Foxes Trust view: Leicester City must heed trends when reviewing ticket prices

“reply to Gradyjames,

the link doesn't in itself prove anything,
what it does do is point you (or Deckerdecker) to a link which contains some information,
but more importantly to contacts from whom you can obtain answers to your questions directly.

I did think you'd be able to work it out without an explanation.”

“As a season ticket holder, I'm disappointed at the number of games that are moved from the traditional Saturday afternoon 3.00pm kick off. As well as those games already moved this season, with the Middlesbrough and Wolves games being moved to a Friday and Thursday night respectively, this means we don't play a league game at home on a Saturday again until the 16th February.

Like many season ticket holders, I like to watch football on a Saturday afternoon and as it happens, I can rarely make weekday matches due to work (and in my childrens' case school) commitments. This means that I'm likely to be out of pocket at the end of the season compared with had I bought tickets on a match by match basis.

I want to support our club as a season ticket holder and I don't mind if over a season I break even on a season ticket price vs pay per match. I know I won't be able to make every game but if more games are going to be moved from a Saturday then a season ticket becomes more difficult to justify.

As I understand it, the attendance figures include all season ticket holders who clearly aren't all there week in week out. So assuming the number of Saturday games continue to decline then those season ticket holders who want Saturday afternoon football will also decline, ultimately resulting in lower attendances.

This might be great for Sky TV but in the long run is it good for football clubs like Leicester City?”

“FoxUlike

I agree it's a risk. Guess it boils down to whether the club is content with a hardcore of 20,000 (I remember when the "hardcore" was about 7,000 for home games in the mid-to-late 80s!!!) and sees anything above that as a bonus...? I don't know a thing about profit margins etc or at what point LCFC starts to break even at home games, but I'm guessing somebody somewhere has done the maths. Whatever, it's a bit sad (and frustrating) if the club blithely accepts that there will be 20-30% empty seats each time.”

“If clubs dropped their ticket prices, this would produce an initial increase in attendances.

But it's probable that once the novelty of cheaper football wore off, attendances would drop back down to their natural level of hard core supporters – but the clubs would then find it very difficult to hike the prices back up.

This is too much of a risk for the clubs to take.

If clubs dropped their ticket prices, this would produce an initial increase in attendances.

But it's probable that once the novelty of cheaper football wore off, attendances would drop back down to their natural level of hard core supporters – but the clubs would then find it very difficult to hike the prices back up.

This is too much of a risk for the clubs to take.”

“Stu_D makes a very valid point and it's one that I've argued for years, ie since we moved to the new stadium: more bums on seats generates more sales of merchandise etc. It is very very simple logic, and I don't know why the club doesn't encourage a full-house for each game with ticketing offers and the like. Plus, it improves atmosphere and is more likely to bring new fans into the mix. Everybody has to start some time - my first ever game was at Filbo against Liverpool in 1985. I went with some mates as a Liverpool fan (thanks to my parents having bought me the kit as a kid), but after experiencing the atmosphere in Pen 2, I decided to support Leicester and have done so for 27 years. Bizarrely, one of the best atmospheres I've experienced at the new ground was against Millwall in December 2002, when the attendance was a whopping 31,904 - and that included no away fans (although there was one cheeky but thankfully not-so-chirpy cockney sitting next to me!). Admittedly, the fact that Dennis Wise was playing against us helped get people excited, but it really was a noisy day. It's got to the point now where I sometimes dread going to home games because the atmosphere is so lame. Maybe we should just ban all away fans in future... Seriously, the club does need to rethink its policy on ticket pricing (especially for the SKY games - we would look much better as fans and a club in general if we could show a full stadium complete with noise) and I would hope it isn't too blinkered to see that larger attendances benefit everyone. Granted the compact nature of the ground helped, but when it was full Filbo was a great place to be. Imagine what a fortress the KP could be if it was full for every home game...”

“Not for the first time Geofflane I have tzhe impression your brain is going.
1 It was humorous intent
2 your knowledge of the present game of Rugby is non existant
3 I am a soccer fan who played Rugby - there was no choice at my school and have supported the City actively since 1947.

read this column and you must admit most believe they know more than NP.

It doesn't happen in Rugby, read the column and see for yourself.Those who know would laugh at your description. Many of my Rugby playing friends are Terrace Street. slim, secondary school and very fit. So who is prejudiced now ?”

“Among the more ignorant comments I have ever read on these FOOTBALL posts, Patrick 4939 takes the biscuit. Most rugby decisions are made by refs close to the action, and right or wrong are totally beyond terrace fans who can't possibly see among the maelstrom of clinically obese bodies. The players have no idea so rarely complain. If you are young, fit, skilful and strong, you play footie. If you are young, half-way fit (They stop frequently for air), overweight and went to private school, you play rugger. Millions around the world play and watch 'the beautiful game', millions DON'T play or watch what my Dad used to call 'Bum and Whistle'. (I gave up rugby after having my ribs broken. I foolishly dropped on a ball and got thoroughly booted. They think it's sport.)”

“Grayjames
"Might I just add that Patrick's cheap comment about rugby fans being more knowledgeable is riddled with prejudice and is actually pretty stupid."
You might like my attempt at humour but it certainly contains neither prejudice nor is it as stupid as you state or don't you read other peoples all-knowing letters ?
I have been a City fan longer than you have been on the planet despite being obliged to play Rugby at school.
Indeed a schoolmatch on Saturday morning was often followed by a round ball club match in the afternoon.
Where's the prejudice ?”

“This article makes no sense or argument.

Bums on seats is what we need, by whatever means necessary. More bums means more beer, more pies, more merch, etc, which equals more cash for the club.

Most importantly for me though, more bums means MUCH better atmosphere. As I've said before I don't live in Leicester anymore but I made it to the Cardiff game and thanks to one particular empty seat I got to stand in L1 for the first time since it became the new Kop. What struck me was how quiet things are nowadays. Jobber and friends do a cracking job, but the gulf of empty seats around the stadium means that any atmosphere they generate becomes a mere whimper before it reaches the "old" Kop (often the two areas can be heard signing out of time or even different songs!).

Obviously, a full, noisy stadium, also means a better atmosphere for the players and a more intimidating place for the away team.

So come on LCFC, drop the ticket prices for next season and fill the ground. Not just for live fixtures, for all of them.

Maybe the Foxes Trust can ask Susan Wheelan et al to explain to us why adopting such a system isn't economically viable? Am I wrong in thinking that every game requires "planning" for a capacity crowd e.g. staffing, stewards, utilities, policing etc?

I for one would be slightly happier paying £35-40 a game if I knew my seat was in demand. At only 66-75% full per game, it clearly is not. No other business model follows this twisted logic and last I saw we weren't operating at a profit either.

LCFC Forever.”

“A link to their web site does absolutely nothing to answer Doubledecker's question Chappy. I think you have missed his point.

Setting this aside, the article, despite being rambling and dismally failing to draw clear conclusions, does make some valid points many of which I have been droning on about to anyone who will listen for some years. I was a season ticket holder for many years. I then stopped my season ticket when we went into League One (but not for the reason you are assuming) and yet continued to see almost every game. I regularly complained about late switches of games to accommodate the TV, games at ridiculous times (the cup game against Spurs at 6:30 on a Sunday evening was surely the most crass example) and kick-offs delayed, with player's kicking their heels, whilst we waited for the adverts to finish, but I was wasting my breath because TV controls everything.

Eventually (but admittedly not only for these reasons), I stopped going altogether.

But the real problem here is that 99% of hard core supporters (I was a hard core supporter once upon a time but I am in the 1%) will always go no matter how much they are messed around with fixture changes, whether there are two home games on the trot or not (by the way this will always happen a couple of times a season - it has too to allow the switch over in fixtures) and no matter how high the price. It is this blind loyalty that allows football clubs to treat their customer like dirt; to treat them in such away that in 90% of other business types it would put them out of business. Mostly these hard core supporters are the type who accuse people like me of "not being a true supporter" because I have chosen to make a stand and simply not attend. It is on this maxim that football clubs rely to abuse their customers and not lose any custom - or only marginal custom.

Mind you, I will be the first to admit to the paradox. I subscibe to Sky and I watch many, probably most, of the games on Friday nights, and Saturdays at 5:30 or 5:20 and Sunday at midday or at other utterly ridiculous times. Ridiculous for attending live, but not so ridiculous for watching in the comfort of my own home.

I very much fear that the most realistic, the most balanced and the most sensible comment on these pages is that from FoxuLIke; which, when you stop to think about it, is pretty shocking.

Might I just add that Patrick's cheap comment about rugby fans being more knowledgeable is riddled with prejudice and is actually pretty stupid.”