Walsall crowd-raising initiative

[smithie]

This is interesting

 

http://www.saddlers.co.uk/tickets/ticket-prices/

 

I will see what effect this has on their attendance - I wonder if they knew at the time of hatching the plan it would be a 1st v 2nd match.

 

I wonder how many we could get on our gate as a one-off if all ST holders could bring someone along for a fiver?

[Like Vale I Do]

Will be interesting to seehow many they get. Walsall are having a great time at the moment aren't they, jpt final last season, Chelsea at home and up there top of the league this season Attendances are slowly increasing for them too.

 

a lot of their momentum is still from the jpt, I was gutted last night at our early exit again, I went Walsall's semi final against Preston and saw what the tin pot trophy can do, 10000 in the ground, buzzing atmosphere, big revenue, then they took 35,000 wembley.

[Bea Smith]

Only accurate market research would tell us for sure but I'd guess that Vale gates would only increase by 10 per cent if prices were cut by even about £7 or £8 off the normal price, bearing in mind that a good proportion of the gate are season ticket holders anyway.

 

I also think that even if we were 5th or 6th all season we would only get 500-800 more fans through.

 

It's partly that the fans are not there, we are never going to get large gates regularly while Stoke are in the top tier, and whilst it may seem nasty we need them to be relegated to thrive. It will happen eventually and we must be ready to pounce and pick up support when it does.

 

In the meantime, as many people have said, some supporters are disproportionately angry about having to queue for a ticket, and the single one thing that would increase gates at a stroke would be easier admission, maybe cash turnstiles or some form of prepaid card that can just be swiped for easy matchday entry.

 

A few may also be put off by safety issues at some matches, especially if children, elderly, disabled or vulnerable people are considering coming - nobody with any sense wants to be caught up in some of the nonsense we have seen and I'm not blaming anyone here, club or police, but safety can be an issue.

 

Instead of offering ST holders the chance to bring a friend for £5 (and finding many bringing someone who was going to pay full admission ! as many people would not see doing this as cheating their club) why not give out vouchers for £5 off admission for a future named match when we play teams such as Sheffield United, and also give out a 'Cup priority' voucher in case we ever get a big club in the FA Cup.

[Robbie Earle's Perm]

We tried a two game promo recently at a similar cost of around £17 per game and it got nowhere.

 

We certainly don't want to be doing promos for attractive games like Walsall but incentives for other less appealing games with a different edge are definitely worth a try (my bring a mate to increase the gate idea which incentivises the ST holder and the casual fan being a potential one).

[robf]

Sorry REP, I hold exactly the opposite view. I don't think it works for "less attractive" games.

 

I think the key element that worked for Vale was that the times the ticket offers did work was when we were going for promotion or there was excitement (the two often go hand in hand). That's precisely because the neutral/occasion wants to be excited/entertained. A cut-price, mid-week game against an unappealing opposition won't bring those sort of casual fans in in any meaningful numbers.

 

There needs to be excitement so if/when the team starts hitting the top spot and/or gets a plum cup tie would be a time to try it, I think. My theory is that you need to use the exciting/big games to bring the neutrals in, in the first place, with the hope that some will stick around for the less attractive games.

 

Trying to bring neutrals/occasions to less enticing games just isn't going to encourage anyone, in my opinion.

 

After all, if you're a fan who goes to one Vale game a season - you're more likely to go when Vale are playing high-profile opposition/gunning for promotion than go to a Tuesday game against Rochdale because the tickets are half-price...

 

It's the same sort of argument that says that "winning" brings people in. While the whole experience (seats/food/ticketing) needs to be up to scratch as well, clearly the entertainment on offer on the pitch also plays a huge part, so if we get into the same position as Walsall (fingers crossed) then when the club is buzzing is indeed the time to build the buzz (as it were)...

[valetillidye]

i've always been genuinely interested in how many we could attract if we made a game free

 

it would give you a pretty clear idea on how big (or small) the fan base could actually be

[Tomo]

i've always been genuinely interested in how many we could attract if we made a game free

 

it would give you a pretty clear idea on how big (or small) the fan base could actually be

 

I've always thought this, although I don't think Smurf is ever going to put the money out for this unless we're running away with the league, and we've made loads from a cup run (and even then, still pretty unlikely).

 

A free game against Crewe at home would generate around 10K I reckon, possibly more depending on how the teams are both doing. It'd take a massive cup tie in like a very late round of the FAC to get anywhere near selling out though, regardless of price.