[Archived] 2005/6 Season Ticket Sales

[FourLaneBlue]

So what you'll have is the Blackburn public stating that there is no way in the world that I'm buying a season ticket as we might be relegated yet. Then, when the near miracle happens and Mark Hughes keeps us up with games to spare, everyone is swept along on a wave of enthusiasm and renews and buys season tickets! It's easy!

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Didn't Norwich and West Brom have their season tickets on sale before the end of the season? If they can do it then why can't we? It makes sense to start selling them when football is still being played and people are still wrapped up in that football experience. Stick them on sale in the summer and the next season seems very far away. There's little immediacy to buy them as people are busy lounging around on Balearic beaches or creasoting the fence or something.

Apart from anything else it will get money into the club well in time for the summer transfer dealings or at least the club can stick the dosh into the bank and get some interest on it earned over the summer months. Releasing them for sale when people are scraping together money for their holidays can't be the best time to release the details of next season's prices surely?

Besides...if the Claret and Blue neighbours from down t'road can manage to start selling their season tickets in April then why can't we? We could at least give it a try one time and see if anything is achieved.

[happygilmore]

It all comes down to finances. East Lancashire is not a rich area. As someone said earlier if season tickets were £200 each we would sell loads.

According to the ST brochure there are season tickets priced at:

Standard price:

£250, £365, £385, £420, £435, £480, £510, £570

Loyalty price:

£250, £365, £385, £395, £410, £450, £540

That makes it about £13 per game or £27 on direct debit for the cheapest Adult seats at Ewood.

[waggy]

misplaced my application forms when is the last renewal date

[den]

misplaced my application forms when is the last renewal date

323215[/snapback]

Important SEASON TICKET, Dates for your Diary.

Tuesday 31st May......Season Ticket Sales Begin.

Monday 20th June......Season Ticket Direct Debit Deadline.

Saturday 25th June....Season Ticket Claim Your Own Seat Deadline.

Friday 1st July...........First Direct Debit Payment.

Saturday 23rd July....Seat Transfer Day.

Saturday 13th August. Season Starts.

Season Ticket Hotline

08701 123456

[Roaming Rover]

stuwilky's idea of £20 discount for early purchase of ST is a good idea, but what about having a discount for first time buyers. I know this could cause problems with the people who have held a ST for two or three years, but again £20 or £30 off the asking price may just see people applying.

I think the main problem is the fact that people know they will get a ticket for all home games if they want one so don't bother with season tickets.

[Manchester Blue]

Palace had their tickets on sale at Christmas and you could even buy your next one as well at the same price. Also big early purchase discounts. Just one of many clubs that come up with ideas that may or may not work. At least they are trying stuff whereas our's have seemingly given up.

I won't go over the arguments again but this seasons package just smacked of a belief that we wouldn't attract new people so we might as well milk the existing ones instead.

To me it's pretty simple apathy from the club will get apathy from the fans. There is no point telling people that they have to support the club, make it so they want to. If that means financial incentives then fine but do something.

[RevidgeBlue]

As far as the direct debit scheme goes the cut off date is again ridiculously early.

IMO this would work best as an all year round rolling scheme which you have to cancel if you don't want to go any more.

This would have the advantage of keeping monthly payments to a minimum and people would have to make a conscious effort to cancel rather than to apply. Inertia might just win the day.

As far as the marketing aspect of the club is concerned, the only positive comment I've seen has come from Hughes about wanting to compete in the top half of the table. The silence from above has been deafening, nor has there been any transfer activity or speculation to whet the appetite.

In terms of declining attendances it's a case of trying to stem the flow after the sale of star players, several seasons of negative comment about survival being the be all and end all, and a couple of seasons of poor performances at Ewood. Having initially salvaged the wreckage of the Souness era, hopefully Hughes and his seemingly very capable coaching staff can achieve this.

[Alan75]

Was there any attempt at marketing the Rovers to the thousands who came to Ewood for the Women's games?

Whilst I am on, I must say that alan75’s comment regarding the non-selling of season tickets to those who do not have one is surely a little wide of the mark. I remember last year bus after bus with adverts on and seeing ads at the back of the LET daily. What else do we think they should do? It’s a shame we always criticise but never give them any suggestions.

323200[/snapback]

So what about this year.

[Hughesy]

I think the reduction for new season ticket holders is a good idea. Say £25 off for new ST holders.

Could also do the group thing of buy 5 get the 6th free to try and entice groups of lads.

Also why not have the tickets on sale before end of season, then put on a deal where if you renew or purchase a ST before end of May then you get a free home shirt.

[Ewood Spark]

Given a hostile local council

323173[/snapback]

What do you base that idea on Phil? As somone who actually lives in the borough I would say that on the whole the council is very supportive of the club. A recent joint initiative under the banner "Our Town, Our Team" involved such things as free bumper stickers bearing both town and club crests being distributed via the council's free newspaper and all official council correspondence being franked with a Rover's postmark. Also the recently opened Tourist information center, run by the council, is perhaps the only place you can get a Rovers scarf in Blackburn town center!

[Glenn]

This is a serious question, which I hope people will reply to, it's not a sarcastic "troll" as it might sound.

If we put STs on sale in (for example) March, if we went down, would you not object to the cost of the ST being the same if we'd have stayed up ? What about the the gate prices have to drop (or at least don't increase as expected ?) so the "value" of the ST was reduced ? Would you also not think it was just a "con" to get your money before we offload our "star players*"

(* OK, Duff has gone, but you know what I mean).

As I said, I'd be intrested to hear peoples views on this.

[RevidgeBlue]

This is a serious question, which I hope people will reply to, it's not a sarcastic "troll" as it might sound.

If we put STs on sale in (for example) March, if we went down, would you not object to the cost of the ST being the same if we'd have stayed up ? What about the the gate prices have to drop (or at least don't increase as expected ?) so the "value" of the ST was reduced ? Would you also not think it was just a "con" to get your money before we offload our "star players*"

(* OK, Duff has gone, but you know what I mean).

As I said, I'd be intrested to hear peoples views on this.

323264[/snapback]

Excellent points Glenn, I've never understood the potential attraction of being able to purchase a S/T in April myself, I would have thought the object of the exercise for most people was to keep the money in your own account until the last possible minute.

There has to be some incentive (i.e. reduced price) to buy a season ticket early so would the advertised price reduction satisfy people in the event we were subsequently relegated? Would the people buying later not expect it even cheaper than in the first place after the discount?

These problems of course would not arise with an all year round rolling DD scheme. All that would be required would be an adjustment of the monthly payments.

[Paul]

Has anyone seen any reason, why someone who didn't have a season ticket last season, should buy one this?

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No.

On the promoional thing:

My son, who is in Australia, got an ST pack sent through as he has been an ST holder, until last season, for 14 years. This did stimulate me to work out that it would be cheaper to buy him a Young Adult ST even though he'll only be back for half the season. So that's one extra.

I know I got slaughtered for this view in another thread but there were nearly 26000 at Ewood on Saturday. The only people around me who knew the first thing about footie were BBE ST holders. The rest knew very little about the game but they all had a REALLY GOOD TIME. I seem to remember the first time I went to a professional game I didn't have a clue either - still don't in some eyes!! It may be that to fill Ewood the club has to look at attracting these fans. It may mean a change of culture, the crowd may sound like a kindergarten at times but I know one thing....our crowd is growing older and there are not enough younger fans coming through. Eventually we'll all be so old games will be played on pension day.

The market is there but the club may well be focusing on the wrong people. With hindsight there should have been 26000 discounted ST packs handed out on Saturday. How about on June 19th? Put an ST pack on every seat with a £50 off voucher for those at the Women's Euro Final.

To answer Glenn's question. I'd find it easier to fund the STs in March so it would be better for me. June/July is a very difficult time as we have car and house insurance, holiday and other stuff to pay. As regards the releagtion thing it would make no difference at all. The only issue that influences buying a ticket is the disillusion I feel about the game in general.

[Ste B]

How about on June 19th? Put an ST pack on every seat with a £50 off voucher for those at the Women's Euro Final.

They can't, its down to UEFA regulations, only UEFAs "partners" have any form of marketing presence. Hence Rovers have no advertising on big screen or tannoy, and all the regular sponsor logos are hidden.

[FourLaneBlue]

This is a serious question, which I hope people will reply to, it's not a sarcastic "troll" as it might sound.

If we put STs on sale in (for example) March, if we went down, would you not object to the cost of the ST being the same if we'd have stayed up ? What about the the gate prices have to drop (or at least don't increase as expected ?) so the "value" of the ST was reduced ? Would you also not think it was just a "con" to get your money before we offload our "star players*"

(* OK, Duff has gone, but you know what I mean).

As I said, I'd be intrested to hear peoples views on this.

323264[/snapback]

Fans renewing that early would take all those things into account. So to be honest I would have to answer "no" to all your questions, especially as fans would get four extra home games for their money if we did go down.

As for happygilmore's comment that "It’s a shame we always criticise but never give them any suggestions", I'm afraid that is utterly untrue as we must have had literally dozens of good, bad and sometimes frankly bizarre ideas and suggestions put forward on this site. The problem is that it seems that the Rovers board, other than flogging their dead horse of a tenner/fiver-a-match policy against the likes of Charlton or Fulham, have not seemed to have anything new at all to improve our support recently.

If someone thinks our club is not being run well in one area then they should criticise and speak out, it comes from caring about the club and wanting better. Yes, some people are never happy except when they moan but others are just worried that our levels of support at games is declining drastically and the club are either not taking it seriously enough or don't seem to be coming up with anything that is tackling the situation. At least trying something that falls flat on its face shows that they are still willing to try something new.

Edited June 13, 2005 by FourLaneBlue

[philipl]

Given a hostile local council

323173[/snapback]

What do you base that idea on Phil? As somone who actually lives in the borough I would say that on the whole the council is very supportive of the club. A recent joint initiative under the banner "Our Town, Our Team" involved such things as free bumper stickers bearing both town and club crests being distributed via the council's free newspaper and all official council correspondence being franked with a Rover's postmark. Also the recently opened Tourist information center, run by the council, is perhaps the only place you can get a Rovers scarf in Blackburn town center!

323258[/snapback]

Great to see that the Council is recognising that the Rovers is the only thing that puts Blackburn on the map- I cannot think of a single person anywhere in the world outside of Lancashire who on hearing I come from Blackburn in the last dozen years hasn't immediately responded "Blackburn Rovers"- they might not have a clue where the place is but they know the name.

As to what gave me the idea that the Council is hostile to the Rovers, I have read too many Blue Phil/ thenodrog posts than are good for me.

[caithnessman]

Given that Blackburn has a large ethnic minority population and East lancashire has a whole, i would like to know what the club are doing to attract more of these people? Because by attracting more people from ethnic backgrounds it will help to increase our attendances!

And please don't take any offence anybody!

So John Williams stop moaning and get your finger out your arse, and do some work!

[happygilmore]

So what about this year.

323247[/snapback]

First of all, in answer to the question, I have seen ads in the press, some decent looking benefits for season tickets this year already, one can only assume buses will come next. Considering yet more ‘loyal’ fans defected last year one assumes they will need to do even more marketing.

But could you blame them if they stopped? They have clearly invested many thousands in marketing in the past two years to what end? A loss of 3,000 season ticket holders.

So far the only suggestion that seems to have materialised is some kind of ‘early bird’ scheme. So how would they have done this? One imagines you could have purchased a ticket in March / April for a minor discount, say £25. But, in these months it was by no means sure what division we would be in. So, would you rather have been relegated and paid premiership prices? Or would you rather have stayed up and paid championship prices (obviously you would) but BRFC would have lost a lot of money which equals no new players.

And exactly how many of you would have wanted to pay then for the sake of £25? If you are trying to tell me that would have halted the slide of season ticket sales, I would think not.

In terms of the ethnic population, have you considered that perhaps they don’t like football? Or certainly don’t like it enough to come regularly amongst a huge majority of white male fans. BRFC have made many efforts to this end a friend tells me. They considered prayer rooms, Halal menus and the like but the fact remains the demand wasn’t there. You can’t force people to watch football.

And to Fourlaneblue, exactly, there may be many suggestions but how many are realistic? Don’t you think that they consider everything internally? They probably have the brain not to try hairbrained schemes that will lose the club money and yield no extra fans.

[Roaming Rover]

One thing the council have failed to done IMO is the transport / parking situation at and around Ewood. A bloke at work over here in Huddersfield went to the womens game against Denmark and his one complaint was how difficult it was to get to Ewood with a large volume of traffic.

happygilmore, OK so £25 might not make a difference but if you combine a few of the things suggested on here it could make a difference. A singing / standing area discounts for early ST purchases etc etc.

I was talking to a mate the other night and he was saying that when it was standing in the Blackburn end and if the game was dull everyone used to make their own entertainment because they were stood with mates, now it is not possible due to seating etc.

[stuwilky]

Is traffic bad round Ewood? I mean worse than any other ground?

I get the 10 miles from Leyland every matchday in around 15 minutes to my parking spot on the Livesey Branch. I dont think thats bad. Course there is gonna be traffic, look at Old Trafford, dual carraigeways every way away from the ground yet its hundreds of timnes worse that Ewood (and yes I know there is more people)

[Claytons Left Boot]

One thing the council have failed to done IMO is the transport / parking situation at and around Ewood.

323628[/snapback]

Several double deckers come down from Darwen, both picking up at all the Rovers pubs and a special service that just runs down the main road. This alleviates the need to park your car at Ewood and more importantly allows a few drinkie poos. Only £2 return.

[caithnessman]

Is traffic bad round Ewood?  I mean worse than any other ground?

I get the 10 miles from Leyland every matchday in around 15 minutes to my parking spot on the Livesey Branch.  I dont think thats bad.  Course there is gonna be traffic, look at Old Trafford, dual carraigeways every way away from the ground yet its hundreds of timnes worse that Ewood (and yes I know there is more people)

323639[/snapback]

Exactly i've been to over two thirds of the grounds in football league, and ewood as got one of the most parking facilities there is. What do people want to do park outside the ground and get a police escort as soon as they want! Get realistic

[caithnessman]

One thing the council have failed to done IMO is the transport / parking situation at and around Ewood.

323628[/snapback]

Several double deckers come down from Darwen, both picking up at all the Rovers pubs and a special service that just runs down the main road. This alleviates the need to park your car at Ewood and more importantly allows a few drinkie poos. Only £2 return.

323699[/snapback]

And there is a frequant public bus service to Darwen and Blackburn every 5 to ten minutes!

[Glenn]

One thing the council have failed to done IMO is the transport / parking situation at and around Ewood.

323628[/snapback]

Several double deckers come down from Darwen, both picking up at all the Rovers pubs and a special service that just runs down the main road. This alleviates the need to park your car at Ewood and more importantly allows a few drinkie poos. Only £2 return.

323699[/snapback]

I didn't know about that.

However I've often wondered about a park and ride scheme operating from the motorway junction (lets face it, all the problems seem to be the motorway to the ground).

[cletus]

Given that Blackburn has a large ethnic minority population and East lancashire has a whole, i would like to know what the club are doing to attract more of these people?

Yes. East Lancs does have a large 'ethnic' population. Maybe the club should offer them tickets at exactly the same price as everyone else.