New Stadium prices

[Dragofly]

If it was free to get in, we still wouldn't fill the ground week in, week out.

The balancing game is not so simple.

If we have an average of 2,000 fans @ £14
Income £28,000

If we drop the price to £10 we'd need an extra 800 fans just to break even.

Would we get an extra 800? Perhaps. Would we guarantee getting an extra 801 to make it worth while? That would be a big gamble for an extra £10.

***Obviously this is illustrative only, some of the 2,000 are kids & OAP's etc and if an extra 800 came we'd sell more pies & programmes etc***

It seems to me that we have a core support of around 1800, this doesn’t seem to fluctuate much whether the team is winning, drawing or loosing. The counter argument to the above proposition is this.

If we increased our prices by 20% (£2.80) would we loose 20% of our gate (360 people)?

I think not, therefore it makes more sense (mathematically) for the club to increase prices. A much bigger threat to attendance for the club is the accessibility, transport, and parking issue. I suspect when the new ground opens that crowds will be up as people will be curious, but later in the season and especially night matches this support may dwindle if these issues are not addressed.

[Plain Peter]

If we increased our prices by 20% (£2.80) would we loose 20% of our gate (360 people)?

Is that a risk worth taking?.
360 out of 1,800 is a lot of folk, out of a small pot that will make a hell of a difference.
It's a fact that once supporters become disillusioned, for whatever reason, it is very difficult clawing them back.

[Dragofly]

Is that a risk worth taking?.
360 out of 1,800 is a lot of folk, out of a small pot that will make a hell of a difference.
It's a fact that once supporters become disillusioned, for whatever reason, it is very difficult clawing them back.

Probably not, this is just a financial argument, there's more to consider such as atmosphere, merchandising, etc.. It would be hard to sell corperate facillities (a big part of the proposed income stream) in an empty and lifeless stadium. But I don't buy in to the "reduce prices/increase attendance" concept.

[shrimpnsave]

the speculation has become so boring,mods can u please lock this thread before i go completely mad............................

[heysham_mfc]

Morecambe ticket prices are very reasonable compared to what I have payed at some grounds when I go and watch Morecambe away. I wouln't be supprised if the season ticket and match day prices went up next season because we will be in a better ground. However I think (if the club can afford it) that prices for next season should remain the same to try and get people to buy a season ticket for the new ground and maybe attract some new supporters as well Christie Park is a great place to be when there is over 3000 in and with the new ground it will be even better.

[Plain Peter]

But I don't buy in to the "reduce prices/increase attendance" concept.

Neither do I, but I do think that expanding the types of concessions is the way to go.
It's got to be done sensitively and fairly.
It's got to be done so that some thickos with money in their pocket, and who are against the idea understand the full rationale.
So far as the atmosphere at the new ground is concerned it's about bums on seats, isn't it?
Personally, I don't care who I stand next to, or how much he or she has paid.
The important thing is that he or she is there.
You can't really have any promotion aspirations on an average home gate of little more than 2,000.

[thegentlegiant]

Whoever mentioned the price matching idea is a genius I think. Though I'd modify it abit, so that our away prices = the home prices of the fans that are coming. That way no away fan can say were ripping them off, we make extra money without deterring anyone (as our away prices are near the cheapest in the league) and everyone is a winner. Is that even allowed though?

cheers pal!!!

[Plain Peter]

cheers pal!!!

Are you saying that there ought to be an across the board League 2 admission tariff?
It's a bit late in the evening for me, but my brain suggests that unless it was across the board then it would be very difficult to make it work.

[Keith]

the speculation has become so boring,mods can u please lock this thread before i go completely mad............................

Probably the easiest thing is for you to not bother reading a thread entitled "New Stadium Prices"?

How about... increase prices by a quid or two but keep season ticket prices the same? Greatly increase the incentive to buy a season ticket. The 'loss' by not increasing season ticket prices is likely to be more than balanced by the increased income from the away fans paying extra. If it's announced well enough ahead, people can begin to budget & save for season tickets.

[Plain Peter]

If it's announced well enough ahead, people can begin to budget & save for season tickets.

Which is all very well for those with a crystal ball, or who are in the very fortunate position of having every Saturday afternoon, or Tuesday/Wednesday evening free.
For a lot of folk that just ain't the case.

[Keith]

but the 'irregular fans' are less likely to be put off by the couple of quid difference. In your case for example, after a 250+ mile drive to Christie Park, an extra four quid is practically irrelevant. For the 'occasional attendee', they pick and choose their games and so again, are unlikely to be bothered by an extra couple of quid. By looking after the stalwarts, the club is keeping them tied to the club. And as I say, for the odd person who decides that the extra two quid is the deciding factor, their loss of cash is made up for by the increase elsewhere.

And we'd still be one of, if not actually, the cheapest club in the league (depending upon what Acci do).

[George Dawes]

the speculation has become so boring,mods can u please lock this thread before i go completely mad............................

Probably the easiest thing is for you to not bother reading a thread entitled "New Stadium Prices"?

How about... increase prices by a quid or two but keep season ticket prices the same? Greatly increase the incentive to buy a season ticket. The 'loss' by not increasing season ticket prices is likely to be more than balanced by the increased income from the away fans paying extra. If it's announced well enough ahead, people can begin to budget & save for season tickets.

id go along with that

[Wild Bill]

[quote="Keith"]but the 'irregular fans' are less likely to be put off by the couple of quid difference.[quote]

Disagree Keith. I spend every season trying to blag my friends into coming to a game and the biggest stumbling block is always the cost. Compared to other forms of entertainment watching Morecambe doesn't seem like good value. Increasing the price would further put-off occasional supporters and make more regular fans like myself pick and choose games.

I don't buy this maths thing either on price vs gate receipts. Why would the club want to pull in the same revenue but have even less fans in the stadium? We need to be trying to build-up our already tiny home support not milking the hardcore that come every week.

[Christies Child]

$$$ lol

Listen please Morecambe average attendance is maybe 1,500-2,000. Morecambe should make prices higher lol omg that stadium the new one in Westgate is going to be 6,200 so tell where are the extra 4,500 fans going to be.

WTF?

I doubt anyone expects the new stadium to be full week in week out.

As for what are acceptable/unacceptable prices, it's pointless speculation until the actual prices are released.

...just as it is to suggest that Danny Adans would be the scapegoat should we loose at Macc?

[campdave]

It seems to me that we have a core support of around 1800.

I've been following Morecambe for about six years now. When I started, our attendances always seemed to be in the low 1000s, occasionally even dipping below 1000. So more people do seem to be going through the gates - however, attracting more people is going to be a slow thing, not just a case of beating Accrington on boxing day and expecting the extra 1000 to then show up for the next game.

[Keith]

I don't buy this maths thing either on price vs gate receipts. Why would the club want to pull in the same revenue but have even less fans in the stadium? We need to be trying to build-up our already tiny home support not milking the hardcore that come every week.

If it was free to get in, we'd just about average 3,500 if that. Acci tried it and still didn't get 2,000 (v Macc last season???) Whether you buy it or not, the fact is there is a fine balancing act between selling too cheap or too expensively. Your mates who won't come anyway, when we're the cheapest ground to enter in the Football League, how much lower would prices have to go for them so be regulars? £11? £8? £6 a free pie and a programme? Eventually a business has to say it isn't worth going for that market.

The more money the club brings in, the more chance we have of signing better quality players. If an extra £2 on the entrance fee meant we could sign Jevons & Panther on permenant deals, then would it be worth it? If it was £15 to get in and we were top of the league, would that make it easier to convince your mates to come along?

[Wild Bill]

If it was free to get in, we'd just about average 3,500 if that. Acci tried it and still didn't get 2,000 (v Macc last season???) Whether you buy it or not, the fact is there is a fine balancing act between selling too cheap or too expensively. Your mates who won't come anyway, when we're the cheapest ground to enter in the Football League, how much lower would prices have to go for them so be regulars? £11? £8? £6 a free pie and a programme? Eventually a business has to say it isn't worth going for that market.

The more money the club brings in, the more chance we have of signing better quality players. If an extra £2 on the entrance fee meant we could sign Jevons & Panther on permenant deals, then would it be worth it? If it was £15 to get in and we were top of the league, would that make it easier to convince your mates to come along?

What I am saying is the club needs to be very careful with it's pricing to avoid any further drop in crowds. Even if a price increase brought in slightly more money I believe a drop in the numbers of people watching the Shrimps will only have a negative effect on the players on the pitch. For a club wishing to grow I sincerely hope they keep any increase to no more than a pound next season.

Hardcore fans like yourself Keith are never going to be put-off by what we charge but the floating fans which are so important if we are to grow are more than likely to.

[Burnley Shrimp]

I don't buy this maths thing either on price vs gate receipts. Why would the club want to pull in the same revenue but have even less fans in the stadium? We need to be trying to build-up our already tiny home support not milking the hardcore that come every week.

If it was free to get in, we'd just about average 3,500 if that. Acci tried it and still didn't get 2,000 (v Macc last season???) Whether you buy it or not, the fact is there is a fine balancing act between selling too cheap or too expensively. Your mates who won't come anyway, when we're the cheapest ground to enter in the Football League, how much lower would prices have to go for them so be regulars? £11? £8? £6 a free pie and a programme? Eventually a business has to say it isn't worth going for that market.


The more money the club brings in, the more chance we have of signing better quality players. If an extra £2 on the entrance fee meant we could sign Jevons & Panther on permenant deals, then would it be worth it? If it was £15 to get in and we were top of the league, would that make it easier to convince your mates to come along?

I think the last time Accrington had totally free access was against Torquay in a relegation 6 pointer a couple of seasons ago when over 4,000 went on.

I also think one of the main considerations these days (where football is spoon fed on TV every day) is to make the live experience enjoyable, affordable and easily accessible. With the new facilities nearly in place and the board trying to provide winning football the experience will hopefully be enjoyable. I wouldn't raise the prices more than £1.00 across the board to keep the experience affordable and I would try to provide as much cheap parking next to the ground as possible to make it easily accessible. That added to public transport to and from the ground for added accessibility should hopefully encourage more to come regularly.

[Wild Bill]

I don't buy this maths thing either on price vs gate receipts. Why would the club want to pull in the same revenue but have even less fans in the stadium? We need to be trying to build-up our already tiny home support not milking the hardcore that come every week.

If it was free to get in, we'd just about average 3,500 if that. Acci tried it and still didn't get 2,000 (v Macc last season???) Whether you buy it or not, the fact is there is a fine balancing act between selling too cheap or too expensively. Your mates who won't come anyway, when we're the cheapest ground to enter in the Football League, how much lower would prices have to go for them so be regulars? £11? £8? £6 a free pie and a programme? Eventually a business has to say it isn't worth going for that market.


The more money the club brings in, the more chance we have of signing better quality players. If an extra £2 on the entrance fee meant we could sign Jevons & Panther on permenant deals, then would it be worth it? If it was £15 to get in and we were top of the league, would that make it easier to convince your mates to come along?

I think the last time Accrington had totally free access was against Torquay in a relegation 6 pointer a couple of seasons ago when over 4,000 went on.

I also think one of the main considerations these days (where football is spoon fed on TV every day) is to make the live experience enjoyable, affordable and easily accessible. With the new facilities nearly in place and the board trying to provide winning football the experience will hopefully be enjoyable. I wouldn't raise the prices more than £1.00 across the board to keep the experience affordable and I would try to provide as much cheap parking next to the ground as possible to make it easily accessible. That added to public transport to and from the ground for added accessibility should hopefully encourage more to come regularly.

Agreed!!

[1953]

My only argument(gripe) with our admission prices is the % reduction for O.A.P. s.
Rochdale charged £12 (normal adult £20)i.e. 60%. We charge £10 as against £13 for the north stand=77%. In proportion £10 should read £7.80.More of us old gits might come along with the adjustment.ROOM FOR THOUGHT!!!

[parceldave]

Not much to do that's why i saided what i saided.

Look Morecambe at chrsitie park its proven more fans in like Bournemouth e.g make the team fired up for the game and i think morecambe should do £10 home ticket prices just to get more locals into the ground you'd have to look at other league clubs reducing prices to get more fans in.

We are in a credit crunch and maybe 2010 it will get worse and Morecambe should remember this and make prices cheaper.

Morecambe have a decent squad with 1-2 new player's could mean a push for play-offs.

Onwards and upwards here we come

Word of the day!!

£10 maybe as a one off special not game in game out!! and to be honest teams have tried this and does it get more in, sometimes yes..... but as we have seen with our town, people prefer going to the pub and watching prem teams, its fact and although it's a shame morecambe fc know this!! I am also sure they have plans a foot for trying to convince bigger crowds to attend our football games.

All we can do is wait and see what the club can and will do!

If people of the town prefer to watch Prem teams in the pub then do something to get them to the new ground to watch the Prem games . On a Saturday usually there is a 12.30 game and a 5.30 game give or take a few mins, so if you can attract these armchair fans with reasonable bar prices and a nice lounge etc and a match ticket incorporated deal, then we could possibly attract quite a few more MAYBE.

P.S Sorry Sgt Major

[campdave]

If people of the town prefer to watch Prem teams in the pub then do something to get them to the new ground to watch the Prem games . On a Saturday usually there is a 12.30 game and a 5.30 game give or take a few mins, so if you can attract these armchair fans with reasonable bar prices and a nice lounge etc and a match ticket incorporated deal, then we could possibly attract quite a few more MAYBE.

P.S Sorry Sgt Major

Problem is sky charging an arm and a leg for the subscription - they charge on capacity of stadium rather than capacity of the bar.

Edited to add further from keith:

"It is actually based upon the 'rateable value' of the business. Because JB's is inside the ground, the rateable value of the whole of Christie Park is taken in to account. A 'normal' pub obviously has a far lower rateable value."

[Shire Shrimp]

My only argument(gripe) with our admission prices is the % reduction for O.A.P. s.
Rochdale charged £12 (normal adult £20)i.e. 60%. We charge £10 as against £13 for the north stand=77%. In proportion £10 should read £7.80.More of us old gits might come along with the adjustment.ROOM FOR THOUGHT!!!

How is paying £12 better than paying £10?

[1953]

The point i was making was the % reduction for concessions. I was asking for a fairer deal (IN PROPORTION TO THE ROCHDALE PRICES) would be around the £8 mark.