yet that is what I am. I find myself ordering shit online from the club shop just so I am seen to be ploughing a bit of cash into the club. But there was nothing cooler than flashing that little red ticket book at the the nutter on the door of the CGH when I was lad and I'm looking forward to the day I can get another ST. I remember when it was about fifty quid for a student ST.

That said, fairweather fans are an important dynamic at any club; it should never be a closed shop. There are also that section of supporters who will only purchase season tickets (and come to games) once we're in the Championship, so be it. We will need fairweather supporters in order to consistently be using all four sides of the ground which has got to be a good thing.

By the way, I do try and do my bit here too - I had a go at Steve McMahon a while back, at a white collar boxing event. Actually, he was alright and took it quite well. Probably hasn't thought too much about the fallout of selling JAF lately. A couple of weeks later he and his son got beaten up at the Singapore Cricket Club for goosing a barmaid. Nice.

 :clap:

Got to admit this increase hit me like a ton of bricks yesterday afternoon as had i known this a week ago i would have sacrificed Wembley as that cost me the £100. I don't mind paying more if it means we will be keeping all of our quality players and the management team but what does annoy me is the short timescale they have given us to get the early bird prices as we have Wembley in the same month.

All it says to me is who ever set up this season ticket plan is a fucking brainless idiot.

I understand the price rises, they were to be expected.

I'm more annoyed that we only have a month to find the money. I have a month to find £250 when already in this month I have to pay to get to 3 Tuesday games (£60+ each), Wembley (£50+) and also Oxford Away. If we had until April to renew then I can't see too many people being unhappy.

Understand your worries perfectly well - I share them although not going to Oxford.  If we all e-mail Nick Watkins with our concerns perhaps the club will do something to help us!

To be fair, any sensible person will have suspected that the season ticket prices would have to go up by a reasonable amount to allow PDC to keep the team progressing, retaining our better players and acquiring new players too.  I expected an increase in the DRS up to £300 from £259 so it is an extra £50 that I need to find.

Maybe an option for the club to consider is to let people pay last seasons price by the end of March to secure their seat and then the balance by the end of the season.  Suits all parties, the club know they have guaranteed income coming in and the fans get a little extra time to raise the extra cash.

Really they have given you 2 months to find the money, just you get £30 off if you renew next month.

If you're not fussed about losing your current seat you have 3 months.

Oh ok, I thought it went up more than that after March, so not as bad as I thought then.

It's still a lot more than we're used to finding so it's going to be difficult for most I should think.

I'll probably be renewing in April anyway.

I doubt if I will be able to find the money in March, I would obviously rather not pay an extra £30, but it looks like I might have to.

I see matchday prices are staying the same as well.

Im hoping i get a bonus from work next month to cover my renewal. Shame the prices have gone up but as others have said its not a huge shock given the club have to cover the cost of this season etc.

The deadline is a bit crap though i have to say. I think the club will end up extending it to end of April as i cant see many renewing in the next month especially with Wembley around the corner.

I go with two boys to each game and a mate goes with his lad. Both of us have kids leaving the under 10's go free next season, which is a bit of a double whammy. Going to ask if they will let us get a "Family 3" ticket i.e. 2 adults and 3 juniors as a renewal - this would save us £120 over the families.

I do hope NW or JW read these forums, they'd be foolish if not. I have given some thought to the ST and JP ticket situation this morning and have decided that whilst I have my JP tickets booked and will renew my ST, I WILL NOT book another cup ticket that the club could sell me, but choose to use an outside agency.

We have had the best part of four weeks to sell those tickets and the club could have made a better effort to do so themselves IMHO. It's not as if they did not have a warning that we could get to the final is it?

The finals will all be on TV and I know I'm spiting my face by cutting off my nose but I refuse to be rogered by ticket agencies after watching that programe in mid week.

I support the club and board 100% generally. Time to support myself. 

One thing I've not seen mentioned regarding differences in benefits is the priority bookings for season ticket holders. Any ST who has had a ST since 2009 will be "Gold" (top priority), and all other STs "Silver" and anyone else "shitty brown" (I made the last bit up).

The only issues we have had this season are Oxford and Wimbledon tickets, can't see next year being an issue in league 1.
---
Was amused to see "free entry to the legends" as a benefit. As if they would charge for entrance to the legends lounge anyway. That would be retarded.

But nothing has changed.  It's the same every season.  :shrug:

You have to have a home ticket to gain access so, indirectly, you do have to pay to gain entry...

Beers cheaper in the Merlin anyway and they have real ale on draught too. Besides I would not miss going into the legends if they made it policy to pay, save me the best part of £20 based on yesterdays out goings.

Showing your ticket is just a way of crowd control/segregation.

What I mean is it isn't really a season ticket benefit, its a home fan benefit.

Having to find the extra money in the same space of time has

Ah, I thought the point you were making was that you lose your seat in May.

The club has stitched up its fans by getting to Wembley.

Well, they hardly stitched us up.  Maybe let us down, as it's only a £3 odd admin charge each for 11 £46 tickets.

What about the price for a new season ticket holder £380  - that is quite steep to encourage new ST holders on the back of a (hopefully) promotion season I really think that not enough thought has gone into this they have just looked at the figures and gone ahead.

Unfortunetly a few years ago when the trust was active they used to run things like this past them not sure if they done the same with the SC as well, but I do feel if the likes of the trust was still active then they could have made these sort of comments and maybe given the club food for thought before they went public.

How dare they be successful on the pitch?!

But is £16.50 per match steep???

Pauld where are you?????????????

Why no, that's just 104p a day.

Seriously, everyone has a threshold. Some people are currently getting a ST because even if they miss a few games they will still be quids in. Obviously they will now be less inclined to do so.

Will the club be financially better or worse off regardless. I guess we will have to wait and see.

I have been a ST holder for 3 years running until this year when we moved away.  Now we are back I won't be buying a ST at £380 from the £260 that I would have paid this year, too much of a jump IMO.

I will pick and choose my games unfortunately as at the moment I can't justify it.  It probably means that I will see about about half of the home games, which will save me about £100.  That £100 will probably be spent on the odd away game instead.  For me it is just not a big enough saving to justify paying up front.

I personally think it's too big of an increase in one go.  Maybe £50/£60 this year and the same next, but it's a big hit in one go.  And it is a bitter pill to swallow having to pay £30 more as a new season ticket holder when I am a previous ST holder.  I can understand the current season ticket holders being given extra time to take up their current seats, but why then increase by another £30.  £350 might have been do-able but hard, but I can't do the £380.

I wont be buying a season ticket, but then again I haven't had one since the early 90's.  I was tempted this year but cant guarantee Ill be at all the matches.  So far this season i've done 12 including 3 away.  At an average of £20 a match for home games (with all the promotions) I've spent £180 and will probably be able to get to another 5 to bring it up to £280.  So its not worth me getting one unless my life changes and I suddenly get a job where I don't work saturdays and some tuesdays.  If its the same next year Ill probably end up spending roughly the same again.

I guess it makes sense for some people and doesn't for others.

God, what a dull post.  Sorry.

Price rise of nearly £200 for me. Fuck that for a bag of chips. Disappointing, just when things start to look like they're clicking on the pitch, but not much I can do about it

GK Nash raises a point in his post around the cost of an average matchday ticket taking into account those on promotional offers.  My dad made a similar point yesterday.  The price is even less attractive when you consider you can save money by buying matchday tickets with discounts through promotions.  This is especially true if you are paying in installments and being stung for a £30 admin fee on top.

The more I think about this, the more I think the Board have messed up here.

I believe Gary Rose has a Q&A session with Nick Watkins tomorrow?  I'm not on twitter, but if these questions haven't already been put forward, please could somebody ask the following?

Why is the deadline so short bearing in mind it is an expensive month for us all with a trip to Wembley to pay for? 
The club has consistently said that ST holders are the most important.  Where is the reward for those that stuck by them after last season's debacle?
Do not they think they have created a real risk that next season's attendances will drop considerably, as some current ST holders can't afford such a steep increase and it will also put potential new ST holders for signing up?

Thanks

Asked for you.

In slightly different words to make each question under 140 characters!

I think the biggest problem with this is not the price but the short time to get one on the cheaper price in an expensive month with Wembley.

I understand about the threashold bit, but if people are worried about missing games, the break even number of games is 14 (for £350 tickets). Whilst I always miss a few matches, I would have to miss 9 matches to break even, although I always give my s/t to a mate when I am not there

Its only 14 if you assume every game is £25 a go, which they aren't. Once you start getting towards 18 games break even the "I'll not het a ST, I'll just miss a few shit ones to compensate" mentality kicks in -  then you run the risk of them not coming to all the games they planned on. Of course if we do well again next year maybe they will come to them all and the club be ££ in.

BTW not arguing that it still isn't good value and fair pricing*, merely that we will loose some that at £269 saw getting an ST as a no brainer.  But as many have said, the ill thought out, crazy short early bird deadline is probably a bigger issue. An immediately addressable issue given Wembley was known about before release. I'm disappointed it wasn't addressed, still might be I guess.

*assuming we go up

All that the club have been guilty of is having one of the lowest ST prices in the FL over the last couple of years. It wasn't going to last forever. If we want this club to progress and grow we have to accept the increase.

If we want to copy the Bradford model and charge peanuts to get in and remain a shit side with shit players then so be it, let's see how the club progresses with that.

I do have sympathy with the time period to renew though, doesn't make sense considering that Wembley is coming up aswell and won't be cheap.

Can one of the twitterers make sure Wray gets asked whether he can assure us that we wont see our top players go in the summer.

It was the small club, surrender, sell all our best players at the first bid and dont replace them but operate at a profit but be fucking shit with a big white flag mentality that put me off for this season originally.

That seems to have been address this season, particularly in January. However, I dont want to be spend £380 on a season ticket - just to see us go back to this and sell Ritchie, Caddis, Ferry, Flint, Foderingham or anyone else in the summer.

I want reassurances we're going to continue our ambition.

Didn't he say in that statement on the OS that part of the reason for the increase was because we were/are not selling our top players in order to progress?

DV - Your constant delusion that we can always keep our best players is baffling.

Been going through the finances and have had to concede that I can't afford a season ticket next year, however hard I try to justify it.

It's not just the cost of the ST's, it costs me an extra £20 to £30 per home Saturday game paying extra staff while I have the afternoon off. As much as I love coming to watch STFC, I can't justify spending getting on for a grand.

Looks like me and the boys will be down to the odd Tuesday night game as walk ups.

I havent said that at all.

spending more on season tickets can enable us to continue to spend more on players. it's still a pretty reasonable price, if you want to watch a shit team on the cheap head to supermarine

What's this then?


If the player wants to go, they will go.

That doesnt say anywhere I expect us to keep them at all costs forever and ever though does it?

The paragraph above that one you quoted talks about not selling at the first sign of a bid or selling for money reasons ignoring the football team (Greer) or under valuing our players (Austin)

It also doesnt mention re-investing - but if we sell Austin for 1.2m upfront I expect a better replacement than 40k Elliot fucking Benyon!

I expect us to sell - but I also want us to only sell for very good money and I want us to make sure enough of that money gets re-invested in the football team.

If someone offered us 500k for the likes of Caddis, Ferry or Ritchie I'd like to think they'd be told to fuck off and double it before being told to fuck off again!

............

Nevermind

Exactly.

The board have already shown that they want to keep our best players,and this is coupled with bids for other clubs players too.
Every player has his price,will be tempted by bigger clubs etc and that is out of the boards hands.

I did notice in yesterday's Adver that in an interview with NW that the club will look into extending the Early Bird deadline...

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/sport/9567820.Nick_Watkins_Q___A/

Some tetchy comments attached to that article. Everyone of us can justify their own loyalty and can reasonably argue that they are a greater exception than the next person to gain a concession.

The real truth is that ST's have been more than competitively priced in recent years. Sadly this has been due to the lack of success, mismanagement by the previous regime and relegation. It now looks like we are on the cusp of making a noise again within the league and I endorse my previous comments that not only will we go up this year I'm as certain as can be that we'll do it again next season. This needs financing and does not come cheap. Pay up, shut up or choose your games @ £25 a throw. Yours and my past loyalty means nothing at the end of the season. Your continued support in what ever manner fits your pocket does. Harsh? Maybe, but the club has a budget to satisfy and if can't it's goodnight Vienna......   

Only for full payment though. Installment plan ST's must be purchased by 31 March.

That's good enough for me.

Spot on

Any one renewed yet ? I did mine on the first of March and whilst in there asked how many had been sold so far that day and he said that quite a few had renewed and quite a lot of new people had joined.

Not yet, waiting for next payday.

Whilst the % increase was initially a shock to the system it is a realignment with normal prices. For example Southend's early bird ends Sunday and is £350 for renewal.

http://www.southendunited.co.uk/page/TicketNewsDetail/0,,10444~2635835,00.html

What still isn't good is the lack of notification and quick deadline. The club need to sort this out rather than saying, "30 days starting....now".

Gonna do the monthly when i can be arsed

Hoping they will extend the deadline, if not I'll leave it till the last few days of the early bird offer.

Was very disappointed with how little notice they gave us but luckily i had £300 at the ready so just needed to find the £75 as had to get junior red as well. So made a few cut backs this month like not drinking beer for a few weeks and other little bits but will have a good drink at Wembley.

I take it nothing has been said about extending the early deadline?

I'm leaving it as late as possible before renewing.

I wont be able to renew until Friday next week at the earliest. I'll probably do it on the Monday after Wembley unless they extend the deadline.

Got mine sorted now.
When they are ready to be collected can they post it to you or will I have to drive down from London to collect it?

They posted them out for an extra quid last year.

If you are an existing season ticket holder they just credit your existing season ticket with the new season's games.  A new plastic wallet and ticket with your seat number can be collected from July from the ticket office, but you would still be able to physically get through the turnstiles just with this seasons card. 

I ordered mine over the phone in a couple of minutes. Very efficient.

I expect new season ticket holders will need to go to the ground though to get theirs.

They posted mine this year, where you sitting?

Middle of the DRS

We will probably be renewing ours there too.

Renewed mine today and the lads Junior Reds.

Recommend doing this over the phone - Quick and efficient and no form filling in.

Wow, that'll make a world of difference.

(yes I know that is only because of the BR game).

2 days. Haha

Big fucking deal Watkins - not all of us are on your sort of wages.  Get a grip man, extend it to the end of April.

Gonna renew at the weekend I reckon. Happy Birthday to me.

Sent my installment form off today

I thought after the Gary Rose Q&A, the Board were going to give some genuine thought to extending the earlybird deadline.  It's disappointing that they've come to the conclusion that a 2 day extension is sufficient.  It won't help me in the slightest.

The 2 days is to ease ticket office strain of selling for both the Rovers and STs.

I'd imagine/hope any decision to extend the season ticket deadline is independent of this, but will probably be towards the end of the month if at all.

Three of us got our season tickets for 2012 in the DR. All newbies, all looking forward to just swiping that card and not paying £25 all of the time, normally with a booking and admin fee on top of that. Happy days :bye: :bye: :bye:

If the board really want to attract new ST holders who cannot afford to pay all in one go then they should be giving them up until April/May to get their season tickets and pay in 12 Installments, Thought the board would have been more on the ball with this, Whereas they seem to being a bit harsh on the fans considering the price increases.

Great news and nice one. Make sure you join in the singing though ;)

Just sent my finance form back for renewal

Keep us updated Tans, let us know what happens next.

I'm gripped. I can't wait to hear what happens with the credit check.

Thats all passed, got a letter and everything

Sarcastic fuckers

What do the Oxford fora have to say about this ?

They said im going bust and will be going into admin soon

Over 2000 sold with 10% new holders.

Not too shabby considering the cost of Wembley etc

Still wouldn't surprise me if they extended the deadline more..

Wasn't this year's over 5 k? That's quite a bit to shift in a week to retain the same levels. 10% new is encouraging though.

It does mean that only 1800 out of 5000 have renewed so far (approx) although there's still another payday for many before the deadline.

I haven't done mine yet. When the deadline's imminent there should be another rush of sales (after which they'll extend the deadline by another week!).

I'm hoping they extend the deadline. Otherwise I can't renew, as I don't want to pay monthly.

I'm still holding out for that...

Getting mine on payday (Thursday).

Fair point about payday, I'm holding out myself.

I will be pissed off if I struggle to get it together, pay on Friday/Sat then they extend it after though. The extension, if there is one, should be announced ASAP.

That way I can get my car serviced and defer renewal until next month :)

Can you still renew online? If so i will do mine tonight or by the end of the week.

But you'll be happy to pay a higher price, fortnightly (roughly), when the season starts ? - I'm afraid I don't understand that logic.

I do, I don't want to deal with the credit agency either.

He may pay the higher price, but he may not go as frequently to compensate.

Ok. I'll stop trying to anticipate other peoples' financial situations. I don't see why the club should renege on previously published deadlines though - It'll only make those who have already renewed frustrated

Well I agree with that Nev. Trouble is, if the sales did prove low and they didn't extend because it would rightly P people off that had renewed, they could be shooting themselves in the foot.

Which is why I think the seemingly bad planning/like of early visibility on the deadline was a cock up.

This goes for me too.  Would love to get a ST, but the rise along with the early deadline means that I will just pick and choose unfortunately.  I will probably end up going to 15 or so matches, and will promotions etc during the season it means I will be better off.

I still think it was too big a jump in one go.  If they would have put £50 - £80 on then faie enough, but £110 is too steep in one go IMO.  Understand why they are doing it, but circumstances dictate for me.

I'll be renewing mine in April as my car has an MOT due soon and I haven't put any money away in case it needs work to pull through. Sure, it'll cost me £30 more but that's £1.30 a game i.e. bugger all in the grand scheme of things.

As I go in the town end it's not going to save me the most money and although it's a gripe that the town end prices are relatively steep, I'll lump it because that's the stand I want to go in.

Is the deadline that early? 3 pay days before the phase 2 deadline (not sure what happens after that, I assume they're just on sale for cash only), i.e. more opportunity to save up. If you go to 18 matches pay on the day price in the Town End, you may as well have bought a season ticket. Just 15 matches in the side stands using phase 2 prices.

I understand that people's situations vary and that picking and chosing or even paying on the day for the whole season is their only option so I'm not having a go at anyone, but I think some people are getting their knickers in a twist over the £30 phase 2 increase.

Agreed Si Pie.

I don' think the deadline is that early, its the fact the early bird was "30 days starting now" in a Wembley month.

It could all have been avoided with more of a notice period. The early bird deadline has fluctuated over the last decade.

Even with a bit of anticipation its also exaggerated because I didn't expect so much of a price hike. Only £30 extra for phase 2 takes last years early bird from £274 (£259 + £15) up to £405 this year (£380 + £25) for phase 2.  That's £131 extra, or 47%. I just didn't budget for that.

Its the notice period that annoyed me.

You going to try and move closer for next season?

Thinking about it mate, trouble is rich will want to renew this month. May have to see if I can stretch the funds after all, or go without a car for 2 weeks if it fails :)

Embezzle some money from your company and cover your tracks with shrewd financial knowledge.

When do current ST seats go to general sale?

Looking at the seat planner for the next few home games I think only Row M seats 57 and 56 are available for ST's but I don't that where that is in relation to you lot?

I'm M60. That must be HGR's old seat :)

I think 56 and 57 are next to Harold... (I'm N59 which is one in from the steps I think).

Renewed today...said goodbye to 14 £20 notes, hopefully playing League 1 football!

We have renewed ours, paid for them on a credit card with 0% interest rate for 12 months.

Like using the finance option but a lot cheaper

More pissed off with the price for the Town End to be honest....when is the cut off point for the 9 monthly payments...i have been informed May?

Yep, though you lose your seat if you don't renew by end of April

Thought it was the end of March?

Nope!

Cheers,good news for me then. :D

Did mine today. I usually renew it just before the season starts so I'm surprisingly organised this year!

Renewed mine today. Apparently we're about 600 up on this time last year!

Booked the MOT for tomorrow so if by some miracle it gets through I will renew Saturday

Remember that this time last year Di Canio hadn't been appointed and we were still reeling from relegation and the Paul Hart effect.

True, even at this time last year, we were up on the previous year too.

Fuckidy fuck yeah the car passed the MOT so I can spend 320 big ones on renewing tomorrow.

I expect a load of people will be doing the same considering a good proportion got paid this week.

what after waiting to hear if your car passed its MOT? Calm your ego down mate.

I've actually been waiting to see if Si's car passed its MOT before I committed myself to a season ticket for next season. Now he's broken the good news I'll be down the ticket office first thing tomorrow morning...
 

I renewed today and there was about 30 poeple in the queue.

Just renewed on the phone was quicker then I expected. ^I expected to be on hold for a while.

Got paid my bonus today which means I'll be renewing my ST on Monday. Can't be arsed with queueing tomorrow, thus wasting valuable drinking time.

Renewed today by phone, called around mid morning and got straight through. Only had to pay £2.50 for using a card. Don't even need to change season ticket card as they will load next season onto the one I have. Bang goes my wife's birthday present though :headhurts:

Have just tried to do mine online and I've had the normal problem.  The site will not let me login and never has.  In the past I've tried the forgotten password link which sent a new password but still never worked.  I've asked in the ticket office and Jockanory told me to use my postcode which also didn't work.  I guess I will be calling the ticket office tomorrow to renew and once again mention I can't login to the site. 

Does anyone else have these problems?

Have you registered?

If i buy a season ticket will i be sat with other ST holders or is it literally where i pick? Just wondering as i will be on my own and don't want to be Billy No Mates but equally if i manage to persuade someone to come to a match with me I'd obviously like them to sit with me.

You can pick your seat, selecting one of the remaining seats available, although you don't necessarily need to sit in that seat every match.  I.e. I only sit in my s/t seat when there is a big gate (so only a few times a season).

You pays ya money and you takes your choice.

Basically pick your own seat from any of the free seats. As for taking someone, the ticket office will know what seat availability near you is like. Problem is you don't know if seats currently shown as free will be taken by a new season ticket holder at a later date, or whether seats showing as reserved by season ticket holder will be freed up if they decide not to renew/move seats for next season.

Mine worked fine with the postcode (not sure if it needed spaces or not). But I can not log in to my sons account,  nor link it to my account. He has a free U10 season ticket. This makes booking cup tickets and the like a PITA.

Jockanory seemed clueless when I asked why.

Thanks for that! Another stupid question......how do you sit elsewhere? Do you book a different seat or do you just see what seats aren't taken on the day and sit there?

Pick and empty one and sit in it.

All the seats around me are ST holders, but when mates have wanted to come with me the Ticket Office have always let me move my seat to one next to them without any hassle at all.

Thanks Batch, think i will take a chance and hope for the best  :)

No, just find the empty seats you need (when your mates are with you) and sit there.  If you are sitting in someone else's seat, you can just move.  If you find the seats as close as you can to 3pm kickoff, it is unlikely that you will be moved.  I wouln'd worry about it.

Just renewed mine online. Bit annoying that I had to pay a 5 quid booking fee, plus another quid for merchant services (think that's what it was) but easier than queueing at the ticket office.

Those that have done it online, can you use the instalment option this way?

Shirley you'd need to sign forms to agree the terms, I guess at best you are going to get them mailed to you after the deadline?

Yes am registered as it accepts my fan number and will email me a new password.  Problem is the new password doesn't work as it has too many characters for the password field  :crash:


Have tried my postcode and all variations of it.  I too asked Jackanory and he was certainly clueless.  Have booked this morning by phone which took over half an hour at 10p per minute which added another £3 to the cost on top of the card fee.  I asked the nice lady on the phone if she could reset my login as it doesn't work and her exact words were "I haven't got a clue."  She then told me to call into the ticket office as she was too busy to ask someone.  Let's hope Jockanory isn't around next time.

Renewed mine straight after the match. Ticket officeman (Brian?) said that they expect to beat last seasons 4,990 the way it's going as they have already sold many free seats on top of the renewals.

Well if that turns out to be true then fair play, I got it totally wrong.

Who wants to pay to renew mine for me then? *flutters eyelashes*

You should of asked one of those rich Irishmen at Cheltenham.

We have sold over 3,800 season tickets according to the facebook page.

I can't afford to renew at the moment, so i'm going to have to save up for another month and fork out the extra £30.

Brilliant effort so far. We have 4900 season ticket holders for this season, so can see it being higher for next year.

If you're bringing a mate with you, and there don't happen to be free seats next to your ST, I have found the club are always very forthcoming with allowing you to officially change your seat also. They won't charge you a penny for it either...

Renewed today, a cool £286 down including various booking fees. Still, good value for money... just hope next year is equally as enjoyable!

Looks like my competition guess of 3841 season tickets sold by the deadline has already been surpassed. Brilliant effort (if a tad annoying!).

Great to see so many have been sold already. Good effort.

Same seat mate?

Thanks for that, it sounds like i won't have too many problems then  :)

They reckon it's over 4,000 at the close of play tonight. Official figure to be announced later in the week when they've sorted all the payment plans out.

yeah, me and Whits will be back again... have some decent people in our area (not forgetting Wagons)

Ill keep swearing

1st time for years I've got a ST due to the distance, bought it today whilst down for the Rovers game.  Anyone else travel from the Lincoln area?

We travel from Peterborough, it takes us a couple of hours to get to the outskirts of Swindon on a Saturday if all is well.

Good on you and Posh and all the others who have to Spend pretty much the whole of a Saturday coming to home games :clap:

As a matter of interest, what was this seasons total

Ditto.

ahem, not to mention Friday!! ;)

4990

And Friday oop North,  :clap:

Thanks, thought it was more. Tremendous effort to only be 900 behind following a price rise. And only phase 1 has finished so I'm sure we'll see a few more sold.

uh, I actually live quite far South of Swindon Notts!! So I can sing dirty northern bastards at the Town End! :)

There seem to be quite a few of us who travel from over the country..we come on down from Staffordshire and take delight in sticking our fingers up at the coaches from the home counties full of Man U fans travelling north.
 :smugfu:
For the first time in years I have got a season ticket, OK there has been a price rise but wth no Club Red it would mean no longer getting the discount plus I worked out that with the booking fee plus the change to access to the Legends Lounge it made sense to bite the bullet and get one..

Has the change to access to the legends been clarified and confirmed?

Surely unless h and s are having a paddy the club are shooting themself in the foot.

Could well be that idiot Mark Isaacs trying to rule the roost again.  Apparently he has decreed that you can no longer exit the DRS down the last set of steps (TE end) onto the perimeter, stewards were placed there turning people round and into the concourse.

Great, think of it as a post match game of British bulldogs!

It already takes me 5 minutes minimum to get out after full time. By that time you have to play 'dodge the inattentive car drive' in the car park. I love the view from the DRS, but the design sure didn't have egress in mind.

I had the same seat at the back of the DRS for 3 years, it always took an age to exit the stand - it was always good to see the rest of the stadium had emptied by the time I got out. If they stuck to the old ways of keeping the away fans back for 15 minutes then I would have always left about the same time as them :)

Pity they couldn't put some doors at the back of the stand to exit out onto Shrivvy Road, or better still some slides or zip wires.

I think we should be able to rappel down the back of the stand.

 If they are going to redo the Oasis, maybe they could get the domebuster slides and use them   :D

I dont fancy seeing an owen hart incident at the cg ;)

After the Rovers game, there was a jobsworth security guard who stopped the kids playing football with a  rolled up glove for health and safety reasons.  Absolutely pathetic.  That's been going on in there for as long as I can remember and it's never been a problem before.

Nor me, wrestling is shit.

If they are worried about health and safety they should stop any car moving in the CG car park for at least ten minutes after the final whistle.  Some of the idiots who park there have no consideration for others and just want to piss off at 60 mph!

Does anyone know why online season ticket sales have been suspended?  :hmmm:

Possibly to allow the new prices to be loaded onto the system?

4,200 tickets sold in phase 1 then - pretty impressive considering the price hike. As long as we keep hold of PDC we might get close to the magic 6k.

I plan to get one once I find a job. Missing Phase 1 was not ideal.

Yes that's excellent if we really did sell 4900 ish total this season.

Confirmed when I picked up my Aldershot Tickets yesterday.

Well, that was a quick way to get rid of £280.

I tired to renew online but it said online ticket sales have been suspended, no idea why?

Got through first time on the phone.

Just bought my ST in the Town End, bit of a bugger having to drive to Swindon to collect it in July though   :)

You don't have to collect it in July, they'll just be ready for collection then. Could always leave it until the first home game.

You should have had the option of having it sent out to you.

That's a better idea, will save me a journey  :)


No, Mr Happy in the ticket office didn't give me that option!

Mr Happy, you mean jock ?

No idea, he didn't sound Scottish but he may have been!

Oldish guy with grey hair ?

Haha! No idea as i did it over the 'phone! That sounds like the guy i saw when i had to get a refund on a Northampton ticket though......maybe my name's marked!

Dave's (the jock) a smashing bloke. The other older bloke is a miserable git though.

I only ever see Dave and the young lad manning the day to day tickets. The youngish lady who servers in the legends, Digbys and sometimes the club shop mans the phone in the ticket office. Talk about multitasking.

I have been told that existing ST seats will be available from WEDNESDAY morning for general sale to allow late post renewals. Personally I think that's shit. If your an existing ST holder and you have not renewed by 5pm tonight as per what the matchday program and printed brochure state then tough shit, you've had two months. If I get there on Wednesday am and the two I want and they fucking know I want them have gone then there will be merry hell to play.
 

Mine was definitely posted to me last year, though I'm fairly sure I was told I'd have to collect when I renewed on the phone.

Panic over. My wife and son are now the proud owners of new season tickets. He did say Wednesday and confirmed it when i walked into the ticket office at 8.35 but still processed the ones i wanted as i had printed out the brochure from the club website as proof of the deadline details. Anyway roll on August.

Anyone with an existing ST will just have it updated for next season. That's what I was told.

I was told that too - first game will be a bit of a leap of faith on that score !

no more than the cup matches we had downloaded on them Nev?

Yep, unless you've moved seats when renewing.

My mate did his on the instalment plan, money has already started being taken out of the bank on monthly payments - I wonder how he'll get his updated?  Paid cash for mine and it was updated there and then.

I would imagine the company forwards the club the relvant paperwork, ive paid 2 months so far

The finance company pay the club the full amount, ticket gets load, pay the finance company back. Simples

Mine wasn't.  I was told it would be updated prior to the first game of next season and something about a new booklet to put it in being sent out in the post?

Yep this is correct

Fair point, although I was there each time I ordered those and there wasn't a 5 month gap. I'm sure it'll be ok

Whether you have a current ST, paid in full or on the payment plan it will uploaded remotely from the clubs ticketing IT system for the whole season or in tranches if payment plan, so come the first match you'll put the card in the reader and it will have been loaded. Even if you are buying a new ST or are currently an existing holder and have opted for the payment plan, you'll find that it makes sense for the club to start taking payments in advance of the first game so you build up some credit against the matches as they happen.

The club can suspend any ST at any time remotely if you fail to keep up payments with your payment plan or contravene club ground regulations. The first you'll know about it if they don't inform you in writing first is not being able to get through the turnstile! The new system has & should work as it's proven technology and has been around at other clubs for a long time.

Just seen this on the OS from this morning, hadn't seen it anywhere else.

"Swindon Town have now sold 5,166 Season Tickets ahead of the new 2012/13 campaign."

Seems a decent enough number, perhaps a couple more signings will tempt a few more in. Anyone know how this compares to other league 1 clubs?

I for one am disappointed. Should be 6k minimum for this season.

I dont think the extortionate price rise had something to do with it ;)

I think it's a stupid move to put the ST price up by another £30 from May 31st!

Quiet right. £15.21 per game for the early bird and £16.52 for those who waited is extortionate. As for £25 on the day, well they should be transported to the colonies.

6k would be nice and was the board's aim a few years ago when they put the prices right down. This wasn't achieved and i never got my free t-shirt so any newbies can fuck off!

Seriously though if we can get to £6k with the substantial price increase this season (albeit moving our prices back in line with other clubs) then this will be a good achievement. There's still 2 months to go yet Mr fatbasher. Don't panic!

One is not panicing. All three of us have ours. There will be panic amongst the masses at next seasons prices when we get to the championship!

Will be nice if we get to find out....

I have to drive to Swindon from croydon to pick mine up as they won't send it out
Jokers

Well pick it up at the first game then.

:D

Haha you dickhead

Me too, was hoping to pick it up when I go to the Palace friendly.

I'll pick it up on the way to Newport next month

Why aren't they sending them out? They always have before, albeit at the added £1 expense.

In comparison Scunthorpe havent hit 500 yet

The news about Kennedy obviously hasn't filtered through yet.

Can I just use the card to get in tonight or do I have to go and pick up the new wallet beforehand?

You can use your card, assuming you paid for your season ticket.

Do you not understand the concept of electronics ?

I would hope so, although there may be a validity issue if you haven't got the paper bit of the ticket to show your seat number

I never took my "book" all last season, think you should be safe. As long as you can remember which seat is yours obviously.

Do you reckon I might be able to move seats if I ring them ?
Sat next to a human Jabba the Hutt last night who kept moaning about me getting in the way every time there was action towards the bank...gonna give it a couple of games and see if he appears again. Lucky I didnt tell him to fuck off and fucked if im paying 400 quid to put up with that all season.

You probably need to pop into the Ticket Office to do that but you shouldn't have any problems. Read about people having similar problems with nearby fans and changing seats.

I did this myself last season after picking a seat next to a fat bloke who took up half my seat, and two rather simple teenagers with really bad B.O.  Ticket office were fine about it, gave me a list of empty seats and even let me into the ground to select the one I wanted.

I like my seat and dont really want to move but also have a smelly person sitting in front of me, do you think I'll be able to get him moved to another area?  :)

I am looking to buy a ST for the TE, normally pay on the day and sit anywhere, best block for singing and chanting is T1 is it not? Closest to the DRS, will the club also take off the price of the two first home game tickets I have already purchased? Also does it take long for the card to be issued? Cheers

It'll take a couple of weeks for the card to be issued but they'll probably give you tickets for games in between if you've paid for the ST.

I really doubt they'll give you any money off though.

Bit of a dilemma.

I've just been offered a job which i'm told would involve me working Saturdays.

Being a Season Ticket holder, that wasn't the best news. However, I desperately need the money so really have no choice to accept, meaning I would rarely be able to attend Saturday games.

Do I keep the ST for Tuesdays/the odd occasion I can go on Saturdays but it would mean a lot of wasted money.
Is it possible to get a refund from the club for the remaining games?

Or does anyone want to buy a Young Adult ST, willing to sell it on the cheap  :)

How much would you want for it? Had no money when they were being sold over the summer but I get my student loan in next week so will have some cash floating around...

Bought it for £190, so:

190/23 games = £8.30 per game

19 games left x £8.30 = £157. You can have it for £150.

Wait scrap that, it was £190, last year, it was £250 this year, so you can have it for £200.