Season ticket sales

[DiV]

Recently we've had a shit team, shit ground (by that I mean atmosphere, food, general "CG experience), & a shit board.

Only the board has definitely changed for the better.  If one of the other two can change in the first few months of the season the "crowds" will come back, if both change then they'll definitely come back.

We need to get a buzz around the club from now on, and that can be generated by enhanced match day experience at the CG, or superb results on the pitch, or both.

Where as Port fucking Vale is the place to be!

They've had a whale of time over the last 10 years and their ground is an Oasis

The fact is we are poorly supported and I dont even know why. I'd claim that so many fans would rather watch football on the telly, but hell Port fucking Vale managed 5,000 season ticket sales and Huddersfield have managed 17 bloody thousands. I know the tickets were cheaper but fuck me.

These other shit, done nothing for the last 10 year clubs can do it, why the hell cant we

[flammableBen]

because we're know where near as big of a club as we think. In support base terms anyway. Infact it's starting to become apparent that we are quite small.

[pauld]

Some of you seem to think this is a one-off do or die chance - it's not, it's a progression of rebuilding the fanbase year on year. We started with an ambitious target of 6000, which may yet still be achieved, but if we get (say) 5000 that's still the best season ticket sales for 15 years. And it's not then a case of going "Oh well we didn't reach 6000 that's it, we've blown it", you build on that next year. ST sales of 5000 (say) will see our average gate rise this season. So you hopefully then keep that 5000 next season and build on it. And the next and the next. And you look to build the non-ST matchday sales as well so that as your ST base grows, your overall gates grow with it. You don't just throw a moody after the first year of what's a long-term plan and say "Oh we're all a bit shit" and give up.

Especially not on the back of what are actually bloody good sales - it may not be affecting some of the younger posters on here who have a reasonable pay packet and no-one to provide for out of it but themselves, but believe me for those of us with mortgages and familes to support, we are in tough times economically and its hurting. Against that backdrop, keeping your existing ST base is doing well, never mind achieving the best figures in 15 years.

[Don Rogers Shop]

I think the board are happy with waht we have got anyway

[Batch]

Some of you seem to think this is a one-off do or die chance - it's not, it's a progression of rebuilding the fanbase year on year.

Many of us haven't really spoken to 'the management'. There is always the fear that they will just give up on such initiatives. It may be ill informed paranoia, but you can sort of see why people may be a bit downbeat about our ticket promotion when similar clubs have done better with theirs (that's if we don't make it).

But success can't be measured on season ticket sales. We'll have to look at average gates come May to see the true effect of this promotion. With Vale and Uddersfield the effect is more obvious, ST sales > last seasons average gate!

I think the board are happy with waht we have got anyway

Which is excellent if that's the case

[Berniman]

Spot on Paul!

[LucienSanchez]

I really wanted that '69 shirt. I wonder if they'll do a run of them anyway?

[mexico red]

speaking to board members last night, they said they were delighted with the sales, they said they always thought 6000 was a bit much but why not set your sights high? they said they felt there was a buzz about the town that hadnt beenm there for years, i have to agree. 8000 for a friday night friendly!

anyway im buying mine in a sec, so will ask how many weve done

[pauld]

Many of us haven't really spoken to 'the management'. There is always the fear that they will just give up on such initiatives. It may be ill informed paranoia, but you can sort of see why people may be a bit downbeat about our ticket promotion when similar clubs have done better with theirs (that's if we don't make it).

My comments weren't based on any special inside knowledge, just  what has already been said in the public domain (e.g. incremental improvements etc) and a taking the pledge to build the business and the fanbase year on year.

About the paranoia that they'll just give up, I wonder if part of the problem is we're too used to a board built wholly around short-termism with no business sense whatever and no vision or ambition. So when someone comes along with a long-term vision and some ambition we're perhaps still expecting this to just be the latest in a series of half-arsed fly-by-night initiatives that go nowhere.

The great thing about setting your sights higher than you perhaps should is it gives you an ambitious focus above where you need to be - if you make it, great you're ahead of the game. If you fall a little short, you've actually probably still done better than you'd ordinarily have any right to expect. Either way you overachieve and can then build on that.

Or if you're the old board you wave the best sales for 15 years round as evidence that the support just isn't there, announce you're giving up on "subsidising cheap tickets" and that prices will have to go through the roof next season to compensate.

[mexico red]

just bought mine Y 185 DRS. Bloke said we had done 4600

[RobertT]

Paul, do we have any "inside" knowledge on what sort of effort the club are going to be putting in to sales at the Cardiff game, and any other last minute promo's to push the figure on?  have they sought volunteers to help with anything pre match etc?  Bradford used an open day with a BBQ at the ticket office for example, and I would have though having some stalls around the ground selling the season tickets and almost ramming down the throats of fans would be a good idea given a rather captive audience.

[Don Rogers Shop]

I must admit Rob i was expecting more promotions etc  but still happy with what we have sold

[Lumps]

I'd echo everything Paul D's just posted, as you'd expect. But I'd also like to point out to ask people to STOP unfavourably comparing our season ticket sales to those of Port Vale and Huddersfield. Huddersfield have had a larger fan base than us since their stadiium redevelopment anyway, and have built it up to the current levels by cut price season ticket offers over the last couple of years. This year they were £100 FFS. I think we could have made double figures at those prices.

As for PV, by their pledge deadline they had 5300 pledges, which they've managed to turn into over 6,000 sales. Well done them. But it's worth noting that all those sales were at a guaranteed price of about £180, significantly lower than even the best case scenario for our ST purchasers. And from what I remember about 1000 of those pledges came in over the last week before the deadline so there might still be hope for us.

We've already made 4,600 sales with a week to go and another monthly payday to allow for. I think we're on course for c5,800 sales. There's still a hope that we'll top the 6,000 and I think that would see a little flurry of bandwagon jumpers taking advantage of the certainty of the lower price.

Either way I don't think it's something for people to be getting depressed about. 5,000 season ticket sales would be good news. Shit the 4,600 we've got is good news.

[Batch]

About the paranoia that they'll just give up, I wonder if part of the problem is we're too used to a board built wholly around short-termism with no business sense whatever and no vision or ambition.

You're quite wrong. It's not part of the problem. It's the WHOLE problem. My brain just can't cope that we may genuinely be run by people with the resources and professionalism to see past next Tuesday. We are Swindon. I keep expecting the whole thing to come crashing down some way or another.

If we really have sold 4600 as of today I'll be extremely happy. It means that we have ramped up from 30 a day, to 100 a day in the 2 days since the last reported figures, Game on!

[Phil_S]

I would expect the Ticket office to be busy over the next week. I am still of the opinion that a large number of supporters have had no reason to buy any earlier. We have quite a few on this forum who are only just now buying, which backs this point of view up.
I would whole heartedly back, support & help any thing for the last push at the Cardiff friendly.