SWFC Trust Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 Hello all, As you may have seen, the SWFC Supporters' Trust has been working hard at producing various pieces of research in areas such as matchday and season ticket pricing and a comparison of SWFC's position on 20/21 Season Ticket refunds with that of other championship clubs. If you haven't seen them, I will share the outline and links on the next few comments. 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWFC Trust Posted January 3, 2021 Author Share Posted January 3, 2021 20/21 offer to season ticket holders Written By Sheffield Wednesday Trust The table below catalogues research the Trust has recently completed on the offer made by Championship clubs to its 2020/21 season ticket holders. It shows that the offer of pro-rata credit towards 2021/22 season tickets by SWFC, reduced by £10 per home match watched on Ifollow, is amongst the worst in the Championship. It is worth remembering that season ticket holders’ use of Ifollow to watch home games does not generate any short-term revenue for the club. In this context, a good number of clubs in the Championship have offered their season ticket holders free access to home matches on Ifollow, as well as several other options including a full, partial or rolling refunds and attractive retail offers. It is not hard to fathom why clubs have taken this approach. This extension of goodwill to supporters is designed to produce business benefits, which Sheffield Wednesday should pay attention too given the club’s current situation: By feeling valued and engaged by the club supporters are less likely to request a refund on their 2020/21 season ticket, which legally clubs are almost certain to have to offer at some stage. The collapse of income associated with Coronavirus means the club should do everything it can to avoid the number of refunds (55%) requested on 2019/20 season tickets. With refunds on 2019/20 season tickets still to be completed offering free Ifollow home games is a way of compensating supporters for their patience, which in turn helps with point 1. If the financial realities are so perilous that SWFC cannot match the offer delivered even by Championship clubs such as Wycombe, then it needs to be made clear to supporters. The club must paint a realistic picture in public about what fans can expect as it will require a change in expectations amongst fans. Members do not expect the club to operate in a goldfish bowl, but they do believe the club can do much better on sharing the broad strategic picture with fans. If this conversation does not happen then, sadly, frustration and alienation will continue to grow between supporters and chairman. Offer by Championship Clubs to its 2020/21 Season Ticket Holders 3 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post SWFC Trust Posted January 3, 2021 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 3, 2021 Season Ticket Prices Written By Sheffield Wednesday Trust Most of us know that season tickets at Sheffield Wednesday are expensive. Recent research published by the Trust shows just how expensive. The cheapest season ticket at Hillsborough in the 19/20 season was the dearest in the league. The most expensive season ticket at Hillsborough in the 19/20 season was the second dearest in the Championship. All the data to support the findings in this blog can be found in the research report on our website accessed via this link: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5fad17872ca67743c7252d2c/t/5fca2eca2ae1264a039b5f5c/1607085776256/SWFC+Trust+Report+(5).pdf The cheapest season ticket available at Hillsborough in the 19/20 season was in the early-bird phase of sales costing £455 to sit on the Kop. This was £35 more expensive than the next cheapest ticket offered by Middlesbrough and Preston North End at £420. It is £230 more expensive than the cheapest season ticket offered by QPR at £225, the lowest in the Championship. At £455 the cheapest season ticket at Hillsborough in the 19/20 season was £125.31 (38%) more expensive than the average cheapest Championship season ticket. The most expensive season ticket at Hillsborough was £705 to sit on the South Stand in the final phase of sales. This was £5 cheaper than the dearest in the Championship, the £710 season ticket at Elland Road. It was £25 higher than the next most expensive season ticket, the Club Class offered by Birmingham City at £680. Both these clubs however offered a far lower ‘cheap’ season ticket when compared with Sheffield Wednesday. Leeds United have a selection of season tickets available at £349 and Birmingham City offer a season ticket for as little as £240. What constitutes value for money will be different for each supporter. For many paying the equivalent of £19.78 per game to sit on the Kop (when purchasing the cheapest ticket available in the early-bird phase of sales) will constitute value for money, and attending matches is not just about the football, but includes the social aspect of sharing time with friends and family that is impossible to place a price on. Yet these are difficult times we live in. Absence from Hillsborough during lockdown might mean some have lost the habit of attending games preferring the comfort of their living room. The economic prospects are bleak meaning others will face unemployment or job insecurity. This is all complicated because the club will likely face a situation in the spring of 2021 (the usual early-bird period) where it must convince fans to renew their season tickets into 20/21 (effectively keeping their money in the club) and not demand a refund. The club recently confirmed that 55% of all season ticket holders requested a full refund on their 19/20 season ticket. Anything approaching this number of requests for 20/21 season tickets would be catastrophic to the club’s financial position. The Trust believes the growing sense of frustration and alienation among the fanbase can be ameliorated if the club show signs they are willing to change from their existing approaches to club operations. Public recognition that Sheffield Wednesday is adopting a new ticketing strategy for the post-Covid world, one that is more reflective of the economic position of the fanbase and wider city of Sheffield, and looks more like it treats fans as engaged partners in a collective endeavour and less like a cash machine, would provide a powerful incentive and encourage fans to return to Hillsborough. A good place to start would be with the cost of season ticket prices. 3 1 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWFC Trust Posted January 3, 2021 Author Share Posted January 3, 2021 Matchday Ticket Prices Written By Sheffield Wednesday Trust Sheffield Wednesday’s ticketing policy since Mr. Chansiri’s takeover is clear. The aim been to convert pay-on-the-gate supporters into season ticket holders. Instrumental in this ticketing policy has been to make matchday tickets at Hillsborough significantly less attractive by making them very expensive. The average cheapest matchday ticket in the 2019/20 season was £33. The average highest matchday ticket in the 2019/20 season was £40. Although never publicly stated, the strategic objective of this policy is, presumably, either revenue maximisation (i.e. this is the policy thought the best to raise income through ticket sales) or budgetary planning (i.e. season tickets inject a reliable sum of capital into the club from which annual budgets can be planned, whereas matchday revenue can fluctuate and be unreliable). Recent research by the Trust, which can be found on our website and accessed via this link:(https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5fad17872ca67743c7252d2c/t/5fca2eca2ae1264a039b5f5c/1607085776256/SWFC+Trust+Report+(5).pdf) examines an alternative ticketing strategy pursued by Nottingham Forest. It makes two points. First, there are other ticketing models in the Championship, involving much cheaper pricing, that produce revenue results just as effective as that produced by the ticketing strategy currently adopted by Sheffield Wednesday. Second, the existing ticketing strategy at Hillsborough isn’t working on its own terms producing declining matchday and associated revenue even before Covid-19 decimated income. Matchday and associated revenue has been plummeting for several seasons at Hillsborough projected to be less in 2019-20 than it would have been in 2015-16 if fans had continued to be allowed to attend games. There are three core aims the Trust believe SWFC need to put in place to ensure its ticketing policy at Hillsborough is successful, each of which the club is currently struggling: The club continues to attract a stream of pay-on-the-gate supporters who can be converted into season ticket holders. The club needs to expand the scope of the fanbase through better marketing strategy, community engagement, and diversity initiatives, at the same time as attracting the next generation of supporter, to secure the season ticket holders of the future. Season-ticket prices remain competitive encouraging season ticket holders to renew each year in good times and bad. The ticketing policy at Hillsborough is not achieving aim the first of these two aims. Attendances at Hillsborough have been dwindling in recent seasons. The average attendance at Hillsborough rose from 22,641 in 2015-16 to 27,129 in 2016-17 off the back of Sheffield Wednesday’s flirtation with the playoffs, but this increase has not proven resilient thereafter. Average attendance fell to 25,995 in 2017-18, 24,429 in 2018-19, and 23,732 in 2019-20. The average decline in attendance at Hillsborough since 2016-17 has been 1,132 fans per season with attendance in 2019-20 (23,732) near the level that Mr. Chansiri inherited in his first season as owner in 2015-16 (22,641). Far from attracting new fans and keeping them attending matches the club is losing supporters in their droves with attendances falling towards its hard-core group of supporters. This is not a foregone conclusion as results decline on the pitch. Many Championship clubs have managed in recent seasons to grow attendances even when performances remain poor (see Trust research on Nottingham Forest and (soon to be released) Birmingham City). The final aim now rests on the goodwill of season ticket holders. The situation regarding 2019/20 refunds, which is rapidly becoming a fiasco, does not help. If anywhere near the same number of season ticket holders (55%) request a refund for 2020/21, which the club are almost certainly to have to offer at some point, as they did 2019/20 then the club face a huge bill at a time when revenues are most precarious. Season tickets are also vastly expensive when in comparison with the rest of league. We have discussed this in a previous blog, which can be accessed via this link, but suffice to say that the cheapest season ticket at Hillsborough in the 2019/20 season was the most expensive in the Championship. Cumulatively existing matchday and season ticket prices might prevent those supporters from returning to Hillsborough having lost the habit during lockdown or be an expense those facing unemployment and job insecurity might choose to jettison. If those fans can’t be enticed to return then matchday and associated revenue will fall even further just at the time when the club needs the revenue most desperately to navigate the undoubtedly tricky economic situation we are currently in as a country. A new ticketing policy is desperately needed at Hillsborough. It is not an irresponsible request to ask for such action to be taken. There are workable alternatives elsewhere in the Championship that don’t rely on high prices and are just as successful at producing revenue. The Trust and its members stand ready to engage with the club on this issue. 4 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWFC Trust Posted January 3, 2021 Author Share Posted January 3, 2021 This information has been shared by the Trust with the club. We will continue to research and produce similar reports. The next report will show how Birmingham City have increased attendances (by over 6,000) and revenue through their approach to ticketing. I'll happily take comments and questions as always. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post @owlstalk Posted January 3, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted January 3, 2021 Just now, SWFC Trust said: This information has been shared by the Trust with the club. You should ask for a confirmation of receipt 4 6 Owlstalk Shop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post @owlstalk Posted January 3, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted January 3, 2021 8 minutes ago, SWFC Trust said: Season Ticket Prices Written By Sheffield Wednesday Trust Most of us know that season tickets at Sheffield Wednesday are expensive. Recent research published by the Trust shows just how expensive. The cheapest season ticket at Hillsborough in the 19/20 season was the dearest in the league. The most expensive season ticket at Hillsborough in the 19/20 season was the second dearest in the Championship. All the data to support the findings in this blog can be found in the research report on our website accessed via this link: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5fad17872ca67743c7252d2c/t/5fca2eca2ae1264a039b5f5c/1607085776256/SWFC+Trust+Report+(5).pdf The cheapest season ticket available at Hillsborough in the 19/20 season was in the early-bird phase of sales costing £455 to sit on the Kop. This was £35 more expensive than the next cheapest ticket offered by Middlesbrough and Preston North End at £420. It is £230 more expensive than the cheapest season ticket offered by QPR at £225, the lowest in the Championship. At £455 the cheapest season ticket at Hillsborough in the 19/20 season was £125.31 (38%) more expensive than the average cheapest Championship season ticket. The most expensive season ticket at Hillsborough was £705 to sit on the South Stand in the final phase of sales. This was £5 cheaper than the dearest in the Championship, the £710 season ticket at Elland Road. It was £25 higher than the next most expensive season ticket, the Club Class offered by Birmingham City at £680. Both these clubs however offered a far lower ‘cheap’ season ticket when compared with Sheffield Wednesday. Leeds United have a selection of season tickets available at £349 and Birmingham City offer a season ticket for as little as £240. What constitutes value for money will be different for each supporter. For many paying the equivalent of £19.78 per game to sit on the Kop (when purchasing the cheapest ticket available in the early-bird phase of sales) will constitute value for money, and attending matches is not just about the football, but includes the social aspect of sharing time with friends and family that is impossible to place a price on. Yet these are difficult times we live in. Absence from Hillsborough during lockdown might mean some have lost the habit of attending games preferring the comfort of their living room. The economic prospects are bleak meaning others will face unemployment or job insecurity. This is all complicated because the club will likely face a situation in the spring of 2021 (the usual early-bird period) where it must convince fans to renew their season tickets into 20/21 (effectively keeping their money in the club) and not demand a refund. The club recently confirmed that 55% of all season ticket holders requested a full refund on their 19/20 season ticket. Anything approaching this number of requests for 20/21 season tickets would be catastrophic to the club’s financial position. The Trust believes the growing sense of frustration and alienation among the fanbase can be ameliorated if the club show signs they are willing to change from their existing approaches to club operations. Public recognition that Sheffield Wednesday is adopting a new ticketing strategy for the post-Covid world, one that is more reflective of the economic position of the fanbase and wider city of Sheffield, and looks more like it treats fans as engaged partners in a collective endeavour and less like a cash machine, would provide a powerful incentive and encourage fans to return to Hillsborough. A good place to start would be with the cost of season ticket prices. I'd be interested now in hearing from those fans who keep mocking fans who suggest that our ticket pricing is high? It would be good to get their thoughts on this 10 Owlstalk Shop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bladeshater Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 Just now, @owlstalk said: I'd be interested now in hearing from those fans who keep mocking fans who suggest that our ticket pricing is high? It would be good to get their thoughts on this I never mocked anyone but I have stated on more than one occasion I have been happy with price I pay 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@owlstalk Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 1 minute ago, bladeshater said: I never mocked anyone but I have stated on more than one occasion I have been happy with price I pay And that's great - I've no issue with anyone being happy with what they pay I'm just talking about those who deny that Wednesday are amongst the most expensive in the division/country 1 Owlstalk Shop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeadonowl Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 9 minutes ago, SWFC Trust said: This information has been shared by the Trust with the club. We will continue to research and produce similar reports. The next report will show how Birmingham City have increased attendances (by over 6,000) and revenue through their approach to ticketing. I'll happily take comments and questions as always. Thanks for the info Do you have the stats to hand in the attendances when SWFC offer reduced ticket prices and how they stack up against the normal match day prices? If there isn’t a 15-20% increase in attendance for these games then couldn’t D.C. argue he has pricing right I know that you can only potentially affect SWFC but it’s also worth pointing out that trips to places like Blackburn £40 and QPR £33 where you are positioned either a mile up in the sky or behind a post without a view of one of the goals 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWFC Trust Posted January 3, 2021 Author Share Posted January 3, 2021 2 minutes ago, yeadonowl said: Thanks for the info Do you have the stats to hand in the attendances when SWFC offer reduced ticket prices and how they stack up against the normal match day prices? If there isn’t a 15-20% increase in attendance for these games then couldn’t D.C. argue he has pricing right I know that you can only potentially affect SWFC but it’s also worth pointing out that trips to places like Blackburn £40 and QPR £33 where you are positioned either a mile up in the sky or behind a post without a view of one of the goals I'll be pre-empting the Birmingham City report a little. The lesson from that one, and the Nottingham Forest one to a degree is that increasing attendances is a medium/long term mission. The occasional match with reduced prices has limited impact, as we've seen at Hillsborough. It's also not entirely about cheap tickets. Birmingham City have some season tickets at £680 for example. I entirely agree about Blackburn and QPR. We've tried to find examples of where other clubs have raised attendance and revenue, without raising ticket prices through the roof. Look out for our Birmingham report when it's out over the next week or two. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatter Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 27 minutes ago, SWFC Trust said: Season Ticket Prices Written By Sheffield Wednesday Trust Most of us know that season tickets at Sheffield Wednesday are expensive. Recent research published by the Trust shows just how expensive. The cheapest season ticket at Hillsborough in the 19/20 season was the dearest in the league. The most expensive season ticket at Hillsborough in the 19/20 season was the second dearest in the Championship. All the data to support the findings in this blog can be found in the research report on our website accessed via this link: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5fad17872ca67743c7252d2c/t/5fca2eca2ae1264a039b5f5c/1607085776256/SWFC+Trust+Report+(5).pdf The cheapest season ticket available at Hillsborough in the 19/20 season was in the early-bird phase of sales costing £455 to sit on the Kop. This was £35 more expensive than the next cheapest ticket offered by Middlesbrough and Preston North End at £420. It is £230 more expensive than the cheapest season ticket offered by QPR at £225, the lowest in the Championship. At £455 the cheapest season ticket at Hillsborough in the 19/20 season was £125.31 (38%) more expensive than the average cheapest Championship season ticket. The most expensive season ticket at Hillsborough was £705 to sit on the South Stand in the final phase of sales. This was £5 cheaper than the dearest in the Championship, the £710 season ticket at Elland Road. It was £25 higher than the next most expensive season ticket, the Club Class offered by Birmingham City at £680. Both these clubs however offered a far lower ‘cheap’ season ticket when compared with Sheffield Wednesday. Leeds United have a selection of season tickets available at £349 and Birmingham City offer a season ticket for as little as £240. What constitutes value for money will be different for each supporter. For many paying the equivalent of £19.78 per game to sit on the Kop (when purchasing the cheapest ticket available in the early-bird phase of sales) will constitute value for money, and attending matches is not just about the football, but includes the social aspect of sharing time with friends and family that is impossible to place a price on. Yet these are difficult times we live in. Absence from Hillsborough during lockdown might mean some have lost the habit of attending games preferring the comfort of their living room. The economic prospects are bleak meaning others will face unemployment or job insecurity. This is all complicated because the club will likely face a situation in the spring of 2021 (the usual early-bird period) where it must convince fans to renew their season tickets into 20/21 (effectively keeping their money in the club) and not demand a refund. The club recently confirmed that 55% of all season ticket holders requested a full refund on their 19/20 season ticket. Anything approaching this number of requests for 20/21 season tickets would be catastrophic to the club’s financial position. The Trust believes the growing sense of frustration and alienation among the fanbase can be ameliorated if the club show signs they are willing to change from their existing approaches to club operations. Public recognition that Sheffield Wednesday is adopting a new ticketing strategy for the post-Covid world, one that is more reflective of the economic position of the fanbase and wider city of Sheffield, and looks more like it treats fans as engaged partners in a collective endeavour and less like a cash machine, would provide a powerful incentive and encourage fans to return to Hillsborough. A good place to start would be with the cost of season ticket prices. Is there any information about the number of multi year season tickets sold.? A future reduction in season ticket prices would likely result in more demands for refunds. Doesn’t seem long ago that the club were offering multi year deals. I was tempted once when I thought I might get a season or two of Premier League football at Championship prices. Fortunately for me I did a few calculations and price comparisons and soon realised it was of little value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick_Turpin Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 30 minutes ago, @owlstalk said: And that's great - I've no issue with anyone being happy with what they pay I'm just talking about those who deny that Wednesday are amongst the most expensive in the division/country Not only deny but are pretty aggressive about it too. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post @owlstalk Posted January 3, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted January 3, 2021 I still laugh every time that someone says 'well it's proven that cheap tickets doesn't work as Chansiri has tried it and it's not done a thing' After we offer a fiver off to watch the most unappealing game of the season and not even bothered to promote it Always makes me laugh that one 8 1 2 Owlstalk Shop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S72 Owl Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 Unfortunately DC has backed himself into a corner regarding ticket prices. Season tickets can’t/won’t be reduced until all the multi year season tickets up. It was only 2 year ago that he was selling 10 year tickets. Match day prices can come down slightly but again not too much otherwise the people who have bought the multi year season tickets will be demanded refunds. Personally I’d do away with all the different categories and early bird discounts and make pricing simple. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manwë Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 This is excellent stuff, facts and figures that are undeniable, thank you. I'm interested in the Birmingham story. If Wednesday were a coffee shop, we'd have 100 seats but never get more than 50 customers. Each day we'd get fewer customers than the day before so weaken the coffee and put up the price to compensate. The following day, the same would happen as customers knew there was better ways to spend their money. We've got 17000 empty seats, and tens of thousands of fans outside who can't afford or can't justify coming to Hillsborough. Bonkers model for business. My own thoughts are that the South should remain largely the same, and the Kop (and/or West lower) much much much cheaper, with the North somewhere in between. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post @owlstalk Posted January 3, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted January 3, 2021 16 hours ago, Manwë said: If Wednesday were a coffee shop, we'd have 100 seats but never get more than 50 customers. Each day we'd get fewer customers than the day before so weaken the coffee and put up the price to compensate. The following day, the same would happen as customers knew there was better ways to spend their money. With an angry owner shouting "you lot don't spend enough when you come in my coffee shop. I want to build an extension and make the shop bigger but you won't buy my prepaid coffee card scheme and five year carrot cake purchase plans" And meanwhile you'd have the two old blokes sat over in the corner who've been going in there for 30 years slating any customers who had had enough of the owner and the price of coffee going up, calling them not proper coffee lovers etc Reyt mess 8 1 6 Owlstalk Shop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mcguigan Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 1 hour ago, SWFC Trust said: Matchday Ticket Prices Written By Sheffield Wednesday Trust Sheffield Wednesday’s ticketing policy since Mr. Chansiri’s takeover is clear. The aim been to convert pay-on-the-gate supporters into season ticket holders. Instrumental in this ticketing policy has been to make matchday tickets at Hillsborough significantly less attractive by making them very expensive. The average cheapest matchday ticket in the 2019/20 season was £33. The average highest matchday ticket in the 2019/20 season was £40. Although never publicly stated, the strategic objective of this policy is, presumably, either revenue maximisation (i.e. this is the policy thought the best to raise income through ticket sales) or budgetary planning (i.e. season tickets inject a reliable sum of capital into the club from which annual budgets can be planned, whereas matchday revenue can fluctuate and be unreliable). Recent research by the Trust, which can be found on our website and accessed via this link:(https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5fad17872ca67743c7252d2c/t/5fca2eca2ae1264a039b5f5c/1607085776256/SWFC+Trust+Report+(5).pdf) examines an alternative ticketing strategy pursued by Nottingham Forest. It makes two points. First, there are other ticketing models in the Championship, involving much cheaper pricing, that produce revenue results just as effective as that produced by the ticketing strategy currently adopted by Sheffield Wednesday. Second, the existing ticketing strategy at Hillsborough isn’t working on its own terms producing declining matchday and associated revenue even before Covid-19 decimated income. Matchday and associated revenue has been plummeting for several seasons at Hillsborough projected to be less in 2019-20 than it would have been in 2015-16 if fans had continued to be allowed to attend games. There are three core aims the Trust believe SWFC need to put in place to ensure its ticketing policy at Hillsborough is successful, each of which the club is currently struggling: The club continues to attract a stream of pay-on-the-gate supporters who can be converted into season ticket holders. The club needs to expand the scope of the fanbase through better marketing strategy, community engagement, and diversity initiatives, at the same time as attracting the next generation of supporter, to secure the season ticket holders of the future. Season-ticket prices remain competitive encouraging season ticket holders to renew each year in good times and bad. The ticketing policy at Hillsborough is not achieving aim the first of these two aims. Attendances at Hillsborough have been dwindling in recent seasons. The average attendance at Hillsborough rose from 22,641 in 2015-16 to 27,129 in 2016-17 off the back of Sheffield Wednesday’s flirtation with the playoffs, but this increase has not proven resilient thereafter. Average attendance fell to 25,995 in 2017-18, 24,429 in 2018-19, and 23,732 in 2019-20. The average decline in attendance at Hillsborough since 2016-17 has been 1,132 fans per season with attendance in 2019-20 (23,732) near the level that Mr. Chansiri inherited in his first season as owner in 2015-16 (22,641). Far from attracting new fans and keeping them attending matches the club is losing supporters in their droves with attendances falling towards its hard-core group of supporters. This is not a foregone conclusion as results decline on the pitch. Many Championship clubs have managed in recent seasons to grow attendances even when performances remain poor (see Trust research on Nottingham Forest and (soon to be released) Birmingham City). The final aim now rests on the goodwill of season ticket holders. The situation regarding 2019/20 refunds, which is rapidly becoming a fiasco, does not help. If anywhere near the same number of season ticket holders (55%) request a refund for 2020/21, which the club are almost certainly to have to offer at some point, as they did 2019/20 then the club face a huge bill at a time when revenues are most precarious. Season tickets are also vastly expensive when in comparison with the rest of league. We have discussed this in a previous blog, which can be accessed via this link, but suffice to say that the cheapest season ticket at Hillsborough in the 2019/20 season was the most expensive in the Championship. Cumulatively existing matchday and season ticket prices might prevent those supporters from returning to Hillsborough having lost the habit during lockdown or be an expense those facing unemployment and job insecurity might choose to jettison. If those fans can’t be enticed to return then matchday and associated revenue will fall even further just at the time when the club needs the revenue most desperately to navigate the undoubtedly tricky economic situation we are currently in as a country. A new ticketing policy is desperately needed at Hillsborough. It is not an irresponsible request to ask for such action to be taken. There are workable alternatives elsewhere in the Championship that don’t rely on high prices and are just as successful at producing revenue. The Trust and its members stand ready to engage with the club on this issue. “Matchday and associated revenue has been plummeting for several seasons at Hillsborough projected to be less in 2019-20 than it would have been in 2015-16 if fans had continued to be allowed to attend games.” Matchday and associated revenue hasn’t been plummeting according to the accounts, if fact its doubled since DC took over. 13/14 (MM) =£9.9m 14/15 (DC) = £10.1m 15/16 (DC) = £16.3m 16/17 (DC) = £16.8m 17/18 (DC) = £18.1m 18/19 Not published yet. 19/20 Not published yet. The associated revenue part of these accounts includes TV money and EFL solidarity payments which have increased year on year but still, to state that Matchday and associated revenue has been plummeting for several season is just wrong and misleading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mcguigan Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 12 minutes ago, Manwë said: This is excellent stuff, facts and figures that are undeniable, thank you. I'm interested in the Birmingham story. If Wednesday were a coffee shop, we'd have 100 seats but never get more than 50 customers. Each day we'd get fewer customers than the day before so weaken the coffee and put up the price to compensate. The following day, the same would happen as customers knew there was better ways to spend their money. We've got 17000 empty seats, and tens of thousands of fans outside who can't afford or can't justify coming to Hillsborough. Bonkers model for business. My own thoughts are that the South should remain largely the same, and the Kop (and/or West lower) much much much cheaper, with the North somewhere in between. You sure? We’ve got between 20k and 25k home fans willing to attend regularly, depending on form and league position. How we maximise revenue from these supporters is more important than trying to attract a fan base with cheap tickets, that just isn’t there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzys Dad Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 15 minutes ago, Manwë said: This is excellent stuff, facts and figures that are undeniable, thank you. I'm interested in the Birmingham story. If Wednesday were a coffee shop, we'd have 100 seats but never get more than 50 customers. Each day we'd get fewer customers than the day before so weaken the coffee and put up the price to compensate. The following day, the same would happen as customers knew there was better ways to spend their money. We've got 17000 empty seats, and tens of thousands of fans outside who can't afford or can't justify coming to Hillsborough. Bonkers model for business. My own thoughts are that the South should remain largely the same, and the Kop (and/or West lower) much much much cheaper, with the North somewhere in between. We’ve got 17,000 UNSOLD seats. We’ve got 25,000 empty seats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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