Clubs response to my email about 60-65 Season ticket prices
Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2017 9:38 pm
My letter;
FAO Mr Milne,
So this is the result of your much vaunted season ticket review. I must say that my first reaction was, what genius thought this up?, however on reflection that reaction has turned to anger.
I fail to see how you can attract ANY new customers with a price rise and at the same time driving away fans who are actually on the brink of giving up their season tickets after many years.
As for the concessions age going up, you are punishing fans who due to their age have been season ticket holders in most cases 30 years or more. Is this our reward for sticking with the club and introducing our children and grand children to this once great club?.
If you force supporters like us away, not only will you lose our custom, but also those we bring with us.
For the first time, I really don’t know whether or not I will renew my season ticket and will wait and see if common sense will prevail over this matter. You are risking losing a lot more in revenue than you will ever get by new sales if the number of current season ticket holders who I know and who are undecided on whether or not to renew for next season, decide not to renew due to the price rise and the quality of football on show.
I hope you will reply to this letter with any thing other than a standard brush off!
Yours from a VERY disgruntled fan,
The Response;
Dear Mr Jackson
Thank you for your email, we appreciate all your views and opinions. I can assure you that the views of the fans are important to the Club and are taken into account when we reach important decisions.
The Club were one of the last - if not the last - to switch to producing a new home and away shirt every year rather than every two years. Likewise, Town are also one of the few clubs that has operated a senior citizen band at 60. The decision has been taking this season to increase the concession age category to 65. The qualifying date used by the Club for price bands is August 10, 2017. So if you are aged between 23, and 64 on that date, you will pay an adult price. If you are 65 and above on August 10, you will pay the senior concession price. If you are currently paying a senior concession prices for a season ticket but will be 64 or younger on August 10th, your season ticket for 2017/18 will need to change to an adult ticket. However, the increased cost will be subsidised by 50 per cent. The supporters who fall into this bracket will be contacted directly by the Club.
There is never a good time to increase prices or make pricing adjustments. It is coincidental, that the Club continues to have a difficult time on the field at the same time as it has to consider how to fund next year’s budget.
The facts are the Club’s playing squad spend for the past 3 seasons have continued to rise – 3 seasons ago playing squad spend went up by 17% on the prior season – two seasons ago 7% - and this season it went up a further 8%. Playing squad, coaches & academy costs as a percentage of turnover is now running at 91%. I am pleased to say that all non playing squad costs remained static by saving costs and efficiencies.
To expect the owner to not raise ticket prices when he continues to support an ever increasing playing squad spend is not reasonable. He has set out a clear strategy which is to have careful management of the Club’s annual budget and where that budget is spent along with how the Club is to raise revenue to meet its investment priorities of focusing on the Academy; having a competitive wage structure and careful use of our transfer budget on developing players.
It is regrettable to have the raise prices and the Club has no desire to do so but we have to face economic reality of running a financially sustainable Club if it is going to survive. The owner is doing his bit with the increasing costs and we need the fans to help.
I respect your decision with regards to your view to cancelling your season ticket, but I hope that if you do we will do sufficient on the pitch next season to encourage you once again to commit to returning as a season ticket holder in the near future.
Everyone here at the Club wants nothing more than to see the Club success. We are confident that with continued support of our fans through this difficult period we can realise this ambition.
Thank you for your continued support at this challenging time.
Total nonsense, but what else was I to expect.
[Post edited 20 Mar 22:20]
FAO Mr Milne,
So this is the result of your much vaunted season ticket review. I must say that my first reaction was, what genius thought this up?, however on reflection that reaction has turned to anger.
I fail to see how you can attract ANY new customers with a price rise and at the same time driving away fans who are actually on the brink of giving up their season tickets after many years.
As for the concessions age going up, you are punishing fans who due to their age have been season ticket holders in most cases 30 years or more. Is this our reward for sticking with the club and introducing our children and grand children to this once great club?.
If you force supporters like us away, not only will you lose our custom, but also those we bring with us.
For the first time, I really don’t know whether or not I will renew my season ticket and will wait and see if common sense will prevail over this matter. You are risking losing a lot more in revenue than you will ever get by new sales if the number of current season ticket holders who I know and who are undecided on whether or not to renew for next season, decide not to renew due to the price rise and the quality of football on show.
I hope you will reply to this letter with any thing other than a standard brush off!
Yours from a VERY disgruntled fan,
The Response;
Dear Mr Jackson
Thank you for your email, we appreciate all your views and opinions. I can assure you that the views of the fans are important to the Club and are taken into account when we reach important decisions.
The Club were one of the last - if not the last - to switch to producing a new home and away shirt every year rather than every two years. Likewise, Town are also one of the few clubs that has operated a senior citizen band at 60. The decision has been taking this season to increase the concession age category to 65. The qualifying date used by the Club for price bands is August 10, 2017. So if you are aged between 23, and 64 on that date, you will pay an adult price. If you are 65 and above on August 10, you will pay the senior concession price. If you are currently paying a senior concession prices for a season ticket but will be 64 or younger on August 10th, your season ticket for 2017/18 will need to change to an adult ticket. However, the increased cost will be subsidised by 50 per cent. The supporters who fall into this bracket will be contacted directly by the Club.
There is never a good time to increase prices or make pricing adjustments. It is coincidental, that the Club continues to have a difficult time on the field at the same time as it has to consider how to fund next year’s budget.
The facts are the Club’s playing squad spend for the past 3 seasons have continued to rise – 3 seasons ago playing squad spend went up by 17% on the prior season – two seasons ago 7% - and this season it went up a further 8%. Playing squad, coaches & academy costs as a percentage of turnover is now running at 91%. I am pleased to say that all non playing squad costs remained static by saving costs and efficiencies.
To expect the owner to not raise ticket prices when he continues to support an ever increasing playing squad spend is not reasonable. He has set out a clear strategy which is to have careful management of the Club’s annual budget and where that budget is spent along with how the Club is to raise revenue to meet its investment priorities of focusing on the Academy; having a competitive wage structure and careful use of our transfer budget on developing players.
It is regrettable to have the raise prices and the Club has no desire to do so but we have to face economic reality of running a financially sustainable Club if it is going to survive. The owner is doing his bit with the increasing costs and we need the fans to help.
I respect your decision with regards to your view to cancelling your season ticket, but I hope that if you do we will do sufficient on the pitch next season to encourage you once again to commit to returning as a season ticket holder in the near future.
Everyone here at the Club wants nothing more than to see the Club success. We are confident that with continued support of our fans through this difficult period we can realise this ambition.
Thank you for your continued support at this challenging time.
Total nonsense, but what else was I to expect.
[Post edited 20 Mar 22:20]