Paolo says watching his team is value for money (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

It is all about value, I am prepared to pay what it takes to see Swindon as I only get back to the UK for about six games. If I lived locally and was earning very little I doubt I could afford the luxury of seeing every home game and this is the reason for fewer bums on seats. When i was a kid in the 1960's we had great crowds, but it did not cost much in those days to support the town. In 1963 I traveled with dozens of others from Stroud by train,we had a bag of chips each for lunch and sat on the railway seats (right on the pitch sidelines )which were reserved for young kids.From
memory the whole experience cost us just a few bob. So different to today's seating arrangements.

My wife wants me to say she doesn't like football but is happy to come with me just to see Paolo perform!! As he is such great entertainment and worth the entrance fee alone.
I wonder if there are other wives that feel the same way.

bowralbob wrote:
My wife wants me to say she doesn't like football but is happy to come with me just to see Paolo perform!! As he is such great entertainment and worth the entrance fee alone.
I wonder if there are other wives that feel the same way.

yea my wife would love to see him perform...just not sure what she ment lol...

I bet the survey by the BBC doesn't take into account that I can take my under 10 kids all season for nothing. Now that is value. Wonder how our season ticket costs compare?

who am i wrote:

bowralbob wrote: My wife wants me to say she doesn't like football but is happy to come with me just to see Paolo perform!! As he is such great entertainment and worth the entrance fee alone. I wonder if there are other wives that feel the same way.

yea my wife would love to see him perform...just not sure what she ment lol...

Love it!
.
Back of the net for effort at that time of the day...

The way it seems to work at the county ground is keeping season ticket costs down by keeping the matchday ticket costs high. Not great for me not being a season ticket holder and not having lived in the town for over ten years (so add travel costs in as well) but I recognise that the club needs guaranteed revenue from season ticket sales and so am happy to pay what's required. I think we get decent value for money.

Seriously considered getting a season ticket this year even if I'd only make every other home game, and pretty sure I will next season.

Should raise the price of a burger to £8 and reduce match day ticket prices to £13.
Onwards and downwards

Being a senior now does help on the ticket price, but perhaps they should look at the grotty trays on the narrow shelves that contain the sugar stirring sticks and condiments. They are disgraceful and usually empty at half time. The contracted out catering is a joke. The issue over match day prices gets done to death every season. At least the club has Black who is not fleecing his public.

the wizard wrote:
Being a senior now does help on the ticket price, but perhaps they should look at the grotty trays on the narrow shelves that contain the sugar stirring sticks and condiments. They are disgraceful and usually empty at half time. The contracted out catering is a joke. The issue over match day prices gets done to death every season. At least the club has Black who is not fleecing his public.

The catering side is dirty and resembles a gyppo camp. See all that change now the commercial men are here.

On the partner front, my wife came along for the first time under Paolo when our son was mascot against Orient and mentioned how good looking Paolo was. Took her to the Burnley game and made her face me all game Justin Lee Collins style as punishment.

The prices of food and drink are high but no more than anywhere else. Fans can take their own things in also. If tickets were a fiver we still wouldn't sell out so we have to not under value our club.

We need around £170k to end the embargo, which is what PDC is really talking about here. He is saying "come watch my team play".

Although a previously rejected idea, how about the board now consider half/70% season tickets to boost numbers?

With the team in the play offs I can see more people buying these season tickets than would have come otherwise i.e. increase in revenue?

We have around 16 home games left. Existing season ticket holders got theirs on the basis of about £14 a game?

How about £17/8 a game = £270. We'd only have to sell 630 odd to raise the figure.

Or have I done my maths too simply?

I see Colchester have the most expensive season ticket in our league at £501!!
That is possibly the worst away day, most soulless ground in the middle of no where with a bunch of travelers hanging around, worst fans and dull team I have ever seen. We should count our blessings!

The point above about ignoring under 10 in for free (well £25 membership) and the cost of ST is extremely important - also what about paying kids and OAPs - how do they compare?
.
Also what about all the offers - cup games at £15, 2 for £35, £20 games etc - that actually reduces our top price over the season!
.
I don't know what this years increase has done to our ST position but since this regime came in we have had the ST in the bottom 5 or 6 of ALL teams - when we were in L1 last time only Bradford in L2 were cheaper than us!!!
.
To make the "cost of going" more accurate they should look at those other bits and come up with some sort of average
.
Then we will see our position tumble down due to our excellent value ST
.
I'm with 84 - fully understand the need to reward ST holders first so will pay the £25 in order to keep them down

London Red wrote:
The point above about ignoring under 10 in for free (well £25 membership) and the cost of ST is extremely important - also what about paying kids and OAPs - how do they compare?
.
Also what about all the offers - cup games at £15, 2 for £35, £20 games etc - that actually reduces our top price over the season!
.
I don't know what this years increase has done to our ST position but since this regime came in we have had the ST in the bottom 5 or 6 of ALL teams - when we were in L1 last time only Bradford in L2 were cheaper than us!!!
.
To make the "cost of going" more accurate they should look at those other bits and come up with some sort of average
.
Then we will see our position tumble down due to our excellent value ST
.
I'm with 84 - fully understand the need to reward ST holders first so will pay the £25 in order to keep them down

LR,

I don't know all of what went on yesterday, but the above was probably the best post you have done for a while.

I think we all just want the club to do well. Despite my reservations over his PR I think our manager has done, and is still doing a good job. Lets all hope that Saturdays performance can do justice to the memory of Wray and all he did and tried to achieve.

Heres the actual article lads- http://www.bbc.co.uk
/news/uk-19842397

Considering we are cheaper than Orient, Brentford, Crew, and notts county, in terms of match day ticket prices. Its not as bad as this article makes out.

Plus as is said we are very entertaining :)

London Red wrote:
The point above about ignoring under 10 in for free (well £25 membership) and the cost of ST is extremely important - also what about paying kids and OAPs - how do they compare?
.
Also what about all the offers - cup games at £15, 2 for £35, £20 games etc - that actually reduces our top price over the season!
.
I don't know what this years increase has done to our ST position but since this regime came in we have had the ST in the bottom 5 or 6 of ALL teams - when we were in L1 last time only Bradford in L2 were cheaper than us!!!
.
To make the "cost of going" more accurate they should look at those other bits and come up with some sort of average
.
Then we will see our position tumble down due to our excellent value ST
.
I'm with 84 - fully understand the need to reward ST holders first so will pay the £25 in order to keep them down

But don't all other clubs reduce their prices for many games? I have no gripes about the price of my season ticket, although that did increase by £100 this season, so is it really that cheap in comparison to other clubs? Also, the problem with the matchday pricing is that it costs £25, whether you sit in the best seats near the halfway line or those near the ends (I think), and the only way of getting a cheaper ticket is in the Town End. I believe at most grounds seats are cheaper in the "wings" of the side stands.

I think my ST was value for money and to be fair, knowing Black and the board were backing PDC I didn't even question the extra £100 each that they cost this year, however if they go up again at that same rate I would have to question whether it was worth the investment.

It looks like I might have been wrong!
.
Using the export to excel function and some really crude calculations I have tried to analyse the cost including ST as this data is available on the same BBC page
.
ST has Cheapest and most Expensive
.
Cheapest we are now 18th in L1 with £320 - so there are now 17 cheaper in L1 alone - so no longer near the bottom of the overall pryamid like before!
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Expensive we do come down - showing we have a much narrower range as we sit 9th at £380
.
Average (crude as simply mid point of the two) we sit in midtable at £350 - Colchester most expensive at £429 and Walsall cheapest at £252
.
That makes our per match cost £15.22 - with Colchester a whopping £18.65 for a ST and Walsall at £10.98
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I then added in the Average Match day (£22) to our average ST (£15.22) to give the overall average price (£18.61)
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That leaves us standing at 19th in L1
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So it looks like the really cheap days are over for us - but PdC is still right an average of £18.61 is still excellent value for money for what we have had on offer
.
Especially as I have not factored in cup games - as Brighton and Burnley was below that amount!!!

avo wrote:

who am i wrote:

bowralbob wrote: My wife wants me to say she doesn't like football but is happy to come with me just to see Paolo perform!! As he is such great entertainment and worth the entrance fee alone. I wonder if there are other wives that feel the same way.

yea my wife would love to see him perform...just not sure what she ment lol...

Love it!
.
Back of the net for effort at that time of the day...

:-)
---.
My wife said she could never fancy anyone with whom she couldn't get a word in edgeways....
---.
.....darn!!...I missed a trick there!!?

Den - not sure on what offers other clubs to to be honest
.
The BBC could have obtained that for last year and then produced a factor based on last years data
.
For example if it is £25 per game and you could get into 5 for £20 - the overall cost is £550 - full price is £575 - so a saving of £25
.
That is 4% - so they could do a "offer" colum and state that would make tickets £24 for us etc
.
Aren't days of wings etc long gone? - most away games I go to even though there are seats its a free for all!

The thing is chaps, we do this to the death every season, yet come Saturday, we all go if we can.

I think there is a valid point on the subject of wings, but I can't see that happening until the DR is developed, and that comes after the the Town End has been done, so its a little way off yet.
There are a lot of factors governing prices, Walsall have a lot off competition locally with Wolves, WBA, Villa and Birmingham City all within 30 minutes ish of their ground depending on the traffic, that day.

We have ambition and Black wants us to go upwards, compared with the money he has pumed in and continues to do so, its a fair price.

Useful post LR. But taking a mid-point can't be an accurate way of arriving at an average, can it?. For instance, Colchester's average season ticket price must be far below £429. I would bet that their £501 season ticket comes with club privileges, i.e. hardly part of your average matchday experience, so that is going to skew the figures.

London Red wrote:
Den - not sure on what offers other clubs to to be honest
.
The BBC could have obtained that for last year and then produced a factor based on last years data
.
For example if it is £25 per game and you could get into 5 for £20 - the overall cost is £550 - full price is £575 - so a saving of £25
.
That is 4% - so they could do a "offer" colum and state that would make tickets £24 for us etc
.
Aren't days of wings etc long gone? - most away games I go to even though there are seats its a free for all!

Maybe you're right about the wings, although I'm not sure you can usually tell from being a visiting fan, as you are usually all lumped together in one area, often behind a goal or in a corner.

All comes back to players wages chaps!players on Huge wages are the problem,the clubs have to raise the money somehow!Bayern Munich charge their members 12 to 15 Euro's in sage standing area's,now that's value for money(if your a Bayern Fan)me I'd rather pay more to watch the good ol Town!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the don69 wrote:
All comes back to players wages chaps!players on Huge wages are the problem,the clubs have to raise the money somehow!Bayern Munich charge their members 12 to 15 Euro's in sage standing area's,now that's value for money(if your a Bayern Fan)me I'd rather pay more to watch the good ol Town!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sorry Safe standing Area's!!!!

the don69 wrote:

the don69 wrote:
All comes back to players wages chaps!players on Huge wages are the problem,the clubs have to raise the money somehow!Bayern Munich charge their members 12 to 15 Euro's in sage standing area's,now that's value for money(if your a Bayern Fan)me I'd rather pay more to watch the good ol Town!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sorry Safe standing Area's!!!!

Good debate on 5 live now!are clubs Fleecing fans is the question?I say players are fleecing clubs and fans!!!!!!!!

Don, you are right of course. Andrew Black (who most of us probably didn't realise is effectively propping the club up on his own) is taking the club forward apace and we have to play our part in supporting that progress.
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Not only are we one of the best supported clubs in the division, we are one of the most expensive to watch. And with all that income we have still managed to get into a transfer embargo. I'm not too bothered about that but I don't think PDC should be either. It's his actions that have got us where we are, for better or worse. I'm not sure what he wants the club to do when he says he wants them to "cancel the embargo". What can they do - short of offloading some of his acquisitions?

the don69 wrote:
All comes back to players wages chaps!players on Huge wages are the problem,the clubs have to raise the money somehow!Bayern Munich charge their members 12 to 15 Euro's in sage standing area's,now that's value for money(if your a Bayern Fan)me I'd rather pay more to watch the good ol Town!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Plus you get some fantastic food and beer there! None of this microwave heated rubbish, its proper decent meals!

Can we model STFC on Bayern (or any german team) please Black?

SeanG92 wrote:

the don69 wrote:
All comes back to players wages chaps!players on Huge wages are the problem,the clubs have to raise the money somehow!Bayern Munich charge their members 12 to 15 Euro's in sage standing area's,now that's value for money(if your a Bayern Fan)me I'd rather pay more to watch the good ol Town!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Plus you get some fantastic food and beer there! None of this microwave heated rubbish, its proper decent meals!

Can we model STFC on Bayern (or any german team) please Black?

We are not playing Red or Black here!! If you honestly expect Mr Black to take any notice of what is being said on here (which I seriously hope he does not, with the majority of of the posts) at least have the courtesy of addressing him properly!

The pricing has counted me out. Not just the admission price. I have supported the Town for nearly 50 years, & used to travel all over the country to watch them. Now I am semi retired & live in Leics, I would love to be able to go to home games, but just can't afford it.
Firstly, the cost of driving down to Wiltshire - Chippenham because my old Mum wouldn't forgive me if I went there & didn't see her. Then train to Swindon 'cos I like a beer or two before the game. Programme, ticket & a pie all adds up!
What do you guys reckon that all costs?
And how can I justify it to my missus, who is not into football, but is the main income provider?
In my early days, football was priced so that the normal working man could afford to go & take his kids. No more.
The only other thing as inflationary is posting a letter.

In the mid 60's I used to get a bus from Lechlade(2 shillings/10p).Entra
nce to the ground(2 shillings).Programme (6d/2.5p) and a Bovril(6d/2.5p).The day out cost 5 bob/ 25 pence...and I could watch Don Rogers every Saturday!! Now that was value for money!!!

i think we would have had more season ticket holders if they didnt put the price up by £30 every month because if you bought one just before the start of the season you wouldnt realy be getting any benefits. and as for the burger and drink you come to watch football not fill your face but if you wanted to you could bring in your own food and drink. the only ticket prices that are high are the junior tickets if an adult is on there own then its fine but a familly it gets expensive . the most i used to pay as a child was 4 pound and im only 24 so it wasnt that long ago.

P*ssed Off wrote:

SeanG92 wrote:

the don69 wrote:
All comes back to players wages chaps!players on Huge wages are the problem,the clubs have to raise the money somehow!Bayern Munich charge their members 12 to 15 Euro's in sage standing area's,now that's value for money(if your a Bayern Fan)me I'd rather pay more to watch the good ol Town!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Plus you get some fantastic food and beer there! None of this microwave heated rubbish, its proper decent meals!

Can we model STFC on Bayern (or any german team) please Black?

We are not playing Red or Black here!! If you honestly expect Mr Black to take any notice of what is being said on here (which I seriously hope he does not, with the majority of of the posts) at least have the courtesy of addressing him properly!

Alright calm down. It wasn't meant as anything serious!

Oi Den! wrote:
Don, you are right of course. Andrew Black (who most of us probably didn't realise is effectively propping the club up on his own) is taking the club forward apace and we have to play our part in supporting that progress.
.
Not only are we one of the best supported clubs in the division, we are one of the most expensive to watch. And with all that income we have still managed to get into a transfer embargo. I'm not too bothered about that but I don't think PDC should be either. It's his actions that have got us where we are, for better or worse. I'm not sure what he wants the club to do when he says he wants them to "cancel the embargo". What can they do - short of offloading some of his acquisitions?

That's right Den,the only thing we can do is offload,maybe sell Caddis,but he's injured!also hope we get a big gate against Sheff Utd which will help,so Paolo must just get on with what we got for a while!as for Black he's the main man who saved our club(not Fitton)he's pumped millions in,so it's right he can run it his way(with in reason of course)!!!!

I guess there's three main things for a club to consider in pricing its tickets:

1. How much of its revenue stream do gate receipts represent?

2. What is the elasticity of demand? i.e. if you drop your prices, will you end up with more money in the pot at the end of the day (ground capacity allowing).

3. Are you pricing for the short or long term? If we want to get people coming back in numbers, and acquiring the habit again, then high prices does little to achieve this.

pdc does wot he wants wrote:
i think we would have had more season ticket holders if they didnt put the price up by £30 every month because if you bought one just before the start of the season you wouldnt realy be getting any benefits. and as for the burger and drink you come to watch football not fill your face but if you wanted to you could bring in your own food and drink. the only ticket prices that are high are the junior tickets if an adult is on there own then its fine but a familly it gets expensive . the most i used to pay as a child was 4 pound and im only 24 so it wasnt that long ago.

Thats very true! I know the stages were put in place to help the board predict the ST sales so they could easier project their income for this 65% thing, but increasing prices will have put people off

Aye like you said you come to watch the game, not eat and drink (altough obviously pre-match pint is obligatory!) If you really want food have something away from the ground where its cheaper anyway!.

There are at least two things the club could do to increase the catchment area and get more long distance supporters coming to games.

1. Reduce the price of tickets for people who live more than, say, 25 miles away. Coming from London, we're already in for £30 each for costs of motoring and petrol (or train), before we've even bought a ticket. You can easily make a case for £18 tickets for out-of-towners to reduce their overall matchday costs and hence increase the number of games they can afford to go to.

2. Subsidise supporters coaches/minibuses to do a 'sweep' of surrounding market towns. If people knew they could get to Swindon for a fiver, they would be more likely to come. Back in the early 70s, Shrivenham Road was lined with coaches with names on the back that together compiled a 'Who's Who' of small towns in Wiltshire, Gloucs and Oxfordshire/Berks. We don't have that level of support these days, so that's an initiative the club could take.

I am a season ticket holder and have been for many years. I now have a concession so my ticket is fairly cheap but I would pay more if it guaranteed that Paolo had the money to improve the team (imo not a lot of money needed to achieve this) and hopefully keep him at STFC for many years to come.

madterrier wrote:
There are at least two things the club could do to increase the catchment area and get more long distance supporters coming to games.

1. Reduce the price of tickets for people who live more than, say, 25 miles away. Coming from London, we're already in for £30 each for costs of motoring and petrol (or train), before we've even bought a ticket. You can easily make a case for £18 tickets for out-of-towners to reduce their overall matchday costs and hence increase the number of games they can afford to go to.

2. Subsidise supporters coaches/minibuses to do a 'sweep' of surrounding market towns. If people knew they could get to Swindon for a fiver, they would be more likely to come. Back in the early 70s, Shrivenham Road was lined with coaches with names on the back that together compiled a 'Who's Who' of small towns in Wiltshire, Gloucs and Oxfordshire/Berks. We don't have that level of support these days, so that's an initiative the club could take.

I know two Town fans who come from Australia,to watch the Town Terrier!how much discount are you going to give them?LOL!!!!!!!!!!

bob reynolds wrote:
In the mid 60's I used to get a bus from Lechlade(2 shillings/10p).Entra nce to the ground(2 shillings).Programme (6d/2.5p) and a Bovril(6d/2.5p).The day out cost 5 bob/ 25 pence...and I could watch Don Rogers every Saturday!! Now that was value for money!!!

Lol!1can't argue with that - Imust have been paying a similar amount then!

Malkym wrote:

bob reynolds wrote:
In the mid 60's I used to get a bus from Lechlade(2 shillings/10p).Entra nce to the ground(2 shillings).Programme (6d/2.5p) and a Bovril(6d/2.5p).The day out cost 5 bob/ 25 pence...and I could watch Don Rogers every Saturday!! Now that was value for money!!!

Lol!1can't argue with that - Imust have been paying a similar amount then!

Yes but I bet your wages were tiny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P*ssed Off wrote:

SeanG92 wrote:

the don69 wrote:
All comes back to players wages chaps!players on Huge wages are the problem,the clubs have to raise the money somehow!Bayern Munich charge their members 12 to 15 Euro's in sage standing area's,now that's value for money(if your a Bayern Fan)me I'd rather pay more to watch the good ol Town!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Plus you get some fantastic food and beer there! None of this microwave heated rubbish, its proper decent meals!

Can we model STFC on Bayern (or any german team) please Black?

We are not playing Red or Black here!! If you honestly expect Mr Black to take any notice of what is being said on here (which I seriously hope he does not, with the majority of of the posts) at least have the courtesy of addressing him properly!

Bill and Black's red and white army.

I still reckon we should open the Bank as a no frills terrace , sit where you like , bring your own sarnies and drinks ,just requires a few stewards for "Elf and Safety " bums on seats at an affordable price for young families and those struggling to find regular employment . COYR

Swindon1984 wrote:
The way it seems to work at the county ground is keeping season ticket costs down by keeping the matchday ticket costs high. Not great for me not being a season ticket holder and not having lived in the town for over ten years (so add travel costs in as well) but I recognise that the club needs guaranteed revenue from season ticket sales and so am happy to pay what's required. I think we get decent value for money. Seriously considered getting a season ticket this year even if I'd only make every other home game, and pretty sure I will next season.

'84 As I now qualify for old gittus status I enquired about buying a S/T in the DR - =£340 as opposed to paying £19 per game =b/even was 18 games = £342 - given that I've missed two games due to other commitments and the deals that happen to further reduce the cost buying a season ticket doesn't offer real value for money in my case.

Having said that I've stumped up £65 for the hospitality package v Villa so I'm hardly saving money lol!

the don69 wrote:

Malkym wrote:

bob reynolds wrote: In the mid 60's I used to get a bus from Lechlade(2 shillings/10p).Entra nce to the ground(2 shillings).Programme (6d/2.5p) and a Bovril(6d/2.5p).The day out cost 5 bob/ 25 pence...and I could watch Don Rogers every Saturday!! Now that was value for money!!!

Lol!1can't argue with that - Imust have been paying a similar amount then!

Yes but I bet your wages were tiny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep £8 per week late sixties working for the gov'mt as a Sybil Servant!!

hertz wrote:
I still reckon we should open the Bank as a no frills terrace , sit where you like , bring your own sarnies and drinks ,just requires a few stewards for "Elf and Safety " bums on seats at an affordable price for young families and those struggling to find regular employment . COYR

All that will happen is people will start going there who usually sit elsewhere in the ground so you will have that stand packed and huge spaces in the more expensive seats.

Malkym wrote:

Swindon1984 wrote: The way it seems to work at the county ground is keeping season ticket costs down by keeping the matchday ticket costs high. Not great for me not being a season ticket holder and not having lived in the town for over ten years (so add travel costs in as well) but I recognise that the club needs guaranteed revenue from season ticket sales and so am happy to pay what's required. I think we get decent value for money. Seriously considered getting a season ticket this year even if I'd only make every other home game, and pretty sure I will next season.

'84 As I now qualify for old gittus status I enquired about buying a S/T in the DR - =£340 as opposed to paying £19 per game =b/even was 18 games = £342 - given that I've missed two games due to other commitments and the deals that happen to further reduce the cost buying a season ticket doesn't offer real value for money in my case. Having said that I've stumped up £65 for the hospitality package v Villa so I'm hardly saving money lol!

True enough - the only other big selling points for a season ticket with me would be spreading the cost of the payment potentially, and having first dibs on away tickets as away games seem to be easier for me to get to generally!

On that note, Redgollum I can see your point, but by your own admission the travel costs are your biggest expense and that's hardly the club's fault. I know you're not saying it is but I'm sure if you were still living in Swindon you'd be far more likely to go, regardless of the ticket prices.

Travel's an issue for me as well, driving back for the Villa game then getting the train for Sheffield United (Tuesday night home fixtures are always a pain for me but I promised myself this year I'd make more of an effort). Driving is fine but getting the train would have cost me nearly fifty quid if I'd gone when I wanted to. I can save costs on the train by going earlier but will now have to take a half day off work to do it (and still means I won't get back to the missus till gone midnight which she won't be pleased about no doubt!)

Ultimately I do think we get value for money though - all this survey provides is the raw figures, saying everything about cost and nothing of VALUE! Leeds have the most expensive programme in the football leagues. But they might only be priced 50p more than another club's which isn't half as good. Some shockers in there though, Bournemouth charge well over the odds to see **** football in a **** ground - Colchester also, Aldershot another great example.

PS enjoy the hospitality, thoroughly enjoyed the time I went before, Phil King cracks me up.

My view is that season tickets are good value, walk-in prices are expensive for L1 and not attracting the casuals.

I don't think the attractiveness of L1 or L2 football is great to casuals, whether the price is £15, £20, £25 or whatever, but that could well change should we get to Championship.

Den - I did say crude calculations!
.
I can only go on the info available and knocked that up in 5 mins simply using the sort and average function
.
Don't think our prices took into account the early bird offer - isn't the £20 simply TE day before the season started and £380 the side stands

maybe someone who got one in phase 1 or 2 can confirm - as I thought both cheaper than that?
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As for the revenue gate receipts made up 60% in 2010 and 50% in 2011 - so the main individual source - but certainly not the be all and end all
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Prize money made up 20% in 2010 and 25% in 2011
.
Commercial Activities made up 15% and 17%
.
So those 2 combined are pretty much up there with gate receipts
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I personally don't think football is price elastic - unless you have massive movements in price
.
ST went up but so did sales this year!
.
We have seen offers (another announced today for Brentford @£15 if you go to Yeovil) and the gates have gone up a bit - but not that much
.
I did some crude calculations last year and it showed we would have hardly made any extra revenue from those particular gates
.
Guess the main aim is to get people hooked and generate repeat business
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I'm also not in favour of price discrimination - don't agree with the current ones let alone new ones being added
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Why should someone pay less to watch the same thing as me just because they are 65 and I'm not?
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I know the income comment is coming - but lets not forget expenditure falls dramtically too - i.e no whopping Mortgage!
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Its not the clubs fault some of us have moved to London or beyond - so I doubt that would be popular with any Swindon based fan
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Length of pricing - has to be short term until we are where we want to be
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Going up is costing us a lot and needs to be covered (an not just by AB)
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Once up we could think about lowering prices on a long term crowd building strategy as TV revenue etc will cover any drop in gate receipts via that move
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Agree with Sean - the bank will not really do anything as we saw against Plymouth last year
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Winning games, winning in style and big teams will boost crowds
.
Once we are up and we swap Bury and co for Brum, Bolton, Blackburn, Wolves, Palace, Sh1tty, Leicester, Leeds, Millwall, Boro, Forest, Wednesday, Derby, Cardiff etc - we will automatically see 1000s added
.
One they will fill their allocactions and 2 more Swindon fans will come to see the big names

That should be £320 not £20 that would be a bargain!

I'm open to STFC trying to attract more supporters on a match day but if you lower tickets to 5 pounds this Saturday we still would not fill her up. For a League 1 side our gates are good but let's not get above our station. We have a very entertaining manager, have won the League and got 30,000 people to Wembley, as well as playing a much better brand of football than previously. If that is not enough to get people in then the demand is just not there. All these silly ideas about organizing buses and subsidizing tickets for out of town-ers is pointless. What next? Walking them to their seat and giving them a cuddle before kick off? If people don't have the desire to come and support the club then that is fine and it is their choice on how to spend their money. I agree that 25 pounds may be a lot of money to some people and this does put some people off but many others just aren't interested.

People talk about the 'glory' supporters that like premiership teams and buy their shirts and I really don't have a problem with that. The EPL is a fantastic league and is watched all over the world and people all up and down the country 'support' various teams and I don't think this gets in the way of those attending STFC games. We also don't have a 'big' local rival that robs us of potential fans such as many up in the Midlands and Manchester.

We are at about the level I'd expect at the moment considering which league we are in, our hard-core fan base and how well we are doing. Championship football would probably give us another 500-1000 season ticket holders and hopefully see us average around 10,000 each week. With the increased wage bill though we are going to be nowhere near many other teams in terms of turnover whereas now and last season we would be up there at the top. Suddenly 4k a week players are not good enough and we're looking at 6k, 8k and so forth. Fortunately we have a decent base but if Paolo is saying we STILL need more quality for this league then this suggests he would see a big overhaul at the end of this season. In which case further increases in ticket prices are inevitable for the Championship especially as at present, excluding sponsorship, the pie and a pint deal and the 50/50 draw, it is out only income.

Not so sure we will see a big overhaul as the newer players were not bought for 1 year just to get us out like we clearly saw last year (ala Connell)
.
I honestly believe PdC thinks McEveley, Roberts, Williams, Collins, Bostock etc are good enough to play in the Championship
.
As are exisiting players like Wes, Ferry and Ritchie - you could add others like Flint and Macca to that too
.
So we have the core there already
.
Also remember he clearly said to stay in a league is easy as you only need to get to 50 points - we are practically halfway there now!
.
To win promotion or a league is not though as you need 90+ points - thus if he sees a weakness he wants to address it to achieve that number of points
.
Once up promotion will not be our aim - survival will - so we won't need to have the best in the league - just good enough to stay there
.
Evolution and "nuturing" can then occur to gradually improve us over the long run
.
We had basically 9k Swindon fans for Coventry - so in the Championship I would fully expect 10-11k each week
.
Plus away fans will always be 1k+ so we should easily see average gates around the 12k mark
.
Also the average wage in the Championship in the last survey at the end of 2011 was only 4k - so I doubt we will be signing that many players on 8k+

2012, I disagree with you on the Premier League. I don't think it's fantastic at all and I just cannot for the life of me see how anyone can just choose a big club to support. I don't even believe the "quality" argument holds water. If you picked a Premier League game and a Town home game at random from the last year, there is every chance that the Town game would have provided the better entertainment. Whether it actually discourages people from supporting their local clubs is open to debate. Perhaps it doesn't - because many of the people who watch every minute of Premier League football on the television are probably not really interesting in being football supporters.

sorry - "...not really interested in being football supporters"

1984,
You are right. The travelling costs outweigh the admission costs for me. But, even if I lived next door to the ground & went every game, there would be questions asked!

stfc2012 wrote:
I'm open to STFC trying to attract more supporters on a match day but if you lower tickets to 5 pounds this Saturday we still would not fill her up. For a League 1 side our gates are good but let's not get above our station. We have a very entertaining manager, have won the League and got 30,000 people to Wembley, as well as playing a much better brand of football than previously. If that is not enough to get people in then the demand is just not there. All these silly ideas about organizing buses and subsidizing tickets for out of town-ers is pointless. What next? Walking them to their seat and giving them a cuddle before kick off? If people don't have the desire to come and support the club then that is fine and it is their choice on how to spend their money. I agree that 25 pounds may be a lot of money to some people and this does put some people off but many others just aren't interested.

People talk about the 'glory' supporters that like premiership teams and buy their shirts and I really don't have a problem with that. The EPL is a fantastic league and is watched all over the world and people all up and down the country 'support' various teams and I don't think this gets in the way of those attending STFC games. We also don't have a 'big' local rival that robs us of potential fans such as many up in the Midlands and Manchester.

We are at about the level I'd expect at the moment considering which league we are in, our hard-core fan base and how well we are doing. Championship football would probably give us another 500-1000 season ticket holders and hopefully see us average around 10,000 each week. With the increased wage bill though we are going to be nowhere near many other teams in terms of turnover whereas now and last season we would be up there at the top. Suddenly 4k a week players are not good enough and we're looking at 6k, 8k and so forth. Fortunately we have a decent base but if Paolo is saying we STILL need more quality for this league then this suggests he would see a big overhaul at the end of this season. In which case further increases in ticket prices are inevitable for the Championship especially as at present, excluding sponsorship, the pie and a pint deal and the 50/50 draw, it is out only income.

Why are the suggestions 'silly'? If the club wants to try and attract and develop a fan base for the future, it has to consider everything and be a bit imaginative. And for me that would include segmenting your potential customer base and addressing their specific needs.

There are plenty of examples of football clubs subsidising coaches to home and away games, and buses on park and ride schemes in and around the town. I would see it as an initial effort to get people into the habit and then get coaches on a more commercial footing once they filled up.

Or we can just carry on carrying on, doing very little, with some of the highest ticket prices in the division, and disappointing attendances to match.

I would say that your suggestion if cuddling people in their seat is the silly one. Stuff like that got Jimmy Saville into trouble (or would have if he wasn't six feet under).

stfc2012 wrote:
I'm open to STFC trying to attract more supporters on a match day but if you lower tickets to 5 pounds this Saturday we still would not fill her up. For a League 1 side our gates are good but let's not get above our station. We have a very entertaining manager, have won the League and got 30,000 people to Wembley, as well as playing a much better brand of football than previously. If that is not enough to get people in then the demand is just not there. All these silly ideas about organizing buses and subsidizing tickets for out of town-ers is pointless. What next? Walking them to their seat and giving them a cuddle before kick off? If people don't have the desire to come and support the club then that is fine and it is their choice on how to spend their money. I agree that 25 pounds may be a lot of money to some people and this does put some people off but many others just aren't interested. People talk about the 'glory' supporters that like premiership teams and buy their shirts and I really don't have a problem with that. The EPL is a fantastic league and is watched all over the world and people all up and down the country 'support' various teams and I don't think this gets in the way of those attending STFC games. We also don't have a 'big' local rival that robs us of potential fans such as many up in the Midlands and Manchester. We are at about the level I'd expect at the moment considering which league we are in, our hard-core fan base and how well we are doing. Championship football would probably give us another 500-1000 season ticket holders and hopefully see us average around 10,000 each week. With the increased wage bill though we are going to be nowhere near many other teams in terms of turnover whereas now and last season we would be up there at the top. Suddenly 4k a week players are not good enough and we're looking at 6k, 8k and so forth. Fortunately we have a decent base but if Paolo is saying we STILL need more quality for this league then this suggests he would see a big overhaul at the end of this season. In which case further increases in ticket prices are inevitable for the Championship especially as at present, excluding sponsorship, the pie and a pint deal and the 50/50 draw, it is out only income.

I think you talk a lot of sense my friend, where it comes to demand and what the club can do to attract more supporters - basically we do not have massive demand for tickets at home, and reducing them by even a huge amount would not bring in the required additional numbers which would offset the costs of reducing ticket prices. Some people are all talk - I'd go if it were cheaper, I'd go if circumstances were different in all sorts of ways etc, but ultimately if you want to get to the county ground and support the team you will - reminds me of all the people who said they'd start drinking in pubs again once the spoken ban came as smoking in pubs put them off - they never started going in record numbers afterwards cause ultimately they couldn't be bothered. Just as if we had tickets for a fiver, the majority of Swindon residents would rather mooch around the outlet village or sit in Yates' watching premiership clubs whilst getting leathered. Sad but true.

Where I can't agree with you is the point about the premiership - as others have pointed out, I have never understood just picking a team out of thin air to (arm chair) support. I don't even really get the "my dad was a Liverpool fan" or whatever argument either. If you're from Bracknell and support Man United there's something wrong with you - if you have no connection with the club and have only ever watched them on TV, what do they really matter to you? Apart from needing to say you support a club.

Swindon1984 wrote:

stfc2012 wrote:
I'm open to STFC trying to attract more supporters on a match day but if you lower tickets to 5 pounds this Saturday we still would not fill her up. For a League 1 side our gates are good but let's not get above our station. We have a very entertaining manager, have won the League and got 30,000 people to Wembley, as well as playing a much better brand of football than previously. If that is not enough to get people in then the demand is just not there. All these silly ideas about organizing buses and subsidizing tickets for out of town-ers is pointless. What next? Walking them to their seat and giving them a cuddle before kick off? If people don't have the desire to come and support the club then that is fine and it is their choice on how to spend their money. I agree that 25 pounds may be a lot of money to some people and this does put some people off but many others just aren't interested. People talk about the 'glory' supporters that like premiership teams and buy their shirts and I really don't have a problem with that. The EPL is a fantastic league and is watched all over the world and people all up and down the country 'support' various teams and I don't think this gets in the way of those attending STFC games. We also don't have a 'big' local rival that robs us of potential fans such as many up in the Midlands and Manchester. We are at about the level I'd expect at the moment considering which league we are in, our hard-core fan base and how well we are doing. Championship football would probably give us another 500-1000 season ticket holders and hopefully see us average around 10,000 each week. With the increased wage bill though we are going to be nowhere near many other teams in terms of turnover whereas now and last season we would be up there at the top. Suddenly 4k a week players are not good enough and we're looking at 6k, 8k and so forth. Fortunately we have a decent base but if Paolo is saying we STILL need more quality for this league then this suggests he would see a big overhaul at the end of this season. In which case further increases in ticket prices are inevitable for the Championship especially as at present, excluding sponsorship, the pie and a pint deal and the 50/50 draw, it is out only income.

I think you talk a lot of sense my friend, where it comes to demand and what the club can do to attract more supporters - basically we do not have massive demand for tickets at home, and reducing them by even a huge amount would not bring in the required additional numbers which would offset the costs of reducing ticket prices. Some people are all talk - I'd go if it were cheaper, I'd go if circumstances were different in all sorts of ways etc, but ultimately if you want to get to the county ground and support the team you will - reminds me of all the people who said they'd start drinking in pubs again once the spoken ban came as smoking in pubs put them off - they never started going in record numbers afterwards cause ultimately they couldn't be bothered. Just as if we had tickets for a fiver, the majority of Swindon residents would rather mooch around the outlet village or sit in Yates' watching premiership clubs whilst getting leathered. Sad but true.

Where I can't agree with you is the point about the premiership - as others have pointed out, I have never understood just picking a team out of thin air to (arm chair) support. I don't even really get the "my dad was a Liverpool fan" or whatever argument either. If you're from Bracknell and support Man United there's something wrong with you - if you have no connection with the club and have only ever watched them on TV, what do they really matter to you? Apart from needing to say you support a club.

For School kids 84 it's a playground status thing!they ask which team do you support?and if they say Swindon they might say,why do you support that(crappy little team!one for LR)I support Man U!and then next time someone asks,they will say a big prem club!that's my lesson for the day!LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oi Den! wrote:
2012, I disagree with you on the Premier League. I don't think it's fantastic at all and I just cannot for the life of me see how anyone can just choose a big club to support. I don't even believe the "quality" argument holds water. If you picked a Premier League game and a Town home game at random from the last year, there is every chance that the Town game would have provided the better entertainment. Whether it actually discourages people from supporting their local clubs is open to debate. Perhaps it doesn't - because many of the people who watch every minute of Premier League football on the television are probably not really interesting in being football supporters.

You must be watching a different league then. I'm all for people supporting the local side. But I'm not anti Premier League and don't begrudge people that watch the wealth of football delights from around the world but choose not to 'support' the local side. Everyone has the choice. Do you only watch regional TV channels and listen to local radio? There's a big world out there you know.

Not sure that arguement holds too much weight IN Swindon!
.
Maybe if you live in another area of the country you may get Why that cr@ppy little club - but not in the actual town - I never did as a kid
.
I don't think Terriers idea about the buses was at all stupid and alongside whoever suggested a training roadshow around Wilts they are good ideas which are fairly cheap and could drum up some extra supporters
.
I'm against segmenting prices - but that's just my view point - others and the club may have a totally different one
.
One thing I noticed is everyone moans the promotions are not advertised - yet the CG sits on the Magic roundabout - one of if not the busiest spot in the town
.
Why not put a massive billboard up asvertising offers like £10 off Brentford - so people go and look it up?
.
The pros and cons of the Premiership have been done to death really and are not that relvant to this debate unless of course it is felt it is blocking fans and therefore, we need ideas on how we could get around it

London Red wrote:
Not sure that arguement holds too much weight IN Swindon! . Maybe if you live in another area of the country you may get Why that cr@ppy little club - but not in the actual town - I never did as a kid . I don't think Terriers idea about the buses was at all stupid and alongside whoever suggested a training roadshow around Wilts they are good ideas which are fairly cheap and could drum up some extra supporters . I'm against segmenting prices - but that's just my view point - others and the club may have a totally different one . One thing I noticed is everyone moans the promotions are not advertised - yet the CG sits on the Magic roundabout - one of if not the busiest spot in the town . Why not put a massive billboard up asvertising offers like £10 off Brentford - so people go and look it up? . The pros and cons of the Premiership have been done to death really and are not that relvant to this debate unless of course it is felt it is blocking fans and therefore, we need ideas on how we could get around it

Seem to remember when I was at school if you said you supported Swindon the response was "but who do you support in the premiership/Division 1" as it was then. Seemed like there were people who went to the county ground to see some football but wanted the prestige (?) of saying they supported another, bigger club, although doubtless they'd never see them play if it wasn't on tv. I've never understand having two clubs really - yeah, there are some clubs I have a bit more sympathy with than others but ultimately other teams don't matter much to me.

As for the premiership - I have often and will often again I'm sure see premiership matches down the pub, can enjoy the football, but would never say I support another team, or indeed say I supported a club if the extent of that support was occasionally watching them on tv. But each to their own.

I do love when you have this sort of conversation though -

"Who do you support?"

"Chelsea."

"Oh yeah, why?"

*Blank face* - "Umm..."

That's just me though.

'84 good points in your last couple of posts - as I've said before there is such a wealth of alternative means of sport and leisure available that always attending your local team's matches doesn't remain the no.1 priority, for some I hasten to add, and I've already missed a couple and probably a couple more before the season ends. Your analogy about going to pubs is a good one - I couldn't wait for pubs to become smoke free but do I go in them more frequently? nope! because they like everybody are charging more - and by enlarged except for a Friday or Saturday night are dead on their feet and just like footie once you get out of the habit you stop going.

The very limited marketing team at STFC, that's limited in what they are able to do, not limited ability wise, are operating a) on a shoestring budget and b) with limited facilities. Demand for hospitality is steady and the Villa game could have sold out 3 times over I'm told. So if we get Sir WP looking at this and other off -field marketing allied to the ground redevelopment there is a real opportunity to increase income without penalising the rank & file supporter through ever increasing ticket prices because the revenue produced from boxes/suites should cover the costs of building and running them.

Also with you and others on the Prem. I think its certainly responsible for why England have not reached any major finals in recent years because there is now no home grown development of talent and blanket coverage on Sky has led to the next generation of fans being entranced by seeing the big clubs on TV every week leading to "mum I want a Rooney shirt for Xmas" as opposed to their grass roots team's shirt. I salute those parents who are encouring their offspring to become supporters of their local team because today's Junior Reds etc are tomorrows Town fans.

hertz wrote:
I still reckon we should open the Bank as a no frills terrace , sit where you like , bring your own sarnies and drinks ,just requires a few stewards for "Elf and Safety " bums on seats at an affordable price for young families and those struggling to find regular employment . COYR

Good suggestion! This might bring in extra revenue, but perhaps might encourage some DR or Ark peeps to go for the cheap but sometimes wet and windy seats!

PS - yes '84 Kingy is good value esprcially when you can take the pi$s and ask him if you can pay buy cheque or change some Euros!! lol

stfc2012 wrote:

Oi Den! wrote:
2012, I disagree with you on the Premier League. I don't think it's fantastic at all and I just cannot for the life of me see how anyone can just choose a big club to support. I don't even believe the "quality" argument holds water. If you picked a Premier League game and a Town home game at random from the last year, there is every chance that the Town game would have provided the better entertainment. Whether it actually discourages people from supporting their local clubs is open to debate. Perhaps it doesn't - because many of the people who watch every minute of Premier League football on the television are probably not really interesting in being football supporters.

You must be watching a different league then. I'm all for people supporting the local side. But I'm not anti Premier League and don't begrudge people that watch the wealth of football delights from around the world but choose not to 'support' the local side. Everyone has the choice. Do you only watch regional TV channels and listen to local radio? There's a big world out there you know.

I suppose it all comes down to opinion, but I'm afraid I can't help feeling very frustrated by people who like to think of themselves as football fans when they never go anywhere near a game.
.
Why use inverted commas when referring to supporting the local side? Being there with your money and your voice IS being supportive, isn't it? Nobody can claim to be providing any kind of support to a club just by watching it on TV.
.
The reason for my antipathy towards the Premier League is not any kind of jealousy. It is because the sole purpose of its creation was to concentrate most of the game's money at the top level, to the detriment of the clubs it left behind. It's why clubs are terrified of being relegated from the top flight nowadays, as well as being the reason our two great cup competitions have been devalued so much.
.
The local media analogy just doesn't cut the mustard. You might as well be comparing apples and potatoes. Yes, I know there's a big football world out there. And being part of it is much better than treating it as a fashion accessory.

I still think now is the time to sell 3/4 or 1/2 a season season tickets to bring us out of embargo. Now we are doing well in the cup and league people would buy s/t just to garantee them tickets for the next round I. E man unt at home or Chelski at home. Don't forget also the f.a cup is on our doorstep Sunday
So much to look forward to this season only tho if Paolo stays.
Onwards, downwards and back upwards

Malkym wrote:
PS - yes '84 Kingy is good value esprcially when you can take the pi$s and ask him if you can pay buy cheque or change some Euros!! lol

Great sense of humour and great enthusiasm for the club, top bloke irrespective of his well publicised problems.

Have to agree with Oi Den as well, people need to get to the ground and support the team or clubs wouldn't survive. Far too commonplace for people to end up as armchair fans of Prem clubs. Each to their own but to me they're not supporters just followers of footbalwers. (I watch the Simpsons but wouldn't claim to "support" it in any way! Tongue in cheek but you see what I mean)

This thread started about costs.
Bottom line. In the 60's. my only source of money was my paper round. 15 shillings a week. With that, I could catch a train to Swindon from Chipp., Buy a programme, get into the ground & have a cup of tea.
I wonder whether a paper boy in Chipp. now could do it on his wages.
That's what it's all about.

Oi Den! wrote:
Useful post LR. But taking a mid-point can't be an accurate way of arriving at an average, can it?. For instance, Colchester's average season ticket price must be far below £429. I would bet that their £501 season ticket comes with club privileges, i.e. hardly part of your average matchday experience, so that is going to skew the figures.

My word it's a technical debate today and very good IMO.

Den, taking the middle point as an average is valid. Average can be the mode (most frequent), median (middle point) and mean (total divided by the number of the sample). All valid and telling you a slightly different thing.

Before anyone points it out, I'll apologise in advance for being an anorak.

I see that tea is 10p dearer at Oxford. Is that for the sympathy?

All the cash goes to lining the pockets of s group of over paid young men, who waste it of posh cars and big houses - that's the problem!

That said ill make my annual donation to the spoiling the ungrateful little beggers each season in the hope they offer some form of entertainment in return.

Sadly the whole thing has for out of hand...

Redhouse Red wrote:
All the cash goes to lining the pockets of s group of over paid young men, who waste it of posh cars and big houses - that's the problem!

That said ill make my annual donation to the spoiling the ungrateful little beggers each season in the hope they offer some form of entertainment in return.

Sadly the whole thing has for out of hand...

Waste it on posh cars and big houses?more Gambling,Bling,Woman
,Booze and Holidays!they call it having a good time Redhouse!LOL!!!!!!!!
!

mancrobin wrote:

Oi Den! wrote:
Useful post LR. But taking a mid-point can't be an accurate way of arriving at an average, can it?. For instance, Colchester's average season ticket price must be far below £429. I would bet that their £501 season ticket comes with club privileges, i.e. hardly part of your average matchday experience, so that is going to skew the figures.

My word it's a technical debate today and very good IMO.

Den, taking the middle point as an average is valid. Average can be the mode (most frequent), median (middle point) and mean (total divided by the number of the sample). All valid and telling you a slightly different thing.

Before anyone points it out, I'll apologise in advance for being an anorak.

Point taken mancrobin.
.
My point was that there are probably very few people paying Colchester's top price of £501, so taking the midpoint between that and their lowest price is likely to err a long way on the high side. Lies, d@mned lies and statistics eh?!
.
Sorry. Enough of that.

Oi Den! wrote:

mancrobin wrote:

Oi Den! wrote:
Useful post LR. But taking a mid-point can't be an accurate way of arriving at an average, can it?. For instance, Colchester's average season ticket price must be far below £429. I would bet that their £501 season ticket comes with club privileges, i.e. hardly part of your average matchday experience, so that is going to skew the figures.

My word it's a technical debate today and very good IMO.

Den, taking the middle point as an average is valid. Average can be the mode (most frequent), median (middle point) and mean (total divided by the number of the sample). All valid and telling you a slightly different thing.

Before anyone points it out, I'll apologise in advance for being an anorak.

Point taken mancrobin.
.
My point was that there are probably very few people paying Colchester's top price of £501, so taking the midpoint between that and their lowest price is likely to err a long way on the high side. Lies, d@mned lies and statistics eh?!
.
Sorry. Enough of that.

It's a fair point you make and the statistical answer would be to apply standard deviation. However, most would say that life's too short. :)

Oi Den! wrote:

mancrobin wrote:

Oi Den! wrote:
Useful post LR. But taking a mid-point can't be an accurate way of arriving at an average, can it?. For instance, Colchester's average season ticket price must be far below £429. I would bet that their £501 season ticket comes with club privileges, i.e. hardly part of your average matchday experience, so that is going to skew the figures.

My word it's a technical debate today and very good IMO.

Den, taking the middle point as an average is valid. Average can be the mode (most frequent), median (middle point) and mean (total divided by the number of the sample). All valid and telling you a slightly different thing.

Before anyone points it out, I'll apologise in advance for being an anorak.

Point taken mancrobin.
.
My point was that there are probably very few people paying Colchester's top price of £501, so taking the midpoint between that and their lowest price is likely to err a long way on the high side. Lies, d@mned lies and statistics eh?!
.
Sorry. Enough of that.

It's a fair point you make and the statistical answer would be to apply standard deviation.

However, most would say that life's too short. :)

Haha! Yes, I remember that one too but have forgotten how you work it out now. Too short indeed.

Its been proven that for several seasons we have had this valid debate on here.

It seems to me it doesn't matter whether its £20 or £25 for a seat, predominately only the same people will come to watch.
There is a set core of people here that travel from within Swindon Boro' or come from the surrounding area, or some from further as historically their roots are in Swindon, or surround ing area.

To me there are two major factors that will help get more people in. Firstly as many have said , marketing especially among the younger generations as they have disposable income to spend on their entertainment.

The second factor is to improve the standard of teams we are playing against, and we can only do that through promotion. Bringing in people from Swindon itself has to be done carefully and with improved or improving facilities within the ground as well, which is why Patey has been brought here. Extra core funding is what is needed, and that is his aim.
I don't think the core numbers of attendance we see most weeks will change dramatically until the profile of the club does. We are well and truly stuck in a very difficult rut, hopefully Pateys skills will help us out in many ways, including negotiations over ground improvement. Our stadium is a limiting factor, and as they say, you cannot polish a £urd.

1 Sheffield United 18145
2 Portsmouth 12842
3 Coventry City 10557
4 Preston North End 9200
5 Milton Keynes Dons 8406
6 Swindon Town 8302

Top 6 Div One Average Gates to Oct 17th
So we are 6th at present shame its not higher but not to bad overall for the Division.

the wizard wrote:
Its been proven that for several seasons we have had this valid debate on here.

It seems to me it doesn't matter whether its £20 or £25 for a seat, predominately only the same people will come to watch.
There is a set core of people here that travel from within Swindon Boro' or come from the surrounding area, or some from further as historically their roots are in Swindon, or surround ing area.

To me there are two major factors that will help get more people in. Firstly as many have said , marketing especially among the younger generations as they have disposable income to spend on their entertainment.

The second factor is to improve the standard of teams we are playing against, and we can only do that through promotion. Bringing in people from Swindon itself has to be done carefully and with improved or improving facilities within the ground as well, which is why Patey has been brought here. Extra core funding is what is needed, and that is his aim.
I don't think the core numbers of attendance we see most weeks will change dramatically until the profile of the club does. We are well and truly stuck in a very difficult rut, hopefully Pateys skills will help us out in many ways, including negotiations over ground improvement. Our stadium is a limiting factor, and as they say, you cannot polish a £urd.

I beg to differ on your last point Wiz. I understand they have polished the Ox outside of the Kassam.

TelSTFC wrote:
1 Sheffield United 18145
2 Portsmouth 12842
3 Coventry City 10557
4 Preston North End 9200
5 Milton Keynes Dons 8406
6 Swindon Town 8302

Top 6 Div One Average Gates to Oct 17th
So we are 6th at present shame its not higher but not to bad overall for the Division.

Good post, but note , all of those above us are carrying a lot of debt despite their increased gates over and above what we are getting.

Would love us to be pulling in more each game. Ten thousand would be nice, and Its not that far away really, given the catchment area.

I still think a club shop in the Brunnel would create a good interface with the public, especially with players in attendance from time to time to promote the club, and a ticket selling facility there would be useful.

mancrobin wrote:

the wizard wrote:
Its been proven that for several seasons we have had this valid debate on here.

It seems to me it doesn't matter whether its £20 or £25 for a seat, predominately only the same people will come to watch.
There is a set core of people here that travel from within Swindon Boro' or come from the surrounding area, or some from further as historically their roots are in Swindon, or surround ing area.

To me there are two major factors that will help get more people in. Firstly as many have said , marketing especially among the younger generations as they have disposable income to spend on their entertainment.

The second factor is to improve the standard of teams we are playing against, and we can only do that through promotion. Bringing in people from Swindon itself has to be done carefully and with improved or improving facilities within the ground as well, which is why Patey has been brought here. Extra core funding is what is needed, and that is his aim.
I don't think the core numbers of attendance we see most weeks will change dramatically until the profile of the club does. We are well and truly stuck in a very difficult rut, hopefully Pateys skills will help us out in many ways, including negotiations over ground improvement. Our stadium is a limiting factor, and as they say, you cannot polish a £urd.

I beg to differ on your last point Wiz. I understand they have polished the Ox outside of the Kassam.

Dunno what they would have used for that, something industrial I suppose.
Any way, it would have been quick, its only got three sides.

I have just come back to Australia after seeing 2 home games, One was the 3-1 cup win over Burnley and the other a loss to Colchester, i would be happy to pay the price everytime, Swindon are playing a top class game at the moment, they are a worthy of every penny spent.
Just hope DiCanio can over come the change in chairman and stay on for as long as possible, come on sponsors put your hand in your pocket to keep DiCanio at town for ever. COYR

London Red wrote:
It looks like I might have been wrong!
.
Using the export to excel function and some really crude calculations I have tried to analyse the cost including ST as this data is available on the same BBC page
.
ST has Cheapest and most Expensive
.
Cheapest we are now 18th in L1 with £320 - so there are now 17 cheaper in L1 alone - so no longer near the bottom of the overall pryamid like before!
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Expensive we do come down - showing we have a much narrower range as we sit 9th at £380
.
Average (crude as simply mid point of the two) we sit in midtable at £350 - Colchester most expensive at £429 and Walsall cheapest at £252
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That makes our per match cost £15.22 - with Colchester a whopping £18.65 for a ST and Walsall at £10.98
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I then added in the Average Match day (£22) to our average ST (£15.22) to give the overall average price (£18.61)
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That leaves us standing at 19th in L1
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So it looks like the really cheap days are over for us - but PdC is still right an average of £18.61 is still excellent value for money for what we have had on offer
.
Especially as I have not factored in cup games - as Brighton and Burnley was below that amount!!!

London Red,

I am never quite sure if you are serious with your comments, or just having a massive laugh at our expense?

Having read your above post several times, I am even more confused!

But to be honest, I am not sleeping at the moment due to family illness and promise to read your post several times later this evening, confident that I will indeed sleep after that!!

Thank you London Red.

the wizard wrote:

TelSTFC wrote:
1 Sheffield United 18145
2 Portsmouth 12842
3 Coventry City 10557
4 Preston North End 9200
5 Milton Keynes Dons 8406
6 Swindon Town 8302

Top 6 Div One Average Gates to Oct 17th
So we are 6th at present shame its not higher but not to bad overall for the Division.

Good post, but note , all of those above us are carrying a lot of debt despite their increased gates over and above what we are getting.

Would love us to be pulling in more each game. Ten thousand would be nice, and Its not that far away really, given the catchment area.

I still think a club shop in the Brunnel would create a good interface with the public, especially with players in attendance from time to time to promote the club, and a ticket selling facility there would be useful.

Couple of good posts made there Wiz - I think you're right int that regardless of price we won't be pulling huge amounts through the doors unless we're facing better opposition (and possibly an improved ground).

Just have to look at the extra tickets sold for Villa/Sheffield Utd - if we were playing in the championship against the likes of Leicester/Leeds/Birm
ingham/etc we should be averaging at least 10k.

Also the key is building for the future and to do that we need to market to kids/teenagers, or make it more cost effective fir parents to bring their young uns to the county ground.

Catch 'em young with their Dads - Father and son for £20 might be resonable