Yesterday's attendance | Page 2 | Vital Football

Yesterday's attendance

They did say on the radio yesterday, that Coventry regulars estimated the crowd was around 18,000. They gave away 12,000 tickets as well as the rest being a fiver. Perhaps they counted the 12,000 as being in attendance when only about half that number actually bothered to turn up.
 
DurhamGills said:
You dont get so many youngsters at home games (unless you give them tickets for free) as they have so many other options to spend their time and money on, many of their friends are online and they never meet.
Football is no longer the thing to do for kids, they dont play day and night like we used to, most of there time is spent on line - some dont even see daylight let alone go and spend a few hours in the cold.

IF they want to watch football they can see nearly every premiership game live every week from the comfort of their bedroom - when i was young if you wanted to see the stars of football you had to go to a match
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I think that's nailed it. so much choice these days and football is well down the list for many kids of today.

However they are the future so unless we find a way to tap into them and get them along to the games we don't really have a future fan base.

Cheap (or free) tickets could partly form the answer but they need to have fun, they need to want to come again. May be the players need to engage a bit more. We could start with a proper family area with a zero tolerance to swearing etc. Have the players who are not in the squad go into that area to sign photos, have selfies with fans etc. The family day seemed to go down well so do more of it. Get the players along to deliver sessions at the local schools/clubs. The club needs to engage in the community a whole lot more. Chucking a few free tickets away isn't really enough these days.

At the end of the day if we can't engage the next generation we certainly don't need a new 30K stadium.
 
Good post Captain. Many of the life long gimmer fans like me have stopped going. When the GRS opened in 97/8, 14 of us bought season tickets and just 2 of us still go and no, none of the missing 12 have died. Up to the start of the 2017/18 season just 7 renewed their STs. All were still going up to the end of 2016/17 but 5 said they had had enough after the debacle of the 3-2 home defeat by Fleetwood. After the displays at home last season especially the televised 0-1 defeat to Portsmouth and the disgusting performance at home to Blackpool (0-3) 5 more said they were not renewing and have not bothered.
I still stay in contact with most of them and they all state between them that they stopped going because of the rubbish being served up on the pitch, the lack of quality signings, the clear lack of ambition and the bull about new investors and the new stadium which never materialise.
I totally agree that it is far easier to drive them away than to get them back. The damage has been done and the club faces an uphill battle to not only attract youngsters but to win back the diehard supporters.
 
nibbles said:
Hope everything works out for the best, Chris.

I wonder what impact reducing our tickets to a fiver for a one off game would have - probably only another 1500 - 2000 on the gate at most.
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Cheers nibbles it comes to us all in the end.We can only pray when you get into your late 80s life moves at a slower pace.But suddenly things can happen very quickly.
 
markinkent said:
I think that's nailed it. so much choice these days and football is well down the list for many kids of today.

However they are the future so unless we find a way to tap into them and get them along to the games we don't really have a future fan base.

Cheap (or free) tickets could partly form the answer but they need to have fun, they need to want to come again. May be the players need to engage a bit more. We could start with a proper family area with a zero tolerance to swearing etc. Have the players who are not in the squad go into that area to sign photos, have selfies with fans etc. The family day seemed to go down well so do more of it. Get the players along to deliver sessions at the local schools/clubs. The club needs to engage in the community a whole lot more. Chucking a few free tickets away isn't really enough these days.

At the end of the day if we can't engage the next generation we certainly don't need a new 30K stadium.
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The prices for under 12, under 18, student tickets are all very competitive, likewise the club/players do a lot in the community in schools, hospitals and the like.
I think there are some things the club could do better at, but when people just look for ways to attack the club I wonder if they will ever be satisfied.
 
How about under 12's are free , and under 18's heavily subsidised ?
It seems we need to attract a whole new generation of fans.
 
nitram77 said:
The prices for under 12, under 18, student tickets are all very competitive, likewise the club/players do a lot in the community in schools, hospitals and the like.
I think there are some things the club could do better at, but when people just look for ways to attack the club I wonder if they will ever be satisfied.
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Nothing wrong with constructive suggestions to try and attract more fans. Unless we are happy with the way the way the attendances are going.

One simple thing they could do is answer the phone when people ring up to book tickets. Very rare to get through first time and I wonder how many people just give up. If you go into the ticket office they are generally helpful and online works well but on the occasions I have to phone to book tickets then it can take a few calls to finally get through to someone. You would think selling the product to the public would be a high priority for them.

I still think a cash turnstile with unrestricted seating in the end blocks of the stands would be a simple fix. Those blocks rarely have a handful of people in them. Just don't sell season tickets in those blocks next season have them as POTD cash - no extra charge either.

Lets just makes it as easy as possible for people to come along
 
Wayne.Kerr said:
I think they gave away tickets too.

A possible problem at GFC is that we somehow get a bumper crowd and catering is not up to it or there are no extra staff in the ticket office or club shop.
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Sadly too true .... long queues every time this is an above average crowd .... cardiff game is a good example... bar areas closed in the Rainham End when there was a long queue for a beer
 
I’m a season ticket holder but don’t make every game- midweek are a pain for me to get to (ridiculous traffic out of London), and I travel a reasonable anount for business so aren’t always around.

I renew because I’ve had the same seat for years and like it, and it enables me to sit with the group of people I know.
 
I think it’s quite scary how Coventry can reduce tickets to £5 and see such little increase in paid admissions. Obviously some who were given the free tickets would’ve otherwise paid the £5, but I still find it a sad figure.

Bradford have had some poor looking crowds too despite their prices - people just don’t want to watch football anymore unless the factors are right.

Personally I reckon with £5 tickets we’ll increase our gate to around 7,500. With £10 I’d say 6-6,500. Christ, a few years ago that would’ve felt like a normal attendance.

Best wishes to your family, Chris.
 
I think the club need to advertise their student and kids prices much better.

I started regularly going to games around 2012/13 thanks to the Friends for a Fiver tickets, and then was a season ticket holder for three years at student prices. Gordon Road block C went from £410 adult price to £140 student.

Uni of Kent @ Medway do Sport Science courses plus there's Mid Kent College there too, surely it's worth the club persuing this demographic more actively?

When I was a student at Reading, for their midweek games they'd do tickets for students at £10, which included a coach from campus to the ground. The Madjeski, like Priestfield, always has empty seats so it's not as if they're losing revenue by discounting.
 
Trev_GFC said:
Bradford have had some poor looking crowds too despite their prices - people just don’t want to watch football anymore unless the factors are right.
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Or they don't want the hassle of travelling to watch "shite" football when they can sit in a pub or at home watching "proper" football on the TV...

AMF
 
I think people want success now. After a while poor seasons wear you down I guess that's why Bradford's attendances are falling. I am sure they would pick back up if the were challenging at the right end.

Next season will be interesting for us in terms of season ticket sales if this year turns out to be another relegation battle.
 
Markinkent's suggestion of a cash turnstile on the day is excellent.
I have 2 mates and a brother in law who all work on Saturdays, who would definitely go if that facility was available. They all use to go, but now if they decide they can finish early and go, they have to pay £3 extra, then queue for so long they miss a lot of the game so don't bother.
 
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