Tim of the Oak
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 29 Dec 2012
- Messages
- 18,034
all those things you've mentioned are good, but the fact is most tickets aren't cheap and arent affordable. the demographics are getting older because the club have completely ignored/priced out 18-30 year olds from going to city games, as have most clubs. we did not have to have a family stand, we could have made tickets 90 quid around the whole ground. the family stand is to big and its half empty most weeks, especially midweek games. plenty of people do leave, but its familystand st holders who are leaving early/not showing up more then everyone else.
id move the family stand or make it smaller when we expand the north stand. put a proper home end in the north stand and get the 18-30 year old demographic back into the ground. just like they have done in germany. funny thing is i dont remember leaving early being a big problem a few years ago.
Thanks Cheadlehulme Blue. I think you are right that the Club should have prioritised the 18plus age group (maybe to 22 or 24 IMHO).
Yes there is a particular issue with the family Stand but the tickets are cheaper there so I don't think leaving early is related to price. There are quite a few early leavers in other parts of the ground too. It's down to choice.
I think fans expectations have risen with success and it takes an exceptional performance (like Barca at home) now for the vast majority to stay for the full game. I've just read Sean Goater's biography and he commented that our expectations rose as fans every time we progressed. Sean saw this as a good thing (but there wasn't the same number of early leavers then).