St Sales Pass 5,000

[Red Cloud]

Bit surprised myself!

[bh_red]

gobsmacked so many have sold already!

Sexstone reckons they are well on course for breaking 8k!

[Bristol Boy]

Three points:

1.It's getting close to the deadline-11 days.

2.Why are the Premier Club Members (£1,000 per season) being taken into account? Were they last season in the 7,600? I can understand those who pay by installments being factored into the total number.

3.I would like to know how the Presidents/Chairmans Club seats are selling (These are the Gold/Beige Seats at the rear of the Directors Box)

It would also be nice to see a breakdown of adults/concessions and what was happening on a stand by stand basis.

[Riaz]

So, claims of the season tickets going slowly are false then.......

[Bristol Boy]

How many are in the Premier Club ?

There are 400 per se, but there are also about 300 of those Red seats for corporate sponsors guests-I suppose that some of those could be changed to Prem Seats if the 400 sold out.

Don't worry, the minute the Prem Club sells out, we'll know in banner headlines

[screech]

Applications for premium credit??????????

Does that mean those that have been sent have been included already or those that have been processed.

[Nibor]

That article is a wonderful example of propaganda at work. Sexstone is clearly getting desparate now and clutching at every straw available to him.

The truth is that we'd sold 6,000 by 2nd June last season and still topped out below 8,000, and we sold 5,000 before the end of May the season before and topped out at around 7,200. If we've only just sold 5,000 (INCLUDING Premier club multiple season seats that were purchased last year!!) then sales are behind previous years. The old articles are still on the site if you dig a little. So how are we suddenly on course to sell five figures despite slower demand than earlier seasons?

How many of those are new sales as opposed to renewals or transfers then Colin?

Besides, the proof of the pudding will be in the average home attendance figures and it's at the end of 07/08 we'll know just how big the bollock that Sexstone has dropped really is.

[RedTop]

When I first phoned up the day they went on sale, I was 70th in the queue. I actually held on to make sure I'd not misheard before hanging up!

I renewed by post, and the ticket office girls gave me a bell back a couple of times to run through the details as I'd miscalculated the total. I have to say they were excellent - efficient, cheerful and very helpful, and they made the pain of parting with so much money as bearable as it could be!

Personally, I think £25 per game in total for me and my lad to watch the match from the middle of the Dolman is a fair price. Not a steal, but a fair reflection of what we'll be watching and the satisfaction we'll gain. And while I appreciate it's a lot for some people to shell out at once, I think it's fair for a cash-strapped but ambitious club seeking to establish itself in this division and then push upwards to seek as much money from supporters as possible. The board have kept the club afloat while they got us into the semi-promised land, and now they're entitled to expect the fans to make a larger contribution too now that they have delivered Championship football. I don't think for a minute that we'll see their personal or financial commitment wane, but we all have the same ambition - it's just that the directors have to find a way to fund it, and that means getting as much money as possible from us 'ordinary' fans. Every commodity has a price. The price for watching City is reasonable, in my opinion.

If we want the club to stand on its own two feet, then this is what we have to expect. One final thought, though. Imagine how much higher the season ticket prices might be like if the club was run by the Supporters' Trust, with no personal funds to fall back on. They would have to rely on income from the stadium and tickets etc far more than the current board. We could be looking at next season with the Gas playing at AG (it's hard to see how the ST would have been able to afford to say 'no' just on emotional grounds) and with either far higher ticket prices or less investment. That's not a knock at the ST, who do an absolutely fantastic job, but a harsh look at the reality of an ST-run club without any personal money to fall back on. Which is why I disagree with an ST ever aiming to run a club, rather than representing the fans to/on the board, for any reason other than a last resort.

Having said that, I want the club run on a business footing with as little reliance on any one individual as possible. It makes sense for the security of the club we love. And for that, we must pay a price in hard currency. Unfortunately!

[megansdad]

suspect we will know somewhat sooner that those forecasting miserable season ticket sales and lost revenue as a result of increased prices will be proved wrong.

[screech]

When I first phoned up the day they went on sale, I was 70th in the queue. I actually held on to make sure I'd not misheard before hanging up!

I renewed by post, and the ticket office girls gave me a bell back a couple of times to run through the details as I'd miscalculated the total. I have to say they were excellent - efficient, cheerful and very helpful, and they made the pain of parting with so much money as bearable as it could be!

Personally, I think £25 per game in total for me and my lad to watch the match from the middle of the Dolman is a fair price. Not a steal, but a fair reflection of what we'll be watching and the satisfaction we'll gain. And while I appreciate it's a lot for some people to shell out at once, I think it's fair for a cash-strapped but ambitious club seeking to establish itself in this division and then push upwards to seek as much money from supporters as possible. The board have kept the club afloat while they got us into the semi-promised land, and now they're entitled to expect the fans to make a larger contribution too now that they have delivered Championship football. I don't think for a minute that we'll see their personal or financial commitment wane, but we all have the same ambition - it's just that the directors have to find a way to fund it, and that means getting as much money as possible from us 'ordinary' fans. Every commodity has a price. The price for watching City is reasonable, in my opinion.

If we want the club to stand on its own two feet, then this is what we have to expect. One final thought, though. Imagine how much higher the season ticket prices might be like if the club was run by the Supporters' Trust, with no personal funds to fall back on. They would have to rely on income from the stadium and tickets etc far more than the current board. We could be looking at next season with the Gas playing at AG (it's hard to see how the ST would have been able to afford to say 'no' just on emotional grounds) and with either far higher ticket prices or less investment. That's not a knock at the ST, who do an absolutely fantastic job, but a harsh look at the reality of an ST-run club without any personal money to fall back on. Which is why I disagree with an ST ever aiming to run a club, rather than representing the fans to/on the board, for any reason other than a last resort.

Having said that, I want the club run on a business footing with as little reliance on any one individual as possible. It makes sense for the security of the club we love. And for that, we must pay a price in hard currency. Unfortunately!

Can you tell us who has run up the losses of this club then, if it isn't SL and KD.

Who decides to run this club at a loss?

[Nibor]

suspect we will know somewhat sooner that those forecasting miserable season ticket sales and lost revenue as a result of increased prices will be proved wrong.

By sales that are so far behind previous years? How's that then?

[megansdad]

when final figures are in - this year versus last year comparison is not the final story and since the price increase is greater than the number of sales down(at this stage) we are in any event ahead in revenue figures.

when final numbers are up and revenue is up will you admit your view that the club has made a major error is wrong? No doubt those that seem to find fault in everything that CS says and does will find something else to criticise.

[StapleHillPhil]

suspect we will know somewhat sooner that those forecasting miserable season ticket sales and lost revenue as a result of increased prices will be proved wrong.

On the morning of the 6th June 2006 we'd sold 6,386 season tickets. On the afternoon on 5th June 2007 we'd broken through 5,000.

Obviously it'll depend on the mix of sales but so far the income generated is only narrowly ahead of what they'd taken a year ago by my estimates. Unless many people are making them sweat and waiting until the last minute, then I'm afraid that SL and CS have got the pricing strategy very wrong.

[megansdad]

KNR- don't recall myself whether early bird reduced prices were offered last year which would have helped induce people to part with their cash earlier- do you?

suggest we wait and see before pronouncing.

You may be proved right but I think sales will be brisk in the coming days

[StapleHillPhil]

KNR- don't recall myself whether early bird reduced prices were offered last year which would have helped induce people to part with their cash earlier- do you?

suggest we wait and see before pronouncing.

You may be proved right but I think sales will be brisk in the coming days

The early bird deadline last year was 2nd June and the 5,000 figure had been reached on 31st May.

I think the club would have to be a smidge disappointed with sales so far considering the euphoria of promotion.

[Nibor]

when final figures are in - this year versus last year comparison is not the final story and since the price increase is greater than the number of sales down(at this stage) we are in any event ahead in revenue figures.

when final numbers are up and revenue is up will you admit your view that the club has made a major error is wrong? No doubt those that seem to find fault in everything that CS says and does will find something else to criticise.

I've already said in several posts that if our average attendance next season is over 1,000 higher than this season I will humbly admit I am wrong and acknowledge Colin Sexstone as the god of business you clearly believe him to be.

I take it that when our average attendance comes in below 14k you will be admitting what a bloody stupid idea it was to rip fans off?

And FYI I criticise Sexstone or the club when I think they've done something wrong and praise them when I think they've done something right. It's hardly my fault that Sexstone seems prone to cocking things up is it?

[megansdad]

Nibor

why is it you only tell half of the story? - having read the article from June last year myself I see the early bird discount expired at the beginning of June - meaning people had a very real incentive to get their season ticket early.

This year without any such incentive season ticket sales are marginally down - the next two weeks will see increased demand as people seek to renew before prices go up.

But why let the full story get in the way of an excuse to have a dig even if with the benefit of the full story that dig looks pretty poorly aimed.

Someone on this thread claimed this was a desperate spin from CS - seems the detractors are keen to put their own negative spin on things.

But thanks for pointing out the earlier article because to me it seems to support CS view that this season will see record sales rather than contradict it

[RedTop]

I take it that when our average attendance comes in below 14k you will be admitting what a bloody stupid idea it was to rip fans off?

An adult can buy a season ticket to watch City play in The Championship for £16.30 a match. Is that a rip-off? It sounds a fair price to me.

[megansdad]

Yes if attendances are below average of 14k they will have erred.

[Bristol Boy]

KNR- don't recall myself whether early bird reduced prices were offered last year which would have helped induce people to part with their cash earlier- do you?

suggest we wait and see before pronouncing.

You may be proved right but I think sales will be brisk in the coming days

The problem is that the club don't give the information in a format that's concise, clear & comparative, for example:

• We don't know how many renewals/transfers there have been.
• The mix.
• The mix compared to this point last season
• Was the Premier Club inc in our 7,630 last season?
  • Was the Presidents/Chairmans Club included?
  • Sales Per Stand

There has been no early bird discount, so that's one major difference.

If the club gave the information in concise format then it would be easy to compare where we are in real terms.

CS does himself no favours when ducking fairly simple questions-For example when I asked him in The Fans Forum "How many Prem Club Seats had sold in hard numbers or percentage terms" he seemed evasive-Why? It's a dead simple question and I only asked because so many of them were empty on matchdays.

It was left for SL to confirm that the club were disappointed in Prem Club Sales-Fine, if we know there's an in issue we can all move on, help, make suggestions etc, etc.

I'll conclude that, given our promotion & Championship Status AND the EE Opening for 1,000 ST Holders, sales below 10,500-12,000 will disappoint me on the basis that we sold 7,600 last season and we have an additional area of the ground open.

Another factor could be that ST's will go OK this season given the novelty factor, however, if we have an average season and stay up, they may fall next season.We can't even consider what might happen if we're relegated.

On the plus side, signings always have an impact and we haven't made a major one yet.

[Bristol Boy]

An adult can buy a season ticket to watch City play in The Championship for £16.30 a match. Is that a rip-off? It sounds a fair price to me.

No it isn't, however it doesn't make 30-40% increases acceptable and why are BCFC more expensive to watch than around 50% of other clubs in The Championship and some in The Prem?

Other Championship Clubs are offering 0% 10 month instalment plans and we aren't and there was no early bird discount as reward for fans who have done their bit to keep the club afloat in more austere times.

There is an inherent "unfairness" in it all and that's what seems to have got some peoples backs up more than the rise itself.On the other hand some people just plain can't afford it and that's the real shame.

[Nibor]

An adult can buy a season ticket to watch City play in The Championship for £16.30 a match. Is that a rip-off? It sounds a fair price to me.

Quoting the cheapest prices is a poor way of making a judgement IMO.

We're more expensive to watch now than at least half the other Championship clubs.

A POTD ticket will cost £30 to sit in a stand with a decent view.

A bloke taking his wife and two kids to the football and sitting in the family enclosure is being asked to fork out over £300 more.

It's not even close to good value and the overriding point is that it is not necessary. We aren't going to be having a problem of limited supply here for crying out loud so why not fill those 3-4,000 inevitably empty seats by charging a bit less and make more money overall?

[Meh]

Personally I hope we will fly through the 10k figure real soon as I would love to see the limp-wristed protest of "not going to renew YET brigade" have to stump up even more.

I'd laugh my cutie ickle arse off.

I bet Sextone is $hitting himself. Laughter can do that.

[Guest Ron]

That article is a wonderful example of propaganda at work. Sexstone is clearly getting desparate now and clutching at every straw available to him.

The truth is that we'd sold 6,000 by 2nd June last season and still topped out below 8,000, and we sold 5,000 before the end of May the season before and topped out at around 7,200. If we've only just sold 5,000 (INCLUDING Premier club multiple season seats that were purchased last year!!) then sales are behind previous years. The old articles are still on the site if you dig a little. So how are we suddenly on course to sell five figures despite slower demand than earlier seasons?

How many of those are new sales as opposed to renewals or transfers then Colin?

Besides, the proof of the pudding will be in the average home attendance figures and it's at the end of 07/08 we'll know just how big the bollock that Sexstone has dropped really is.

Hang on, at no time last season were we in contention for a place in the second tier, season ticket details haven't been out very long this season.

[jimtastic]

suspect we will know somewhat sooner that those forecasting miserable season ticket sales and lost revenue as a result of increased prices will be proved wrong.

Agreed. And I hope that the forecasters are as quick to eat humble pie as they have been to criticise.

[Nibor]

Nibor

why is it you only tell half of the story? - having read the article from June last year myself I see the early bird discount expired at the beginning of June - meaning people had a very real incentive to get their season ticket early.

This year without any such incentive season ticket sales are marginally down - the next two weeks will see increased demand as people seek to renew before prices go up.

But why let the full story get in the way of an excuse to have a dig even if with the benefit of the full story that dig looks pretty poorly aimed.

Someone on this thread claimed this was a desperate spin from CS - seems the detractors are keen to put their own negative spin on things.

But thanks for pointing out the earlier article because to me it seems to support CS view that this season will see record sales rather than contradict it

I think you'll find there are several articles from previous years that can be found with a google and of the three I've looked at all three show better sales than this year, yet Colin says we're heading for an unprecedented 25% rise in sales smashing records. How can he support that claim? I'm not putting a spin on anything I'm just calling his spin what it is. Desparate straw clutching.

Are you seriously using the lack of early bird incentives as a reason for saying I'm wrong about poor ticket sales? Have you even read a WORD I've written on the subject? Of course lack of renewal incentives affect sales, it's sodding obvious and I've been saying it ever since the prices are announced. I thought you were one of the ones telling me I'm talking rubbish about it?! You've got me confused now with your double-reverse-psychology malarky.

As I've said before, the aim of the club should surely be to fill the stadium first and get the highest price second. I am certain that because of the price rises we will see an average home attendance not disimilar to last season's (less than 1k more would be my guess) and considering promotion and the number of empty seats that would leave it would be a piss poor performance.

I really can't fathom how anyone can think that these huge price hikes are in any way good for the club. All they do is lower attendance from what it otherwise could be and increase the risk of walk away if we get relegated, and they can't be claimed to produce any more money unless the ground is full which it won't be.

[Nibor]

Hang on, at no time last season were we in contention for a place in the second tier, season ticket details haven't been out very long this season.

Don't understand what you're saying to be honest Ron?

[cidercity1987]

Everyone connected with the club, the fans, the players, the management would rather see a fairly full ground than a half full one which has been the norm for a long long time. For the first time in ages we had the opportunity to see a full Ashton Gate on a regular basis, but these ST and POD prices have finished that dream.

No matter how many ST's we sell and no matter what our average attendance will be, I for one will still be thinking what if? What if prices had only gone up 15-20%? What if an early bird discount had been brought in so those people who can't afford to renew could renew?

As for the money, I'm convinced a lower price per ST would have meant more than enough extra sales to compensate for the reduction in revenue per ST. Overall, it's such a disappointing feeling knowing we're going to have 14,000 fans per match, and not 16,000/17,000 as we would be capable of given the right pricing structure.

[jimtastic]

I really can't fathom how anyone can think that these huge price hikes are in any way good for the club.

If they invest the extra cash on better players and their wages which, in turn, cements our Championship spot, then I can't see how you could argue *against* paying more...

[Bristol Boy]

Something that hasn't been mentioned yet on this thread is the fact that ST Sales, particularly this season, won't tell the whole story.

IMHO very, very few fans will buy tickets in advance and even less POD.

It may well be that our attendances will be 95/95% ST's plus away fans.

POD & Matchday Tickets equalled 68% of our average attendance last season.