Season tickets next season - what will they do?

[DeKuip]

The whole philosophy is the wrong way round, it's all about stinging the loyal fans who they think will pay whatever they're told and kicking people out of seats they've had for years so they won't have to bother opening that section. This way of thinking will result in just Holte being opened for the 13,000 who can afford it in a few years time.

If ever a club needed to build bridges with its fans and show how valued they are, its this club now.
They should be thinking how can we get fans in seats - not how can we alienate them even more.

A seat in the equivalent position to mine at Sunderland next season is exactly £100 cheaper.

[dave.woodhall]

They could have taken a short-term pain/long-term gain hit by dropping the prices a bit more. What they can still do is a bit of a U-turn and say anyone who buys a season ticket at any time next season is guaranteed a price freeze for 2017-18 then a hefty discount (maybe 25%) until we get promoted.

You'd said yourself to someone else that the price won't make a difference. As for the hefty discount, I'd love it, but if it's until we are promoted it'll be unrealistic because the club will need that money more than ever.

That's why I wouldn't reduce the price now but a marketing exercise like this might not make much of a difference short-term but it would get them a bit of goodwill and positive publicity.

[Tony Erdington]

from the off, I will apologise.

I have until now never said anything pro small heath, but aren't they doing a deal , Buy one full price season ticket get a half price one free. which kind of is a sensible way to go.

[Witton Warrior]

Well that's helped me make my mind up - no ST and will attend Saturday 3PM matches and a few others if interesting enough.
Of course if we are sold, Moyesy turns up and is given £100m I retain the right to change my mind...

[Stu]

from the off, I will apologise.

I have until now never said anything pro small heath, but aren't they doing a deal , Buy one full price season ticket get a half price one free. which kind of is a sensible way to go.

Turn it in. For them it's a good deal but then consider their attendances.

Do you really think we'll only get 17,500 each game next season, on average?

[PeterWithe]

Unimaginative pricing, just when we needed it most.

I think I'll renew, I'm the dream customer, I'll keep going whatever shit they churn out but the few of us who still go used to be part of 20 odd. Plenty of them were talking about STs if the price was right. It isn't.

[olaftab]

What a shower of twats we have running our club. 10 fucking pounds off to watch us struggle in the Championship.

Which twat came up with that idea?

We will be lucky to average 20,000 and after 5 years of utter garbage, to be rewarded with this bullshit is a slap in the face.

For the first time in 25 years I'm considering telling them to shove their season ticket up their arse.

c***s.

Same here but not only for this but also my experience at the ticket office today. I have two ST's a senior and a junior. I  went in to buy two more tickets for a couple of youngsters in the family as I had promised that I will take them to a match. After that transaction I asked  if my  junior ST can be upgraded to full for the Newcastle game. I was told yes and it's 22 pounds to upgrade. I know the rules and that's what they normally do. I explained that I wanted this done free of charge as a gesture of good will from the club and as my seat is already paid there would be no loss of revenue to the club. No was the answer followed by a verbalisation of rules. I asked the young lady if she could check with someone else if this was possible. She made a call and asked me to hang on as as someone called Ms Richards was coming down to deal with me. 5 minutes and a lady appeared and asked what was the issue. I explained my request. She didn't even wait for me to finish and basically explained the rules and said if she did that it would be very unfair to other fans but she could give me a discount of 4 pounds and upgrade for 18. I said that I could buy a seat for 10 externally. She dismissed that as "well you are not guaranteed to occupy your season ticket seat that way".
This episode basically squeezed the last ounce of goodwill that I had about people running our club!

[exiled on the wirral!]

Overall I think the adult prices are fair enough, I just think the kids prices could be lower...as all parents like me will know it's pretty difficult to keep your child interested in a team that win 2 home wins in a season.Luckily my 8 year old is Villa mad and I will be getting her 1st ST this summer, but it's going to be hard for a lot of Mum's and Dad's to find  and justify the best part of £200 for their nippers when they could be easily be charged £50 for one with an adult paying full price.Missed opportunity IMO.

[wittonwarrior]

Missed a trick or two there The Villa.

I have had to rely on the goodwill of others for some away tickets this season but with the exception of the Arsenal game I have always been able to pick one up somehow.

In 2015 I think it went down to 6 homes for a Wembley cup final ticket - so what is the incentive of actually buying a season ticket, particularly if you sat in the Upper Trinity paid good money for the ticket, only to find them being  sold by the club at £15 a match for most homes.

No imaginatiion Aston Villa.

[dave.woodhall]

What a shower of twats we have running our club. 10 fucking pounds off to watch us struggle in the Championship.

Which twat came up with that idea?

We will be lucky to average 20,000 and after 5 years of utter garbage, to be rewarded with this bullshit is a slap in the face.

For the first time in 25 years I'm considering telling them to shove their season ticket up their arse.

c***s.

Same here but not only for this but also my experience at the ticket office today. I have two ST's a senior and a junior. I  went in to buy two more tickets for a couple of youngsters in the family as I had promised that I will take them to a match. After that transaction I asked  if my  junior ST can be upgraded to full for the Newcastle game. I was told yes and it's 22 pounds to upgrade. I know the rules and that's what they normally do. I explained that I wanted this done free of charge as a gesture of good will from the club and as my seat is already paid there would be no loss of revenue to the club. No was the answer followed by a verbalisation of rules. I asked the young lady if she could check with someone else if this was possible. She made a call and asked me to hang on as as someone called Ms Richards was coming down to deal with me. 5 minutes and a lady appeared and asked what was the issue. I explained my request. She didn't even wait for me to finish and basically explained the rules and said if she did that it would be very unfair to other fans but she could give me a discount of 4 pounds and upgrade for 18. I said that I could buy a seat for 10 externally. She dismissed that as "well you are not guaranteed to occupy your season ticket seat that way".
This episode basically squeezed the last ounce of goodwill that I had about people running our club!

Because they didn't give you something for nothing?

[croatian]

[quote autho

What a shower of twats we have running our club. 10 fucking pounds off to watch us struggle in the Championship.

Which twat came up with that idea?

We will be lucky to average 20,000 and after 5 years of utter garbage, to be rewarded with this bullshit is a slap in the face.

For the first time in 25 years I'm considering telling them to shove their season ticket up their arse.

c***s.

Same here but not only for this but also my experience at the ticket office today. I have two ST's a senior and a junior. I  went in to buy two more tickets for a couple of youngsters in the family as I had promised that I will take them to a match. After that transaction I asked  if my  junior ST can be upgraded to full for the Newcastle game. I was told yes and it's 22 pounds to upgrade. I know the rules and that's what they normally do. I explained that I wanted this done free of charge as a gesture of good will from the club and as my seat is already paid there would be no loss of revenue to the club. No was the answer followed by a verbalisation of rules. I asked the young lady if she could check with someone else if this was possible. She made a call and asked me to hang on as as someone called Ms Richards was coming down to deal with me. 5 minutes and a lady appeared and asked what was the issue. I explained my request. She didn't even wait for me to finish and basically explained the rules and said if she did that it would be very unfair to other fans but she could give me a discount of 4 pounds and upgrade for 18. I said that I could buy a seat for 10 externally. She dismissed that as "well you are not guaranteed to occupy your season ticket seat that way".
This episode basically squeezed the last ounce of goodwill that I had about people running our club!

Because they didn't give you something for nothing?

They've been giving nothing to Villa fans for years.
Still taking the money though.....

[cdbearsfan]

Insane that they haven't reduced prices. If they'd have been imaginative Villa Park could've been close to full and intimating for the yokel opposition. It'll be like a League Cup First Round game every week now, we'll be lucky if we average 25,000.

What an absolute shower of twats.

[amfy]

The idea of giving those who've had a season ticket for longest is lovely, but the absence of this shows how football is now 'business'. Those who've had their season tickets longest have already shown they're the most likely to renew regardless, so why would a 'business' need to incentivise them? However, I think they may be overestimating people's patience a little.

On the other hand, building in a generic loyalty discount is a better business idea. 5% off after you've held it 5 years, 10% off after 10 years etc - that makes people think more about not renewing because they lose the loyalty bonus & go back to square one. So it helps to 'lock people in' - which could be needed if things get worse before they get better.   In my case, a scheme like this would pull the price of mine from £420 (prev. £430) to £378, £15.75 a match. There's the £50 reduction we were looking for, but it's not going to everyone so the losses aren't as great.

They could still build this in on top of what they've announced if they wanted to.

[Fin Feds Dad]

Was speaking to a Leeds supporting mate last night - this is what they are doing

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36086902

Leeds United have promised to give fans who buy a season ticket for 2016-17 a refund of up to 50% - if the club fail to reach the Championship play-offs.

Fans who buy a ticket before the end of May will receive 25% of their money back if the club sell less than 15,000 tickets by the end of July or 50% if they sell more than that amount.

Leeds have not finished in the top six of the second tier since 2006.

The Elland Road side can not finish in the play-off places this season.

The club said in a statement: "We are more determined than ever to gain promotion from the Championship and are fully committed to doing everything we can to return this great club to the Premier League in 2016-17.

"With the full support of our fans, we believe we can achieve this goal next season."

[UK Redsox]

The idea of giving those who've had a season ticket for longest is lovely, but the absence of this shows how football is now 'business'. Those who've had their season tickets longest have already shown they're the most likely to renew regardless, so why would a 'business' need to incentivise them? However, I think they may be overestimating people's patience a little.

On the other hand, building in a generic loyalty discount is a better business idea. 5% off after you've held it 5 years, 10% off after 10 years etc - that makes people think more about not renewing because they lose the loyalty bonus & go back to square one. So it helps to 'lock people in' - which could be needed if things get worse before they get better.   In my case, a scheme like this would pull the price of mine from £420 (prev. £430) to £378, £15.75 a match. There's the £50 reduction we were looking for, but it's not going to everyone so the losses aren't as great.

They could still build this in on top of what they've announced if they wanted to.

1) Yep, that's why adverts for discounts on various services tend to say say something along the lines of "new customers only"

2) To me this would be a far fairer scheme than heavily discounting tickets in specific areas of the ground.