Wokingham Red Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 I apologise if I’m going over a topic which has been discussed before but it struck me how last night’s “sold out” home game was far from it. There seems to be a big issue with no-shows. What is driving this issue? Of course not all STHs can make every game. I heard a theory last night that people bought an under 12s ST just to get a free shirt and/or to give themselves more space. What could the club do to combat this? Perhaps creating a proper resale platform? Or some kind of enforcement if a season ticket is a no-show for say 3/4 home games in a row. Seems like the club are missing out on an easy win with a resale platform which would generate more ticket and food/drink revenue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dredd Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 Not sure you can enforce a no show policy. Someone's paid for that seat for the season, it's up to them how often they go. One of our group due to personal circumstances has only been once this season and I'd be disgusted if the club tried to do something to take his ticket away. Essentially the clubs decided on the price of a seat, someone's decided to pay that price. Not the clubs business if that seat is filled on the day or not. Also, to get a kids ticket you have to show a birth certificate for that child 8 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IAmNick Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 South stand is the worst culprit imo so I think you're spot on about the cheap kids ticket. Almost no reason not to as they only have to go to a handful of games over the season for it to be worth it. Resale is a decent idea, but if you're a group it's going to be a pain buying individual tickets in dribs and drabs as people put them up for resale. I'd think about ditching the free shirt thing or increasing the price personally, though I don't know all the details. Why not just sell kids shirts much cheaper in the shop instead? 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wokingham Red Posted February 3 Author Report Share Posted February 3 2 minutes ago, Dredd said: Not sure you can enforce a no show policy. Someone's paid for that seat for the season, it's up to them how often they go. One of our group due to personal circumstances has only been once this season and I'd be disgusted if the club tried to do something to take his ticket away. Essentially the clubs decided on the price of a seat, someone's decided to pay that price. Not the clubs business if that seat is filled on the day or not. Also, to get a kids ticket you have to show a birth certificate for that child Didn’t realise about the birth certificate thing. Thanks for explaining that. My thinking around enforcement is that it wouldn’t be automatic. The STH would initially be contacted to see what’s going on. A resale platform would probably mitigate the need for any enforcement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numero Uno Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 (edited) For starters if anyone has used a season ticket or three times less over the whole season it gets cancelled next season with a right to appeal if there are circumstances such as illness involved. Kids season tickets are not for selfish fat ***** to enable themselves to have a bit of space between them and the next person. Buyback also needs to be seriously looked at. However if Manning carries on earning half a point a game in six match periods it won’t be a problem. Edited February 3 by Numero Uno 2 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TinMan's left peg Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 (edited) Other clubs do the resale thing I think (Arsenal?). Can the club take a cut of that so everyone’s a winner? whilst I’m fully behind all the promotions for kids (they’re the next generation of support etc) I do think there’s an issue when we are “sold out” and there are people who want to come but can’t get a ticket yet there’s hundreds of empty seats everywhere. Edited February 3 by TinMan's left peg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Exile Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 4 minutes ago, Numero Uno said: ...if Manning carries on earning half a point a game in six match periods it won’t be a problem. This 100%! But to the OP - as someone not living in Bristol I can almost never get to evening matches - these days the trip includes the cost of an overnight. Beyond that over the years in most seasons I've rarely been able to get to anything like the majority of matches. I've always thought I was doing the club a favour by giving them money up front and paying more than if I was to POTD. It only seems a problem for matches that sell out. Can't see that happening regularly any time soon. The South Stand issue is another matter. I'd have thought it perfectly fair for the the club to restrict the sale of kids seats to the family section...but my kids are far too old for that to be an issue for me! 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sticks 1969 Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 Watching on sky last night and was surprised with how many empty seats in the SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvio Dante Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 A few quick points: - As a STH I couldn’t go last night due to illness. That meant my two kids also couldn’t go. I also missed Ipswich (holiday) and will miss Swansea (kids football). I don’t imagine I’m unique here so I think you have to work on ST holders generally not being able to attend 10% of games. That gives a heck of a lot of the empty seats already - The kids ticket is a huge seller for a few reasons. What it actually does as well is encourage the adult to buy a ticket, so if anything’s done there you may lose two sales. For me, I bought a kids ST for my son in the Dolman for a couple of years before he attended regularly - because they were seats I had, seats I liked, and I didn’t want to move to family section then have to bunfight for seats close to my original ones back thereafter. In that period he probably attended 5 games a season. - The recent games have had a disproportionate impact. But generally, we’re not in a space where we need a buy back. Seats are generally always available so I’m not sure it’s either cost effective or needed at the moment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 3 minutes ago, sticks 1969 said: Watching on sky last night and was surprised with how many empty seats in the SS I wasn’t. I know several elderly ST holders with Sky, no way were they venturing out for it. The Portway was closed from mid afternoon, Bristol has appalling traffic, few decent options to get to the ground without driving, followed by the nightmare of parking & if I didn’t live near enough to walk, I’m not 100% sure I would go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin phantom Posted February 3 Admin Report Share Posted February 3 Interesting points raised already in this thread and it is something that has been discussed with the club and the SC&T 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vespa Red Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 I'm a season ticket holder. Living in South Wales, we either use the park and ride from Shire, the train from STJ to Parson Street or I park at a mate's or my partner's house in Portishead and share a lift in. However, last night seemed to be the perfect storm of closed Portway, closed line between TM and Parson Street and 2 season ticket holders begging one seat in my mate's car. Add a broken leg to the mix and we decided, with regret, to watch it on telly. Our seats will be included in the sell-out as they are season tickets. But enough of the excuses.... However, at any given point in time, everyone will have their individual reasons for not being able to attend. Unfortunately for me, life over the last 5 years has conspired against me to the point where, even though I've had season tickets every year, I've probably missed more games than I've been to. Oh well. 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zider'ed Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 (edited) Surely with today's technology, there has to be a way of season ticket holders letting the club know that they can't make certain games due to holidays or family commitments etc, then making their seats available for general sale. As an incentive, if a season ticket holders seat is then resold, the club could add points to season ticket holders My City Rewards balance. I looked to buy 3 tickets earlier this week as plans changed meaning we could make it, but unfortunately could not book 3 seats together. Then watch it on Sky and see 100's of seats empty, especially in the South Stand. Maybe there could be the opportunity of a resale the day before a game of any seats made available. Edited February 3 by zider'ed . 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petehinton Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 Top of the lansdown had loaaaaads of empty seats too 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TV Tom Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 Games i would of missed by the end of the season i reckon will be in double figures due to work commitments and holiday (i already know i will miss the Man Utd game due to work and holiday for the Leicester game and there are probably more that i haven't even looked at yet) i do try to pass my ticket onto family if i can't make it, in regards to empty seats in the SS i know for a fact that their are many who have bought kids tickets and they never get used, this is a massive problem, personally i would up the price to at least £100 and make the shirts half price instead of being free as this might discourage those that are clearly taking the piss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leabrook Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 1 hour ago, Wokingham Red said: I apologise if I’m going over a topic which has been discussed before but it struck me how last night’s “sold out” home game was far from it. There seems to be a big issue with no-shows. What is driving this issue? Of course not all STHs can make every game. I heard a theory last night that people bought an under 12s ST just to get a free shirt and/or to give themselves more space. What could the club do to combat this? Perhaps creating a proper resale platform? Or some kind of enforcement if a season ticket is a no-show for say 3/4 home games in a row. Seems like the club are missing out on an easy win with a resale platform which would generate more ticket and food/drink revenue. It is actually sold out. Not ‘sold out’ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
54-46 Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 Were the empty seats available for purchase in the first place though or do City hold some back so as not to trigger the “consecutive big crowd” clause which would mean they need to implement and fund a parking scheme…… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leabrook Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 22 minutes ago, zider'ed said: Surely with today's technology, there has to be a way of season ticket holders letting the club know that they can't make certain games due to holidays or family commitments etc, then making their seats available for general sale. As an incentive, if a season ticket holders seat is then resold, the club could add points to season ticket holders My City Rewards balance. I looked to buy 3 tickets earlier this week as plans changed meaning we could make it, but unfortunately could not book 3 seats together. Then watch it on Sky and see 100's of seats empty, especially in the South Stand. Maybe there could be the opportunity of a resale the day before a game of any seats made available. Good idea. Sadly there is no way Jon Lansdown is clever enough to think of it or make it happen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weepywall Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 Bizarrely, around me in S20 it seemed quite busy first half but loads more available seats second half..there were a few Leeds fans about that didn't reappear for the second half. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1960maaan Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 Apparently we have 26,400 seats. Rough figures; The Atyeo has 4,200 seats. There was about 3,000 Leeds Leaves 1,200 empty. Total 25,400 Attendance 25,429 so we sold what we could. As for empty seats, at least in the SS . Take a look at the back, I mentioned to a mate how many seats were empty , but then noticed a lot stand at the back of the stand. That and no shows / young kids not coming for a night game and I think that explains it. The Club have made it possible to pass on your season ticket, so they've done their part. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Open End Numb Legs Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 I am sure no one is being criticised for not being there, it is about making the seats available. I know an Arsenal fan who makes use of their scheme very successfully. He lives in Wilts but flies out of Heathrow and can get to the odd mid week games when convenient for him. There will be some who find themselves suddenly free to go to AG due to a change of plans but put off enquiring by the sell out tag, or, more likely at the prospect of a poor seat/view. Some of the seats free last night were in prime spots. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red-Robbo Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 1 hour ago, Dredd said: Not sure you can enforce a no show policy. Someone's paid for that seat for the season, it's up to them how often they go. One of our group due to personal circumstances has only been once this season and I'd be disgusted if the club tried to do something to take his ticket away. Essentially the clubs decided on the price of a seat, someone's decided to pay that price. Not the clubs business if that seat is filled on the day or not. Also, to get a kids ticket you have to show a birth certificate for that child Ditto last night for my group. We used to give our season cards to an old fellow from the village when one of us couldn't show, but he hasn't got a smart phone so there isn't an easy option for passing on your seat to him, particularly if it's last-minute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin phantom Posted February 3 Admin Report Share Posted February 3 35 minutes ago, zider'ed said: Surely with today's technology, there has to be a way of season ticket holders letting the club know that they can't make certain games due to holidays or family commitments etc, then making their seats available for general sale. As an incentive, if a season ticket holders seat is then resold, the club could add points to season ticket holders My City Rewards balance. I looked to buy 3 tickets earlier this week as plans changed meaning we could make it, but unfortunately could not book 3 seats together. Then watch it on Sky and see 100's of seats empty, especially in the South Stand. Maybe there could be the opportunity of a resale the day before a game of any seats made available. Like mentioned already I'd say it's about supply and demand. Up until very recently we haven't been selling out so tickets have always been available 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pj76 Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 We have missed maybe three games. For each of those games I transferred the tickets to someone else. They got cut price or free tickets if I was feeling generous for amazing average football and were totally happy. Some of this "big lad buys a kids' ST for their right leg" is patently overstated, and the obsession with kids tickets - the future fanbase - is also a bit OTT. People should just chill out and watch the game. We're not at the point where we sell out regularly. If hell freezes over and we become the new Brighton or something these issues will resolve themselves. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy082005 Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 1 hour ago, Wokingham Red said: I apologise if I’m going over a topic which has been discussed before but it struck me how last night’s “sold out” home game was far from it. There seems to be a big issue with no-shows. What is driving this issue? Of course not all STHs can make every game. I heard a theory last night that people bought an under 12s ST just to get a free shirt and/or to give themselves more space. What could the club do to combat this? Perhaps creating a proper resale platform? Or some kind of enforcement if a season ticket is a no-show for say 3/4 home games in a row. Seems like the club are missing out on an easy win with a resale platform which would generate more ticket and food/drink revenue. This a joke right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Street red Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 7 minutes ago, 1960maaan said: Apparently we have 26,400 seats. Rough figures; The Atyeo has 4,200 seats. There was about 3,000 Leeds Leaves 1,200 empty. Total 25,400 Attendance 25,429 so we sold what we could. As for empty seats, at least in the SS . Take a look at the back, I mentioned to a mate how many seats were empty , but then noticed a lot stand at the back of the stand. That and no shows / young kids not coming for a night game and I think that explains it. The Club have made it possible to pass on your season ticket, so they've done their part. There is a seat near us in the south stand at the back it never comes up for sale,The bloke next to me tried to book the seat for his missus but couldn't been like it for a couple of seasons apparently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1960maaan Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 1 minute ago, Street red said: There is a seat near us in the south stand at the back it never comes up for sale,The bloke next to me tried to book the seat for his missus but couldn't been like it for a couple of seasons apparently. If it's someone who likes to stand at the back, it would make sense. Specially someone who can stand with mates, but struggled to get seats together. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just like watching brazil Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 Have we ever won a home league game or even when our away ends been sold out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numero Uno Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 1 hour ago, Dredd said: Not sure you can enforce a no show policy. Someone's paid for that seat for the season, it's up to them how often they go. One of our group due to personal circumstances has only been once this season and I'd be disgusted if the club tried to do something to take his ticket away. Essentially the clubs decided on the price of a seat, someone's decided to pay that price. Not the clubs business if that seat is filled on the day or not. Also, to get a kids ticket you have to show a birth certificate for that child Yes and there is at least one example of someone buying a season ticket for their niece who never goes to games "so they don't have to sit next to anyone". It's not difficult to circumvent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Hill Red Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 Still, the reported attendance of 25,429 looks good on paper! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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