Is Bristol a football city?

[JamesBCFC]

10 hours ago, Portland Bill said:

Taunton played Bridgwater last Saturday, 20 years ago the crowd would have been 1,000 plus, Saturday's crowd was 384. Personally I blame football on tv as the reason people won't watch it live. There would have been a game on TVs until 2.45pm and then another at 5.15 pm. Midweek crowds in local football are even worse, people choose to watch a TVs game rather than support their local team.

As for Bristol being a football City, when you compare it with somewhere like Sheffield who have a teams in the same leagues as Bristol's clubs, it's clearly not.

You only have to see the thousands of us who travel from outside of Bristol to see that the Bristol public ( the vast majority) aren't sports fans.

At the same time some Bristol clubs are increasing their attendances.

Bristol Manor Farm used to struggle to reach crowds of 60, even as recently as 2 years ago. But they have been getting crowds of double that,mans almost triple at times last season,

They have some good initiatives, one I think is enforced by the league, where people in the armed forces get free admission, they also give half price tickets if you show a season ticket of either City or Rovers, and a half price ticket if you go to their game by train and show the ticket as proof.

[Son of Fred]

On 29/08/2016 at 00:11, CrazyInWeston said:

I agree with you there, but when I hear fans say the price for BCFC is too high, why not just go to Weston, its less than an hour and costs you £10.

Ten quid to watch National league south??....in real terms I think paying more than triple that to watch Championship football at AG is the better value-and your winning ticket says you don't have to be in Weston-S-Mare to do it......

[CyderInACan]

6 hours ago, Red-Robbo said:

Hopefully, a successful BCFC will attract the kids of these incomers, even if few themselves attend games.

A lot of the recent "incomers" who've settled in BS3 seem to despise City and anything football related. Local Facebook groups are choc-a-bloc with them moaning about parking on a match day, the foul mouthed masses who have the audacity to drink in the bars and pubs around the ground as well as the noise, litter and atmosphere in BS3 on match days. Nothing but overt snobbery and nimbyism imo but I very much doubt they'll be wanting their delightful offspring to be darkening the door of AG for a City match anytime soon. 

[Barrs Court Red]

I see the crowd for Mangotsfield vs Yate was "only" 390.

i thought they used to get around 1k for that one? 

[GrahamC]

8 hours ago, Red-Robbo said:

True words PF. 

Although Bristol is different from somewhere like Middlesbrough,  Preston, Wolverhampton etc in that it is full of people who moved into the area. I think we have had the largest inward net migration of any large city in the UK for many years..

Hopefully, a successful BCFC will attract the kids of these incomers, even if few themselves attend games.

The exact point I was going to make, RR.

My part of South Bristol has undergone radical gentrification over the last ten years meaning those of us born and raised in Bristol are not so much a minority, more of an endangered species.

Sadly their offspring, seeing as nearly all of them come from the South East, are Chelsea or Arsenal "followers", our only hope is sustained success followed by brilliant community work to entice them to the Gate.

No idea what we do about the sad act Bristolians you see walking around Cabot Circus in their ill fitting Liverpool shirts though...

[GrahamC]

2 hours ago, CyderInACan said:

A lot of the recent "incomers" who've settled in BS3 seem to despise City and anything football related. Local Facebook groups are choc-a-bloc with them moaning about parking on a match day, the foul mouthed masses who have the audacity to drink in the bars and pubs around the ground as well as the noise, litter and atmosphere in BS3 on match days. Nothing but overt snobbery and nimbyism imo but I very much doubt they'll be wanting their delightful offspring to be darkening the door of AG for a City match anytime soon. 

Yep, though they could always **** off back to London if they don't like it..

[SARJ]

On 8/28/2016 at 23:39, CyderInACan said:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/2016/08/26/andy-robinson-we-want-to-return-rugby-to-the-heart-of-bristol/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

 

Bristol has always been a rugby city

Really? Is this true? Combined crowds at AG and the mem are much higher than the average Bris crowd, even allowing for bumper attendances now Prem rugby is back. Even going back to the 80s when Bris were clearly in their pomp, it was always footy that provided the backdrop to life here. Which given the prevailing circumstances in BS3 is saying something. 

Is this just another convenient media myth? 

Whoever wrote this article is clearly ill informed.

Rang up the club only last week to get my Gramps a season ticket for the rugby. Was told he could sit anywhere as they're nowhere near sold out. And we're talking Premier League rugby ffs.

If that was City and we'd been promoted to the Prem you'd be looking at well over 17k Season Tickets easy.

[Robin1988]

On 8/29/2016 at 00:17, Aipearcey said:

Personally think that's the reason why teams like Weston need to draw in more crowds. Do people really want to pay £10 to go and watch the same bloke who will be fixing his car on Monday morning. I'm not knocking the talent the blokes have and could only dream of playing that standard but think £5 is more than enough

For whatever reason, the National League set a base price of £10 for every club. Madness.

[CyderInACan]

6 minutes ago, SARJ said:

Whoever wrote this article is clearly ill informed.

Rang up the club only last week to get my Gramps a season ticket for the rugby. Was told he could sit anywhere as they're nowhere near sold out. And we're talking Premier League rugby ffs.

If that was City and we'd been promoted to the Prem you'd be looking at well over 17k Season Tickets easy.

The ground as a whole isn't, but there's very few left in the reserved seats in Dolman Central.  Maybe fewer than 50 or so across the 3 reserved blocks. I guess that's why ST sales aren't great, as you're not really "reserving your seat" per se  

You're quite correct though, if we ever reach the Prem surely we'd actually sell over 20k?

 

[Rich]

How on earth can you compare the two sports and actually raise the question in the first place.

Bath, Gloucester, Northampton, Worcester and possibly Exeter now, are rugby towns. Bristol has produced rugby internationals solely because very few big cities actually bother to be represented in Rugby union, so there is actually little competition, so more chance to be selected. There are only twelve teams in the top division, with Bristol and Newcastle being the largest cities represented, apart from the London clubs, and only recently have both been floundering in the doldrums, along with such giants of sport as Rotherham and Doncaster, no offence intended. If you're one of the bigger clubs in a small sport, then you are bound to be represented at international level.

Even when Bristol were in the premiership before, they only attracted full houses against the likes of Bath, Leicester and Gloucester, And those crowds were swelled by away supporters. Just like when they played at AG against Bath for the first time, attracting 21,500, of which it appeared to be largely Bath supporters in attendance. When the novelty wore off for the next meeting 16k managed to turn up. There are only eleven league games to pay for per season, so it's also much more affordable to support a team for a whole season without breaking the bank.

I know rugby has got more popular in recent times with World cups and TV coverage but, even in sleepy old Bristol it's popularity and support pales into oblivion when compared to football. There are 23 home league games in football at three times the cost of rugby, and virtually every match has attracted better support than the rugby for over the fifty years I've been attending. Add to that another team whose attendances have largely been bigger than that of rugby in the same period, and rugby just does not come even close, no matter how good a game it is. And that's comparing rugby at a high level and football mostly at second and third tier levels.

It's like saying, "is Bristol a cycling city" because there are 16k regular cyclists, while forgetting that there are also 100,000 motorists, some of whom also cycle. 

[Mr Popodopolous]

Definitely more of a football city than a rugby city I reckon, obviously. Rugby may well get big crowds but I would suggest obviously that half decent season for City even in 2nd tier and our crowds will be better.

Football city more generally, is hard to say. Lots of people follow the football but how many follow the local sides (only one local side that matters obviously!)

Ok so, it's only personal anecdotes but where I work now and a place I worked a couple of years back, both in the Centre of Bristol. As their first team, their main side in Business A I worked at in 2014? I reckon me and one other only maybe 2 others only out of 100 at a push had Bristol City as their first and primary side. Few more had em mostly behind Arsenal. Not a useful %, proportion.

Place I work now, yes some follow it, yes some to the odd big game- and yeah he enjoyed it but obviously won't get a City season ticket, barely comes into Bristol outside of work, Liverpool is his side and is from sorta I dunno Hereford or somewhere. I reckon where I work currently, once again as first and foremost team including me, probably maybe 2 or 3 at most with City as their first side.

So basically, in my experience which may or may not be representative- lots of football fans, yeah- but incomers don't tend to follow City- they may have a soft spot for the other buggers but us nah.. And obviously football as popularity in the city well rugby union is no real comparison is it, at least at the club level. Either family not from Bristol, or glory supporters or not big on football- that's my secondary school experience, defo don't remember all that many City- doesn't include second team, certain civic pride if doing well, whatever but as proper fans? Nah.