City Rip Off

[Guest BTR_FTG]

Now TimmerD know's a thing or two about sports marketing so when he states that the new pricing structure is a 'rip-off' perhaps Sexstone should sit up & listen. For those who live outside South Bristol buying a ticket, particularly for big games, has never been easy & often the club has sought to make the process as difficult as possible. Like most things Sexstone he outlines a general idea but fails to detail the specifics. If I pre-purchase the ticket can I collect it minutes prior to kick-off & still receive the discount, or does the discount only apply to personal or mail applications? If I purchase in advance do I have to pay a booking fee & if so how much? If I'm a wavering supporter, undecided if I can make a fixture, perhaps I'll wait until the day of the match given the price differential may not be as great as might first appear. Perhaps if City have turned in a 'mare' midweek, or the weather/transport's bad I'll not bother at all & leave Colin an additional empty seat. Given Crosier's restructure of the Royal Mail I'd have to book a ticket a week in advance to ensure I got the thing in time. So what excuse will Sexstone roll out if tickets are produced or distrubuted late; if like last year they await to see what size away support might turn up dependant upon how importatant the match is? What if they decide to allow last minute switching of stands? The problem is Sexstone lost all credibility on the matter of ticketing years ago. "The match is all ticket - unequivocally all ticket......... Actually due to poor sales, particularly to those who don't know if they can make the game until late on, the match is now pay-on-the day." You may recall I previously asked Sexstone what action the club took against clubs who permit access to 'all ticket' games from fans who travel ticketless - answer was none. He professed, under the guise of 'police advice & safety', that City would probably do the same in admitting ticketless fans to The Gate, as once inside they're 'easier to control'. What message does that send out?

Great news though, Sexstone's phasing out the Club Membership Scheme & introducing the 'Match Pass' - though as I couldn't find the 'Match Pass' details in the link referred to I know sweet FA as to what structure the phasing out will take or what the hell the 'Match Pass' offers or costs. Will the Club Membership be phased out over 1, 3, 20 years? What conditions are attached to the Match Pass? So when Rich Gardener phones me & asks why I haven't bothered re-newing my City2000 Membership I tell him that as I don't know what ticket priorities each Membership offers I might as well wait, which probably means I won't bother registering with any of them. How does that benefit the club? What good is a membership anyway when the club deems for big fixtures that only personal applications can be accepted?

Sexstone's message is clear. If you've an empty diary, know your schedule months in advance & have easy access to BS3 then the club & their Season Tickets welcome you with open arms. If the above doesn't apply, that you sometimes have to decide late on or prefer to pay on the day, you are, quite simply, an inconvenience to the club. Strange, as when I first started going in the 60's substantially larger crowds turned up each week, all ticketless, all with coins of the realm in their pockets & there never seemed to be that much of a problem.

Most importantly, as TimmerD points out, last season's displays weren't exactly that disparate from those to be had in the 'non' & 'amateur' leagues. That, Mr. Sexstone, is what the club competes with & a 17% increase may well send the floating punter elsewhere.

BTR

FTG

[zookeeper]

I don't personally like these quid a kid , ladies days etc. probably as the place gets filled up with people that only attend once a season. And like I said I am lucky to have a season ticket, so I don't benefit, in fact it 'lessens' our tickets. The club took my money in May for a ticket that starts in August, lots of interest to be made on the money there.

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RedM - days like Ladies day, bring a friend for a pound, kids nights are all about attracting new customers. If it was only the same people that came week in week out then our fan base would never grow. Kids and women have got to be attracted to the gate to provide our next generation of supporters. The club used to give away quite a few tickets to schools to get the kids involved. This is a very necessary tool to bring in new custom.

I think I'm right in saying that we lost nearly £3million last year. Wages have been dramatically slashed for those who were out of contract and they haven't been happy about them have they. The wages of 3 first teamers are now off the books. We need to generate more income and without selling first team players then we will struggle to generate huge sums.

Also I was paying around £16 / £17 for a ticket last year. The price for me will go down. All I have to do is be a little more prepared. For exiles it is a bit harder and fair play to you for all coming from so far. Maybe there should be a way of rewarding your extra loyalty. Has anyone asked Steve L about this?

Yes the charge for credit cards is unfortunated but the club has to pay someone for each transaction so doesn't generate enough if you pay this way.

Does anyone know the exact amount of money people pay the ticket people each saturday? It seems to me that this is a way of reducing the amount they pay out for this and also to accurately guage how many people are turning up.

As for matches being made all ticket. It's all about sales. Creating a limit makes people get off their backside and do it. Limited availability (ie supply) causes the price to go up or if the price stays the same increases demand. It is not a foolsafe science and to sell more tickets the club will drop this if they need to.