Ticket Sales - Still not a sell out this year yet.

[CFSFC]

Fulham have returned 1000 tickets and we are still way short in the Chapel and Itchen which i find remarkable considering we are enjoying our best run of Premiership results ever.

 

Hull won't sell out either i doubt. ODD.

[Saint Garrett]

On Sky isn't it....I know a few people who aren't STH and they've basically said any game on TV, they'll watch on TV and save money for the others. (Fair enough).

 

Still pretty pathetic though.

 

I expect we'll sell out the 2nd half of the season though. Not quite sure why but it has happened the last few seasons.

[Turkish]

On Sky isn't it....I know a few people who aren't STH and they've basically said any game on TV, they'll watch on TV and save money for the others. (Fair enough).

 

Still pretty pathetic though.

 

I expect we'll sell out the 2nd half of the season though. Not quite sure why but it has happened the last few seasons.

 

What people going to do if get in the champions league? The ground willl be virtually empty for those games wont it?

[Saint Garrett]

What people going to do if get in the champions league? The ground willl be virtually empty for those games wont it?

 

Not my problem...I go...

[angelman]

I don't have Sky but do have a ST. Games are OK on TV but I tend to fall asleep in them, and I've yet to fall asleep at a ground.

[teamsaint]

no linking to big games yet.

[Bananaman]

Ticket prices too high

[Turkish]

Ticket prices too high

 

I don't buy the price issue fully. In the championship when we used to get 22,000 lots of people claimed then that it was the weather, surprise great aunties birthday parties, school holidays, christening, train issues and road works that prevented them going. Well we seem to have found an extra 7,000 or so every week since then who don't have any of those things going on and it's considerably more expensive now than it was then.

[Barry Sanchez]

This puts the MLT extension well and truly to sleep, we should have built a 40,000 stadium when it was built but now, not a chance, our best run in years and people dont go, we got more on our relegation season.

[Turkish]

This puts the MLT extension well and truly to sleep, we should have built a 40,000 stadium when it was built but now, not a chance, our best run in years and people dont go, we got more on our relegation season.

 

Hilariously that was one of his points of evidence he used to justify expansion, that we got that many in a relegation battle, just think how many we could get if we had investment in the squad and were challenging at the top of the table. Well there's your answer MLG, about 3000 less.

[anothersaintinsouthsea]

What's the difference in prices between now and previous seasons?

 

Also, not living in Southampton, how aggressive are the club in driving sales? any local advertising campaigns etc or just an expectation that people should just turn up?

[View From The Top]

I don't buy the price issue fully. In the championship when we used to get 22,000 lots of people claimed then that it was the weather, surprise great aunties birthday parties, school holidays, christening, train issues and road works that prevented them going. Well we seem to have found an extra 7,000 or so every week since then who don't have any of those things going on and it's considerably more expensive now than it was then.

 

££. They've totally *****ed up the pricing from 11 upwards so people with kids are now going to less games and if it's on sky it's a no-brainer. Watch the game on the box and then us the cash for a different match.

 

Not alone in going from attending every home game to only a few.

[Sour Mash]

Our prices aren't really much different to other clubs. It's just that we're not that well supported, average of 30k at home is good, but the real need for 40k on a regular basis just isn't there unfortunately.

[Sour Mash]

What's the difference in prices between now and previous seasons?

 

Also, not living in Southampton, how aggressive are the club in driving sales? any local advertising campaigns etc or just an expectation that people should just turn up?

Don't think there is too much advertising or marketing done, to be honest if you're going to spend £40 on a ticket for a football match, what are the chances you'd be swayed by an ad in the Echo either way?

[View From The Top]

Our prices aren't really much different to other clubs. It's just that we're not that well supported, average of 30k at home is good, but the real need for 40k on a regular basis just isn't there unfortunately.

 

I disagree. The pricing of junior tickets, over 11yo, is beyond the pale compared the vast majority of BPL clubs.

 

Saints are pricing families out and I'm certainly not alone on here in going to fewer home games with my lad as a result.

[suewhistle]

What's the difference in prices between now and previous seasons?

 

It's on the box a lot more now we're in the Prem. Wander down to a local pub and save £35 + £5+ transport/programme/whatever. Plus people haven't mentioned that inflation is high (10% fuel bills?), wage increases low or non-existant, and if not unemployed for many it is at best part time/zero hours contracts.

[Turkish]

££. They've totally *****ed up the pricing from 11 upwards so people with kids are now going to less games and if it's on sky it's a no-brainer. Watch the game on the box and then us the cash for a different match.

 

Not alone in going from attending every home game to only a few.

 

They haven't though have they. If they are selling 90% of tickets at the highest price possible then it suggests that actually they've got the price spot on.

[View From The Top]

They haven't though have they. If they are selling 90% of tickets at the highest price possible then it suggests that actually they've got the price spot on.

 

 

The desperate attempt to make Saturday a "family fun day" suggests they know perfectly well that they dropped a ******.

[Sour Mash]

I disagree. The pricing of junior tickets, over 11yo, is beyond the pale compared the vast majority of BPL clubs.

 

Saints are pricing families out and I'm certainly not alone on here in going to fewer home games with my lad as a result.

How much do we charge for over 11 year olds?

[Turkish]

The desperate attempt to make Saturday a "family fun day" suggests they know perfectly well that they dropped a ******.

 

Perhaps, but the fact remains if over the season we sell around 90% of capacity at the higher price over the season the club will feel that the pricing was just about right. I'm not saying it is or I agree with it but from the business and income perspective that is how they'll look at it. Saints aren't alone by the way, man United and City have both been advertising on radio round here for tickets to their lower category games, Leeds territory!

[View From The Top]

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So my nearly 12yo son, behind the goal where we've always sat, for Liverpool say, would be £23 + fee. His ticket at Anfield was a fiver, same as WBA. It's a tenner at Stoke & Arsenal.

[Sour Mash]

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So my nearly 12yo son, behind the goal where we've always sat, for Liverpool say, would be £23 + fee. His ticket at Anfield was a fiver, same as WBA. It's a tenner at Stoke & Arsenal.

Not cheap, but I'd wager it's pretty much the average and cheaper than a fair few other grounds.

[Saint Garrett]

Perhaps, but the fact remains if over the season we sell around 90% of capacity at the higher price over the season the club will feel that the pricing was just about right. I'm not saying it is or I agree with it but from the business and income perspective that is how they'll look at it. Saints aren't alone by the way, man United and City have both been advertising on radio round here for tickets to their lower category games, Leeds territory!

 

That depends how you look at it though. Yes if you solely that this season then yes it's about right, but if you're looking at the fans of the future then let's say for all home games on sky, do kids for a quid and drop adult prices by a fiver. The club make their money from sky and we get a full house.

 

Plus, you need to invest in the kids to expand fan base in the next 10 years. It all just seems to be a bit shortsighted from the club.

Especially games like the cup, against in glamorous sides. It should be a 10er, kids for a quid or something.

 

I don't even have kids or work in marketing but surely it's pretty straightforward? Get them hooked now and they're a Saint for the next 70 years!

[Turkish]

That depends how you look at it though. Yes if you solely that this season then yes it's about right, but if you're looking at the fans of the future then let's say for all home games on sky, do kids for a quid and drop adult prices by a fiver. The club make their money from sky and we get a full house.

 

Plus, you need to invest in the kids to expand fan base in the next 10 years. It all just seems to be a bit shortsighted from the club.

Especially games like the cup, against in glamorous sides. It should be a 10er, kids for a quid or something.

 

I don't even have kids or work in marketing but surely it's pretty straightforward? Get them hooked now and they're a Saint for the next 70 years!

 

Do you think any chairman at any club cares what ten year olds will be doing in 70 years time?

 

And why do kids for a quid? We've sold 28,000 tickets at top whack for every game this season, why slash them to sell a maximum of 4,000 more for less revenue than we would have at full price?

 

Again i'm not saying i agree with it, but why from a revenue generating perspective does it make any sense to do it?

[SaintBobby]

Attendances have been very poor this season. Genuinely not sure why.

 

Failure to sell out - even at pretty high prices - is concerning.

 

Agree this puts any idea for stadium expansion on hold for a while at least.

[RedWillie]

Too expensive to take my kids except for a few games a year whereas they used to come to 12-15 games. The club need to listen

[Saint Garrett]

Do you think any chairman at any club cares what ten year olds will be doing in 70 years time?

 

And why do kids for a quid? We've sold 28,000 tickets at top whack for every game this season, why slash them to sell a maximum of 4,000 more for less revenue than we would have at full price?

 

Again i'm not saying i agree with it, but why from a revenue generating perspective does it make any sense to do it?

 

Because surely its better investing in the young fans before they start supporting Chelsea/Man U/Arsenal etc. Yes the club would probably lose money in the short term but surely then would have higher demand for tickets in 5 years time and would be able to charge more/invest in a bigger stadium.

[Golden Balls]

The price isn't great especially during this hard financial time. However, that is not the biggest problem.

 

The biggest problem is that every single game (sky or not) is shown down the pubs. I've heard about so many that either didn't get a ST this year or have cut the amount of games they go to as they save a fortune by going down their local to watch it. And who can blame them?

[Leicestersaint]

Financial reality

[saint1977]

The price isn't great especially during this hard financial time. However, that is not the biggest problem.

 

The biggest problem is that every single game (sky or not) is shown down the pubs. I've heard about so many that either didn't get a ST this year or have cut the amount of games they go to as they save a fortune by going down their local to watch it. And who can blame them?

 

I certainly agree it's a problem for all clubs, inc PL, that so much is coming through streams in pubs. I still think the pricing for kids is very wrong by the club - I couldn't have afforded it at that age and the family day suggests the club know they have it wrong as do other PL clubs judging by even the biggest having empty seats. On the other hand, if you can't afford to go to games but can nurse a pint in a pub and watch a game for free, I can also understand that. BUT if you can afford it, want to go but put ther profit in the landlord's till instead by drinking a million pints of Carling at £3.50 a pop instead, sorry, that's weird. You can't watching football live, especially Saints, and I look forward to the games I can make from Devon immensely. If I lived much nearer, we'd much rather have STs than watch in a pub. Totally understand Soton isn't a high wage economy and that some have no choice.

[saint1977]

The price isn't great especially during this hard financial time. However, that is not the biggest problem.

 

The biggest problem is that every single game (sky or not) is shown down the pubs. I've heard about so many that either didn't get a ST this year or have cut the amount of games they go to as they save a fortune by going down their local to watch it. And who can blame them?

 

I certainly agree it's a problem for all clubs, inc PL, that so much is coming through streams in pubs. I still think the pricing for kids is very wrong by the club - I couldn't have afforded it at that age and the family day suggests the club know they have it wrong as do other PL clubs judging by even the biggest having empty seats. On the other hand, if you can't afford to go to games but can nurse a pint in a pub and watch a game for free, I can also understand that. BUT if you can afford it, want to go but put ther profit in the landlord's till instead by drinking a million pints of Carling at £3.50 a pop instead, sorry, that's weird. You can't watching football live, especially Saints, and I look forward to the games I can make from Devon immensely. If I lived much nearer, we'd much rather have STs than watch in a pub. Totally understand Soton isn't a high wage economy and that some have no choice.

[John Boy Saint]

In the days when we were at the Dell and freshly into the old money 1st Division (=Premiership) at the back end of the 70s entrance fees for Boys was 90p, not sure what growed ups paid as I wasn't one.

The average gate as we closed in on promotion the previous season was c21,000. The following season back in the big time and not doing too badly against more household named teams we still averaged c21,000 attendances with the odd 22,000+. This was at a time of terraces but the fencing of the Archers and I think the benches had been put in on part of the East and West stand terracing so the capacity was around 28,000 but we regularly fell short of capacity, promotion season the capacity was 30,000. +/-

Just maybe we are around our natural attendance level and 32,500 was a correctly judged capacity for SMS after all. Lowe even said that only a prolonged run of sellouts would put extending the stadium on the agenda, and that was when we were going well and heading to and FA Cup final under WGS.

[bpsaint]

How much of a drop in attendances are being caused by the increase in people watching games on dodgy streams or in pubs that have foreign satellite? There's more pubs than ever before showing all our games, including now The Station in Bitterne, which has been a pre drinking choice for many fans for years, how many of them are going to choose to just stay in the pub in future and save money? I know you can't beat going to the match but when moneys tight you can see why people would choose to watch on the box.

[View From The Top]

In Sandwell so many pubs started showing WBA games & offering things like free BBQs, bonus drinks for goals etc, that the club hammered their prices down, especially for U21s & that's kept the crowds decent.

 

In my regular pub there are a bunch of lads who are Utd ST holders and have been for 30+ years. They now watch the non "big" games in the pub and rent their tickets out and the pub is rammed with a number of screens showing different games.

[Charlie Wayman]

Well just remember our best crowds ever were only just over 30k at The Dell and at SMS. Moral seems to be we have catchment of around 300,000 people and for 10% of those to turn up for every game is a big ask indeed. Agreed, 40k go to Wembley but those are rare special occasions. It proves regrettably that our capacity is about right and that Mr Lowe was not quite as daft as we paint him - he also signed Morgan! Cortese is not into vanity projects so the dream of a super stadium in the South will ever remain just a dream.

 

28/29k for Fulham is more than our visitors deserve. Attendances are falling everywhere with our penniless poor and bankrupt middle, soon only idiots (like us) will deem it worthwhile to spend money on footie rather than food.

[Turkish]

Because surely its better investing in the young fans before they start supporting Chelsea/Man U/Arsenal etc. Yes the club would probably lose money in the short term but surely then would have higher demand for tickets in 5 years time and would be able to charge more/invest in a bigger stadium.

 

Yes it is. but at the end of the day the club will want to maximise revenue from all means possible, especially with the financial fair play thing coming in soon. Which is why cortese hash shown little desire to reduce prices to boost attendance. He didn't do it when we were getting 21,000 in league one. He didn't do it when we were getting 26,000 in the championship and he isn't going to do it now were getting 30,000 in the premier league. Its simple maths, 30,000 at £40 is for more profitable than 32,500 at £25. Argue all you want about if its right or not, but Cortese is a banker, bankers make (or lose) money, they aren't known for being great guys who love their customers, everyone seems to be lauding his ruthlessness when it suits them but not so much in this scenario .

[CB Fry]

Well just remember our best crowds ever were only just over 30k at The Dell and at SMS. Moral seems to be we have catchment of around 300,000 people and for 10% of those to turn up for every game is a big ask indeed. Agreed, 40k go to Wembley but those are rare special occasions. It proves regrettably that our capacity is about right and that Mr Lowe was not quite as daft as we paint him - he also signed Morgan! Cortese is not into vanity projects so the dream of a super stadium in the South will ever remain just a dream.

 

28/29k for Fulham is more than our visitors deserve. Attendances are falling everywhere with our penniless poor and bankrupt middle, soon only idiots (like us) will deem it worthwhile to spend money on footie rather than food.

 

I miss the days when the forum visionaries would merrily lecture us on how simply gigantic our catchment area was, and how we would be the club of choice for football fans from Devon, Cornwall, Kent and Somerset.

 

Flood in they were going to, just to get a chance to watch Premier League football. Whatever happened to that?

Edited 24 October, 2013 by CB Fry

[trousers]

I miss the days when the forum visionaries would merrily lecture us on how simply gigantic our catchment area was, and how we would be the club of choice for football fans from Devon, Cornwall, Kent and Somerset.

 

Flood in they were going to, just to get a chance to watch Premier League football. Whatever happened to that?

 

I have a suspicion they only said it so that some years later a few others could keep bringing it up time and time again.

[aintforever]

Watching it down the pub is obviously not as good but if you're trying to save a bit of cash it's a pretty good alternative. Away games especially, you can easily do a tonne on ticket, travel, food and drink and waste a day just to watch some dull 0-0 at some sh!thole up north.

[Turkish]

I miss the days when the forum visionaries would merrily lecture us on how simply gigantic our catchment area was, and how we would be the club of choice for football fans from Devon, Cornwall, Kent and Somerset.

 

Flood in they were going to, just to get a chance to watch Premier League football. Whatever happened to that?

 

Threads like this you mean?

 

http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?37346-St-Mary-s-What-we-might-expect-to-see-happen-(and-possibly-announced-soon)#.UmmI3TK9KSM

 

Comedy gold that thread. Hotels, airlines, dragons den, Steve jobs all getting a mention as to reason why we should expand.

Edited 24 October, 2013 by Turkish

[Dr Who?]

How I wish I could go, but just cannot justify the money.... Maybe an away game after Christmas. Times are very tough out there for the masses.

[Dr Who?]

It is amazing though, as how many went to the JPT final..... That is our potential surely?

[Turkish]

It is amazing though, as how many went to the JPT final..... That is our potential surely?

 

Millwall and Luton took similar amounts to Wembley in recent season, do they need a 45,000 stadium too?

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So my nearly 12yo son, behind the goal where we've always sat, for Liverpool say, would be £23 + fee. His ticket at Anfield was a fiver, same as WBA. It's a tenner at Stoke & Arsenal.

 

my sons school mates used to come down regularly but pirces for 12 - 16 yr olds too expensive so none of tehm inetersted now.

 

Short sighted policy by club, once you get kids hooked they will come back time after time and potentially be future season ticket holders

[Daren W]

How I wish I could go, but just cannot justify the money.... Maybe an away game after Christmas. Times are very tough out there for the masses.

And here is the problem, it's not so much the prices inside St Marys it's the prices outside that are dictating things.

I'd hazard a guess and say that some of the people mocking attendances aren't that badly off money wise. £35 isn't that much in the big scheme of things but you can double that with drinks, food, transport etc etc. £140 a month then can be quite an ask when other bills are mounting up.

I haven't had a season ticket for a while. I last had one during the Championship campaign but with a new job, more expenditure to get to that job (Fratton of all places) I just can't justify one these last two years. Hell, I'm getting married this year, I suddenly have priorities above football and in a recession I'd guess I'm not alone.

I really can't see how attendances can be such an issue when the country is in a hole financially. I couldn't possible slate anyone for not going when times are so tight....

[The9]

Weirdly I know 3 ST holders not going to this match for "other reasons", it's not just stupid kick off times and tv, though that's enough to put plenty of people off.

 

It is getting to the point where I'll be considering if I need to have an ST next season if I can have the full matchday social experience without the inconvenience of having to actually leave the pub to go to the match and can see it on tv, though. £33 a match is a lot to pay just for the privilege of being there when you can get a similar atmosphere in any local pub now. Looks like the FA/FL were right all those years when they said televised 3pm matches would kill attendance.

[The9]

my sons school mates used to come down regularly but pirces for 12 - 16 yr olds too expensive so none of tehm inetersted now.

 

Short sighted policy by club, once you get kids hooked they will come back time after time and potentially be future season ticket holders

 

Not as soon as they realise they can watch it in a pub for nothing as soon as they're old enough to get in - once those viewing habits are built up they're going to be really hard to break, especially if it's saving you £20+ a time.

[John Boy Saint]

Millwall and Luton took similar amounts to Wembley in recent season, do they need a 45,000 stadium too?

Luton just need a new Stadium!!

 

Drove past Kenilworth Road the other day, wow from the outside it looks like someone kept dumping piles of bricks in the car park and someone else thought that the best way of getting rid of them was to just add them randomly to the original structure.

But until they return to full time league Football and it's upper levels it serves the purpose perfectly well.

[Turkish]

Luton just need a new Stadium!!

 

Drove past Kenilworth Road the other day, wow from the outside it looks like someone kept dumping piles of bricks in the car park and someone else thought that the best way of getting rid of them was to just add them randomly to the original structure.

But until they return to full time league Football and it's upper levels it serves the purpose perfectly well.

 

Surely that are all banging on their forum that they took around 45,000 to Wembley once so need a stadium that big?