| Season Tickets 14:40 - Feb 21 with 16292 views | TrueDaleBlue |
Next years season tickets will be on sale in a month or so, what do you think the club will do about prices?
Freeze the prices for another season.
Put prices up to reflect the gate increase this year.
Do something radical, and drop prices to try to attract more fans. |  | | |  |
| Season Tickets on 17:13 - Feb 21 with 3312 views | 1mark1 |
| Season Tickets on 16:59 - Feb 21 by ValleySaddler |
Most kids have to stay in education until 18 or are on low paid apprenticeships.Currently there is quite a jump in price when reaching 16.
Maybe extend the under16s to under18s?
I think the 10 game ticket is a good idea and maybe add a student one too.
If your away at University everygame may be difficult but 10 is realistic with being back for holidays etc.
Is it worth offering a midweek ticket?,i think Wolves offered a discounted ticket covering all night games.Spotland is hardly oversubscibed on a tuesday night.. |
Under my proposal, I said make it free or very low priced for anyone in full time education, so yes up to 18 or 19. That could include people at college and or uni if the club wanted to be bold. Also yes let's have a lower price for those u21s (maybe U25s) who are in very low waged jobs, who are either apprentices or victims of wage discrimination. |  |
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| Season Tickets on 17:13 - Feb 21 with 3312 views | 442Dale |
| Season Tickets on 16:56 - Feb 21 by KenBoon |
Discounted season tickets is a great idea, BUT, as a club we wouldn't be competent enough to make it successful. |
Why not? Of course it would take some planning, but if we keep it simple then there's no reason why it can't be effective.
Totally off the top of the head: give out free season tickets to every junior team in the borough. Then with those, leaflets with the information that adults can get a ST for £100/150. There are no guarantees but you can pretty much bet on the following:
* some kids who go already pester their parents to get next year's. They also tell their mates to come too; " it'll cost nothing"
* some kids who have been a few times will pester their parents to get them one; "...it's cheaper now so we can go more often"
* some kids who have never been will pester their parents to get them one; "...and look you can get one really cheap too. My mates go and we could all sit together and you can have a pint before then buy us a pie" (that last kid is ACE at promoting an idea. You should see what he gets for Christmas!)
This could also work in schools. As said, off the top of the head ideas but surely there's potential there? If that led to ten more kids and parents going more regularly, it's worth doing. I've a feeling it'd be more than ten. |  |
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| Season Tickets on 17:36 - Feb 21 with 3283 views | TalkingSutty |
I don't think 10 game season tickets will vastly boost the attendances. It could result in full paying season ticket holders not renewing for the full season and settling for a ten game one instead. Would they be able to cherry pick the best ten games of the season? Games in which we would hope for a bigger attendance anyway. We need to target season tickets for the full season , get people into the habit of attending EVERY home game.
When Premiership/ Championship clubs are providing cheaper football than Rochdale you have to come up with something radical and that as to be the slashing of season tickets. It's ok saying the current prices are reasonable but I know loads of people who no longer go to games and the reason given is always the price, it's never the quality of football.
Less than 500 Dale fans at Bradford yesterday, i would hazard a guess that's the lowest Saturday following we have taken to Bradford for decades and at 25 quid a pop a lot of people won't pay it. Dale fans probably paid three times more than the average Bradford fan to enter the Stadium yesterday. That's discrimination of the highest order and shouldn't be happening.
Reducing season tickets to 100/150 quid for the season would work but it would have to be professionaly marketed over a sustained period, sad to say we don't have the people within the Club with the drive and expertise to do that, certainly not on their own ( Francis). It would have to be sourced to a outside company and that it turn would cost money but i think it would be worth a shot.
Something needs to happen soon because the missing fans will quickly get used to doing other things and realise they have extra cash in the process. The biggest mistake was taking away the hope of supporters to push on in league one and constantly talking down the status of the Club, like we are the rubbing rags of league one and most of league two. Even if it's true, you don't preach it to your customer/ potential customer base on a nearly weekly basis,fans will think 'what's the point?' It's a bit of a own goal really, we should be enticing them instead, selling them a dream even if it is a big fat lie. [Post edited 21 Feb 2016 17:50]
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| Season Tickets on 18:00 - Feb 21 with 3237 views | roccydaleian |
| Season Tickets on 17:36 - Feb 21 by TalkingSutty |
I don't think 10 game season tickets will vastly boost the attendances. It could result in full paying season ticket holders not renewing for the full season and settling for a ten game one instead. Would they be able to cherry pick the best ten games of the season? Games in which we would hope for a bigger attendance anyway. We need to target season tickets for the full season , get people into the habit of attending EVERY home game.
When Premiership/ Championship clubs are providing cheaper football than Rochdale you have to come up with something radical and that as to be the slashing of season tickets. It's ok saying the current prices are reasonable but I know loads of people who no longer go to games and the reason given is always the price, it's never the quality of football.
Less than 500 Dale fans at Bradford yesterday, i would hazard a guess that's the lowest Saturday following we have taken to Bradford for decades and at 25 quid a pop a lot of people won't pay it. Dale fans probably paid three times more than the average Bradford fan to enter the Stadium yesterday. That's discrimination of the highest order and shouldn't be happening.
Reducing season tickets to 100/150 quid for the season would work but it would have to be professionaly marketed over a sustained period, sad to say we don't have the people within the Club with the drive and expertise to do that, certainly not on their own ( Francis). It would have to be sourced to a outside company and that it turn would cost money but i think it would be worth a shot.
Something needs to happen soon because the missing fans will quickly get used to doing other things and realise they have extra cash in the process. The biggest mistake was taking away the hope of supporters to push on in league one and constantly talking down the status of the Club, like we are the rubbing rags of league one and most of league two. Even if it's true, you don't preach it to your customer/ potential customer base on a nearly weekly basis,fans will think 'what's the point?' It's a bit of a own goal really, we should be enticing them instead, selling them a dream even if it is a big fat lie. [Post edited 21 Feb 2016 17:50]
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Some decent points TS. One thing though, you correctly point out about Bradford's pricing but then advocate we do the same, so how much would the away fans be charged? |  | | |
| Season Tickets on 18:07 - Feb 21 with 3226 views | 442Dale |
| Season Tickets on 18:00 - Feb 21 by roccydaleian |
Some decent points TS. One thing though, you correctly point out about Bradford's pricing but then advocate we do the same, so how much would the away fans be charged? |
£20. Forgetting the ST debate, we should never have gone above that amount. | |
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| Season Tickets on 18:12 - Feb 21 with 3211 views | nordenblue |
| Season Tickets on 17:36 - Feb 21 by TalkingSutty |
I don't think 10 game season tickets will vastly boost the attendances. It could result in full paying season ticket holders not renewing for the full season and settling for a ten game one instead. Would they be able to cherry pick the best ten games of the season? Games in which we would hope for a bigger attendance anyway. We need to target season tickets for the full season , get people into the habit of attending EVERY home game.
When Premiership/ Championship clubs are providing cheaper football than Rochdale you have to come up with something radical and that as to be the slashing of season tickets. It's ok saying the current prices are reasonable but I know loads of people who no longer go to games and the reason given is always the price, it's never the quality of football.
Less than 500 Dale fans at Bradford yesterday, i would hazard a guess that's the lowest Saturday following we have taken to Bradford for decades and at 25 quid a pop a lot of people won't pay it. Dale fans probably paid three times more than the average Bradford fan to enter the Stadium yesterday. That's discrimination of the highest order and shouldn't be happening.
Reducing season tickets to 100/150 quid for the season would work but it would have to be professionaly marketed over a sustained period, sad to say we don't have the people within the Club with the drive and expertise to do that, certainly not on their own ( Francis). It would have to be sourced to a outside company and that it turn would cost money but i think it would be worth a shot.
Something needs to happen soon because the missing fans will quickly get used to doing other things and realise they have extra cash in the process. The biggest mistake was taking away the hope of supporters to push on in league one and constantly talking down the status of the Club, like we are the rubbing rags of league one and most of league two. Even if it's true, you don't preach it to your customer/ potential customer base on a nearly weekly basis,fans will think 'what's the point?' It's a bit of a own goal really, we should be enticing them instead, selling them a dream even if it is a big fat lie. [Post edited 21 Feb 2016 17:50]
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You're spot on about pricing TS,there should be a limit of 20 quid max for all travelling fans at every ground at our level,spanking fans who already have the expense to travel to the game not to mention the time involved is totally wrong.
Anything towards 25 quid for a league 1 game and I personally give it a wide birth and I'd guess I'm not alone,after all you can watch premier league football for that sort of money, it's obscene | | | |
| Season Tickets on 18:17 - Feb 21 with 3203 views | 1mark1 |
| Season Tickets on 18:07 - Feb 21 by 442Dale |
£20. Forgetting the ST debate, we should never have gone above that amount. |
Agree. | |
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| Season Tickets on 18:23 - Feb 21 with 3179 views | TalkingSutty |
| Season Tickets on 18:00 - Feb 21 by roccydaleian |
Some decent points TS. One thing though, you correctly point out about Bradford's pricing but then advocate we do the same, so how much would the away fans be charged? |
Away fans should be charged the same as pay on the day home fans (cheapest adult ticket),it shouldn't be any different at any ground in the country. Some clubs even charge away supporters increased prices for pies, tea, coffee etc once inside the Stadium. How do they justify that in this day and age? It's just milking the loyal fans. [Post edited 21 Feb 2016 18:31]
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| Season Tickets on 18:32 - Feb 21 with 3147 views | 442Dale |
| Season Tickets on 18:23 - Feb 21 by TalkingSutty |
Away fans should be charged the same as pay on the day home fans (cheapest adult ticket),it shouldn't be any different at any ground in the country. Some clubs even charge away supporters increased prices for pies, tea, coffee etc once inside the Stadium. How do they justify that in this day and age? It's just milking the loyal fans. [Post edited 21 Feb 2016 18:31]
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More for food?! | |
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| Season Tickets on 18:44 - Feb 21 with 3102 views | TalkingSutty |
| Season Tickets on 18:32 - Feb 21 by 442Dale |
More for food?! |
Apologies if I am wrong but I am pretty sure away supporters at Spotland are/used to be charged more for food and drink inside the stadium than the home supporters. If that's the case then how can it be condoned? Those fans are already paying top whack to enter the Stadium and spent a fortune to travel to the game but still more money needs to be extracted from them.
I've mentioned it before,the treatment of supporters is my biggest bugbear, watching the likes of George Donnelly or Joe Bunney playing at left back pales into insignificance. Even BBM being named in the Matchday squads doesn't compare, and that's saying something!! [Post edited 21 Feb 2016 18:47]
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| Season Tickets on 19:25 - Feb 21 with 3023 views | 49thseason |
There must be hundreds of people who over the last few years have looked at their disposable income, checked ticket prices and concluded they can't afford to come to Spotland. The latest rise in prices has been a cynical manoeuvre to cash in on visiting fans from a host of Northwestern teams in this division.
Unfortunately, home fans unable to afford a one-off payment for a season ticket have had to bear the price increase too and the overall result is probably not as profitable as intended. The club now faces a difficult problem for next season when some of the clubs with big followings may not be in League One. Will prices be reduced - I very much doubt it.
So where do we go next? One solution might be to offer home pay-on-the-day supporters a £5 per game discount voucher to be used for all league games for say £25 outlay with a couple of dedicated turnstiles to use. Obviously, Season tickets can be retained at current levels.
This would reduce the cost of standing in the sandy Lane end to say £12 on-the-day, closer to the cost of a season ticket but not quite as cheap.- anyone who attends six or more league games would be saving money. anyone who attends all 23 league games would save £90. Having paid for the voucher, there would be an inherent incentive to go to more games than perhaps otherwise might be the case. There might be further incentives to attend Tuesday evening games.
Thoughts? |  | | |
| Season Tickets on 20:24 - Feb 21 with 2952 views | TVOS1907 |
| Season Tickets on 19:25 - Feb 21 by 49thseason |
There must be hundreds of people who over the last few years have looked at their disposable income, checked ticket prices and concluded they can't afford to come to Spotland. The latest rise in prices has been a cynical manoeuvre to cash in on visiting fans from a host of Northwestern teams in this division.
Unfortunately, home fans unable to afford a one-off payment for a season ticket have had to bear the price increase too and the overall result is probably not as profitable as intended. The club now faces a difficult problem for next season when some of the clubs with big followings may not be in League One. Will prices be reduced - I very much doubt it.
So where do we go next? One solution might be to offer home pay-on-the-day supporters a £5 per game discount voucher to be used for all league games for say £25 outlay with a couple of dedicated turnstiles to use. Obviously, Season tickets can be retained at current levels.
This would reduce the cost of standing in the sandy Lane end to say £12 on-the-day, closer to the cost of a season ticket but not quite as cheap.- anyone who attends six or more league games would be saving money. anyone who attends all 23 league games would save £90. Having paid for the voucher, there would be an inherent incentive to go to more games than perhaps otherwise might be the case. There might be further incentives to attend Tuesday evening games.
Thoughts? |
I think the notion of increasing the prices and using away fans to make our money for us has backfired slightly.
Let's look at the expected big away followings and compare them to their numbers last season:
Barnsley 1295 (last season 1359)
Bradford 1958 (last season 2333)
Oldham 2641 (last season 3178)
Wigan 1211 (last season N/A)
Sheffield United to play (last season 1677)
Bury to play (last season N/A, but 2144 in this season's FA Cup*)
Blackpool to play
So Barnsley, Bradford and Oldham are 976 down on aggregate, while we had 1211 Wigan fans, making us 235 away fans up on those 'better' away followings so far.
Given Preston brought 2839 last season and taking that 235 figure into account, it means the expected larger followings are currently 2604 down on last season.
That means Bury, Blackpool and Sheffield United need to bring more than that amount in total, which they will do, but the number of away fans attending the more high profile matches isn't going to be as high as the club would have hoped for.
* I've excluded this from the figures as it wasn't a known match when the admission prices were set last April [Post edited 21 Feb 2016 20:26]
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| When I was your age, I used to enjoy the odd game of tennis. Or was it golf? |
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| Season Tickets on 20:45 - Feb 21 with 2906 views | 49thseason |
| Season Tickets on 20:24 - Feb 21 by TVOS1907 |
I think the notion of increasing the prices and using away fans to make our money for us has backfired slightly.
Let's look at the expected big away followings and compare them to their numbers last season:
Barnsley 1295 (last season 1359)
Bradford 1958 (last season 2333)
Oldham 2641 (last season 3178)
Wigan 1211 (last season N/A)
Sheffield United to play (last season 1677)
Bury to play (last season N/A, but 2144 in this season's FA Cup*)
Blackpool to play
So Barnsley, Bradford and Oldham are 976 down on aggregate, while we had 1211 Wigan fans, making us 235 away fans up on those 'better' away followings so far.
Given Preston brought 2839 last season and taking that 235 figure into account, it means the expected larger followings are currently 2604 down on last season.
That means Bury, Blackpool and Sheffield United need to bring more than that amount in total, which they will do, but the number of away fans attending the more high profile matches isn't going to be as high as the club would have hoped for.
* I've excluded this from the figures as it wasn't a known match when the admission prices were set last April [Post edited 21 Feb 2016 20:26]
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I am sure your figures are correct, but I think the idea that there would be lots of big away followings this season was a major factor in the pricing decision. The thinking probably included the idea that given decent numbers of season ticket sales, the loss of pay on the day supporters because of increased pricing would be more than made up by the increased revenue from away fans. In retrospect, this was probably a mistake, maybe not too costly this season but possibly very costly next season depending on who is in L1 and how well the team performs.
How much "extra" revenue do you think has been generated so far given a total attendance of 46,561 to date (205 per game down on last season's average) ? | | | |
| Season Tickets on 20:47 - Feb 21 with 2901 views | windowsbug |
How about...
Introduce someone to purchase a season ticket for the first time, and you both get them at half price. |  | | |
| Season Tickets on 20:57 - Feb 21 with 2879 views | TVOS1907 |
| Season Tickets on 20:45 - Feb 21 by 49thseason |
I am sure your figures are correct, but I think the idea that there would be lots of big away followings this season was a major factor in the pricing decision. The thinking probably included the idea that given decent numbers of season ticket sales, the loss of pay on the day supporters because of increased pricing would be more than made up by the increased revenue from away fans. In retrospect, this was probably a mistake, maybe not too costly this season but possibly very costly next season depending on who is in L1 and how well the team performs.
How much "extra" revenue do you think has been generated so far given a total attendance of 46,561 to date (205 per game down on last season's average) ? |
Your first sentence was the whole point of my post; the policy has backfired somewhat because the aforementioned clubs haven't brought as many fans as hoped. | |
| When I was your age, I used to enjoy the odd game of tennis. Or was it golf? |
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| Season Tickets on 20:58 - Feb 21 with 2540 views | TalkingSutty |
| Season Tickets on 20:47 - Feb 21 by windowsbug |
How about...
Introduce someone to purchase a season ticket for the first time, and you both get them at half price. |
Very good suggestion, could be the best one yet. | | | |
| Season Tickets on 22:04 - Feb 21 with 2457 views | Dalenet |
| Season Tickets on 18:23 - Feb 21 by TalkingSutty |
Away fans should be charged the same as pay on the day home fans (cheapest adult ticket),it shouldn't be any different at any ground in the country. Some clubs even charge away supporters increased prices for pies, tea, coffee etc once inside the Stadium. How do they justify that in this day and age? It's just milking the loyal fans. [Post edited 21 Feb 2016 18:31]
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Don't we do that - charge them more for pies etc. I think we do
I wouldn't mind a fixed ticket price for travelling fans. As I travel 300 miles return to get to Spotland I would vote for a fixed price ticket. Then I wouldn't need a season ticket as the postponements and Tuesday games usually mean I miss 4 or 5 games a season | | | |
| Season Tickets on 23:42 - Feb 21 with 2362 views | pioneer |
season tickets should be marketed as never a wasted ticket so that if you miss a game you can trade the unused ticket in for a futre game...that would bring in additional supporters.
Given the volume of STs we sell gat the playing staff to deliver them over the summer in person, or call the purchaser to let them know they are available
To be fair, this site has been full of positive suggestions over several years. Exactly how many have been taken up? no need to take your shoes and socks off for that one. | | | |
| Season Tickets on 10:06 - Feb 22 with 2220 views | DaleiLama |
| Season Tickets on 23:42 - Feb 21 by pioneer |
season tickets should be marketed as never a wasted ticket so that if you miss a game you can trade the unused ticket in for a futre game...that would bring in additional supporters.
Given the volume of STs we sell gat the playing staff to deliver them over the summer in person, or call the purchaser to let them know they are available
To be fair, this site has been full of positive suggestions over several years. Exactly how many have been taken up? no need to take your shoes and socks off for that one. |
And, dare I say it, therein SEEMS to lie the rub. The fans appear to care more than the club?
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| Season Tickets on 12:32 - Feb 22 with 2132 views | 49thseason |
The scale of the problem with our attendances becomes stark when you consider that the average home attendance for the division is 7107. Our average is currently 3104 - some 205 less than last season. In cash terms, at an average of £18 per ticket, we have £1.6m less income from the turnstiles than clubs attracting the average attendance.
With 46,561 people attending Spotland so far this season, a £2 per head increase has added £93,122 to turnover or by extrapolation £142,784 by the end of the season.
The loss of 205 people x £18 x 23 games reduces this by £84,870 giving an overall £57,914 increase in revenue, If you also deduct a couple of pounds per lost supporter per game for food and drink, programme, shop takings, bars, raffle etc another £9430 has been lost from revenue, this does not take into account people who bought season tickets rather than pay the £2 increase on the day. If there were 100 extra season tickets sold, the revenue reduction could be £115 per person per season taking £11,500 off revenue.
A good guess would be that the £2 price increase has added maybe £35k - £40k to the coffers overall but has also resulted in a 6.9% fall in attendance which if replicated for just 10 seasons would leave us with no supporters attending games!
Clearly this is not a sustainable business model and there needs to be a major re-think around attracting people to Spotland and the price they are expected to pay for L1 football.
Overall we fall behind clubs getting average L1 gates by £72,054 every game. Or put another way, we take £302,508 less than Sheffield United every game.
All prices calculated on £18 per ticket. | | | |
| Season Tickets on 12:55 - Feb 22 with 2091 views | TalkingSutty |
| Season Tickets on 12:32 - Feb 22 by 49thseason |
The scale of the problem with our attendances becomes stark when you consider that the average home attendance for the division is 7107. Our average is currently 3104 - some 205 less than last season. In cash terms, at an average of £18 per ticket, we have £1.6m less income from the turnstiles than clubs attracting the average attendance.
With 46,561 people attending Spotland so far this season, a £2 per head increase has added £93,122 to turnover or by extrapolation £142,784 by the end of the season.
The loss of 205 people x £18 x 23 games reduces this by £84,870 giving an overall £57,914 increase in revenue, If you also deduct a couple of pounds per lost supporter per game for food and drink, programme, shop takings, bars, raffle etc another £9430 has been lost from revenue, this does not take into account people who bought season tickets rather than pay the £2 increase on the day. If there were 100 extra season tickets sold, the revenue reduction could be £115 per person per season taking £11,500 off revenue.
A good guess would be that the £2 price increase has added maybe £35k - £40k to the coffers overall but has also resulted in a 6.9% fall in attendance which if replicated for just 10 seasons would leave us with no supporters attending games!
Clearly this is not a sustainable business model and there needs to be a major re-think around attracting people to Spotland and the price they are expected to pay for L1 football.
Overall we fall behind clubs getting average L1 gates by £72,054 every game. Or put another way, we take £302,508 less than Sheffield United every game.
All prices calculated on £18 per ticket. |
What a great post, you obviously put a lot of work into that. The figures are quite startling and indicate the Club is sleep walking into a major problem. | | | |
| Season Tickets on 13:29 - Feb 22 with 2043 views | fermin |
| Season Tickets on 12:32 - Feb 22 by 49thseason |
The scale of the problem with our attendances becomes stark when you consider that the average home attendance for the division is 7107. Our average is currently 3104 - some 205 less than last season. In cash terms, at an average of £18 per ticket, we have £1.6m less income from the turnstiles than clubs attracting the average attendance.
With 46,561 people attending Spotland so far this season, a £2 per head increase has added £93,122 to turnover or by extrapolation £142,784 by the end of the season.
The loss of 205 people x £18 x 23 games reduces this by £84,870 giving an overall £57,914 increase in revenue, If you also deduct a couple of pounds per lost supporter per game for food and drink, programme, shop takings, bars, raffle etc another £9430 has been lost from revenue, this does not take into account people who bought season tickets rather than pay the £2 increase on the day. If there were 100 extra season tickets sold, the revenue reduction could be £115 per person per season taking £11,500 off revenue.
A good guess would be that the £2 price increase has added maybe £35k - £40k to the coffers overall but has also resulted in a 6.9% fall in attendance which if replicated for just 10 seasons would leave us with no supporters attending games!
Clearly this is not a sustainable business model and there needs to be a major re-think around attracting people to Spotland and the price they are expected to pay for L1 football.
Overall we fall behind clubs getting average L1 gates by £72,054 every game. Or put another way, we take £302,508 less than Sheffield United every game.
All prices calculated on £18 per ticket. |
I think the median attendance would be more meaningful as to how we stood vis-a-vis our competitors, but your general point would still stand.
Using this http://www.footballwebpages.co.uk/leagueone/attendances shows that only 7 clubs were above the average, The median is Gillingham or Peterborough, roughly 6,000 if you split the difference. |  | | |
| Season Tickets on 14:59 - Feb 22 with 1941 views | dingdangblue |
| Season Tickets on 20:58 - Feb 21 by TalkingSutty |
Very good suggestion, could be the best one yet. |
The only problem would be regular season ticket buyers registering a family member just to get 2 half price tickets - then using the 2 tickets for themselves and another dale regular . You wouldnt increase numbers - just get half the money for the club.
I think the only way of doing this is the Hartlepool and Bradford way - that is base the price on numbers sold. So if Dale sold 1000 this season at £330 pounds : Announce if they sell 2000 it will be £165 next season. The only issue then is how you work out payment? Ask people to pay an initial £165 and give them the option of opting out if 2000 aren't sold? Its tricky. |  |
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