Realistically what league do you think we could establish ourselves in?

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BartonRaz
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Re: Realistically what league do you think we could establish ourselves in?

Post by BartonRaz »

Pigman wrote: Mon Jul 08, 2019 4:45 pm Easy for me to say I know, but I was against the price increase this year because in my opinion you’re bleeding the same people dry and many don’t have the money these days, times are tough for a lot of folk. If the fans that have followed us thus far start to drift way because it’s getting a little pricey, then we’ll be in real trouble.

I know why you gave comparisons, but the other events you’ve mentioned are way above our level - we’re a step 3 football club! £11 might not be a lot to some folk, but there does become a tipping point that some people will say breaking into another tenner isn’t worth it.
Agree 100% with that. I too voted against the increase in both admission and membership for this reason. To be honest I haven’t spoken to anyone yet that did vote for increases!

It’s the subconscious impact of spending more than £10 that i think could be damaging. It remains to be seen whether it actually plays out like that and attendances suffer, but that was my concern.

On the plus side the super early bird season tickets now look like excellent value.
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sandringhamdiamond
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Re: Realistically what league do you think we could establish ourselves in?

Post by sandringhamdiamond »

I don't believe Step 3 is our limit, our club still has a lot of potential and I firmly believe we can establish ourselves at Step 2, there's some big clubs at Step 2 which will increase home attendances not to mention we would start to get more away fans. To reach Step 1 we would need a major investment from somewhere.

I agree with previous comments regarding ticket prices, but lets not forget the pay want you want games!!

Last 2 seasons we have raised a lot of money for ground improvements, As a fan owned club I don't see why for next season (2020/21) we cant do this for the first team budget. I cant remember who but remember seeing a club raising funds called boost the budget or something?? an idea maybe? it would allow fans who can give more give directly to the first team budget on top of gate receipts.
Three of Diamonds
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Re: Realistically what league do you think we could establish ourselves in?

Post by Three of Diamonds »

I did vote for an admission price rise this season but not in membership fees as I think a player budget rise should be long term affordable, not a short term boost as suggested.
I think this season could be our toughest yet on the field and we could do with a boost in our attacking play.
Off the field we have accumulated a nice set of assets so I have no concerns there.
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sussexdiamond
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Re: Realistically what league do you think we could establish ourselves in?

Post by sussexdiamond »

Three of Diamonds wrote: Wed Jul 10, 2019 6:40 am I did vote for an admission price rise this season but not in membership fees as I think a player budget rise should be long term affordable, not a short term boost as suggested.
I think this season could be our toughest yet on the field and we could do with a boost in our attacking play.
Off the field we have accumulated a nice set of assets so I have no concerns there.
I also voted like you and agree this could be our toughest season to date. For the time being we have reached "our level". Another two or three seasons in this league will be fine with me so long as we don't get near the drop zone and maybe flirt with the play offs, like last season. Of course a Cup run would be great to generate income and more importantly publicity. I am looking forward to seeing just who the trialists are, I hear rumours of a couple of good surprises.
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Re: Realistically what league do you think we could establish ourselves in?

Post by Formic »

See the announcement today about youth concession prices - an excellent initiative IMO - http://www.afcdiamonds.com/afc-rushden- ... -year-olds
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Re: Realistically what league do you think we could establish ourselves in?

Post by SouthRushdenJFC »

Formic wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 7:41 pm See the announcement today about youth concession prices - an excellent initiative IMO - http://www.afcdiamonds.com/afc-rushden- ... -year-olds
Seconded
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Re: Realistically what league do you think we could establish ourselves in?

Post by Mad Dog »

SouthRushdenJFC wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 8:15 pm
Formic wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 7:41 pm See the announcement today about youth concession prices - an excellent initiative IMO - http://www.afcdiamonds.com/afc-rushden- ... -year-olds
Seconded
Agreed. It's good see that 16-21s has been revised, and is a good step forward since it now covers better 16 - 21 year olds who are likely to be in training/apprenticeship schemes or still studying, and as such are on very low incomes.

I thought about continuing the admission price debate on member's forum, but given the lack of activity on there, it seemed more reasonable to discuss it here, especially since we've seen discussions about admission and attendances on here recently.

To take this a step further, the big thing regarding pricing for younger fans that I do feel has been missed is regarding Under 16s (and by extension, parents) who do not yet have an affinity with the club. It's a group that we really need to be looking to increase, if over the medium to long term we are going to increase our sustainability as a club to push onto the next level, and we don't see enough of on matchdays.

This coming season it will still cost an Under 16 (9 - 15) £8 who is not a member for a league game or an FA Cup/Trophy home tie which are not covered by membership (assuming we get one at some point!) the same price for an under 18 to go and watch Posh in League One and just £2 less than for an U18 going to Sixfields to watch League Two football (advance ticket).

The membership is great value as a season ticket for Under 16s who are starting to come more regularly and are beginning to become hooked on watching the team play. The area where we are not covering are for those casual/neutral fans who don't have an affinity with the club, who we are trying to build that affinity with.

On paper, it makes sense to turn up at Hayden Road, take up U16 membership and get in cheaper. The issue is this requires the parent to hand over their personal details (name, address, contact details) to a club which they have no connection with yet to have that position of trust to do so (bearing in mind how important personal data is in the digital age), and they've also got to fill out a form on what could their first visit. The flip side is, they just see £8, which means it will cost them £19 (since it's the parent that's going to pay to get in) to watch Step 3 football.

In comparison or some examples:

Lewes (fan owned, Step 3). U16 - FREE, including cup matches (subject to the agreement of their opponents).
Corby Town (Step 4) U16 - £3.
FC Under of Manchester (Step 3, fan owned). U18 - £3.
Bromsgrove Sporting (Step 3, fan owned) U18 - £5. U8 - FREE.
City of Liverpool (Step 4, fan owned) U16 - FREE, U18 - £4.
AFC Wimbledon (League One, fan owned) U18 (terrace) - £4/£5.
MK Dons (League One) U18 - £7 without membership.

My suggestion is to reduce U16 admission to £2 this season. This will give us the flexibility for cup matches (and also to leaflet the schools if we are in a round/have a tie that might appeal to the casual fan with the right marketing) and still incentivise buying membership as a season ticket should an U16 and their parent begin to gain that affinity to build that trust to take up membership (this works out at around 4 matches a season) and converting them from a casual fan. It also keeps it simple for the parent to take their child cheaply without having the barrier of handing over their child’s personal details from the get go.‬

This is intended to be completely constructive. In fairness up until this point the concession category has been U16/Over 60s/Students up until now, and I hadn't picked up on it when the price has risen over the last 7 years. It's now time to split U16s off from concessions, and improve our competitiveness with this age group, where lowering the cost represents a low cost risk to the club (due to them making up a very small percentage of the match day crowd), but potentially repeaping the rewards in the medium to long term if this forms the cornerstone/foundations of any strategy we undertake to build the crowds.
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Re: Realistically what league do you think we could establish ourselves in?

Post by BartonRaz »

Mad Dog wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 8:50 pm
SouthRushdenJFC wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 8:15 pm
Formic wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 7:41 pm See the announcement today about youth concession prices - an excellent initiative IMO - http://www.afcdiamonds.com/afc-rushden- ... -year-olds
Seconded

My suggestion is to reduce U16 admission to £2 this season. This will give us the flexibility for cup matches (and also to leaflet the schools if we are in a round/have a tie that might appeal to the casual fan with the right marketing) and still incentivise buying membership as a season ticket should an U16 and their parent begin to gain that affinity to build that trust to take up membership (this works out at around 4 matches a season) and converting them from a casual fan. It also keeps it simple for the parent to take their child cheaply without having the barrier of handing over their child’s personal details from the get go.‬

This is intended to be completely constructive. In fairness up until this point the concession category has been U16/Over 60s/Students up until now, and I hadn't picked up on it when the price has risen over the last 7 years. It's now time to split U16s off from concessions, and improve our competitiveness with this age group, where lowering the cost represents a low cost risk to the club (due to them making up a very small percentage of the match day crowd), but potentially repeaping the rewards in the medium to long term if this forms the cornerstone/foundations of any strategy we undertake to build the crowds.
Agree with this 100% and said as much on the members forum a couple of months back.

The price for 9-15 year old non-members needs amending, it’s as simple as that. It costs more to attend one game than it does to become a member and see all games for free. Today’s announcement (which can only be a good thing) shows that the club is willing to make adjustments to the pricing structure without the need to have a vote. The current price for this 9-15 age bracket is a serious problem IMO and should be looked in to urgently.
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Adrian
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Re: Realistically what league do you think we could establish ourselves in?

Post by Adrian »

He may be called Mad Dog but he talks a lot of sense, totally agree with what he said.

At the end of the day it's the youngsters who will keep the club going in the future so if we make it cheap for them to attend it gives us more chance of making them want to come back and eventually becoming regulars.
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Re: Realistically what league do you think we could establish ourselves in?

Post by Trek »

BartonRaz wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 11:34 pm The price for 9-15 year old non-members needs amending, it’s as simple as that. It costs more to attend one game than it does to become a member and see all games for free.
Totally agree with this.
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