Hartkepool tickets

Quoted from Rodley Mariner

If there was an extra thousand seats in the ground would season ticket numbers drop with out the concern of not being able to get a good seat?

We'll only know if we try.

I suspect a large number of ST's are purchased more out of concern of securing away/cup tickets than a concern regards the view of their seat at BP.

Personally I bought my season ticket for the 10% off at Steels and BOGOF breakfast voucher at Pennells.

Quoted from diehardmariner

We'll only know if we try.

I suspect a large number of ST's are purchased more out of concern of securing away/cup tickets than a concern regards the view of their seat at BP.

I'd hope we're operating off better intel than 'we'll only know if we try'. Think it's definitely a possibility that scarcity has added to appeal this season and that greater availability could actually negatively impact gates.

Quoted from ska face

Personally I bought my season ticket for the 10% off at Steels and BOGOF breakfast voucher at Pennells.

Each to their own, it was the 10% off a bed that swayed me.

Quoted from Rodley Mariner

I'd hope we're operating off better intel than 'we'll only know if we try'. Think it's definitely a possibility that scarcity has added to appeal this season and that greater availability could actually negatively impact gates.

But this is the thing, that's all we've got.  I completely agree with you by the way, we should be making decisions based on far better than effectively stabbing in the dark and gut feeling.

Here's what we know though:

• We don't have many empty seats available on a game-to-game basis, owing to the fact that we shifted a huge number of season tickets.
  
• On this forum alone people have stated they've struggled to find tickets that meet their needs (sitting with/near mates, ability to sit together as a group, choice of stand/view)
  
• For a large number of our games this season we've seen incredibly limited numbers of tickets available, of those that are available they tend to be of a view that hides half the pitch and anything that's played more than 3st in the air.
  

So we've got a situation of limited availability and then what is available is unfit for purpose or at best a far more difficult sell.

Here's some other things we know:

• For any game this season, there is always pockets of empty seats with big white reserved seats on them.  The attendance rate for Season Ticket holders isn't what you would want it to be.  We can pretty much interpret why this is but it's largely irrelevant, the tickets are sold.
  
• Season Ticket seats that aren't going to be used are largely not released back into the ticketing system for individual purchases. This is evident by the number of available seats to buy on a game-by-game basis compared to the unoccupied ST seats.
  

It may well be that despite selling 5500 Season Tickets and having 2000 fans wanting to rock up every home game and buy a ticket on a game-by-game basis, we'll never equate that into 7500 home fans sat in seats every game.  Simply because 1000 of the ST holders won't turn up every game and we'll just always have that natural ceiling of 6500 home fans sat in seats.

But there's also a likelihood that there's 3000 fans wanting to rock up every home game, 500+ of which can't buy a ticket (that suits their needs) so they can't and don't come.  Unfortunately we've no real way of evidencing this other than anecdotally at this point.  Frustratingly, in this scenario, there will still be rows and clusters of empty seats with white stickers on them.

Those individual tickets and incredibly restricted view tickets are always going to be the most difficult to sell, people will only take them if they're absolutely desperate and simply can't miss a game.  But for the run of the mill league game where it's not 'must see' and the appeal of sitting isolated or with a poor view is enough to tip someone away from coming, we need to do better.

Those unoccupied Season Ticket seats need to be offered into general sale.  That way the fan who wants to attend on a game-by-game basis isn't put off by the fact he can't sit remotely near their mates, as a family or with a view that Stevie Wonder would be annoyed at.  Be it the right or wrong approach, the club need to find a way of incentivising Season Ticket holders to release their seats (providing they're resold, of course).

Otherwise we're always going to be going on conjecture.  Other than increasing capacity of the ground, this is the only real way of seeing what genuine appetite there is for games.  A decent Season Ticket release scheme will be a damn sight cheaper than building extra capacity that may/may not be used.  

There's nothing to lose on this, I don't even think it's a case that those seats that are returned into general sale from Season Ticket holders will be competing against the less desirable seats.  For the game-by-game basis fan it's surely a case of Option A - Buy a ticket that is where I want it or Option B - Don't bother.  Option C - Take a excrement view miles from your mates isn't likely to be taken very often.

Quoted from diehardmariner

But this is the thing, that's all we've got.  I completely agree with you by the way, we should be making decisions based on far better than effectively stabbing in the dark and gut feeling.

Here's what we know though:

• We don't have many empty seats available on a game-to-game basis, owing to the fact that we shifted a huge number of season tickets.
  
• On this forum alone people have stated they've struggled to find tickets that meet their needs (sitting with/near mates, ability to sit together as a group, choice of stand/view)
  
• For a large number of our games this season we've seen incredibly limited numbers of tickets available, of those that are available they tend to be of a view that hides half the pitch and anything that's played more than 3st in the air.
  

So we've got a situation of limited availability and then what is available is unfit for purpose or at best a far more difficult sell.

Here's some other things we know:

• For any game this season, there is always pockets of empty seats with big white reserved seats on them.  The attendance rate for Season Ticket holders isn't what you would want it to be.  We can pretty much interpret why this is but it's largely irrelevant, the tickets are sold.
  
• Season Ticket seats that aren't going to be used are largely not released back into the ticketing system for individual purchases. This is evident by the number of available seats to buy on a game-by-game basis compared to the unoccupied ST seats.
  

It may well be that despite selling 5500 Season Tickets and having 2000 fans wanting to rock up every home game and buy a ticket on a game-by-game basis, we'll never equate that into 7500 home fans sat in seats every game.  Simply because 1000 of the ST holders won't turn up every game and we'll just always have that natural ceiling of 6500 home fans sat in seats.

But there's also a likelihood that there's 3000 fans wanting to rock up every home game, 500+ of which can't buy a ticket (that suits their needs) so they can't and don't come.  Unfortunately we've no real way of evidencing this other than anecdotally at this point.  Frustratingly, in this scenario, there will still be rows and clusters of empty seats with white stickers on them.

Those individual tickets and incredibly restricted view tickets are always going to be the most difficult to sell, people will only take them if they're absolutely desperate and simply can't miss a game.  But for the run of the mill league game where it's not 'must see' and the appeal of sitting isolated or with a poor view is enough to tip someone away from coming, we need to do better.

Those unoccupied Season Ticket seats need to be offered into general sale.  That way the fan who wants to attend on a game-by-game basis isn't put off by the fact he can't sit remotely near their mates, as a family or with a view that Stevie Wonder would be annoyed at.  Be it the right or wrong approach, the club need to find a way of incentivising Season Ticket holders to release their seats (providing they're resold, of course).

Otherwise we're always going to be going on conjecture.  Other than increasing capacity of the ground, this is the only real way of seeing what genuine appetite there is for games.  A decent Season Ticket release scheme will be a damn sight cheaper than building extra capacity that may/may not be used.  

There's nothing to lose on this, I don't even think it's a case that those seats that are returned into general sale from Season Ticket holders will be competing against the less desirable seats.  For the game-by-game basis fan it's surely a case of Option A - Buy a ticket that is where I want it or Option B - Don't bother.  Option C - Take a excrement view miles from your mates isn't likely to be taken very often.

This pretty well sums up my approach to going to BP this season.  Results in less income for the club. Less commitment from me to come to games.

There is also circumstancsl evidence we would attract bigger home crowds if we had more capacity better seats etc
1 Crowds across all levels of football have increased substantially since the last time we were not excrement.. Using crowds in the Buckley era as a benchmark is wrong Why would Grimsby be any different
2 Look at the way attendances have responded at other clubs that have had a bit of success or put in better facilities eg Lincoln or Rotherham
3 Our away support is disproportionate to our home support .This could simply be because our home support is restricted from its natural level by our ground.

Quoted from GollyGTFC

Why does everything and everyone have to be put at one extreme or the other? Can’t people on here like 1878 but strongly disagree with their stance on a new stadium? Why does criticising something(s) that 1878 say/do have to make you a JSF fan?

It was partly tongue in cheek and partly a response to the endless times this subject has been brought up, especially by Mr Josse, who seems to be unremittingly negative in many posts, often highlighting perceived problems with the ground, the owners, the manager and the team.

These topics have been asked and answered at the fans forum and in other media. You may not like the answers they have given, but they have said more than once that a new ground is not on the horizon any time soon, and extra seating has been looked at, but deemed to not be a priority just yet, with them pointing out that with an average season crowd of around 6500, there isn't the need.

I have criticised the new owners in respect of not having a clearer and better scheme for the re-allocation of prime match day tickets from non attending season ticket holders, and I think this seriously needs looking at, and could go a long way to satisfying those who complain about a lack of capacity.

Would like a new ground? Yes I would, and I don't think there are many fans who would like to see JSF back at the helm.

Are we sold out for Friday yet ?

Herve josse does make some valid points for debate tbf