Have City made a big mistake with match prices?

[Bar BS3]

1 hour ago, OddBallJim said:

Season tickets were over priced imo. Had a season ticket for nearly 15 years but priced out this season.

They were the same price in all existing stands, weren't they..?

[cityloyal473]

3 hours ago, Esmond Million's Bung said:

Just to add balance to this argument I have just spent 2 minutes on ticketmaster looking at the price of tickets for gigs and only bothered with initially with 'A's'and one band the washed up 1980's band ABC, a band who only ever made one ok album IMO and their tickets for the Bridgewater hall Manchester are £55 a piece and 10cc who as far as I am aware only have one original member in the form of Graham Gouldman are sold out for 2 dates and I suspect would charge similar if not more for tickets.

slightly unbalanced counter argument.  Gigs are one offs; football is an ongoing commitment.  

[ChippenhamRed]

1 hour ago, OddBallJim said:

Season tickets were over priced imo. Had a season ticket for nearly 15 years but priced out this season.

Sorry Jim but you are talking nonsense. Season ticket prices were frozen this year; allowing for inflation, they effectively got cheaper.

http://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/article/season-card-prices-frozen-for-201617-3012551.aspx

I would also point out that the last time I had a season ticket in 2008/09 (the year before we started a family - no coincidence), I paid £410 to sit in the Atyeo.

[Esmond Million's Bung]

9 minutes ago, cityloyal473 said:

slightly unbalanced counter argument.  Gigs are one offs; football is an ongoing commitment.  

Good point well made, too be honest if I had let's say £55 per month for any entertainment BCFC every time for me, certainly not some of the pretentious shit and has beens masquerading as music.

 

[cider-manc]

1 minute ago, cityloyal473 said:

slightly unbalanced counter argument.  Gigs are one offs; football is an ongoing commitment.  

True -although I have spent the best part of £500 watching AC/DC in the last year and a half.... Not including travel, accommodation etc

Pricing football is difficult. You could argue that people are still paying it so therefore it isn't too expensive and the product we have is value for money (supply and demand etc).... Yet we are all furious when the club describes us as customers instead of supporters. Surely if we are pricing people out using the supply and demand model then that's exactly what we have become?

[pongo88]

7 hours ago, 29AR said:

Just out interest, given the additional benefits of a season ticket - guaranteed seat, ticket priority, merch discounts, does it need to be significantly cheaper? I accept cheaper for sure, but not sure I do the need for it to be significantly so. 

The club gets numerous benefits from season tickets. A big one must be cash flow. It's great to have income in April of 2016 for a match that won't be attended until April 2017. Other businesses would love to have this sort of business plan. Another great advantage, is people pay for tickets, even though they may not be able to attend every match due to holidays etc. When I buy a season ticket I'm giving City an interest free loan, so I expect something in return.

That said, I still agree with the OP. Prices are a bit crazy as watching a match involves more than just the cost of a ticket. 

[Monkeh]

2 hours ago, OddBallJim said:

Season tickets were over priced imo. Had a season ticket for nearly 15 years but priced out this season.

They are cheaper then they were last time we were in the championship for me

[HIGHRIDGE BCFC]

22 hours ago, Bar BS3 said:

Did they pay the £55..? If so, I suggests that it's not TOO much. 

There were cheaper options available, if it was TOO much, but they opted to pay £55, so again, is it TOO much. 

People are too quick to say things cost too much, when they then pay it. Therefore it's not too much. 

Our attendances have increased massively over the last 20/30 years, all against a backdrop of increased ticket prices, yet at the same or lower level of football as back then, because the facilities are better. That costs money. 

 

I get what you're saying but just because people are willing to pay it doesn't mean it's not overpriced. £55 is a lot of money for 90 mins of championship football in my opinion.

He's not a City fan, he's from the Midlands but has come to a couple of games with me before and now actively looks out for City from afar. 

I'm fully aware there are cheaper options, but as he's a guest of mine he wants to sit by us. Is that so hard to understand?

I think our crowds have grown due to the increase in season ticket sales rather than pay on the day sales. For me and my daughter that same adult and U19 ticket costs under £25 per game with our season ticket, compared to £55 POD. That's a massive difference and far too big in my opinion.

Season tickets are by far the cheapest way of watching, but are not viable for some people. We need to be careful not to price these people out of the market.

 

[Bar BS3]

17 minutes ago, HIGHRIDGE BCFC said:

I get what you're saying but just because people are willing to pay it doesn't mean it's not overpriced. £55 is a lot of money for 90 mins of championship football in my opinion.

He's not a City fan, he's from the Midlands but has come to a couple of games with me before and now actively looks out for City from afar. 

I'm fully aware there are cheaper options, but as he's a guest of mine he wants to sit by us. Is that so hard to understand?

I think our crowds have grown due to the increase in season ticket sales rather than pay on the day sales. For me and my daughter that same adult and U19 ticket costs under £25 per game with our season ticket, compared to £55 POD. That's a massive difference and far too big in my opinion.

Season tickets are by far the cheapest way of watching, but are not viable for some people. We need to be careful not to price these people out of the market.

 

I agree that POTD shouldn't work out at more than double a season ticket, but maybe that's why the season tickets are well priced. 

I think that £55 for 2 people to watch a one off event isn't too bad but yes, it would be if they were going regularly. However if they were going regularly then there are memberships and season tickets to make it cheaper. 

[Monkeh]

1 hour ago, Bar BS3 said:

I agree that POTD shouldn't work out at more than double a season ticket, but maybe that's why the season tickets are well priced. 

I think that £55 for 2 people to watch a one off event isn't too bad but yes, it would be if they were going regularly. However if they were going regularly then there are memberships and season tickets to make it cheaper. 

17 quid a match is what I pay in the south stand imo the top potd ticket for the south stand should be 24 quid

 

[Portishead Red]

I was going to bring my wife, 8 year old and 4 year old to the Wigan game. It would have been their first time at the gate. For the 4 of us it would have been £80 including booking fees.... for 90 minutes of football. £11 for a 4 year old for crying out loud. How do they justify that??? Needless to say they won't be going down there anytime soon at those prices. 

[City fan 1982]

45 minutes ago, Portishead Red said:

I was going to bring my wife, 8 year old and 4 year old to the Wigan game. It would have been their first time at the gate. For the 4 of us it would have been £80 including booking fees.... for 90 minutes of football. £11 for a 4 year old for crying out loud. How do they justify that??? Needless to say they won't be going down there anytime soon at those prices. 

Real fans have season tickets.   Boo to part timers.  

[reddogkev]

Well I'll be damned, now that City have announced the upper tier is opening, I tip my hat to the club and say they've got ticket prices spot on -  otherwise the demand would not be there.

I guess even though the ticket prices seem expensive, on the face of it, they represent the correct market value for tickets in the Championship.

The answer to my question seems to be no, the club haven't made a big mistake at all!

Cheers for all responses.  Can't bloody wait for the Newcastle game!

[Bristol Rob]

1 hour ago, Portishead Red said:

I was going to bring my wife, 8 year old and 4 year old to the Wigan game. It would have been their first time at the gate. For the 4 of us it would have been £80 including booking fees.... for 90 minutes of football. £11 for a 4 year old for crying out loud. How do they justify that??? Needless to say they won't be going down there anytime soon at those prices. 

I thought a membership gave kids two free tickets for home games? That would have saved a few quid.

[T R]

I hope to see a loyalty scheme on our season tickets. Let's say you bought season tickets for 5 or 10 years, the club will reward with a discount on the next season ticket e.g. 20% off the next season ticket. And then if you bought a season for another 5 years you'd get a higher percentage off and so on. This is a reward from the club and this could encourage people to keep buying season tickets. 

[TBW]

I will personally be following the club from afar these days it seems. £30-45 for 90 minutes of entertainment is certainly excessive and although I can afford it, I can't logically look at it and justify it to myself when there are things I am trying to save for in future. Call me a part-timer or not a real fan or whatever you like for those prices aren't reasonable and I'll happily wait for a time when I feel they are. I'll continue to follow the club in every other way and check up daily on what's going on but I'll just need to watch game highlights and televised games.

I've no idea on the numbers but I'd rather sell 1,000 tickets at £22 (total £22,000) than 700 at £30 (total £21,000) when you're not selling out the place.

[JamesBCFC]

I'm in a position where I can only afford to go regularly with a season ticket. Though to get that season ticket I out a few quid aside every week last year so that I could get it. It's unlikely I'll have one next year, though if I can get my new situation sorted out I'll be saving for it again.

[Out of his pie crust]

At c. 17 quid a game for me and 2 kids (7 and 10) on a south stand season ticket, I think it's pretty good value. I do though think that a few more innovative ticket schemes/packages wouldn't go amiss this season for non season ticket holders, 3 match deals, cheap one offs (eg. 2 or 3 thousand adult tickets at 10 quid). I'd like to see the reducing price loyalty scheme introduced also (price reduced by a pound every game watched). 

[cider-manc]

10 minutes ago, Out of his pie crust said:

At c. 17 quid a game for me and 2 kids (7 and 10) on a south stand season ticket, I think it's pretty good value. I do though think that a few more innovative ticket schemes/packages wouldn't go amiss this season for non season ticket holders, 3 match deals, cheap one offs (eg. 2 or 3 thousand adult tickets at 10 quid). I'd like to see the reducing price loyalty scheme introduced also (price reduced by a pound every game watched). 

I personally think they should of done something like £30 for the Newcastle game but also an offer where it's £40 for the Newcastle game and the *insert less glamourous team here * game.

Would mean fans are getting a better deal if they attend two games and could also mean two bumper attendances instead of one.

[gl1]

8 hours ago, Threshing Red said:

I hope to see a loyalty scheme on our season tickets. Let's say you bought season tickets for 5 or 10 years, the club will reward with a discount on the next season ticket e.g. 20% off the next season ticket. And then if you bought a season for another 5 years you'd get a higher percentage off and so on. This is a reward from the club and this could encourage people to keep buying season tickets. 

Wouldn't the club just be throwing money away? people who have had a season ticket for 10 years wouldn't pass on year 11 just because it wasn't cheaper than the previous year.

Your idea would work with POTD though - prices decrease by each consecutive game bought. Miss a game (or two to be nice, we all have commitments) and price returns to full price again> Keep buying, keep coming, and its cheaper for you. Dont think it would annoy the season ticket holders as it would be still be far cheaper to buy in advance, but this would encourage and reward the more casual a fan to return?

[reddogkev]

13 minutes ago, cider-manc said:

I personally think they should of done something like £30 for the Newcastle game but also an offer where it's £40 for the Newcastle game and the *insert less glamourous team here * game.

Would mean fans are getting a better deal if they attend two games and could also mean two bumper attendances instead of one.

Good idea, makes you wonder if the club consider these sort of offers.  They could have offered the Newcastle and Villa game as a £50 quid bundle (or even a £60 quid double would still be a decent deal).

Be interesting to see how different the Villa attendance is compared to Newcastle, how many non season ticket holders can afford both in 7 days?

No chance I can afford both of them in the same month, imagine this must be the same for lots of other families / groups of fans.

[Bristol Rob]

1 minute ago, reddogkev said:

Good idea, makes you wonder if the club consider these sort of offers.  They could have offered the Newcastle and Villa game as a £50 quid bundle?

Be interesting to see how different the Villa attendance is compared to Newcastle, how many non season ticket holders can afford both in 7 days?

No chance I can afford both of them in the same month, imagine this must be the same for lots of other families / groups of fans.

Or people could buy the membership which is fantastic value for money.

[reddogkev]

2 minutes ago, Bristol Rob said:

Or people could buy the membership which is fantastic value for money.

To be fair, the membership is decent value, you're right there.  Don't quite think I would class it as fantastic though, perhaps if it was a £7 saving on each match ticket!

Can Memberships still be bought now?  Might check the website and have a look.  This would be a good week to sign up to it. 

[cityloyal473]

23 minutes ago, reddogkev said:

Good idea, makes you wonder if the club consider these sort of offers.  They could have offered the Newcastle and Villa game as a £50 quid bundle (or even a £60 quid double would still be a decent deal).

Be interesting to see how different the Villa attendance is compared to Newcastle, how many non season ticket holders can afford both in 7 days?

No chance I can afford both of them in the same month, imagine this must be the same for lots of other families / groups of fans.

Match bundles: bloody good idea.

[cider-manc]

22 minutes ago, Bristol Rob said:

Or people could buy the membership which is fantastic value for money.

Memberships are good if you intend on attending 4+ games a season. Games like Newcastle we should be using to encourage the more casual fan of attending more often.

 

 

 

[Mike Hunt-Hertz]

On ‎12‎/‎08‎/‎2016 at 11:33, Mike Hunt-Hertz said:

£41? That's a lot of spondulicks. I can't justify a season ticket as I work shifts and live miles away....this feels like the more occasional supporter is being caned (and not in a good way).

Just got caned! £42..Lansdown Upper tier....superb.

Think I`ll buy me a membership.

[Chris]

13 hours ago, Bristol Rob said:

I thought a membership gave kids two free tickets for home games? That would have saved a few quid.

Yes. A £20 kids membership gives you one child and one adult free ticket to a game of your choice.  I've used this for the Villa game and the ticket face value is  £37.

[Bar BS3]

12 hours ago, Threshing Red said:

I hope to see a loyalty scheme on our season tickets. Let's say you bought season tickets for 5 or 10 years, the club will reward with a discount on the next season ticket e.g. 20% off the next season ticket. And then if you bought a season for another 5 years you'd get a higher percentage off and so on. This is a reward from the club and this could encourage people to keep buying season tickets. 

I completely agree with this. It's a scheme that should be very seriously considered IMO. 

 

[ChippenhamRed]

40 minutes ago, Chris said:

Yes. A £20 kids membership gives you one child and one adult free ticket to a game of your choice.  I've used this for the Villa game and the ticket face value is  £37.

If I tell the club I have 23 children.....

[ChippenhamRed]

3 hours ago, reddogkev said:

To be fair, the membership is decent value, you're right there.  Don't quite think I would class it as fantastic though, perhaps if it was a £7 saving on each match ticket!

Can Memberships still be bought now?  Might check the website and have a look.  This would be a good week to sign up to it. 

I'd say a fiver off each ticket for a £20 outlay, plus priority access and discounts on food/merchandise, is a fantastic deal.