Season tickets released!

[Saint_clark]

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned, but has anyone noticed that new season tickets in the family enclosure cost more than individual tickets if you're a young adult, senior or an under 12? I thought the point of a season ticket was that the club give a financial reward to those attending every game?

 

I just checked and I have no idea what you're on about. £12 x 23 = £276, that's nearly £80 dearer than buying a ST for a young adult/senior.

[benjii]

Think the club have dropped the ball somewhat in regards to the payment option. A few mates will have to buy individual tickets which means obviously spending more money. It does seem silly what with the recession not being long over and people about to go on holidays etc..

 

The prices have gone up by quite a bit and personally i see that as a kick in the teeth for those who paid additional costs last year to go to the cup games too. This is obviously a business but we now realise any signings are now paid for by us. It is no longer a one guy spending his own money thing. For a club in the 3rd division tickets should've been a lot cheaper. They have received more money from the recent pl changes, aswell as tv money and soon to be shirt money which will be just for one year.

 

They could of been a bit more inventive with this being our 125th year. They should've got as many people as possible into the stadium to help the promotional push. You now have to expect attendences to be down.

The honeymoon is now over in regards to those in charge.

 

I have done absolutely zero research but I'm going to stick my neck out and say our ST prices are probably around average for League One (maybe slightly above) and probably not much above average for League Two.

[Matthew Le God]

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned, but has anyone noticed that new season tickets in the family enclosure cost more than individual tickets if you're a young adult, senior or an under 12? I thought the point of a season ticket was that the club give a financial reward to those attending every game?

 

Maths not your strong point?

[reggiesaint]

I just checked and I have no idea what you're on about. £12 x 23 = £276, that's nearly £80 dearer than buying a ST for a young adult/senior.

 

I'm on about new season tickets, not renewals, so that would only be a £37 discount.

 

I know for me it would be cheaper because I would have to pay to £2 or £3 on top of the normal price, but for advanced purchases tickets are £10, which is only £230 over the season. A season ticket would be £239, so someone who can get to the ground in advance to buy their tickets would actually lose out if they bought a season ticket.

[Block 5]

The decision to scrap the installment plan is what has rubbed people up the wrong way.

During a recession, such a decision could be regarded as crass stupidity by the club.

Edited 1 June, 2010 by Block 5
Helpful Ron

[Saint_clark]

Is anybody bored enough to come up with a list of season ticket and matchday prices for the whole of league 1?

 

I have just looked at Sheffield Wednesday's most expensive tickets and they are £535.

Plymouth's most expensive are £399.

The Posh's are £450.

 

So I think our prices are what you'd expect for one of the top league 1 teams.

 

The decision to scrap the installment plan is what has rubbed people up the wrong way.

During a recession, such a decision could be regarded as crass stupidity by the club.

 

Exactly. I have absolutely no beef with the prices at all, but the lack of instalment plan and the idiotic booking fees completely baffle me.

[RonManager]

Is anybody bored enough to come up with a list of season ticket and matchday prices for the whole of league 1?

 

I have just looked at Sheffield Wednesday's most expensive tickets and they are £535.

Plymouth's most expensive are £399.

The Posh's are £450.

 

So I think our prices are what you'd expect for one of the top league 1 teams.

 

The decision to scrap the installment plan is what has rubbed people up the wrong way.

During a recession, such a decision could be regarded as crass stupidity by the club.

 

Have you seen post 79?

[Fan The Flames]

Surley the point of a season ticket being discounted is because the club get all the money upfront. The payments schemes in the past were a loan agreement, the club got the cash upfront from a loan company and the punter paid a bit of interest. So the club isn't offering that this year, so the punter has to do a bit of the leg work themselves, its not that hard, in the time it took to moan on here you could have had it sorted by now.

 

If people want to pay monthly it's very simple;

1. Borrow £400 and pay it back monthly. You can borrow it from either a bank, credit card, friend or family member.

 

Alternatively buy tickets as you go.

 

Come on guys all that it means is you have to sort it out for yourselves. So if you really want a ST you will get one.

 

It no surprise the level of moaning on here, the club can't do anything with out 'Outraged from Southampton' emailing someone at the club.

[Block 5]

Have you seen post 79?

 

Thanks for pointing that out Ron.

[RonManager]

Thanks for pointing that out Ron.

 

My absolute pleasure, doncha know.

[benjii]

Surley the point of a season ticket being discounted is because the club get all the money upfront. The payments schemes in the past were a loan agreement, the club got the cash upfront from a loan company and the punter paid a bit of interest. So the club isn't offering that this year, so the punter has to do a bit of the leg work themselves, its not that hard, in the time it took to moan on here you could have had it sorted by now.

 

If people want to pay monthly it's very simple;

1. Borrow £400 and pay it back monthly. You can borrow it from either a bank, credit card, friend or family member.

 

Alternatively buy tickets as you go.

 

Come on guys all that it means is you have to sort it out for yourselves. So if you really want a ST you will get one.

 

It no surprise the level of moaning on here, the club can't do anything with out 'Outraged from Southampton' emailing someone at the club.

 

Yeah but I've got a holiday, and there's a recession you know, and my beer kitty needs maintaining, and the kids... think of the kids, and I cant get credit (although I expect SFC to underwrite it for me) and it's my inalienable right to a ST, and when we're in the Prem I will find the £650 from somewhere so I might as well get it cheap and interest-free this season as an advance thank you....

[trousers]

Not had time to read the entire thread but there seems to be a lot of angst about the lack of payment plan.....

 

Surely people can easily use their initiative and take out their own 'payment plan' by paying with a "0% for 9 or 12 months" credit card? Plenty of options available: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/credit-cards

 

People would need to pass a similar credit rating for either an SFC scheme or a credit card application - just a different form to fill in.

 

Simple, or am I missing something obvious here?

Edited 1 June, 2010 by trousers

[hypochondriac]

It is really sad that some people say things like "if you really want a ST you will get one." Do you seriously think I have 400 quid to spend? I can't afford 400 pounds and I can't get a season ticket by paying in one lump even though I "really want one." I think some people live their own lives and don't consider how tight it is financially for some people.

[Block 5]

Bit of an overreaction, imo.

 

I would suggest that the amount of time this has taken to release means there has been some sort of problem, the nature of which we have not got a clue about.

 

I would be interested to know how many STs last season were on an installment scheme. Perhaps it is a lot less than you perceive from the posts on here and the overheads for the system are ridiculous. After all, the word is there has been a credit crunch and cheap finance is hard to come by.

 

Why not take out a bank loan over 1 year ? The interest would be f**k all.

 

On the surface, it doesnt look good, but I expect some comment from the club to be soon forthcoming that explains matters.

 

Most other clubs have had season ticket pricing in place for months Alps.

And just about every other club has managed to organise an installment plan.

You'd think our Swiss banker could rustle up something, but obviously he doesn't think it a priority.

 

I have resisted openly criticising the delay in releasing details because I assumed that the club were waiting to get everything perfect.

 

You think the club are going to comment about the lack of installment plan?

They haven't even told the drones in the ticket office what is going on, so do you really expect them to tell us?

 

As for taking out a bank loan........ I'd love to, however the banks are pretty reluctant to do this for those of us who have just been hit with redundancy.

Even my credit card reshuffle is looking a bit shaky mate.

 

PS. Hope the family are all well.

[benjii]

It is really sad that some people say things like "if you really want a ST you will get one." Do you seriously think I have 400 quid to spend? I can't afford 400 pounds and I can't get a season ticket by paying in one lump even though I "really want one." I think some people live their own lives and don't consider how tight it is financially for some people.

 

Credit card?

[AK]

Maybe if we just had taken a shirt sponsor we could have avoided the price rises and £3 admin charges.

 

I dont see how it is rewarding the fans if we have to cough up for the shortfall in income by paying extra for our tickets.

[Chez]

Maybe if we just had taken a shirt sponsor we could have avoided the price rises and £3 admin charges.

 

I dont see how it is rewarding the fans if we have to cough up for the shortfall in income by paying extra for our tickets.

 

no staged payments=less ST sales=more individual sales=more admin=higher admin costs= admin fees?

[trousers]

I'm not sure why people think that the Football Club should have retained a payment system that (seemingly) required a less rigourous credit rating check than someone taking out a bank loan or credit card.

 

It seems obvious to me that the Football Club (which is now being run by a successful businessman and banker) have deemed that the 'in-house' payment scheme was too risky (in that they were effectively dishing out unsecured loans to anyone who could sign a piece of paper) so have now given people the chance to arrange their own finances thus making sure the Football Club aren't exposed to a fiscal risk (remember what happened two years ago when the Club became exposed financially....?)

 

Given the world's economies collapsed two years ago due to companies giving out un-credit checked finance I'm surprised that some people are actively encouraging the Football Club to do the same.

 

One caviat to my views here in that I'm not sure what credit checks season ticket applications were subjected to in the past but I'm assuming it wasn't as rigorous as a credit card check (?)

[Fan The Flames]

It is really sad that some people say things like "if you really want a ST you will get one." Do you seriously think I have 400 quid to spend? I can't afford 400 pounds and I can't get a season ticket by paying in one lump even though I "really want one." I think some people live their own lives and don't consider how tight it is financially for some people.

 

Credit card, bank loan, family or friend. We are not talking about a Ferrari, it's £400, ten nights out, 60 packs of fags, a week end away.

 

I have two young kids and after paying out all the bills I have eff all left at the end of the month but I know I could get the £400 from either a credit card, bank loan, family or friend.

[Jonnyboy]

I'm not sure why people think that the Football Club should have retained a payment system that (seemingly) required a less rigourous credit rating check than someone taking out a bank loan or credit card.

 

It seems obvious to me that the Football Club (which is now being run by a successful businessman and banker) have deemed that the 'in-house' payment scheme was too risky (in that they were effectively dishing out unsecured loans to anyone who could sign a piece of paper) so have now given people the chance to arrange their own finances thus making sure the Football Club aren't exposed to a fiscal risk (remember what happened two years ago when the Club became exposed financially....?)

 

Given the world's economies collapsed two years ago due to companies giving out un-credit checked finance I'm surprised that some people are actively encouraging the Football Club to do the same.

 

One caviat to my views here in that I'm not sure what credit checks season ticket applications were subjected to in the past but I'm assuming it wasn't as rigorous as a credit card check (?)

 

at the end of the day there will be less people in the ground for little, if any, financial gain

[miserableoldgit]

at the end of the day there will be less people in the ground for little, if any, financial gain

Do you really think that if we are really successful and in the top 3 all season that the crowds will be lower because of the ST situation?

[bowers-sfc]

we could all move to the family section and save a few bob

[Scummer]

we could all move to the family section and save a few bob

 

It's a fair bit cheaper actually isn't it. I'd want an adult and under-8 pair anyway, so maybe I should go for that. Is the family section the whole of the chapel end again this season?

[mightysaints]

Just sent an email to club saying thats 2 season tickets that will not be renewed due to the payment scheme not happenning. Worse thing is i am going to have to tell my 13 year old boy we will not be going next season....He will be devaststed. Thanks Saints a bunch.

[alpine_saint]

Just sent an email to club saying thats 2 season tickets that will not be renewed due to the payment scheme not happenning. Worse thing is i am going to have to tell my 13 year old boy we will not be going next season....He will be devaststed. Thanks Saints a bunch.

 

Surely you are not telling him you wont be taking him at all, are you ?

[Jonnyboy]

Do you really think that if we are really successful and in the top 3 all season that the crowds will be lower because of the ST situation?

 

fair point but there is no garantee of storming success, eg a key player like spiderman may still leave

[Jonnyboy]

Bit of an overreaction, imo.

 

I would suggest that the amount of time this has taken to release means there has been some sort of problem, the nature of which we have not got a clue about.

 

I would be interested to know how many STs last season were on an installment scheme. Perhaps it is a lot less than you perceive from the posts on here and the overheads for the system are ridiculous. After all, the word is there has been a credit crunch and cheap finance is hard to come by.

 

Why not take out a bank loan over 1 year ? The interest would be f**k all.

 

On the surface, it doesnt look good, but I expect some comment from the club to be soon forthcoming that explains matters.

 

you say cheap finance is hard to come by and next line says why not take out a bank loan...wtf

[alpine_saint]

you say cheap finance is hard to come by and next line says why not take out a bank loan...wtf

 

Not really a contradiction, completely different areas of the financing industry.

[SaintNeil90]

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned, but has anyone noticed that new season tickets in the family enclosure cost more than individual tickets if you're a young adult, senior or an under 12? I thought the point of a season ticket was that the club give a financial reward to those attending every game?

 

I live in Salisbury but with work I can't get to the ground before the game to buy my tickets, so I will be charged £2 extra to buy on the day, £3 to buy before the game or even £9 extra to get a season ticket! I know it isn't much over the course of a season, but this doesn't seem right.

 

The only way its cheaper is if you buy tickets in advance from the ticket office for every game. Im sure that the amount of people who do this is a very very low majority of people purchasing tickets. Majority of people will buy using the online or telephone systems and therefore will pay more!

[lethallee]

Do you really think that if we are really successful and in the top 3 all season that the crowds will be lower because of the ST situation?

 

There could be less season ticket holders with more fans instead paying for individual tickets and for select games only. The less attractive games will prob have lower attendances than last season

 

I fear this may come back and shot us in foot. We will be one of the favourites to win league so most teams will come here and park 11 men behind ball making it very difficult for us to break them down. So a near sell out of every home game next season would of made SM a far more intimidating place to come for opposition whilst enabling us to get right behind our team.

[hypochondriac]

Credit card, bank loan, family or friend. We are not talking about a Ferrari, it's £400, ten nights out, 60 packs of fags, a week end away.

 

I have two young kids and after paying out all the bills I have eff all left at the end of the month but I know I could get the £400 from either a credit card, bank loan, family or friend.

 

I physically cannot get into more debt than I currently have and I cannot ask my parents or other family members for money they do not have. £400 might not be that much for you but it is for me and there is no way I could possibly justify the cost. Certainly not in one sum anyway.

Edited 1 June, 2010 by hypochondriac

[miserableoldgit]

Just sent an email to club saying thats 2 season tickets that will not be renewed due to the payment scheme not happenning. Worse thing is i am going to have to tell my 13 year old boy we will not be going next season....He will be devaststed. Thanks Saints a bunch.

So you could afford 2 ST`s on the Payment Plan but will now not be going to any matches because there is no Plan. Slight over-reaction isn`t??:confused:

[mightysaints]

I will not be able to find nearly £500 for the end of the month. Getting tickets ablib is a pain and cost more. Its not a slight over-reaction as many more supporters on the site will tell you. Once people stop going they find other things to do. I stuck with the club through thick and thin but this is rearly a kick in the backside. Bloody cheesed off.

[djharvey]

Anyone who can't afford a season ticket up front should now just pay on a game by game basis. Any true supporter should not consider this the end of the world.

 

Not quite the catastrophe that some seem to be shouting about!

 

Season ticket sales figures will be the true measure of the decision!

[Kenilworthy]

Total cost for me and two boys aged 8 and 11 in the Family Centre was £288 last season. This season with them 9 and 12 the cost for exactly the same seats is £412 - an increase of 43%. I really do think they need to look at the ages at which the prices change.

[djharvey]

I physically cannot get into more debt than I currently have and I cannot ask my parents or other family members for money they do not have. £400 might not be that much for you but it is for me and there is no way I could possibly justify the cost. Certainly not in one sum anyway.

 

So what you are saying is that you are and have been living beyond your means!

Perhaps you want to sort your own finances out before criticising the club on its financial decisions!

[exit2]

I just cant see where an 18% rise is coming from? Are the fans subsidising the no shirt sponsor this year?

[stmusicdude]

Bit of an overreaction, imo.

 

I would suggest that the amount of time this has taken to release means there has been some sort of problem, the nature of which we have not got a clue about.

 

I would be interested to know how many STs last season were on an installment scheme. Perhaps it is a lot less than you perceive from the posts on here and the overheads for the system are ridiculous. After all, the word is there has been a credit crunch and cheap finance is hard to come by.

 

Why not take out a bank loan over 1 year ? The interest would be f**k all.

 

On the surface, it doesnt look good, but I expect some comment from the club to be soon forthcoming that explains matters.

 

Very easy for those not buying a season ticket to say it's ok.

The questions are. Are a lot of fans going to feel put out? Yes

Will it deter some from renewing or even buying? yes

Has the tide of feeling towards NC ( if not ML) began to turn .. rightly or wrongly .. yes it proberbly has

 

It may well feel very justified, & they could very well have good reason, but it's not going to help those that are going to now be unable to renew or buy.

While you guys might not want to read it, where better for people to gripe about it than our best forum...

[RedArmy]

Well at least they told us early so we could start saving.....oh wait, no they ****ing didn't.

[Appy]

Dear Sam

 

 

 

Thank you for your email.

 

 

 

The Club has decided against offering an installment payment option this year due to the increased costs of administering such a scheme.

 

 

 

We hope this answers your query.

 

 

 

Kind Regards

 

 

 

 

 

David Luker

 

Head of Supporter Services

 

Southampton Football Club

[Thedelldays]

I just cant see where an 18% rise is coming from? Are the fans subsidising the no shirt sponsor this year?

yep...also the new training ground..?

the lack of promotion..?

signing players like fonte..?

[John B]

Well at least they told us early so we could start saving.....oh wait, no they ****ing didn't.

 

Yes I think that is an important point if fans were told earlier things may have been different

[lordswoodsaints]

I paid £50 last season for my sons ST and this season it has risen to £84 a rise of roughly 70%...... Although this is still good value the rise seems a little steep and tbh a little hard to justify seeing as we didn't get promoted......is the standard of football/entertainment/atmosphere likely to be improved by 70% On last season?,probably not but my son will be 100% happy if I renew his.

[Saint 76er]

Last season ST's appear to have been pitched deliberately low, presumably to get people back on board after the takeover. Now they are reverting to a more realistic level, but still about average for this league apparently. Nuttin' aint cheap anymore guys.

 

More baffling are the surcharges. They say they want people to book in advance so a match day surcharge, then slug them even more if they do actually book in advance. For most fans presumably still cheaper to walk up.. go figure!

 

Surely a "booking fee" is just a price hike by another name? Every retail enterprise has to handle it's sales, but the costs are always included in the price along with all other overheads. You don't want to buy a kettle and then cop a few extra quid for a "handling fee", as if selling you the thing is just a nuisance they could do without.

 

Why is it necessary here anyway, as ticket office already employ staff to handle phone sales and ST enquiries is just a part of their normal job. Charging for internet sales seems a bit rich, bearing in mind that once set up these systems are supposed to largely run themselves without incurring the costs of having a shop front. Most companies are overjoyed to direct customers to their website as they get sales at minimal costs, without charging them extra!

[Saints foreva]

I wonder what Liebherr's and Cortese's reaction will be when the players are playing infront of 17,000 next season...

 

In my opinion we will only shift 9,000 season tickets at the most and imagine the attendances against the likes of Oldham on cold tuesday nights....

[Saint Fan CaM]

The on-line booking fee is an absolute joke! In every other business I can think of, using the internet to book means cutting out the labour at the box office, thus making it cheaper NOT dearer!!! NC / Luker - you really need to sort this out - the policy is stupidity at its best.

 

Although I am disappointed at the lack of payment plan, frankly I cannot for the life of me understand the whingers on here saying they'll not buy a ticket. Sorry, but the club is not a bank! If you want an easy payment plan, take out a short-term credit card agreement with 0% interest. It's pretty straightforward if you have an income and you're not already in debt (if you are then you shouldn't expect anyone to fund more debt TBF).

 

The actual cost of an ST at £393 is about right I would say in relation to other clubs. I do hope however that AP is allowed to do some pretty amazing things in the transfer market, because for that money I do not expect to see the likes of Wotton, Gillet, Holmes or other fringe players, near the 1st team. I also expect to see auto-promotion this season, so I trust the entire squad is going to be as ready to fight and scrap for a win in every game, as the club will be ready to take my money early doors.

Edited 1 June, 2010 by Saint Fan CaM

[Thedelldays]

what does not help was that people (and so many were) bracing themselves for a reduction in prices...some were expecting/hoping for ST to cost £125

[dickyhale]

well, the wait is over...

 

http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10280~2062493,00.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are's have gone up to £460.00 but not really bothered as Rolly another year older at 13 so adult pair with a under 16

[John B]

what does not help was that people (and so many were) bracing themselves for a reduction in prices...some were expecting/hoping for ST to cost £125

 

Wonder what season ticket prices will be like if we were in the Premiership

 

 

Could be £125 per game by the time we get there:(

[Thedelldays]

Wonder what season ticket prices will be like if we were in the Premiership

 

 

Could be £125 per game by the time we get there:(

I would imagine they would be about average for what ever the norm is in the prem when we get there