Latics take fans’ views on board

[opinions4u]

everyone talks about how expensive it is watching latics at home and dont get me wrong it is, but a couple of weeks ago, while in Devon on holiday i paid £20.00 to watch Torquay v Bradford .and that was the cheapest seat ..so i dont think our prices are too bad considering....

Compared to other teams at a similar level our prices are fine.

 

The comparison to Premier League prices is the one that causes concern. Wigan and Man City locally for example.

 

But given the £40m Premier League subsidy to these clubs, they can afford to subsidise prices to fans. Give Latics the same £40m and I'm sure Corney and Hardy would have a lot more flexibility with their pricing structures. You can go back to Latics Premiership years and, as Colonel Jones used to remind us, and spot the missed opportunity for investment then.

Edited September 18, 2010 by opinions4u

[Oafc88]

A few things:

1.) The student ID scheme that is run at Latics is done to stop people getting in cheaper than they should as student IDs have a reputation of being easy to fake. (This is not my experience of having a legitimate student ID for as long as I have). Yet, no one checks those who get in for being under a certain age actually are that age and quite a few posters on here admit doing so at other clubs and some even say they do it at BP.

2.) The student IDs which you have to pay for (£13), are offically only available if you are a student and under the age of 21, which does a fat lot of good if you do a course longer than 3 years or if you take a gap year (a lot more common now than it was when the board were of the age to go to uni). Having said that I'm aware from personal experience that Mr. Hardy will accept applications from students who are over 21. (Might have helped that I was doing medicine, he might not be so keen if you were doing other degrees but I would hope not).

3.) Manchester is a huge student city, (especially if you include the likes of Salford), which attracts students from all over the country. Some of those students will fancy watching a game of professional football at an affordable price within easy travelling of where they live every now and then, especially when the student loan has just come in. That leaves Wigan, Bolton, Dale, Bury, Stockport and us (with the odd City game as well). Having done a bit of research its unclear from their online info how many give a student discount on production of a valid NUS card but if they don't it means less competition for us.

4.) During my research I discovered something, Wolves give a student discount if the student has a valid NUSextra card, this card is available to all students (including those at 6th form) and comes with "exclusive discounts" at shops which don't necessarily have an educational purpose (e.g. McDonalds). That only costs £11/year, so £2 cheaper than the scheme we use (and ours only gets the benefit of cheap entry at Boundary Park and looks very very cheap). I've not seen one so I wouldn't be able to comment on how easy it would be to forge one (probably not easy given the list of places you can get a discount). It should be something for the fan's representative to put forward. Especially as it would reduce the administration costs significantly.

 

True and in an ideal world they would all pay the correct price if possible. I just cant see why other clubs don't mind their scheme may be taken advantage of by a few (i say don't mind, the only evidence that shows they don't is that they constantly offer these prices year after year, i could be wrong though) and yet we need to apply for student prices an go through some applicaton to Mr Hardy, i feel we just need to make it as simple as possible in terms of gaining student addmission. Again other clubs are willing to do it, why can't we? surely the club can trust us enough to think the vast majority wouldn't take the piss out the scheme.

 

Agree with the rest of your points though.

 

[lancy lad]

so if you consider how many fans bought season tickets,and how many kids bought membership....then add them up and come up with,nope we cant do offers for fear of upsetting them...

the kids one isnt just membership to boundry blues its a season ticket as well...

 

just look around bp this afternoon at how many empty seats there are,and think how much better it would be seeing them occupied even if its only a quid or 2....its all extra income.....

 

just look across from the main stand at how sad and sorry the burnt out section is(why hasnt it been removed yet???) then at the massive hording were the stand used to be....the club are missing out on potential advertising revenue no matter how big or small it maybe....

 

you have said its not financially viable to sort the burnt out sponsors suite out as were moving to failsworth...openly admitted as maybe in 3 years time....so how can the club afford to miss out for the next 3 years on income from either season tickets or corporate?????

 

it just winds me up all the bleating about attendances being down n not having any money to do this that and the other....but then openly shooting yourself in the foot by not doing something...

 

if i was a season ticket holder....and you put an offer on of 3 for 30 or the like i wouldnt give a toss...i paid my money at the time of purchase,done and dusted,id rather see a fuller ground and if they got in a bit cheaper so what....

Good post and as a ST holder also I totally agree that offers can still help the revenue!

[oafcprozac]

Only in RRE and Chaddy, I have always had to pay £11 for my daughter in the main stand which is crazy. A few years ago several of us challenged this with the club only to be told by Alan Hardy to change stand if we didnt like it (and before I get pelters I've had my season ticket in the same seat for 20+ years). Two of my mates have never returned over the last 3 years because of that! I pay for her on the day because she only comes to about 75% of home games but I reckon there is plenty who wont pay it.

 

Also there is several thousand empty seats in the stadium so a kid for a quid with a paying adult would be good and also helps to hook them in for the future!

 

I've changed stand from the Chaddy into the Main Stand but I haven't bothered renewing my son's ST as it was triple the price in the Main Stand. £50 in the CE or RRE but £169 in the Main Stand. So as he only comes to midweek games (this hasn't bothered me in the past as it was only £50 so I bought him a ST anyway) I swap my ST for the Chaddy and pay £3 for him. I don't understand why the club are so set in their ways the Main Stand upper is not as busy this year now the freebies have been tackled and the lower is never full. So to expect me to pay £11 for an eleven year old takes the piss. So he'll come to his usual 8 games or so this season but the club will have lost the difference between that and the £50 ST, about £26, now thats only £26, but times that by a hundred, add in the fact I usually buy him a programme and refreshments etc and it mounts up. The club really does cut its nose off to spite its face to satisfy a few moaning owd gits in the Main Stand.

[fleetwood Blue]

We are not that bad, for instance if you would like to watch Mr Eardley getting run ragged at Blackpool it would set you back £35 per game, when Blackpool are relegated at the end of this season does anybody think their prices will drop, the only thing that will drop there is their attendance because now Belekon has his foot firmly in the door the Lasher fans are going to be screwed for every penny they have got.

£20 A Ticket is not bad (its the overall cost with travel that spanks me), i also pay £12.50 to watch Fleetwood Town and consider that good value for money but the club needs to be attracting the next generation with freebies/cheap tickets, with Citeh and Man.Utd on our doorstep this is never going to be easy but somebody employed as a community officer just concentrating with selling the club to schools and colleges and maybe setting up free football coaching in them schools may be the way forward.

[Lookers_Carl]

We are not that bad, for instance if you would like to watch Mr Eardley getting run ragged at Blackpool it would set you back £35 per game, when Blackpool are relegated at the end of this season does anybody think their prices will drop, the only thing that will drop there is their attendance because now Belekon has his foot firmly in the door the Lasher fans are going to be screwed for every penny they have got.

£20 A Ticket is not bad (its the overall cost with travel that spanks me), i also pay £12.50 to watch Fleetwood Town and consider that good value for money but the club needs to be attracting the next generation with freebies/cheap tickets, with Citeh and Man.Utd on our doorstep this is never going to be easy but somebody employed as a community officer just concentrating with selling the club to schools and colleges and maybe setting up free football coaching in them schools may be the way forward.

 

Again, this has hit the nail on the head re cost. We are amongst the cheapest in the league amongst the clubs with all seater stadiums.

 

Could we reduce the admission prices to £15-16 a game? Yes, as long as fans are happy to settle for us looking over our shoulders in League Two, as with prices like that, thats what we will get.

[oafcprozac]

We are not that bad, for instance if you would like to watch Mr Eardley getting run ragged at Blackpool it would set you back £35 per game, when Blackpool are relegated at the end of this season does anybody think their prices will drop, the only thing that will drop there is their attendance because now Belekon has his foot firmly in the door the Lasher fans are going to be screwed for every penny they have got.

£20 A Ticket is not bad (its the overall cost with travel that spanks me), i also pay £12.50 to watch Fleetwood Town and consider that good value for money but the club needs to be attracting the next generation with freebies/cheap tickets, with Citeh and Man.Utd on our doorstep this is never going to be easy but somebody employed as a community officer just concentrating with selling the club to schools and colleges and maybe setting up free football coaching in them schools may be the way forward.

 

This does happen, the club works tirelessly in the community but mainly with minorities and Primary Schools. Secondary schools are increasingly forging partnerships with Premier League clubs. I completed my training at The Radclyffe in Chadderton and they're close to a partnership with City, Failsworth are committed to a partnership with Man City too. Unfortunately it is all down to resources. City, United, Bolton, Wigan etc can cherry pick the schools they want to go into - provide specialist programmes, funding equipment, branding etc.. and the schools now working with greater autonomy allied with the granting of foundation statuses lap it up meaning the big clubs snare the next generation all too easily.

 

Latics used to do a lot in the community with Players going out and about, since Joe Royle left in '94, this has ground to a halt. My little brother works tirelessly in schools but for all his and the Community Project's work, they're making little inroad. As we simply cannot compete. Even community work is big business now. Perhaps if we could get some of our 'stars' more involved, we may just nick a few more of tomorrow's generation. I still remember Roger Palmer making a personal appearance at Limehurst in '85!

Edited September 20, 2010 by oafcprozac