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The problem is that for so many years we've had this mentality that shifting the same number 2500-3000 is good.  We've seen it as a success if we shifted slightly more than the season before, even if it was 1 ticket.

We've had countless 'feel good' moments in the last few years but failed to capitalise once on them.  The biggest one was 2016.  We had 12-13,000 at Wembley to watch us in the most enthralling and captivating manner, yet we did nothing to tap into that.  Let's presume that we sold 3,000 season tickets for that season and I'm going to speculate that as the figure of mugs (I include myself in that bracket) who will trudge down to the ticket office every summer and hand over their money for that little stub book.   Taking them out of the equation, we had 9,000-10,000 potential new customers for season tickets.  Potential new customers have just experienced the absolute high of football- whatever you think of the play-offs, it's the best way to win promotion (and also the worst way to miss out).

Had we really built on that over that summer, we may have easily reached 5,000 tickets.  But we didn't.  To the best of my knowledge we didn't even really try.  We did nothing to capitalise on the feel good factor but also nothing different to attract new custom.  We just churned out the same Zebra finance leaflets and that token sheet which basically gives you a free programme and 2-4-1 at the Farmhouse....which already does 2-4-1 anyway.

If we put the same product out, we're always going to get 3,000.  Despite what John Fenty thinks, it's not enough to just do the PR on the pitch.  Don't get me wrong, what's happening on the pitch is exciting and it will help.  But this club needs to approach things differently, in a way that isn't stuck in a timewarp.

5,000 is achievable.  The club just have to change their mindset beyond accepting something as the norm.

What won't get 5,000 is sending renewal letters out, updating the official site page here and there and then having Steve Wraith do an interview once a month with the Telegraph saying how we've 'smashed' ticket sales but then not giving an actual figure.

THIS.

Quoted from diehardmariner

The problem is that for so many years we've had this mentality that shifting the same number 2500-3000 is good.  We've seen it as a success if we shifted slightly more than the season before, even if it was 1 ticket.

We've had countless 'feel good' moments in the last few years but failed to capitalise once on them.  The biggest one was 2016.  We had 12-13,000 at Wembley to watch us in the most enthralling and captivating manner, yet we did nothing to tap into that.  Let's presume that we sold 3,000 season tickets for that season and I'm going to speculate that as the figure of mugs (I include myself in that bracket) who will trudge down to the ticket office every summer and hand over their money for that little stub book.   Taking them out of the equation, we had 9,000-10,000 potential new customers for season tickets.  Potential new customers have just experienced the absolute high of football- whatever you think of the play-offs, it's the best way to win promotion (and also the worst way to miss out).

Had we really built on that over that summer, we may have easily reached 5,000 tickets.  But we didn't.  To the best of my knowledge we didn't even really try.  We did nothing to capitalise on the feel good factor but also nothing different to attract new custom.  We just churned out the same Zebra finance leaflets and that token sheet which basically gives you a free programme and 2-4-1 at the Farmhouse....which already does 2-4-1 anyway.

If we put the same product out, we're always going to get 3,000.  Despite what John Fenty thinks, it's not enough to just do the PR on the pitch.  Don't get me wrong, what's happening on the pitch is exciting and it will help.  But this club needs to approach things differently, in a way that isn't stuck in a timewarp.

5,000 is achievable.  The club just have to change their mindset beyond accepting something as the norm.

What won't get 5,000 is sending renewal letters out, updating the official site page here and there and then having Steve Wraith do an interview once a month with the Telegraph saying how we've 'smashed' ticket sales but then not giving an actual figure.

But what would actually motivate people to buy tickets who don't turn up now? In 97/98 we had a lot more people at Wembley and a far more successful season than 2016, but that didn't lead to big ticket sales. Our facilities haven't improved since then, and relative to other teams they're worse. There's little we can do in and around the ground, without a significant cost, that will improve the matchday experience enough to get people to buy tickets. We already have cheap tickets compared to most clubs.

Without a new stadium, I just don't see us getting a significant upturn in support, unless we suddenly become a regularly winning side

If Lincoln can go from under 2.000 to 6.000

We can go from 3.000 to over 6.000.

BUT

It will take a promotion to do it so if we don't go up this season 4.000 is a more realistic figure for next season.

Then Ollie will take us up in style and the sold out signs will be out in force .😁

Quoted from pen penfras

But what would actually motivate people to buy tickets who don't turn up now? In 97/98 we had a lot more people at Wembley and a far more successful season than 2016, but that didn't lead to big ticket sales. Our facilities haven't improved since then, and relative to other teams they're worse. There's little we can do in and around the ground, without a significant cost, that will improve the matchday experience enough to get people to buy tickets. We already have cheap tickets compared to most clubs.

Without a new stadium, I just don't see us getting a significant upturn in support, unless we suddenly become a regularly winning side

This!! in Spades.

It is doable if we are in league 1 😃

Personally if we win more than we lose between now and the end of the seasson I think we could aim for and sell 4k if IH is the face of the 'operation'

Looking way back over the years the highest average attendance at Town was back in 1949/50 season in the old division 2. It was 18056. I realise it is completely different these days and would not expect to ever see those figures, but it shows that there is good support when things are going well

If we could climb back up there with a new ground as well 10K average would be feasable with probably half that in season tickets

Quoted from pen penfras

But what would actually motivate people to buy tickets who don't turn up now? In 97/98 we had a lot more people at Wembley and a far more successful season than 2016, but that didn't lead to big ticket sales. Our facilities haven't improved since then, and relative to other teams they're worse. There's little we can do in and around the ground, without a significant cost, that will improve the matchday experience enough to get people to buy tickets. We already have cheap tickets compared to most clubs.

Without a new stadium, I just don't see us getting a significant upturn in support, unless we suddenly become a regularly winning side

I don't have the answers.  I have ideas that I think would help improve things but they're ideas that are floating around in my mind, they're not guaranteed to work.
This thing about matchday experience, what is that exactly?  Are we talking about the facilities that we have at the ground?  Because that's easily fixed in my eyes.....classic example, the toilets at the back of the Main Stand.  Both the gents entrances are in the pathway to bars.  It's far from ideal, causes congestion and isn't particularly nice.  The ladies toilets appear to total about 2 and that I can see there's a single disabled toilet.  Again, this an idea and hasn't gone any further than transferring from my brain to the keyboard but why did we not just either knock up a new toilet block in the large corner between the Pontoon and the Main or bring in something temporary?

I don't for a second think that having better toilets will bring people into the ground but we hide behind this matchday experience as a legitimate excuse for our failings when it comes to attracting fans.  The matchday experience is something we can control.  Our catering is crap, let's do something about it.  People made suggestions, the club came back with excuses.  People want proper ale before the game, are the club moving on this?  We've got 3 massive corners between stands that we could be utilising for this matchday experience yet instead we use it as a car park, somewhere to put a mini-bus and a storage point for training goalposts.

If fans want a better 'matchday experience' lets do something to improve it then.

If people are seriously put off coming to Blundell Park because of the parking situation then lets think about how we can change that.  Can we do a park and ride that's effective, can we link in with the local council to make it plausible?  Can we link in with Stagecoach so it's cost effective?

The problem is that we've got the same people with the same train of thought coming up with the same excuses.  As a result we get the same weak attempt at a sales push and the same average sales.  I'd wager a bet that with no promotion other than just putting the prices out there, we would sell 2,500 tickets every summer because it's the people who've always done it.

Said this for a while, the club need to appoint a proper Chief Exec, someone who's got experience and skills to move the club forward.  I'm sure the current occupants of a lot of roles at the club are nice people doing their absolute best, but be it because they're stifled or they're just not that way inclined, they don't have enough creative outputs.   This is an area that the club have to invest in.

Quoted from pen penfras

But what would actually motivate people to buy tickets who don't turn up now? In 97/98 we had a lot more people at Wembley and a far more successful season than 2016, but that didn't lead to big ticket sales. Our facilities haven't improved since then, and relative to other teams they're worse. There's little we can do in and around the ground, without a significant cost, that will improve the matchday experience enough to get people to buy tickets. We already have cheap tickets compared to most clubs.

Without a new stadium, I just don't see us getting a significant upturn in support, unless we suddenly become a regularly winning side

As you were quick to call balderdash on the notion of not capitalising after Wembley I’ll call balderdash on this.

Minimal evidence a new stadium will improve gates, whilst nobody disagrees with the need of a new stadium, a team not 40 miles away did little to their stadium to improve faculties yet shifted double the usual number here, a club who historically have had smaller attendances than us.

It can be done. Simple fact it, we’re flipping woeful at capitalising, and have been for years. Not just the current custodians either.

How results go generally depends on ticket sales, at every level of football but much like many have happily accepted average and this notion of ‘well we’re in a position that is befitting of a club like us’, we’ve also done the same with ST sales, accepting 3000 is a lot, which it is but surely we want to improve that year on year.

Naturally team performances and feel good factors impact sales but so do the offers and incentives to buy one. We joke but 10% off in the club shop, some 2 4 1 vouchers for a pub few people use, a fiver off of a shirt etc isn’t really selling it to new folk.

Us silly illegitimates that get one regardless don’t really care and to be honest, the guarantee of a ticket for the odd big game I guess is enough, and the lack of hassle of getting a ticket every week helps but what does actually encourage someone to buy a new ST? Someone who never has before...performances yes (although apparently capitalising on a Wembley win and feel good factor isn’t something to be used as an example so I guess that rules that out), facilities? Possibly but again, however many folk have a pop at BP, two stands at least aren’t anywhere near as bad as they could be.

It’s a genuine question really, just why do people decide to buy a ST? Lack of stress buying tickets? Feeling more connected to the club? Shows a level of commitment? Who knows...

5000 looks a huge ask. Possibly overlooking the exile position. The support at Wembley was inflated by many exiled Mariners who travelled huge distances for a special occasion. We had family from overseas come over specially and of the ten tickets sold to my family on the first occasion, eight will never watch games regularly. Now we are playing attractive football I can convince my sons and grandsons to come with me from Norfolk and even make a big effort to get to mid week games ( we all made the Stevenage game) despite their school and work commitments.

Genuine question - have we ever sold 5,000 season tickets?

Quoted from diehardmariner

I don't have the answers.  I have ideas that I think would help improve things but they're ideas that are floating around in my mind, they're not guaranteed to work.
This thing about matchday experience, what is that exactly?  Are we talking about the facilities that we have at the ground?  Because that's easily fixed in my eyes.....classic example, the toilets at the back of the Main Stand.  Both the gents entrances are in the pathway to bars.  It's far from ideal, causes congestion and isn't particularly nice.  The ladies toilets appear to total about 2 and that I can see there's a single disabled toilet.  Again, this an idea and hasn't gone any further than transferring from my brain to the keyboard but why did we not just either knock up a new toilet block in the large corner between the Pontoon and the Main or bring in something temporary?

I don't for a second think that having better toilets will bring people into the ground but we hide behind this matchday experience as a legitimate excuse for our failings when it comes to attracting fans.  The matchday experience is something we can control.  Our catering is crap, let's do something about it.  People made suggestions, the club came back with excuses.  People want proper ale before the game, are the club moving on this?  We've got 3 massive corners between stands that we could be utilising for this matchday experience yet instead we use it as a car park, somewhere to put a mini-bus and a storage point for training goalposts.

If fans want a better 'matchday experience' lets do something to improve it then.

If people are seriously put off coming to Blundell Park because of the parking situation then lets think about how we can change that.  Can we do a park and ride that's effective, can we link in with the local council to make it plausible?  Can we link in with Stagecoach so it's cost effective?

The problem is that we've got the same people with the same train of thought coming up with the same excuses.  As a result we get the same weak attempt at a sales push and the same average sales.  I'd wager a bet that with no promotion other than just putting the prices out there, we would sell 2,500 tickets every summer because it's the people who've always done it.

Said this for a while, the club need to appoint a proper Chief Exec, someone who's got experience and skills to move the club forward.  I'm sure the current occupants of a lot of roles at the club are nice people doing their absolute best, but be it because they're stifled or they're just not that way inclined, they don't have enough creative outputs.   This is an area that the club have to invest in.

Completely agree. Everything at BP seems to have been put on hold awaiting the new stadium which may or may not materialise.

In the meantime, as you say, the club should do something about the things that put people off attending. These days it is much simpler to find temporary solutions to problems.

Yes it would cost a few bob, but the toilet situation and eateries are easily fixed, as is the sound system. We are going to be at BP for some seasons yet so let's get it spruced up with better facilities.

I would think 4000 season tickets would be feasible if Ollie fronts the campaign.

Talking of a new stadium what was the upshot of Mr Day's talks with the council? We really do need some concrete proposals soon.

We will still get our tickets as usual. We always do in the hope that the money will generate funds for who ever at the time has been manager. It’s never been about the ground having been improved or not, it’s about our Grimsby Town football club that means so much to us being able to hopefully move forward. This year it looks like it is going to happen and I hope other people will make the commitment also. UTMM!!

Quoted from rancido

Genuine question - have we ever sold 5,000 season tickets?

Doubt it.

But had anyone gone under 4 minutes before Roger Bannister?

So to date then, other clubs build new stadiums whilst we struggle to build new toilets.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

Completely agree. Everything at BP seems to have been put on hold awaiting the new stadium which may or may not materialise.

In the meantime, as you say, the club should do something about the things that put people off attending. These days it is much simpler to find temporary solutions to problems.

Yes it would cost a few bob, but the toilet situation and eateries are easily fixed, as is the sound system. We are going to be at BP for some seasons yet so let's get it spruced up with better facilities.

I would think 4000 season tickets would be feasible if Ollie fronts the campaign.

Talking of a new stadium what was the upshot of Mr Day's talks with the council? We really do need some concrete proposals soon.

You say the toilet situation, as an example, is easily fixed which is debatable. The whole toilet areas would have to be reconfigured and the existing drainage system examined to see if it could be handle an increased through put. If it couldn't, which is quite likely, then very expensive remedial work would need to be carried out. Surely an expensive course of action on an outdated site anyway. This is a classic example of using a sticking plaster to sort out a simple problem when it is apparent to virtually everybody that the only ly, cost-effective, long term solution is a new ground.

To be honest, I don't think it's doable whilst at BP ?

There are still quite a few that need more than just the 'Holloway' effect to lure them back.
The playing budget will be interesting for next season, certainly a couple of big signings would go a long way to increasing sales. But although 5000 ST's is a big ask given the circumstances, however, good results and if we are constantly in a play off or above position and increase of 1500 - 2000 on the average gate IS doable.

Try to sell 5000 and be disappointed we only sell 4,000 or set a target of 3,000 and be delighted when we scrape in?

I'm an exile with young kids but I'm tempted. I want to be able to get away tickets if we do as well as it feel we might and I want to back and support the team and club. That's down to IH and the players though. The last time I dipped my hand significantly our chairman said it was the worst thing to ever happen to the club. So I'm waiting for something to tip me one way or the other because I'm just not sure I can justify the expense. If I get one I'll be getting 4 as my lads and my Dad will come. Tip enough people like me who've never had one before in the right direction and who knows what we could do.

Bring in temp toilets then?  Pretty sure I've been to quite a few grounds in recent years that have had temp toilet facilities which were far better than the ones in the Main Stand.   Festivals, marathons etc.  They all don't have a permanent toilet block yet the somehow manage it.

We've been hiding behind this excuse for 25 years.  Yes, we need a new stadium.  But we haven't got one and despite the current favour within the local council for one, we don't have a guarantee for one in the near future.

You saying it's a sticking plaster like it's a bad thing.  Are you advocating we just do nothing in the hope we get a new stadium?  That's the approach that has contributed to where we are now, in my opinion.  Surely it's better to address the issue at hand!

I'd be tempted to link sales directly to playing budget. If we sell 3k IH gets a competitive budget and we'll play positive attacking football. For every 250 above that he gets another chunk of cash added to his budget. Get it on local radio and in the press with IH fronting it all talking about how great it will be and the fantastic players he's lining up as and when his budget goes up. Be innovative with pricing as well, target kids, do anything to make a day at BP more enjoyable.

Quoted from diehardmariner

Bring in temp toilets then?  Pretty sure I've been to quite a few grounds in recent years that have had temp toilet facilities which were far better than the ones in the Main Stand.   Festivals, marathons etc.  They all don't have a permanent toilet block yet the somehow manage it.

We've been hiding behind this excuse for 25 years.  Yes, we need a new stadium.  But we haven't got one and despite the current favour within the local council for one, we don't have a guarantee for one in the near future.

You saying it's a sticking plaster like it's a bad thing.  Are you advocating we just do nothing in the hope we get a new stadium?  That's the approach that has contributed to where we are now, in my opinion.  Surely it's better to address the issue at hand!

I agree that temporary toilets would solve one problem but the overriding aim must be a new ground. Anything spent on BP is wasted money IMO. If we don't get a new ground then future ambitions to the level our club can perform at will be severely limited. Limited capacity, limited parking, limited facilities etc and the list goes on. Any redevelopment of BP would need the support of the council in planning permission and this is not an automatic thing just because we have an existing ground. I think a lot of of people have either forgotten or weren't aware that when a new ground was first mooted all those year's ago it was as a result of a discussion with the council of the time. The club wanted to develop BP and the council expressed their preference for a new ground and offered their help in getting one.

Quoted from rancido

You say the toilet situation, as an example, is easily fixed which is debatable. The whole toilet areas would have to be reconfigured and the existing drainage system examined to see if it could be handle an increased through put. If it couldn't, which is quite likely, then very expensive remedial work would need to be carried out. Surely an expensive course of action on an outdated site anyway. This is a classic example of using a sticking plaster to sort out a simple problem when it is apparent to virtually everybody that the only ly, cost-effective, long term solution is a new ground.

I was more referring to temporary toilet blocks, and eateries that could make more use of the open corners.

I agree a new stadium is the way to go, but you have to invest a bit at BP if a new stadium is years away.

A thorough clean of the front facade wouldn't go amiss.

Let's face it - we are going to see the best of Ollie and his team whilst we are at BP so let us make it the best we can and keep the mud on the mud and sell ice creams in the open corners.

I'd sell fish and chips in the corners. Haddock of course. Maybe a curry. I'd sell the Mariner in the ground and have tickets for the half time draw sold in the stands. Why not offer free bus travel on production of season ticket on match days. I'd have a ticket office in Louth.

Isn’t saying don’t invest anything in BP just a ridiculous thing to suggest?

There’s zero evidence that we’ll be in a new stadium within 5 years other than a few sound bites.

We’ve failed to invest in the stadium for years, instead chasing a dream that was never materialising, meanwhile, had some TLC been paid and a few minor alterations BP would still be decent, let’s face it, two of the stands are more than adequate. As stated, simply hiding behind the excuse of ‘we won’t sell any until we get a new ground’ is wearing thin. Fact is, the club has had such low expectations for so long they’ve been happy with 2500 ST and accepting of our level, rather than thinking outside of the box or investing to move the club forward.

Aside from the recent few weeks with Holloway, the same folk have been running the show for years now and with few new approaches or ideas.

We’ve missed chances to capitalise on previous peaked interest, we churn out the same offers, we’ve lacked any real vision and so the cycle continues.

Fact is, cryarsing about spending on BP or settling for low numbers because we play there isn’t good enough and becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

We’re not going anywhere any time soon so as a club we need to think cleverly to entice new ST.

As I’ve said, I don’t know what would make someone get a ST aside from the obvious on field success (but we failed to capitalise on that last time, unlike other clubs). Does anyone know why someone who’s never had a ST and then decided to buy one? I’m curious about their motives, it’s a positive naturally but still curious as to how they arrived at their decision.

Quoted from pen penfras

But what would actually motivate people to buy tickets who don't turn up now? In 97/98 we had a lot more people at Wembley and a far more successful season than 2016, but that didn't lead to big ticket sales. Our facilities haven't improved since then, and relative to other teams they're worse. There's little we can do in and around the ground, without a significant cost, that will improve the matchday experience enough to get people to buy tickets. We already have cheap tickets compared to most clubs.

Without a new stadium, I just don't see us getting a significant upturn in support, unless we suddenly become a regularly winning side

Don’t disagree but the football in the main since 2016 has been pretty crap overall

The club have done virtually everything possible to scupper season ticket sales over the last 10 yrs at least.

I gave mine up after a number of years due to two main reasons;

1. The amount of offers, discounts given at one time virtually made it cheaper to become pay per game than it did to buy a season ticket up front. If i missed a couple of games through holidays/ work then i was out of pocket over the season.

2. The prices only ever went up. Never an incentive or recognition for holding an ST through the dark times, price freezes if we had a sh1t year, a price hike if we had a good one.

Took the p1ss.

Doubt very much if i will buy another one anytime soon unless there was a real threat of a sell out every week then i would have to, apart from that i will take the offers, miss the odd games through commitments and attend as much as i can possibly can as a pay per game supporter.

Quoted from diehardmariner

The problem is that for so many years we've had this mentality that shifting the same number 2500-3000 is good.  We've seen it as a success if we shifted slightly more than the season before, even if it was 1 ticket.

We've had countless 'feel good' moments in the last few years but failed to capitalise once on them.  The biggest one was 2016.  We had 12-13,000 at Wembley to watch us in the most enthralling and captivating manner, yet we did nothing to tap into that.  Let's presume that we sold 3,000 season tickets for that season and I'm going to speculate that as the figure of mugs (I include myself in that bracket) who will trudge down to the ticket office every summer and hand over their money for that little stub book.   Taking them out of the equation, we had 9,000-10,000 potential new customers for season tickets.  Potential new customers have just experienced the absolute high of football- whatever you think of the play-offs, it's the best way to win promotion (and also the worst way to miss out).

Had we really built on that over that summer, we may have easily reached 5,000 tickets.  But we didn't.  To the best of my knowledge we didn't even really try.  We did nothing to capitalise on the feel good factor but also nothing different to attract new custom.  We just churned out the same Zebra finance leaflets and that token sheet which basically gives you a free programme and 2-4-1 at the Farmhouse....which already does 2-4-1 anyway.

If we put the same product out, we're always going to get 3,000.  Despite what John Fenty thinks, it's not enough to just do the PR on the pitch.  Don't get me wrong, what's happening on the pitch is exciting and it will help.  But this club needs to approach things differently, in a way that isn't stuck in a timewarp.

5,000 is achievable.  The club just have to change their mindset beyond accepting something as the norm.

What won't get 5,000 is sending renewal letters out, updating the official site page here and there and then having Steve Wraith do an interview once a month with the Telegraph saying how we've 'smashed' ticket sales but then not giving an actual figure

I don't have the answers.  I have ideas that I think would help improve things but they're ideas that are floating around in my mind, they're not guaranteed to work.
This thing about matchday experience, what is that exactly?  Are we talking about the facilities that we have at the ground?  Because that's easily fixed in my eyes.....classic example, the toilets at the back of the Main Stand.  Both the gents entrances are in the pathway to bars.  It's far from ideal, causes congestion and isn't particularly nice.  The ladies toilets appear to total about 2 and that I can see there's a single disabled toilet.  Again, this an idea and hasn't gone any further than transferring from my brain to the keyboard but why did we not just either knock up a new toilet block in the large corner between the Pontoon and the Main or bring in something temporary?

I don't for a second think that having better toilets will bring people into the ground but we hide behind this matchday experience as a legitimate excuse for our failings when it comes to attracting fans.  The matchday experience is something we can control.  Our catering is crap, let's do something about it.  People made suggestions, the club came back with excuses.  People want proper ale before the game, are the club moving on this?  We've got 3 massive corners between stands that we could be utilising for this matchday experience yet instead we use it as a car park, somewhere to put a mini-bus and a storage point for training goalposts.

If fans want a better 'matchday experience' lets do something to improve it then.

If people are seriously put off coming to Blundell Park because of the parking situation then lets think about how we can change that.  Can we do a park and ride that's effective, can we link in with the local council to make it plausible?  Can we link in with Stagecoach so it's cost effective?

The problem is that we've got the same people with the same train of thought coming up with the same excuses.  As a result we get the same weak attempt at a sales push and the same average sales.  I'd wager a bet that with no promotion other than just putting the prices out there, we would sell 2,500 tickets every summer because it's the people who've always done it.

Said this for a while, the club need to appoint a proper Chief Exec, someone who's got experience and skills to move the club forward.  I'm sure the current occupants of a lot of roles at the club are nice people doing their absolute best, but be it because they're stifled or they're just not that way inclined, they don't have enough creative outputs.   This is an area that the club have to invest in.

Bring in temp toilets then?  Pretty sure I've been to quite a few grounds in recent years that have had temp toilet facilities which were far better than the ones in the Main Stand.   Festivals, marathons etc.  They all don't have a permanent toilet block yet the somehow manage it.

We've been hiding behind this excuse for 25 years.  Yes, we need a new stadium.  But we haven't got one and despite the current favour within the local council for one, we don't have a guarantee for one in the near future.

You saying it's a sticking plaster like it's a bad thing.  Are you advocating we just do nothing in the hope we get a new stadium?  That's the approach that has contributed to where we are now, in my opinion.  Surely it's better to address the issue at hand!
.

Cracking posts Diehard. Taken the words right out of my mouth.

Can do attitude needed.

Bournemouth in the Premier League - can do attitude
Barrow back in the Football League - can do attitude
Leicester winning the Premier League - can do attitude
Operation Promotion - can do attitude
The long way back for AFC Wimbledon - can do attitude

If personnel at the club can't, then get someone else in that can. We haven't had a manager with as much charisma as IH since Lawrie Mac and look what happened to the gates then. 5k season tickets is a bit of a push but why not? Well over 4k is certainly achievable in the present circumstances. IH is a marketers dream. A full grown up explanation of how much the extra sales will be vital to a genuine promotion push pointing to the calibre of players IH has already attracted this January window and we need more of their ilk rather than resorting to cheesy straplines. The cessation of record season ticket sale messages which turn out to be another modest 200 sold etc which always seems a bit tinpot. This club has been stuck in the "part of the furniture" mode of doing things they've always been done for far too long. There's a massive chance for a wholesale change of approach. Ticketing system, ticketing pricing, an uplift in the quality and modernity of catering and introduction of craft beers should be at the top of a very long list for a start..

And just another off the cuff thought.. How about the club find a sponsor to cover the cost of providing and cleaning a few hundred GTFC fleece blankets to be handed out to our oldest, youngest and disabled supporters on the colder matchdays and nights?

We must be the only club in the country that thinks the only way of putting another 2000 on the gate is to move grounds. Unfortunately that’s been the thinking for 20 years now...

Quoted from ska face

We must be the only club in the country that thinks the only way of putting another 2000 on the gate is to move grounds. Unfortunately that’s been the thinking for 20 years now...

Meanwhile a team with an equally beleaguered stadium down the road spent a few grand jazzing it up and capitalised in the renewed interest...6000 STs later...were still a bottom 6 side and they’ve gone up to league 1...

Have we ever sold 5,000 season tickets before? No, but neither had the wimps before the Cowleys so why not?

Lincoln have absolutely shown what is possible in terms of season tickets.

For people to say we have cheap tickets is absurd. They’re more expensive than all of our local rivals. The latest price rise nearly put me off buying one again, it felt like a kick in the teeth after us being so excrement.

I buy one in spite of the things the club does. They really should capitalise on the good feeling and make having a season ticket attractive. None of our tickets should be above £300.

Got to be worth a go hasn't it?

I was drunk off when 'we' were happy with 3000 season tickets sold for the 2016-17 season because it was 300 up on the previous season's 2700. Off the back of Op Promotion that showed a lack of ambition.

Down side of more season tickets is the loss in revenue IF we were to get the same attendance at normal prices. The benefit is it gives budget certainty to the manager in the Summer transfer window. And it means we're less reliant on you know who's 'guarantee' to underwrite £325,000 worth of overdraft.

The mere fact of going for an ambitious target and making progress towards it creates a sense of excitement and expectation that spurs on more demand. No one likes to be left out. Look what happens when it starts to look like we will have a big away day.

What would make me buy a season ticket? I only get to a handful of home games a season. I'm probably not the target market. Ideally if I could have a ST that I could share with other family/friends who attend infrequently. Collectively we wouldn't go to anything like 23 home games a season.

The upturn in anticipation around town is unbelievable. Season ticket holders that had had enough and wasn't going to renew, are now saying they are definitely renewing. Then there are those that haven't had one, or are former ST holders, are now saying they will get a new one next season. There are also a lot of families that are getting ones to take their kids for the first time.

It looks to me that for the first time there is genuine anticipation that there is a real sense of optimism around the area, and we are about to part of something big, and it,s down to Ollie and the brand of football he wants, and a belief that we are at last going to move to our ancestral home land.

"reasons to be cheerful - part two"

Simple things can help. Get IH to be the driving force and the face of it all.

Non of the investment/ground improvement has helped scunny’s cause

Quoted from headingly_mariner

Lincoln have absolutely shown what is possible in terms of season tickets.

For people to say we have cheap tickets is absurd. They’re more expensive than all of our local rivals. The latest price rise nearly put me off buying one again, it felt like a kick in the teeth after us being so excrement.

I buy one in spite of the things the club does. They really should capitalise on the good feeling and make having a season ticket attractive. None of our tickets should be above £300.

Can't find any data for the latest season, but what I can find from a couple of years ago is that our cheapest season ticket is at the top end of prices (5th), but our most expensive is at the bottom end (19th). Most clubs seem to have a big difference between the cheapest and most expensive tickets, whereas there's not much difference in ours.

It's similar with matchday tickets. Our cheapest was 10th highest, but our most expensive was only 50p higher than the least expensive.

I suppose this makes it harder for people on lower incomes to be able to go to the matches vs other clubs, but can we really justify increasing the price of the most expensive tickets to offset the lower end price like other clubs have?

So when you're talking about it being more expensive, you're only talking about the cheapest prices. Overall, we're about middle for season ticket prices and low for matchday tickets.

Quoted from rancido

I agree that temporary toilets would solve one problem but the overriding aim must be a new ground. Anything spent on BP is wasted money IMO. If we don't get a new ground then future ambitions to the level our club can perform at will be severely limited. Limited capacity, limited parking, limited facilities etc and the list goes on. Any redevelopment of BP would need the support of the council in planning permission and this is not an automatic thing just because we have an existing ground. I think a lot of of people have either forgotten or weren't aware that when a new ground was first mooted all those year's ago it was as a result of a discussion with the council of the time. The club wanted to develop BP and the council expressed their preference for a new ground and offered their help in getting one.

Yes, I completely agree that moving grounds has to be our main aim.  You'll do well to find many people who disagree with that.

But your final point highlights the danger of putting all our eggs in that one basket.  If the wind changes and the council either has another overhaul and/or they change their mind, we're back to square one.  Trying to fight against the tide to get our new stadium built but without local backing for it.

Over 25 years since we started talking about a new stadium and we're no further down the line.  Based on that alone, it's incredibly optimistic to think we'll be in our new ground anytime soon.  If we're in the new ground within 5 years I'll be very impressed.   Within that time period even if we managed to attract an extra 1,000 season ticket holders each season that's a lot of guaranteed income each year that we're missing out on.

In my opinion, which I accept is far from informed or that of someone who knows what they're on about, we can't afford to just wait on the new ground and hope it solves all our problems.  Even if we move to a new all-singing, all-dancing stadium it doesn't guarantee a sustained increase in ticket sales. We still have to get everything else right around it.  That includes decent catering, decent access.  Let's use the time we've got left at Blundell Park as a trial and error way of seeing what people want.  I've seen people muting about wanting Docks Beers to have a presence at the ground, let's set this up now and see if it's viable for the new ground.  It might be that it's a small handful of people who want it and if implemented the vast majority of people actually want pissy Carlsberg instead.   We've got food vendors galore in Freeman Street Market at the minute, let's get some of them down to the ground and selling proper food.  Again, it might be that people want a cold-rat burger instead.  But at least we'll have tried and sampled the market, better we do it now than build it as part of the permanent infrastructure in the new ground.

A few points worth thinking about to increase ST sales.

1 ,Work started on the new stadium.

2. We need a successful team  ( this will happen under Ollie )

3. A family ticket priced to encourage whole families to attend.

4. Easy payment option for the ones who might find it difficult to come up with all the money in one go. ( I think we had something like this but it needs improvement. )

5.  An offer along the lines if you had a season ticket for one year you get 5% off the first season in new ground.  10% off if you have had one for 2 years.  15% off if you have had one for 3 years ,then 20% off if you have held a ST for 4 or more years, this is just a one off to try and get as many people already a STH  before we have the new stadium.

Hopefully if enough good will has happened and deals like No. 5 above we will have more than 6,000 STH for the first season in the new ground and average gates of over 10,000 if we are in L1 and even more if Ollie has got us in the championship.

I am not expecting all this to happen but I am very optimistic .  ;)

UTMM

Presumably, Ian Holloway has all the updated information as to whether a new stadium will be built within a reasonable time frame. If it is 5 years away he will not want to have his team playing in a stadium that continues to decline until that time comes. Who would?

I think he is the sort of character that likes things to be as good as they can be, so I would expect him to point out to "squeaky" what could be done with a bit of investment to make the whole experience better.

John Fenty has put all his eggs into the new stadium for the best part of two decades, and we are no further on. Unless some definite, concrete proposals appear before the end of the current season then some simple, clever innovative changes should be made to BP. The floodlights were amended because he had to do it - things should now be done because he values the fans continuing support, and show a willingness to attract new fans with better facilities.

I agree with a lot that’s been said. At present to get to the toilets it’s a long queue, certainly in the Findus. People don’t want this nowadays. The same can be said for the bar and snack bar, all limits sales.
I think the bars should have pre pulled pints, ready just to top up and go. Also I think the idea of getting pop up food and bars in the unused corners of the ground a great idea.
Put some temporary toilets somewhere else and these things make the ground experience, if a little querky, more enjoyable.

Quoted from pen penfras

Can't find any data for the latest season, but what I can find from a couple of years ago is that our cheapest season ticket is at the top end of prices (5th), but our most expensive is at the bottom end (19th). Most clubs seem to have a big difference between the cheapest and most expensive tickets, whereas there's not much difference in ours.

It's similar with matchday tickets. Our cheapest was 10th highest, but our most expensive was only 50p higher than the least expensive.

I suppose this makes it harder for people on lower incomes to be able to go to the matches vs other clubs, but can we really justify increasing the price of the most expensive tickets to offset the lower end price like other clubs have?

So when you're talking about it being more expensive, you're only talking about the cheapest prices. Overall, we're about middle for season ticket prices and low for matchday tickets.

Why would you need to increase any tickets if you sold more?

Surely the cheapest tickets are the most important. Our club represents one of the most deprived areas in the country, people often have to make the choice not to go to the football. Our tickets should towards the lower end of the league and we should have the ambition to sell many more.

The price changes over the last few years are part of the short termism, bad pr and poor marketing that have dogged the club for years. A huge problem with the season tickets is that they’re lazily marketed and there is very little incentive.
The club need to make it so it’s daft not to have one, to show the long suffering fans that they’re important and get the floaters to buy into an idea that things will change.

A price freeze or hike will be a huge own goal. I fully expect it to happen though.

Quoted from headingly_mariner

Why would you need to increase any tickets if you sold more?

Surely the cheapest tickets are the most important. Our club represents one of the most deprived areas in the country, people often have to make the choice not to go to the football. Our tickets should towards the lower end of the league and we should have the ambition to sell many more.

The price changes over the last few years are part of the short termism, bad pr and poor marketing that have dogged the club for years. A huge problem with the season tickets is that they’re lazily marketed and there is very little incentive.
The club need to make it so it’s daft not to have one, to show the long suffering fans that they’re important and get the floaters to buy into an idea that things will change.

A price freeze or hike will be a huge own goal. I fully expect it to happen though.

Would a 10% price decrease on the cheapest tickets lead to more than 10% extra ticket sales? I highly doubt it. So that would mean less money for a push. I really don't understand how the people that moan about the budget the most are the same ones that moan about the ticket prices, you can't have it both ways. Not that I disagree that our cheapest tickets are expensive considering the local economy.

Targeting families and trying to get more kids through the gates would be my preference. This is where the future loyal support comes from.

Interesting that folk have mentioned queues for toilets...all about opinions but if people aren’t buying a ST because they may need to queue to have a slash then I’d assume they never visits anything with large crowds.

Let’s face it, we can claim a new stadium will suddenly mean we shift a few more thousand but it’s nonsense and unfounded...fact is, reason we don’t shift any has been said numerous times already.

Failure to capitalise on the most important win in the clubs history. Consistently poor management of club. A lack of vision. Journeymen players. Poor performances. Lack of ambition. Lack of care around current stadium because of the chasing of a pipe dream and the same old offers being churned out...

Quoted from aldi_01

Interesting that folk have mentioned queues for toilets...all about opinions but if people aren’t buying a ST because they may need to queue to have a slash then I’d assume they never visits anything with large crowds.

I know what you mean but I think it's part of the bigger picture rather than a definitive reason.

I can only really comment on where I sit (Main Stand).  The toilet facilities there for blokes are a joke, it's a tin shed and you're basically pissing in a big trough.  If you're unfortunate enough to want a dump at the game, you've had it.  I can't personally say I've gone to any ground and thought 'toilets were horrible, never going back to that ground'.  But then I'm not a new customer.

Equally so I'm not a woman who has to join a 25 minute queue for the toilet because there's only two toilets in the whole stand.  In 2020, that's just not acceptable.

You add the crap toileting, you add the crap catering, you add the fact that you can't get in the bar at half-time, you add the fact that you can't get parked and there's no system in place to alleviate it....We're already up against it because the vast majority of seats are with some sort of restricted view or you risk getting soaked when it rains.  As long as we're at BP we can't control that, but we surely have to do our best to make sure everything else is as good as it possibly can be.

Put it this way - you're a parent of two kids with no real interest in GTFC but the kids have got some free tickets from school so you all go along to see what the fuss is about.  You go along but when you get there you're parking miles away from the ground.  You get in and decide on something to eat, after spending a small fortune you find the 'burgers' are bloody awful, cold and you end up throwing half of it away.   At half-time you all go to the toilet, by the time your daughter has managed to get to the front of the queue it's the 55th minute of the game, you've missed two goals waiting in the queue.  That's after you and your lad went to the toilet and stood in a load of urine on the floor.  Washing your hands was an ordeal because the single sink and towel dispenser is right in the exit way.   It's cold, it's wet and you can't understand why in the modern age you've got a big massive post in the way of one of the goals.  To cap it all off it takes 20 minutes to get back on a traffic free road because of congestion.

Are you going to come back?

There's things there that we can control.  There's things that we can't and there's things that we can partly mitigate.  Maybe I'm looking at it far too simplistically but there's a lot we can do to improve things and I struggle to see why we haven't.

Just scanning through, so apologies if I missed it, but nobody seems to have mentioned the biggest, in my opinion, single obstacle here is the sheer volume of shiftworkers, or like me, offshore workers who support Town, who will never buy a season ticket as it is wasting cash.
Think of all the industry around here which is 24/7 and you're losing a hell of a lot of supporters who can only occasionally attend.
Is there a case for selling a season ticket, based on a person's shift rota, giving them discount based on the number of games they are available?

The new stadium will have 14,000 seats which will mean there's plenty of room for the kids paying very low prices,

Once the kids get used to watching town winning and playing well under Ollie they will be hooked like I was in 1955.

They are the future.

UTMM

[quote=1079]Just scanning through, so apologies if I missed it, but nobody seems to have mentioned the biggest, in my opinion, single obstacle here is the sheer volume of shiftworkers, or like me, offshore workers who support Town, who will never buy a season ticket as it is wasting cash.
Think of all the industry around here which is 24/7 and you're losing a hell of a lot of supporters who can only occasionally attend.
Is there a case for selling a season ticket, based on a person's shift rota, giving them discount based on the number of games they are available?[/quote

I think the club started doing that this season mate.

Can someone from the club (looking at you Mr pen penfras) explain to me how spending £200k a year to service a benign debt is necessary and a good investment, while spending £200k on measures to sustainably grow revenue streams (more through the gate and more out of their pockets) is significant and unsustainable expenditure?

Also, please stop referring to ticket prices in relation to other clubs in this division. When it comes to getting locals to attend GTFC fixtures, you are not competing with Plymouth or Carlisle ferfuxsake.

I don't mean this as a personal criticism of Rancido or Pen Penfras but when I read your posts I see in microcosm the worst things about the way that the club has been run - it'll never work, we couldn't do that, stop moaning, be grateful for what you get etc etc

I just want to see some innovation and feel like the club care whether I buy one or and that doesn't have to mean reducing prices. I would highlight the work the family coordinator has done this season as demonstrating how you can make a difference without throwing money at it - the flag bearers etc doesn't cost a penny but kids love it.

To put it bluntly, we have a excrement ground in a cramped excrement location. If we reduced ST prices significantly we might get 5k but overall revenue would fall. Get the new ground moving - in for planning and a contractor appointed and we can start building momentum. In the last season at BP do a deal on STs and make sure close to full for every game in the final season, carry the impetus forward to the new ground. Huddersfield did this when they moved from Leeds Rd and doubled their average crowds. Going back 40 years there was little difference between our support and theirs. We will get 6k+ STH at the new ground...

Quoted from ska face

Can someone from the club (looking at you Mr pen penfras) explain to me how spending £200k a year to service a benign debt is necessary and a good investment, while spending £200k on measures to sustainably grow revenue streams (more through the gate and more out of their pockets) is significant and unsustainable expenditure?

Also, please stop referring to ticket prices in relation to other clubs in this division. When it comes to getting locals to attend GTFC fixtures, you are not competing with Plymouth or Carlisle ferfuxsake.

Debt is bad and makes the club more difficult to sell. Plus not all of that money has been used up on JFs loan, there were other director loans that came off the books one way or another. If the club is no longer for sale, then maybe we won't see any more director loan repayments for a while. And I haven't said we shouldn't improve things, just that the realistic things to improve aren't going to significantly alter the ticket sales. We absolutely should be improving the toilets, selling better quality food and drinks and improving the access to allow more people to get at the facilities. But again, that's not going to make a huge difference to the numbers.

We need an experience that is about more than just the game of football, it needs pre match activities around the ground, getting families involved in competitions etc, some other forms of entertainment to make it a family day out and not just a game of football, but where on earth do you put these things at BP?

Quoted from pen penfras

Debt is bad and makes the club more difficult to sell. Plus not all of that money has been used up on JFs loan, there were other director loans that came off the books one way or another. If the club is no longer for sale, then maybe we won't see any more director loan repayments for a while. And I haven't said we shouldn't improve things, just that the realistic things to improve aren't going to significantly alter the ticket sales. We absolutely should be improving the toilets, selling better quality food and drinks and improving the access to allow more people to get at the facilities. But again, that's not going to make a huge difference to the numbers.

We need an experience that is about more than just the game of football, it needs pre match activities around the ground, getting families involved in competitions etc, some other forms of entertainment to make it a family day out and not just a game of football, but where on earth do you put these things at BP?

Maybe not to season ticket sales I agree.  But now the the style of football is improving and with a bit of luck a good start to next season, it would definitely encourage back some of the missing fans.
One quote from a friend of mine who is thinking of jumping on the Holloway bandwagon is 'I want to be able to have a p1ss and a pint at half time, but due to the queues I can only choose one'. (That's the Upper Findus by the way).

Would he buy a season ticket if that was sorted ? Probably not.  But if we could lure him back (and God knows I've tried) I reckon he'd be good for 10 games a season or more.

For a starters how about we didn't have to pay Ifollow to listen to IH
Or visit the Half Season Ticket purchase and find the link has never worked.
Paper tickets, just ridiculous it's 2020

Quoted from pen penfras

Debt is bad and makes the club more difficult to sell. Plus not all of that money has been used up on JFs loan, there were other director loans that came off the books one way or another. If the club is no longer for sale, then maybe we won't see any more director loan repayments for a while. And I haven't said we shouldn't improve things, just that the realistic things to improve aren't going to significantly alter the ticket sales. We absolutely should be improving the toilets, selling better quality food and drinks and improving the access to allow more people to get at the facilities. But again, ]that's not going to make a huge difference to the numbers.

We need an experience that is about more than just the game of football, it needs pre match activities around the ground, getting families involved in competitions etc, some other forms of entertainment to make it a family day out and not just a game of football, but where on earth do you put these things at BP?

With some inventiveness, a proper ticketing scheme and the changes you've laid out along with the improved football and results, 6k home gates are not out of the question. A 1.5k increase in average home gates equates to an extra 500k to the playing budget. In a division where average budgets are around 2, 2.5m, a 20/25% increase in ours would be significant. If as you say changes won't make a huge difference, don't you think the 4.5k diehards should have been deserving of these facilities over the past few years never mind only now IH is here? Even with all these low budget and easy changes it would still only bring us up to maybe par for the division..

Quoted from pen penfras

We need an experience that is about more than just the game of football, it needs pre match activities around the ground, getting families involved in competitions etc, some other forms of entertainment to make it a family day out and not just a game of football, but where on earth do you put these things at BP?

Those big empty corners?

Quoted from Limerick Mariner

To put it bluntly, we have a excrement ground in a cramped excrement location. If we reduced ST prices significantly we might get 5k but overall revenue would fall. Get the new ground moving - in for planning and a contractor appointed and we can start building momentum. In the last season at BP do a deal on STs and make sure close to full for every game in the final season, carry the impetus forward to the new ground. Huddersfield did this when they moved from Leeds Rd and doubled their average crowds. Going back 40 years there was little difference between our support and theirs. We will get 6k+ STH at the new ground...

Summed up in a nutshell.
Critical to the future and support moving forward.

I flipping really hope pen penfras is NOT involved in anything to do with running the club. Talk about negative.

The new ground will NEVER happen without someone finding £20m. That will only come if there is a good reliable revenue stream. Sure there’s all sorts of other potential ways of attracting income with a new ground compared to our old one, but the core business is people through the turnstiles. You can prove the potential for that by reference to the current gate. If we can’t fill BP the new ground will never happen.

So we need to have the negativity cut out at the top and find ways to fill the ground. Innovative thinking. Spending a bit of money.*

* trivial example: last time I took my daughters to BP, they said never again because of the bogs. They’re not committed Town fans. Or even football fans particularly. But it’s the uncommitted that need to be attracted. And I can’t believe girls who have a DN postcode have different biological needs to ones with KT postcodes.

Quoted from KingstonMariner

I flipping really hope pen penfras is NOT involved in anything to do with running the club. Talk about negative.

The new ground will NEVER happen without someone finding £20m. That will only come if there is a good reliable revenue stream. Sure there’s all sorts of other potential ways of attracting income with a new ground compared to our old one, but the core business is people through the turnstiles. You can prove the potential for that by reference to the current gate. If we can’t fill BP the new ground will never happen.

So we need to have the negativity cut out at the top and find ways to fill the ground. Innovative thinking. Spending a bit of money.*

* trivial example: last time I took my daughters to BP, they said never again because of the bogs. They’re not committed Town fans. Or even football fans particularly. But it’s the uncommitted that need to be attracted. And I can’t believe girls who have a DN postcode have different biological needs to ones with KT postcodes.

I think you’re right but I do suspect they work or are at least related to someone to be so pro club.

The way they jumped on the comment about not capitalising on our Wembley win but then banging on like a new stadium will see ya double our numbers says a lot.

Fact is the club, or it’s custodians have been chasing a dream for far too long, a dream that has never gone anywhere other than a discussion about flipping food on, a Roy of the Rovers style drawing and some flimsy plans. Zero concrete developments.

In the mean time they’ve generally ignored the opportunity to at least keep BP, which aside from possibly toilets, isn’t anywhere near a shithole. Our intrepid leader banged on, and still does about not devaluing the product get here we are...a simple bit of TLC and tidying up might have helped drag a few more in...

And anyone that doesn’t think we’d have shifted another 500/1000 that Monday or Tuesday after wembley is deluded...but hey, the lack of ambition and excuse making is rife and we should be happy with what we’ve got. Sod ambition. Sod new ideas. We should know our place.

Quoted from Rodley Mariner

I don't mean this as a personal criticism of Rancido or Pen Penfras but when I read your posts I see in microcosm the worst things about the way that the club has been run - it'll never work, we couldn't do that, stop moaning, be grateful for what you get etc etc

I just want to see some innovation and feel like the club care whether I buy one or and that doesn't have to mean reducing prices. I would highlight the work the family coordinator has done this season as demonstrating how you can make a difference without throwing money at it - the flag bearers etc doesn't cost a penny but kids love it.

Seeing as I'm mentioned in this post I felt I had to reply. Far from having a, quote " It'll never work, we couldn't do that" attitude , the fact that I am 100% in favour of a new ground demonstrates the completely opposite point of view. I cannot see the point in spending unnecessary investment in BP , apart from day-to-day repairs and legal requirements. A simple analogy would be a comparison with my car. It is 13 years old and runs well but is sadly lacking on a lot of the modern technology we now expect from a motor vehicle. I pay for the necessary requirements ie new exhaust , tyres, servicing etc and all is well. But it is not getting any younger and every repair involves an appraisal as to whether the costs justify more expenditure. There will come a time when a major repair could cost me more than the car is worth. This is a situation that I feel we are at, as regards BP. I admit I don't know where the funding for a new ground is coming from but I do believe the board do and we have to go with that. I'm also convinced that Ollie will also be privy to that as he is also a board member. Whatever you do to BP, even if the whole area was razed to the ground and we built a new stadium on site wouldn't address most of it's problems. The footprint of the site wouldn't alter and as such we would still be trying to " shoehorn " a new stadium into an inadequate site. We have very poor toilet facilities, both in size and structure. Although I have never seen them I am lead to believe the changing facilities are archaic. The Main Stand is of wood construction, with poor visibility due to numerous support beams and , IMO, far too gentle a slope to give a good view of the pitch. There is totally inadequate parking, and before some posters jump in and say you can park in the surrounding streets, that is not a satisfactory solution. In fact only recently we had a supporter struck by a car , although thankfully he wasn't seriously hurt. But imagine the uproar from local residents and fans alike if this had been fatal? The whole proximity of the club to a densely populated area with only narrow streets servicing those residents would have come into question.
I truly believe that the only solution to the long term survival of GTFC is a new ground and , apart from temporary solutions like porta toilets and pop-up catering facilities, any money spent on BP would be throwing " good money after bad ". And again I re-iterate, I am not a " It'll never work, we couldn't do that, stop moaning, be grateful of what we have " kind of person, just one that believes the only way forward is a new ground.

But we’ve ignored and done as little as possible to BP (minus the lights which probably should been done long ago) on a whimsical notion that we’ll be in a new ground.

It’s been going on for twenty years or more...you simply can’t ignore the fact things needing someone TLC and a little reinvestment.

One can argue that we have to trust the club but surely anyway can see why some are cynical. Literally zero mention of funding streams, Christ, didn’t Day even tell us they’re not entirely sure who owns it now.

So even if we are guaranteed a new stadium in 5 years, the sheer arrogance of focusing on a new ground whilst ignoring any opportunity for even a small redevelopment (whilst said new ground remains only a design on a homosexual packet) could have actually cost us long term revenue...if we believe that amenities and facilities are a key factor in folk not getting a ST.

We’re talking about now. Not some pipe dream. So what are the club doing now, sitting back and relying on a stadium whilst moaning about the current one isn’t enough.

That was the original focus of the topic. How do we push for 5k ST without making flimsy excuses...

Quoted from aldi_01

But we’ve ignored and done as little as possible to BP (minus the lights which probably should been done long ago) on a whimsical notion that we’ll be in a new ground.

It’s been going on for twenty years or more...you simply can’t ignore the fact things needing someone TLC and a little reinvestment.

One can argue that we have to trust the club but surely anyway can see why some are cynical. Literally zero mention of funding streams, Christ, didn’t Day even tell us they’re not entirely sure who owns it now.

So even if we are guaranteed a new stadium in 5 years, the sheer arrogance of focusing on a new ground whilst ignoring any opportunity for even a small redevelopment (whilst said new ground remains only a design on a homosexual packet) could have actually cost us long term revenue...if we believe that amenities and facilities are a key factor in folk not getting a ST.

We’re talking about now. Not some pipe dream. So what are the club doing now, sitting back and relying on a stadium whilst moaning about the current one isn’t enough.

That was the original focus of the topic. How do we push for 5k ST without making flimsy excuses...

We all want a new stadium but we will be years in BP yet. The board cannot expect another few years to pass without some improvements to be made. It is an historic stadium that could and should be improved in line with improvements on the pitch.

Unless something verifiable is said at the fans forum I wouldn't expect a new stadium to be delivered at all. I hope I am wrong but I cannot see where the funding of £20+million is coming from.

Going off what I've read on the internet, our best season was 83/84. Nearly made it to the top flight
The following season in what was the championship with some big clubs, even with all the optimism of the previous season our average attendance was only 6400. Long before 24/7 football the internet and the ability to watch all our games on the tv
In my living memory it was 94/95 season. 10th in the championship. Great team. Good football. Lots of optimism, could we push for the premiership. It doesnt get much better. The season that followed our average was 6200. Crap.
Forgotten what I was getting at actually ;D
Crap story but I'll tell it anyway. Cos I can. I remember we played Norwich about 96ish. Good times. Norwich had a really good exciting team, a premiership team, i think they won the league that year They sold out the osmond. Loud. Probably some in the home ends too. Attendance? 5400. Basically, to answer the op question. 5400 minus 2000..... surely we were selling more than 3k season tickets? ;D
In the championship under Buckley we were getting less home fans that we had last week against Morecambe. Fact. It was embarrassing/annoying for alot of games. Really bad atmosphere unless we were playing one of the big clubs on a warm sunny day - otherwise most football fans weren't interested
Attendances have been crap for at least 40years

Before the new cinema was built people would travel to Dull or Scunny to watch films rather than go to the Freeman St. cinema. Now they go to Meridian Point to watch their films. Ask yourself what is the difference? Would this be the same in a new stadium?

In my view we now demand better and modern facilities before they part with our hard earned. We won't put up with second rate facilities any more, especially when we are taking our families

Time have moved on. Blundell Park for all its nostalgia is a dump. You have to queue up up in a tiny office just to get a ticket to get through the turnstile on match day. The whole match day experience for the casual fan is woeful and off putting, especially in winter.

Once the new stadium is up and running, you will be wondering what all the fuss was about.

No one’s arguing (on this thread at least) about NOT wanting to move to a new stadium. But we have to live in the here and now. Have we got a viable method of funding a new stadium? It certainly doesn’t look like it otherwise they’re be talking about it. Without clear site of a plan and funding we have to make the most of what we have and do something now.

Saying you support the idea of a new stadium without a clue as to what is going on behind the scenes, whilst saying money spent on BP is wasted, isn’t positive or pragmatic. It’s just idle day dreaming.

The op was about having the ambition to drive up season ticket sales. It’d be nice to hear about some initiatives in that direction for a change instead of claptrap like ‘if England do well we’ll sell more tickets’. Seeing the club do better on that front is in the fans’ interest and it IS the fans’ business.

I’ve always wondered how much it’d cost to block up the sides of the Pontoon and Main Stand, like how the Main used to be -

[img]https://i.postimg.cc/VN3jLPB7/C04-C769-B-BAB2-427-E-A761-DEDB700039-B0.jpg[/img]

Half the atmosphere created disappears straight out the open side of the Pontoon, plus it’s not a nice place to be sat if the wind gets up. All you’d need is the frames welding in and some acrylic sheets, you could do the same thing on the side of the Osmond too. Atmosphere would be 10 times better and it’d be warmer, drier and more inviting in the two stands that are always last to sell out. Probably a non-starter in the upper Findus as it might impact the views, but I think people are always more inclined to go when there’s a decent atmosphere and we want to make the place as intimidating as possible.

Mr penfras, build up that wall.

Who you bring up a god point about the pontoon.. Is this something the club could get a quote for and we fans look into funding?? The majority of fans wouldnt be happy for the club to throw money at it.

I live down south and don't get to BP very often, I see Town away much more. The last couple of times I've been to BP it has struck me how rough it has become, it is a bit of a dump compared to many other grounds I've been to recently. Case in point: Orient is an old ground but they've done it up and it doesn't have the rusty turnstiles and general air of decay that BP has. Entering BP behind the main stand feels more like going to the allotments with your grandad than entering a football stadium.
If we were to stay at BP we would have to spend a lot of money and way more than doing up the loos! As much as a new ground would cost? I don't know, I'm not an architect or builder.
Things have changed so much in people's expectations in the past 20 years or so and it's reasonable to expect decent food, decent loos, things being clean and tidy and that you are generally warm and dry (warmish, it's a football ground!).
And in support of Fenty (and this is not something I do very often) he has regularly said that BP hasn't the space and infrastructure to support commercial activities that would generate extra income. There is no way on earth that I would have a business meeting at BP!
To really move ahead it's going to cost a lot of money and if we have to spend that money a new ground looks like the best option.

Quoted from lukeo

Who you bring up a god point about the pontoon.. Is this something the club could get a quote for and we fans look into funding?? The majority of fans wouldnt be happy for the club to throw money at it.

No. Again. Stop with this please.

People need to stop volunteering the fanbase to fork out for the club’s benefit.

If the club can afford to see £200k a year to disappear into Directors’ pockets, they can afford to invest in the only asset they actually have.

Fans already stump up plenty of cash over the course of a season and aside from an emotional rollercoaster we get little back...where’s our director/s pocket 200k becauee it can’t be spent on players.

May be not can’t but some of that could’ve contributed to keeping BP at least decent in terms of offering even temporary toilets or more than a lick of paint here or there. The club have allowed it to deteriorate chasing a dream that is no where near a reality so far...

We really need to stop suggesting fans could contribute to things...yeh, may be a few fans would offer to help paint etc but expecting fans and suggesting fans stump up cash is getting daft...no wonder the club sit back and let us do it...

Quoted from aldi_01

Fans already stump up plenty of cash over the course of a season and aside from an emotional rollercoaster we get little back...where’s our director/s pocket 200k becauee it can’t be spent on players.

May be not can’t but some of that could’ve contributed to keeping BP at least decent in terms of offering even temporary toilets or more than a lick of paint here or there. The club have allowed it to deteriorate chasing a dream that is no where near a reality so far...

We really need to stop suggesting fans could contribute to things...yeh, may be a few fans would offer to help paint etc but expecting fans and suggesting fans stump up cash is getting daft...no wonder the club sit back and let us do it...

These are repayments on loans from the Directors to keep the club going but I'm sure you will counter that with " they should have been gifts in the first place ".

To get back to the original thread , I don't think 5,000 ST sales is achievable at BP but certainly a figure of about 4,000 is. The best way to increase ST's is better performances on the pitch with a realistic prospect of promotion and definite plans for a new ground. Regardless of what you do to BP IMHO you will never achieve 5,000 ST sales. This is nothing to do with being negative or can't do approach but a realistic appraisal of what is on offer and what can be done to improve that.

Quoted from BobbyCummingsTackle

I live down south and don't get to BP very often, I see Town away much more. The last couple of times I've been to BP it has struck me how rough it has become, it is a bit of a dump compared to many other grounds I've been to recently. Case in point: Orient is an old ground but they've done it up and it doesn't have the rusty turnstiles and general air of decay that BP has. Entering BP behind the main stand feels more like going to the allotments with your grandad than entering a football stadium.
If we were to stay at BP we would have to spend a lot of money and way more than doing up the loos! As much as a new ground would cost? I don't know, I'm not an architect or builder.
Things have changed so much in people's expectations in the past 20 years or so and it's reasonable to expect decent food, decent loos, things being clean and tidy and that you are generally warm and dry (warmish, it's a football ground!).
And in support of Fenty (and this is not something I do very often) he has regularly said that BP hasn't the space and infrastructure to support commercial activities that would generate extra income. There is no way on earth that I would have a business meeting at BP!
To really move ahead it's going to cost a lot of money and if we have to spend that money a new ground looks like the best option.

BP should never have been allowed to fall into the state you describe.

It is the only saleable asset we have and it looked better 25 years ago.

Things are at last looking up in so many ways but ground maintenance (apart from the legal minimum) is yet another area were the current board have badly let us down.

Once the footings are in place for a new stadium is the time to neglect the old one.

We had our chance a few years ago in May 2016 to increase our ST sales and we didn’t capitalise.

I’m sure some boring girl private will come along and say there’s no proof of that but a faint look across the water, down the road and just some general common sense would tell you people would’ve e been caught up in the excitement...

It’s unlikely to sell many more than 3k now and that’s simply down to the performances and those fans who disagree with the regime of the club. Improve on the pitch, we may see an increase.

I’d still like to know what makes a bloke who’s been going regularly suddenly buy a ST, conversely, what makes someone who likes football but not necessarily town suddenly invest...because let’s face it, we get shot all financially from it...

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

BP should never have been allowed to fall into the state you describe.

It is the only saleable asset we have and it looked better 25 years ago.

Things are at last looking up in so many ways but ground maintenance (apart from the legal minimum) is yet another area were the current board have badly let us down.

Once the footings are in place for a new stadium is the time to neglect the old one.

A football stadium in good condition is worth the same amount as a football stadium in poor condition. Both are going to knocked down for housing so makes no difference to the value.

Quoted from Posh Harry

A football stadium in good condition is worth the same amount as a football stadium in poor condition. Both are going to knocked down for housing so makes no difference to the value.

Maybe so in purely financial terms but it goes beyond that.

It is our main asset now and is likely to be for many years to come, so what exactly is the point of letting it decay?

You won't be attracting many floating fans if the facilities aren't up to scratch.

I have read this thread with interest and some excellent points have been raised. However they have been raised numerous times before and the Club have failed to act thus far. The Club need as much additional income as possible and to achieve this requires a sea change in attitude and vision from the Board . I know for a fact the MT have raised many of these issues previously and more than once and been met with a no can do attitude and believe it or not our majority shareholder was NOT the main obstacle? If we could get some proper dialogue and be listened to I see no reason why we can`t significantly increase that average home gate.

One of the key things nobody seems to have mentioned is the self ticket scheme? Now if that was tweaked and made properly attractive to exiles and shift workers in terms of reward 500-1000 sales should be achievable . The IH effect will see Season ticket sales go up in my view but again be great if the Club went for it and actively targeted new fans whilst also rewarding old fans. Lets see them reduce the prices for kids with a full paying adult even if they restrict this offer to the Main stand and this on the understanding it`s THE designated family stand.

How about an offer to current Season ticket holders of if they renew before the Season ends they get £50 off or they can get a voucher for a new home shirt. Also if they introduce a mate or a new Season ticket holder they get the same again.

The food and drink the money goes to outside caterers (I understand this is being looked at) but outside the ground with the Imp now long gone we have very little and inside the ground it`s crowded and hard work getting served or getting to the toilet. 3 Open corners to go at with some imagination and the honesty to go with stating look this is the best we can do til we move most fans will back that.

Quoted from Posh Harry

A football stadium in good condition is worth the same amount as a football stadium in poor condition. Both are going to knocked down for housing so makes no difference to the value.

Not to the fans inside it.

Not saying they can afford to lower prices but aside from waiting an age to get served, the prices in the bar at BP aren’t exactly cheap and football fans are creatures of habit.

The Imp may be shut but those fans found elsewhere to drink. There’s pubs within in walking distance, grantees they’re not on top of the ground but still...folk will stick to routines.

We have local businesses who could operate a fan park type bar thing. We’ve the spaces in open corners and use some of the car park...

As many have said, the club have never really reacted to things and the same folk have been clueless for twenty years, intercourse all will change. It’s a mindset shift needed...will we get it? Forgive me for being pessimistic...

Quoted from 1mickylyons

Lets see them reduce the prices for kids with a full paying adult even if they restrict this offer to the Main stand and this on the understanding it`s THE designated family stand.

Why restrict it to the Main stand? My kids have always love being in the Pontoon with the singing, the quiet of the Main stand would never have attracted them

Must admit, the restrictive nature of selling tickets is bizarre.

As a student I couldn’t have a discounted ticket in the Findus yet I’d sat there forever, becauee they only sold student ST in the pontoon. flipping bizarre thinking.

Ended up just getting a junior ST....

If people sit in upper and want a junior or whatever, sell them it.

I can’t imagine other grounds have restrictions like that...which again highlights the issues aren’t just the stadium, more the clueless custodians...

Quoted from rancido

To get back to the original thread , I don't think 5,000 ST sales is achievable at BP but certainly a figure of about 4,000 is. The best way to increase ST's is better performances on the pitch with a realistic prospect of promotion and definite plans for a new ground. Regardless of what you do to BP IMHO you will never achieve 5,000 ST sales. This is nothing to do with being negative or can't do approach but a realistic appraisal of what is on offer and what can be done to improve that.

I’d say it’s an overly simplistic and reductive summary of the reasons why people go to watch football and the situation we are in. When Buckley was in charge and we were finishing in the top half of the Championship, we were pulling in significantly more home fans?

There are plenty of other factors that influence people’s decisions (or ability) to go to a match, so this attitude that the club have of “oh well leave it to the football gods” is backwards & lazy for me. Especially nowadays when if you want to watch football you can do it anywhere, any time, and you don’t have to pay £20 to sit in the cold to do it.

Why do more people turn up to watch derby matches or against teams where there’s a rivalry? The quality of football doesn’t automatically get better does it?

For me, you control what you can control and don’t leave it down to chance, especially if we’re talking about selling season tickets. If you do a good enough job of selling STs in the summer, you don’t have to break your b0ll0cks every week convincing people to stump up on Tuesday nights in February.

It’s helpful having Holloway in for next year as you can take it as given that we’ll be playing more attractive attacking football. That’s one part of it, now every other part of the experience needs looking at.

I just heard Ollies interview , he didn’t sound very happy ;D

Quoted from aldi_01

Must admit, the restrictive nature of selling tickets is bizarre.

As a student I couldn’t have a discounted ticket in the Findus yet I’d sat there forever, because they only sold student ST in the pontoon. flipping bizarre thinking.

Ended up just getting a junior ST....

If people sit in upper and want a junior or whatever, sell them it.

I can’t imagine other grounds have restrictions like that...which again highlights the issues aren’t just the stadium, more the clueless custodians...

This.
Totally antiquated ticketing system.
E ticketing must be an option for the club to cut costs and provide a better service for customers(that's the modern word for fans)
Many complain here about been out the area and unable to purchase online and print at home-instead trying to work out last posting dates etc.

Why oh why do we have to pay Ifollow to listen to an interview, it's just not on

Cannot not seeing us getting anywhere near to 5,000 season tickets for next season even with the positive impact Ollie has made since he arrived on and off the pitch. Especially not at the current prices.

I think the club needs to think about the fans of the future maybe reducing season tickets to £50 for under 16's or one free with two full priced adult ST and not restricting this just to the Main Stand like the family tickets are. My son went to his first game last season and wants to go to every game.

As many have said, even buying a ticket, even online is antiquated. I’m not using a platform like Seetickets but it’s impossible not to realise how simple it was buying Wembley tickets...

The restrictions make zero sense either, why on earth limit where folk can sit etc. If a bloke wants an adult the offer is a free u16 ticket, why restrict it to the main stand. That bloke has probably sat in the Findus or pontoon for years.

I think after 9 pages we’ve established that the club have missed the opportunity to capitalise after huge success, the slight increase in profile may not be enough and facilities along with antiquated ticketing, and possibly pricing are what is likely to stop us shifting 5000 STs.

Quoted from nightrider

Going off what I've read on the internet, our best season was 83/84. Nearly made it to the top flight
The following season in what was the championship with some big clubs, even with all the optimism of the previous season our average attendance was only 6400. Long before 24/7 football the internet and the ability to watch all our games on the tv
In my living memory it was 94/95 season. 10th in the championship. Great team. Good football. Lots of optimism, could we push for the premiership. It doesnt get much better. The season that followed our average was 6200. Crap.
Forgotten what I was getting at actually ;D
Crap story but I'll tell it anyway. Cos I can. I remember we played Norwich about 96ish. Good times. Norwich had a really good exciting team, a premiership team, i think they won the league that year They sold out the osmond. Loud. Probably some in the home ends too. Attendance? 5400. Basically, to answer the op question. 5400 minus 2000..... surely we were selling more than 3k season tickets? ;D
In the championship under Buckley we were getting less home fans that we had last week against Morecambe. Fact. It was embarrassing/annoying for alot of games. Really bad atmosphere unless we were playing one of the big clubs on a warm sunny day - otherwise most football fans weren't interested
Attendances have been crap for at least 40years

Some uncomfortable home truths in this post. All this big club for the league nonsense and we struggled to get 5000 home fans in the championship. Selling 5000 season tickets in league 2 seems fanciful to me. A new ground will increase attendances but not by much.

Times have changed since we were in the Championship. There seems to be a greater desire for ‘experiences’ now. People are more into going to live events. Look at the growth of festivals over the last 30 years. If we were only getting 5-6000 two divisions higher with the bigger clubs away followings that shows the attendances have kept up pretty well.

5000 season tickets seems ambitious. But how do we know unless we dig deeper into the subject.

I love harping back to the 90s....
Afew weeks before Bonetti arrived we managed to muster 3993 against premiership Watford. On a Saturday. In early September. 3993. You can't blame that on our performances can you - the season hadn't long started.
I wonder how many Watford brought. More than Morcambe I'm sure
Mind you, they all turned up a few months later for the 5th round FA cup tie against premiership opposition didn't they.....
I think this was a few months after Buckley left.

I wonder if the directors at the time might have pushed abit harder for promotion if theyd had more support through the turnstiles?
I've said it before, looking back we were a quick/cheap proposition for a Jack Walker / John Shelton Fenty ahem type to turn into a premiership team
10th the season before. A top striker to replace mendonca for a season, a keeper and another real top class player alongside bonetti (who the fans had to buy anyway) would have EASILY done it. This would have cost nothing. Christ Bonetti would have cost the club nothing baring in mind the extra 2000 he put on the gate
As it was even though we had a crap start, were still reeling from buckley taking half the club, without our best player mendonca, lacking a goalscorer and an experienced manager, we were still only 90mins away from going top just before christmas!

But, why would the men in charge put the money in there pocket when a 4th div club takes roughly the same in gate receipts as a good 2nd div club 😂 This was banded around at the time and there was probably an element of truth in it. Fenty isn't the first to penny pinch. He was just the unlucky one who was lumbered with a worst set of circumstances
Lots of protests about those in charge at the time but looking back was it them or was it the town not supporting the club??

Anyway I digress 🤣🤣🤣 I like the positivity and some good posts but I just don't see the attendance ever improving regardless of how good we are. I'd love to be proved wrong. Would love to be in a full stadium every game and i hope it ends up happening