How do we improve attendances?

[Howjy04]

1000 free tickets to local schools.If the child wants to go the parent need only pay £5 to get in with them.

[Paul6754]

I go along with all the above but there must be ways of getting people connected with/attached to the club that is cost efficient for PVFC. Getting the players out into schools/youth clubs giving coaching sessions or just meet and greet is a way of creating an association, when kids go to games give them and their parents/guardians the opportunity to meet some of the players before/after the game, have a penalty/skills competition on the half way line next to Lorne St 30 mins before kick-off for kids, a stadium tour etc. Vale have to work harder to attract the young fans with a Prem team down the road.

 

I'm in favor of having a cash turnstile if only to provide an option for potential attenders.

[Fuzzy Dunlop]

It really is difficult in this day and age, when I was a kid all of my mates either supported Vale or that rabble up the road and that continued into my youth and into the work place. When I say supported I don't necessarily mean attended fixtures just that they preferred either Vale or Stoke. These fans would and could turn up at big Vale games and boost attendances.

Now thanks to Sky etc for every Vale or Sjoke fan there will be a Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool fan all of whom have no affinity with Vale and don't even go to the games of the teams they supposedly support so it will take something special to get them to spend money to watch League 1 football.

For me players going into schools with free tickets for kids is a start but can't be an once in a while offer, it's got to be for a season to get them hooked, the following season charge them a nominal fee and so on until they leave school, how about setting up something like a junior Valients club heavily supported by players or even coaches picking kids up from schools on match days but it has got to be a long running consistent thing not a fly by night half arsed effort.

Similar efforts could be made with pensioners with volunteers picking them up on match days in mini buses and taking them pre match to the Vale pub and home again post match.

The possibilities are endless but it won't happen or show a return overnight.

Those of us that buy tickets on line and don't buy for some games should be sent emails or phoned by sales persons, offer a free pint at the Vale pub or lift to the ground and see how many minds you can change.

[Guest]

Gets me if u put a message on wonder of Vale ,a pint of Vale ,the amount of folk who say anyone got a cheaper ticket so they can go tues.

Just goes show there aint that much spare money going round ,some kindly fellow even.said he could have one of his ten match ones for 18 quid .

At a club like Vale with a lot of empty seats every game through no fault of those godly souls who go a cheap home end is the way go ,no excuse for there not be .

V Burton i saw folk who i have worked with (stoke fans )who came along cause the price was right,ok 10 quid and 5 quid is dirt cheap but they might buy a programme ,have a hot dog ,have two pints etc etc

Bycars cheap every game is the way go.

Pay normal admission.prices elsewhere ,some folk may say it will take the support from.the railway but i dont agree id rather be in there .

[Santa]

A lot of the things we need to be doing now won't bear any fruit instantly. Even winning matches and playing attractive football isn't having overnight results.

 

For a start, the new Foundation (that replaced the frozen out Community Trust) has to play catch up massively in the local community. We have to get back out amongst the schools again and fight to push back against Stoke and their malevolent campaign of mass indoctrination.

 

Expanding the hard core of Vale support is a long term strategy and it will involve getting to people at an early age. In the short term you're looking at trying to pull in the more casual pay on the day fans. This involves making the whole match day experience (from ticketing onwards) as easy and as smooth as possible, once start putting hoops or obstacles in front of people they will easily find reasons to not bother.

[beasty77]

Do better family ticket deals for a start. Similar to what Bury do. Never understood why Vale don't give a couple thousand free tickets out to schools. Its not like we've not got the room. We do need to concentrate on the next generation now.

[Port Vale Paul]

Now thanks to Sky etc for every Vale or Sjoke fan there will be a Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool fan all of whom have no affinity with Vale and don't even go to the games of the teams they supposedly support so it will take something special to get them to spend money to watch League 1 football.

 

And that is where they have been clever cus it may be called League 1 Football but in reality it is 3rd tier.

[jacko4]

Free tickets to school kids would help, and maybe drop the price for Tuesday night matches especially when people can stay at home in the warmth watching champions league football.

 

Things like when people purchase a match ticket for 23£ give them a extra voucher of £5 off the next home match.

 

Fair play on stuff like the programme vouchers for ST holders though.

[boltonsno1]

Stoke do a similar promotion. I went to the Stoke/Bournemouth game for £5 thanks to their 'Bring a Friend for a Fiver' promotion to its season ticket holders.

 

I'd have paid a tenner not to go!

[man in the pub]

Yes the kids are the future, same as you say target local schools with a free ticket for the kid as long as they come with an adult . Pick a local school each home game and perhaps the tickets can be for the Bycars where there is plenty of space. Make it a tenner for that adult. We all know about pester power and by only charging the adult a tenner I reckon a good uptake.

[Bert Llewellyn]

Here in Nottingham it is common for Forest to give tickets to schools or charge them £1 to get in - and of course they are accompanied by an adult who is paying.

 

Even as a season ticket holder I do think cash turnstile or two would be of benefit. Not all people can get to buy a ticket in advance - some folks work damn hard and for long hours so buying a ticket in advance is not an option.

 

Will the ticket office be open after the game tomorrow so folks can buy a ticket for Saturday? If not why not? It isn't rocket science really!

[man in the pub]

Agree with cash turnstile for each end, got to make it as easy as possible for people to come. I have a season ticket so doesn't bother me but for the casual attendee who decides on the day to come ,he needs it to be easy to get in.

[tomopvfc]

Personally think we should put games into different categories.. People pick bigger fixtures because they are the teams they want to watch us play such as Crewe, Sheffield United these been category A games at £22 for example. Whereas Oldham at home on a Tuesday night would not be in the same category so perhaps charging £17 for an adult more would attend.. Seems daft charging the same price for attractive fixtures and less attractive fixtures.

[Stockleys_socks]

Contactless card payment go to be a no brainer. Seeing the queue outside the clubshop 10mins before kickoff is laughable and enough to put our more flakey supporters off coming.

 

Not sure that simply winning games is the answer either. To rely on 10k deciding to turn up for one or two games a season when we are on the verge of promotion is not sustainable.

 

We went into the Millwall game last week knowing that a win would take us up to 5th and we got 4.5k.

 

Its more about the whole matchday experience than the game alone and having to queue up (when the attendance is less than 25% of the stadium capacity) is not a good way to entice people.

[Jinkin John Jeffers]

The issue with cutting price is that you are only really rewarding your current fanbase as people have pointed out. People buy into a brand and that brand is Port Vale. Sorry to say but at this moment unless Stoke come down (please God) they have the upper hand in supplying a product that is appealing because sky ram it down our throats. Putting my marketing hat on I the brand would be better to focus on community, grass routes, local club you can support with pride, no premadonnas just honest lads giving there all for the badge. Cutting price is lazy marketing, offering a sense of belonging and a feeling of value for money is a good base to work from