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.
