Could the rugger boys embarass us with the first 27,000 attendance at the revamped Ashton Gate?

[ChippenhamRed]

33 minutes ago, Barry Sheene said:

If we get lucky and have Villa or Newcastle first home game of the season we've got a chance of a sell out.

However if we get our usual luck from the fixture computer and get Burton or Rotherham and we've got no chance.

The first fixture is the key to a capacity crowd unless we have a unbelievablely good season .

I suggested previously that the first game should be a tenner for all tickets regardless of opposition. Guarantee a sell out and have the stadium packed for its first game. It would be such a powerful marketing exercise to encourage the new support we need to fill it regularly - worth making a loss as a one-off.

[ChippenhamRed]

7 minutes ago, Stoke_Gifford_Red said:

Although tbf that was at a cr@p ground with a capacity of about 11k. 

Maybe, but even so it's a stretch to say with any certainty they are suddenly going to average more than the football team.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, cityboy said:

No chance

Based on what?

Attendance figures for rugby this season:

http://www.premiershiprugby.com/stats/attendance.php#aBE6CA4AJM1ZdLG8.97

22 games.

Let's assume these figures are for 11 home games.

Best average 21k - 22k

Best local average 14k (Gloucester)

Worst average 6k

[Xiled]

Of more interest to me is whether Rovers realise that their loss (Bristol Rugby) is our gain. They stole the rugby stadium and drove the team out of town. It would be poetic justice if Bristol became bigger, stronger and more successful than their recent history since Rovers left Twerton.

Here's hoping for strong football and rugby teams at Ashton Gate.

[Son of Fred]

13 hours ago, Never to the dark side said:

Bristol Rugby with 15,000 followers and Bath Support at 12,000

makes up to a nice round figure of 27,000 attendance

Bristol sport could invite Bath if they would like to "loan" the Gate for their Home fixture against Bristol

Rugby fixture release date was 2nd July last year(2015)

Great for bristol...embarrassed??

[Son of Fred]

9 hours ago, ChippenhamRed said:

I suggested previously that the first game should be a tenner for all tickets regardless of opposition. Guarantee a sell out and have the stadium packed for its first game. It would be such a powerful marketing exercise to encourage the new support we need to fill it regularly - worth making a loss as a one-off.

The club wouldn't do it.would be backlash from the st holders..

[Miah Dennehy]

12 hours ago, CodeRed said:

 

 

Going forward Bristol Rugby are the primary BS brand. Increased exposure and upstream marketing opportunities enabled by brand focused media exposure will drive revenue growth and generate increased footfall and profit maximisation. Therefore stadium occupancy can be expected to surpass secondary brands.

 

Bristol Sport

Somebody had the David Brent book of management for xmas

[Miah Dennehy]

6 hours ago, Xiled said:

Of more interest to me is whether Rovers realise that their loss (Bristol Rugby) is our gain. They stole the rugby stadium and drove the team out of town. It would be poetic justice if Bristol became bigger, stronger and more successful than their recent history since Rovers left Twerton.

Here's hoping for strong football and rugby teams at Ashton Gate.

Just because you repeat a lie often enough., it doesn't make it true.

[glynriley]

1 hour ago, Robert the bruce said:

The club wouldn't do it.would be backlash from the st holders..

And rightly so. Why should someone who may only go to that one game get a better deal than someone who has committed themselves, and their money, for the entire season.

If they want to do one off offers to get people through the gates, the price should not be lower than a ST holder has paid.

My ST in the Dolman works out at £17.43 per match so if they were to sell an equivalent seat at a discounted rate the price should be £17.50 .

Don't think many ST holders would have a problem with doing deals like this to help fill the ground, especially for games against the lesser lights.

[ChippenhamRed]

32 minutes ago, glynriley said:

And rightly so. Why should someone who may only go to that one game get a better deal than someone who has committed themselves, and their money, for the entire season.

If they want to do one off offers to get people through the gates, the price should not be lower than a ST holder has paid.

My ST in the Dolman works out at £17.43 per match so if they were to sell an equivalent seat at a discounted rate the price should be £17.50 .

Don't think many ST holders would have a problem with doing deals like this to help fill the ground, especially for games against the lesser lights.

For goodness sakes, this is an utterly ridiculous stance. Your season ticket is £17.50 per game FOR 23 GAMES. Reducing tickets to £10 FOR ONE GAME does not mean you are suddenly getting a bad deal.

I would hope that most season ticket holders would understand the benefits of reducing ticket prices for the opening match, in the long term interests of the club, whilst appreciating that over the course of the whole season they are still getting the best value available.

[ChippenhamRed]

2 hours ago, Robert the bruce said:

The club wouldn't do it.would be backlash from the st holders..

The club have made key games £10 before in our recent history and there was no backlash whatsoever.

[Xiled]

1 hour ago, Miahdennehy said:

Just because you repeat a lie often enough., it doesn't make it true.

If I remember correctly, Rovers paid £10,000 to buy Bristol Rugby's remaining ownership of the Memorial Ground in 1998 when the rugby club went into administration.  This clause was put in place to protect both tenants in the event that either entered financial difficulties.  The idea being that sport could continue on the site.  Rover's total cost of ownership by that point was just over £1M.

13 years later, Rovers thought they had sold the stadium site to Sainsbury's for £30M.

Had the sale to Sainsbury's gone through, would any of the proceeds been channelled to the rugby club?  I don't think so.  Good piece of business for Rovers but all at the expense of Bristol Rugby.

Tell me where the lie is.

[glynriley]

5 minutes ago, ChippenhamRed said:

For goodness sakes, this is an utterly ridiculous stance. Your season ticket is £17.50 per game FOR 23 GAMES. Reducing tickets to £10 FOR ONE GAME does not mean you are suddenly getting a bad deal.

I would hope that most season ticket holders would understand the benefits of reducing ticket prices for the opening match, in the long term interests of the club, whilst appreciating that over the course of the whole season they are still getting the best value available.

In your opinion. Mine is that ST holders commit their money for an entire season and as such, should not pay more than a one off day tripper.(There are no guarantees these people will return when the prices are at normal rates.)

Also, IMO, the first game of the season  isn't the game to be doing deals on. The completed stadium and facilities, coupled with it being the first game in months, will be an attractive enough proposition for many.

If we get Villa or Newcastle first game up and charge a tenner, how do you then go back to the fan base and ask them to pay £30 for a Tuesday night game v Burton? That or an equally unattractive propsition is the game to make tickets cheap.

 

4 minutes ago, ChippenhamRed said:

The club have made key games £10 before in our recent history and there was no backlash whatsoever.

I can only remember the Coventry game at the end of the the 2011/2012 season as being a game discounted to that level, and no I didn't have a problem with that one as we needed all the support we could muster that day.

[ChippenhamRed]

3 minutes ago, glynriley said:

In your opinion. Mine is that ST holders commit their money for an entire season and as such, should not pay more than a one off day tripper.(There are no guarantees these people will return when the prices are at normal rates.)

Also, IMO, the first game of the season  isn't the game to be doing deals on. The completed stadium and facilities, coupled with it being the first game in months, will be an attractive enough proposition for many.

If we get Villa or Newcastle first game up and charge a tenner, how do you then go back to the fan base and ask them to pay £30 for a Tuesday night game v Burton? That or an equally unattractive propsition is the game to make tickets cheap.

 

I can only remember the Coventry game at the end of the the 2011/2012 season as being a game discounted to that level, and no I didn't have a problem with that one as we needed all the support we could muster that day.

I accept that if it's Villa or Newcastle, it makes less economic sense and you don't need to discount that heavily.

But, for most opposition, as a one-time offer to entice new support and show off the new stadium at its best - packed to the rafters - I don't think "they will have to pay more for other games" is a reason not to do it. It's a classic sales strategy used in all sorts of businesses. Hook them in with a cheap price to start.

[Phileas Fogg]

1 hour ago, glynriley said:

And rightly so. Why should someone who may only go to that one game get a better deal than someone who has committed themselves, and their money, for the entire season.

If they want to do one off offers to get people through the gates, the price should not be lower than a ST holder has paid.

My ST in the Dolman works out at £17.43 per match so if they were to sell an equivalent seat at a discounted rate the price should be £17.50 .

Don't think many ST holders would have a problem with doing deals like this to help fill the ground, especially for games against the lesser lights.

Flawed ideas, as Chippenham Red says above. Besides, being a ST holder isn't just about the price of tickets - ST holders get discounts and priority for cup/away tickets. You're not just paying for a ticket at home games.

It clearly won't be reduced every single game, the suggestion is for the odd game to fill the ground, generate a buzz about it and hopefully encourage new support.

As a season ticket holder myself I'd gladly allow POTD to have tenner tickets to watch us on the opening day if it means a full ground. Look at the bigger picture.

[elhombrecito]

As long as my season ticket is cheaper than buying 23 single match tickets, I'm happy. A couple of £10 games won't stop that being the case, so I'd love to see super cheap tickets for the opening game.

[italian dave]

2 hours ago, Miahdennehy said:

Just because you repeat a lie often enough., it doesn't make it true.

Try telling that to Boris Johnson...!!!

[glynriley]

4 minutes ago, ChippenhamRed said:

I accept that if it's Villa or Newcastle, it makes less economic sense and you don't need to discount that heavily.

But, for most opposition, as a one-time offer to entice new support and show off the new stadium at its best - packed to the rafters - I don't think "they will have to pay more for other games" is a reason not to do it. It's a classic sales strategy used in all sorts of businesses. Hook them in with a cheap price to start.

I've not got a problem with offering discounted tickets for certain games, but I don't believe the first game of the season is the best one to choose. As I said previously, the club have set the price of my seat at £17.43 per game, provided I pay in advance. Match day prices will be £30 or more so even offering an equivalent seat at £17.50 represents a good deal, if they couple that with kids tickets at 2 or 3 quid a pop even better.

 

[ChippenhamRed]

8 minutes ago, Phileas Fogg said:

Flawed ideas, as Chippenham Red says above. Besides, being a ST holder isn't just about the price of tickets - ST holders get discounts and priority for cup/away tickets. You're not just paying for a ticket at home games.

It clearly won't be reduced every single game, the suggestion is for the odd game to fill the ground, generate a buzz about it and hopefully encourage new support.

As a season ticket holder myself I'd gladly allow POTD to have tenner tickets to watch us on the opening day if it means a full ground. Look at the bigger picture.

 

6 minutes ago, El Hombrecito said:

As long as my season ticket is cheaper than buying 23 single match tickets, I'm happy. A couple of £10 games won't stop that being the case, so I'd love to see super cheap tickets for the opening game.

Thank you both. This is what I would expect the consensus view to be.

To give some context to the apparent unfairness to STH of reducing the opening game to £10:-

A "day tripper" paying £10 for the first game and £30 for all subsequent home games in the South Stand would spend £670! Approximately twice the equivalent season ticket cost.

[glynriley]

2 minutes ago, ChippenhamRed said:

 

Thank you both. This is what I would expect the consensus view to be.

To give some context to the apparent unfairness to STH of reducing the opening game to £10:-

A "day tripper" paying £10 for the first game and £30 for all subsequent home games in the South Stand would spend £670! Approximately twice the equivalent season ticket cost.

If you're going to attend every game anyway, may as well buy a ST!!!

[ChippenhamRed]

5 minutes ago, glynriley said:

I've not got a problem with offering discounted tickets for certain games, but I don't believe the first game of the season is the best one to choose. As I said previously, the club have set the price of my seat at £17.43 per game, provided I pay in advance. Match day prices will be £30 or more so even offering an equivalent seat at £17.50 represents a good deal, if they couple that with kids tickets at 2 or 3 quid a pop even better.

 

I understand your maths. £17.50 is a good deal, but unless the opposition is Villa or Newcastle it doesn't guarantee a sell out.

Choosing the first game is about immediately promoting our brand new stadium to a wider audience, by ensuring it is looking at its best - ie full. The first game is absolutely the time to do that. The stadium will only be brand new once, it's a natural marketing opportunity and you have to make the most of it before the novelty wears off.

[ChippenhamRed]

7 minutes ago, glynriley said:

If you're going to attend every game anyway, may as well buy a ST!!!

....which is exactly why your "it's not fair" argument does not stack up.

[Jack Dawe]

16 hours ago, Never to the dark side said:

Bristol Rugby with 15,000 followers and Bath Support at 12,000

makes up to a nice round figure of 27,000 attendance

Bristol sport could invite Bath if they would like to "loan" the Gate for their Home fixture against Bristol

Rugby fixture release date was 2nd July last year(2015)

Nev mate, we're more than capable of embarrassing ourselves (see last summer's transfer fiasco, see Fulham at home last season, see Aug to Jan last season, see 1980-1983, see 1912 - 2016 give or take a couple of years, see?) without any help from the rugger lot. I just hope and pray we don't make a prize tit of ourselves like we did last summer and instead spend a nice comfy season somewhere safe in midtable with a couple of big crowds against Viller and Newcastle and maybe a little cup run. That'll do me.

I hope the rugby lot (who have been an embarrassment themselves for years, ever since the game went professional, pretty much) are a roaring success and the tills are ringing down Ashton Gate. Far from embarrassing, it can only be good for us, if BristolSport are making a mint and the turnover is growing.

[Aizoon]

16 hours ago, CodeRed said:

 

 

Going forward Bristol Rugby are the primary BS brand. Increased exposure and upstream marketing opportunities enabled by brand focused media exposure will drive revenue growth and generate increased footfall and profit maximisation. Therefore stadium occupancy can be expected to surpass secondary brands.

 

Bristol Sport

Sounds like wankpuffinry to me

 

[Miah Dennehy]

59 minutes ago, Xiled said:

If I remember correctly, Rovers paid £10,000 to buy Bristol Rugby's remaining ownership of the Memorial Ground in 1998 when the rugby club went into administration.  This clause was put in place to protect both tenants in the event that either entered financial difficulties.  The idea being that sport could continue on the site.  Rover's total cost of ownership by that point was just over £1M.

13 years later, Rovers thought they had sold the stadium site to Sainsbury's for £30M.

Had the sale to Sainsbury's gone through, would any of the proceeds been channelled to the rugby club?  I don't think so.  Good piece of business for Rovers but all at the expense of Bristol Rugby.

Tell me where the lie is.

That Rovers STOLE the ground- they just didn't. They did a clever bit of business, but to say they stole it is ridiculous. Did Bristol City steal the money from their creditors in 1982? No, they had got themselves into all sorts of trouble and took what was- at the time- the most sensible route they could take.

Clauses are put in contracts for all sorts of 'reasons' , but when they are invoked, it's because a company wants to use them to their advantage, something Rovers know all about when Sainsburys did exactly that.

I totally get football rivalry, to a degree I even enjoy it, but when fans just start making things up to suit, I think it gets a bit daft.

[cityboy]

13 hours ago, ChippenhamRed said:

Bristol Rugby's average attendance in their last four Premiership seasons; 9k, 10k, 9k, 7k.

So how you can say that with any certainty, I have no idea.

 

11 hours ago, bcfcfinker said:

Based on what?

Attendance figures for rugby this season:

http://www.premiershiprugby.com/stats/attendance.php#aBE6CA4AJM1ZdLG8.97

22 games.

Let's assume these figures are for 11 home games.

Best average 21k - 22k

Best local average 14k (Gloucester)

Worst average 6k

Bath will sell out, Glos too. Exeter, Saracens, Leicester will all be 20+. Quinn's, Worcester and Northampton will be fairly busy too.

But ultimately it's not a competition, the more sell out crowds at Ashton Gate, the better. In whichever sport .

[Aizoon]

Is it too much to hope that there is some sup[port from the new Mayor - or at least not blatant obstruction?

[exAtyeoMax]

2 minutes ago, cityboy said:

 

Bath will sell out, Glos too. Exeter, Saracens, Leicester will all be 20+. Quinn's, Worcester and Northampton will be fairly busy too.

But ultimately it's not a competition, the more sell out crowds at Ashton Gate, the better. In whichever sport .

plus the locals can't complain about the number of football fans in North Street etc 

[Merrick's Marvels]

16 hours ago, JM91 said:

I am assuming you're parodying Bristol Sport?

Rest your fears, we can support Bristol rugger safe in the knowledge that they can never surpass us.  The potential for city is far, far greater.  Unless the rugger manage to get promoted into the football premier league 

 

The rugby club have already produced far more world class international players than City have or are ever likely to. They've also reached the final of their FA Cup equivalent 3 times.  

City cannot win the Champions League but the rugby club can win their equivalent.

So when you say they can never surpass us, I assume you're thinking of attendance figures. Sadly, that isn't the only criteria.

[Ashton1]

Would be nice to see our stadium full , just can't see it. Bristol rugby club has never had massive support compared to us/football. But you never know in big one of games. We will see . 

Bristol city v Newcastle / Aston villa ??? 23-25k me thinks ??