Attendances

[cleavers]

From the Etihad Expansion materials....

Current match day capacity: 47,670

Expansion:

North & South Stands - 6,250 each
Pitch side - 2,000

New capacity: 62,170

So, next season, shouldn't we have a 47,670 + 6,250 + 2,000 = 55,920 capacity?

No because the works in the north stand will lose some seats, and I'm not sure that all those removed for the building in the south will be put back in.

(Its also not certain they'll start the north works for next season, though I imagine with all the equipment already on site, its likely they will.)

 

[blueparrot]

It certainly will involve a reduction in prices.

The current pricing strategy seems to involve setting prices to sell out the lesser matches on the actual day of the match or a day before. Previously a lot of matches have been sold out weeks ahead. This is now only happening for the likes of United, Chelsea, and Arsenal. The club are clearly using a revenue maximisation price strategy by setting the maximum price that will ensure all tickets are sold.

The numbers on the waiting list suggest that season tickets will be sold out with the higher capacity. That will remove aa fair chunk of the walk-up supporters so it will be harder to shift the remaining tickets. Also the visiting support allocation will increase. Very few teams take their full quota now so that could mean more reallocated to home support.

Hence the price for walk-up tickets will be reduced especially for low profile matches.

The empty seat stuff is of no consequence. People cannot always attend every match. They go on holiday, attend family weddings and the like. They can be taken ill, suffer from cancelled trains. They can even be stuck in traffic and only arrive after the EEN have taken their photographs.

There are often empty seats in the upper tier of the South Stand. How many of those belong to people who are standing with their mates on the lower tier?

Ye as you've said walk up tickets may, not season tickets, as pointed out there is a waiting list so basic supply and demand would dictate if they can get the maximum value they will. Lets not forget they are now in it to make as much money as possible. As i pointed out earlier the best i think we can hope for is a freeze.

Has anyone worked out what the difference would have been if you had bought a walk up ticket for every game last season, compared to buying a season ticket?

It used to be that buying a season ticket gave you a discount equivalent to a couple of games. But I've no idea if there is much of a saving these days. I imagine most people buy the season tickets to guarantee entry to the big games.

Ultimately there must be some sort of correlation between match day prices and season ticket prices. Otherwise people will decide that the increased capacity will make it easier to get a walk up ticket and make them less likely to buy a season ticket

If you bought match day tickets for every game it would be around 900 so there would be no reason not to buy a s/c. In fact there is an argument that the big difference between s/c and match day prices is what leads to empty seats because even if you can only make half the games it,s cheaper to get a s/c for 400/500.

 

[mancityvstoke]

THE NORTH STAND (originally referred to as the Scoreboard End):
Original terracing until demolition commenced in 1970. New terraced stand opened in 1971 and became seated in 1972.
Final capacity: 8,527
Seated capacity in 1972: 8,120
Original standing capacity: c.18,000
Standing capacity 1971/2 season: 22,000

MAINE ROAD PROGRESSIVE CAPACITY
· 1923 – 84,000
· 1931 – 86,000
· 1935 – 88,000
· 1946 – 84,000
· 1953 – 76,500
· 1957 – 77,000
· 1963 – 64,000
· 1972 – 54,500
· 1973 – 52,600
· 1989 – 48,500
· 1992 – 39,359
· 1994 – 19,150*
· 1995 – 31,458
· 1997 – 32,147
· 1999 – 34,026
· 2000 – 34,421
· 2002 – 35,150

The first picture is a great one of the crossover between the old and new North Stand. Never seen that before.

Those attendance changes are interesting. I think I can pinpoint most of the big shifts:

1963 presumably when the Platt Lane was built and became all seated.
1972 the North Stand as referred to above.
1992-1995 the development of the Kippax/Umbro

Many of the others imposed by statute.

Honourable mention for Gene Kelly.

Can't figure out why it dropped so much in 1953 though.

MASSIVE floodlights?

 

[gordondaviesmoustache]

THE NORTH STAND (originally referred to as the Scoreboard End):
Original terracing until demolition commenced in 1970. New terraced stand opened in 1971 and became seated in 1972.
Final capacity: 8,527
Seated capacity in 1972: 8,120
Original standing capacity: c.18,000
Standing capacity 1971/2 season: 22,000

MAINE ROAD PROGRESSIVE CAPACITY
· 1923 – 84,000
· 1931 – 86,000
· 1935 – 88,000
· 1946 – 84,000
· 1953 – 76,500
· 1957 – 77,000
· 1963 – 64,000
· 1972 – 54,500
· 1973 – 52,600
· 1989 – 48,500
· 1992 – 39,359
· 1994 – 19,150*
· 1995 – 31,458
· 1997 – 32,147
· 1999 – 34,026
· 2000 – 34,421
· 2002 – 35,150

The first picture is a great one of the crossover between the old and new North Stand. Never seen that before.

Those attendance changes are interesting. I think I can pinpoint most of the big shifts:

1963 presumably when the Platt Lane was built and became all seated.
1972 the North Stand as referred to above.
1992-1995 the development of the Kippax/Umbro

Many of the others imposed by statute.

Honourable mention for Gene Kelly.

Can't figure out why it dropped so much in 1953 though.

MASSIVE floodlights?

Haha! Yes, that would make sense actually.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

THE NORTH STAND (originally referred to as the Scoreboard End):
Original terracing until demolition commenced in 1970. New terraced stand opened in 1971 and became seated in 1972.
Final capacity: 8,527
Seated capacity in 1972: 8,120
Original standing capacity: c.18,000
Standing capacity 1971/2 season: 22,000

MAINE ROAD PROGRESSIVE CAPACITY
· 1923 – 84,000
· 1931 – 86,000
· 1935 – 88,000
· 1946 – 84,000
· 1953 – 76,500
· 1957 – 77,000
· 1963 – 64,000
· 1972 – 54,500
· 1973 – 52,600
· 1989 – 48,500
· 1992 – 39,359
· 1994 – 19,150*
· 1995 – 31,458
· 1997 – 32,147
· 1999 – 34,026
· 2000 – 34,421
· 2002 – 35,150

The first picture is a great one of the crossover between the old and new North Stand. Never seen that before.

Those attendance changes are interesting. I think I can pinpoint most of the big shifts:

1963 presumably when the Platt Lane was built and became all seated.
1972 the North Stand as referred to above.
1992-1995 the development of the Kippax/Umbro

Many of the others imposed by statute.

Honourable mention for Gene Kelly.

Can't figure out why it dropped so much in 1953 though.

It crept up at the end when we started squeezing extra seats in through the two gene Kellys and little extensions in places like J block

 

[Marvin]

Any explanation on how we get from 45,500 to 48k this season? I can't see that

Surprising the number of fans who think our ticket prices are cheap. Seat behind the goal in the South Stand is £46 for Hull. Equivalent seat at Old Trafford would be a lot cheaper.

 

[OB1]

Any explanation on how we get from 45,500 to 48k this season? I can't see that

Surprising the number of fans who think our ticket prices are cheap. Seat behind the goal in the South Stand is £46 for Hull. Equivalent seat at Old Trafford would be a lot cheaper.

Supply and demand ;-)

 

[Questy]

The stadium expansion is as much about pushing more corporate as it is increasing season ticket holders, Level 2 East and CB are earmarked for Corporate and next seasons seasoncard prices will be upped so much in order to try shove the current seat holders out.. I was told that it was going to be around £1100/1200 for these seats next season.

If Level 2 gets aimed for more corporate it could end up like Wembley where in Level 2 (behind the dugouts in particular) people take up 15 mins just to get back to their seat after half time and it looks terrible. Surely you come to watch the game not for wining and dining..

As the East stand at City is what the cameras are mostly looking directly at, I hope Level 2 prices do not force people out there at all. A few more corporate in the CB stand OK maybe, but leave the East Stand as now, or as is happening near the base of the North Stand in particular there will be bigger gaps of empty seats in the East Stand Level 2 also. If anyone is priced out of CB stand they should be offered good seats in East Stand where available or decent seats elsewhere, where they want to sit.

More corporate is already being added to the South stand development, so if a little more is added to the CB stand only then any more could be left until the North Stand is expanded surely, or maybe even at the stage when the East and\or CB stand gets expanded.

I was told by a seasoncard holder in East stand block 219 and he said they wanted his seat for corporate.

 

[mancityvstoke]

Any explanation on how we get from 45,500 to 48k this season? I can't see that

Surprising the number of fans who think our ticket prices are cheap. Seat behind the goal in the South Stand is £46 for Hull. Equivalent seat at Old Trafford would be a lot cheaper.

My ticket for every single game works out at about £34 each

(smug **** I am)

 

[Questy]

It certainly will involve a reduction in prices.

The current pricing strategy seems to involve setting prices to sell out the lesser matches on the actual day of the match or a day before. Previously a lot of matches have been sold out weeks ahead. This is now only happening for the likes of United, Chelsea, and Arsenal. The club are clearly using a revenue maximisation price strategy by setting the maximum price that will ensure all tickets are sold.

The numbers on the waiting list suggest that season tickets will be sold out with the higher capacity. That will remove aa fair chunk of the walk-up supporters so it will be harder to shift the remaining tickets. Also the visiting support allocation will increase. Very few teams take their full quota now so that could mean more reallocated to home support.

Hence the price for walk-up tickets will be reduced especially for low profile matches.

The empty seat stuff is of no consequence. People cannot always attend every match. They go on holiday, attend family weddings and the like. They can be taken ill, suffer from cancelled trains. They can even be stuck in traffic and only arrive after the EEN have taken their photographs.

There are often empty seats in the upper tier of the South Stand. How many of those belong to people who are standing with their mates on the lower tier?

Ye as you've said walk up tickets may, not season tickets, as pointed out there is a waiting list so basic supply and demand would dictate if they can get the maximum value they will. Lets not forget they are now in it to make as much money as possible. As i pointed out earlier the best i think we can hope for is a freeze.

Has anyone worked out what the difference would have been if you had bought a walk up ticket for every game last season, compared to buying a season ticket?

It used to be that buying a season ticket gave you a discount equivalent to a couple of games. But I've no idea if there is much of a saving these days. I imagine most people buy the season tickets to guarantee entry to the big games.

Ultimately there must be some sort of correlation between match day prices and season ticket prices. Otherwise people will decide that the increased capacity will make it easier to get a walk up ticket and make them less likely to buy a season ticket

South Stand level 1, seasoncard equates to £33 per game, so probably saves around £350/£400 over the full season

 

[Marvin]

I assume Level 2 at the Emirates is Corporate seating. That's typically half empty but does not get commented on as it is not pitchside

For a long time the area around City's Directors Box in the 2nd tier of the Colin Bell stand was half empty, but I don't notice that any more

 

[mancityvstoke]

The stadium expansion is as much about pushing more corporate as it is increasing season ticket holders, Level 2 East and CB are earmarked for Corporate and next seasons seasoncard prices will be upped so much in order to try shove the current seat holders out.. I was told that it was going to be around £1100/1200 for these seats next season.

If Level 2 gets aimed for more corporate it could end up like Wembley where in Level 2 (behind the dugouts in particular) people take up 15 mins just to get back to their seat after half time and it looks terrible. Surely you come to watch the game not for wining and dining..

As the East stand at City is what the cameras are mostly looking directly at, I hope Level 2 prices do not force people out there at all. A few more corporate in the CB stand OK maybe, but leave the East Stand as now, or as is happening near the base of the North Stand in particular there will be bigger gaps of empty seats in the East Stand Level 2 also. If anyone is priced out of CB stand they should be offered good seats in East Stand where available or decent seats elsewhere, where they want to sit.

More corporate is already being added to the South stand development, so if a little more is added to the CB stand only then any more could be left until the North Stand is expanded surely, or maybe even at the stage when the East and\or CB stand gets expanded.

I was told by a seasoncard holder in East stand block 219 and he said they wanted his seat for corporate.

They didn't make them seats padded for nothing I suppose...did you mean 209?

 

[Wilf Wild 1937]

My guess is that the large drop in 1953 was due to recommendations on crowd densities following the Burnden Park Disaster
that had occurred in the 1940s?

The capacity of the terraced areas at Maine Road was gradually cut over the years for safety reasons but the reality was it
could physically hold a lot more as was demonstrated pre war.

I remember attending the FA Cup semi final between Liverpool & Everton in 1977 which was a sell out. It started raining in the
second half and both sets of fans moved under the roof. The open corner by the Platt Lane (Everton) and windy corner by the
North Stand (Liverpool) were both virtually empty as the rain lashed down.

It is still a mystery as to how many actually attended the Charlton game in 1985 when the Kippax was dangerously full and we
had oversold the seats at both ends (people sat in the aisles and stood at the back). I'd estimate the attendance that day to have
been 55-60,000.

 

[mancityvstoke]

My guess is that the large drop in 1953 was due to recommendations on crowd densities following the Burnden Park Disaster
that had occurred in the 1940s?

The capacity of the terraced areas at Maine Road was gradually cut over the years for safety reasons but the reality was it
could physically hold a lot more as was demonstrated pre war.

I remember attending the FA Cup semi final between Liverpool & Everton in 1977 which was a sell out. It started raining in the
second half and both sets of fans moved under the roof. The open corner by the Platt Lane (Everton) and windy corner by the
North Stand (Liverpool) were both virtually empty as the rain lashed down.

It is still a mystery as to how many actually attended the Charlton game in 1985 when the Kippax was dangerously full and we
had oversold the seats at both ends (people sat in the aisles and stood at the back). I'd estimate the attendance that day to have
been 55-60,000.

I will never ever forget that day.........[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn8IFmiL2yg[/video]

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNoZ8jTd_MA[/video]

Still sends shivers down my spine.

Never thought we'd be where we are now.....ever

 

[Wilf Wild 1937]

Never thought we'd be where we are now.....ever

Very true. I gave up all hope of ever seeing us win the league after the 1983 relegation.
The FA Cup was always the dream in those days and we all knew it was just a dream.

 

[petrusha]

Never thought we'd be where we are now.....ever

Very true. I gave up all hope of ever seeing us win the league after the 1983 relegation.
The FA Cup was always the dream in those days and we all knew it was just a dream.

I regarded the FA Cup as a possibility then. If teams like the Mackems in '73, Saints in '76 and the Hammers in '80 could win it, you always thought there was a long-shot chance that we might as well. But it was very much that - a long shot - and as time went on, with the way football was set up increasingly favouring the richer clubs, it became longer and longer.

 

[Deleted member 58678]

I assume Level 2 at the Emirates is Corporate seating. That's typically half empty but does not get commented on as it is not pitchside

For a long time the area around City's Directors Box in the 2nd tier of the Colin Bell stand was half empty, but I don't notice that any more

It is but I think it's only about half the size of our Level 2.

[bigimg]http://www.london-pictures.com/images/xl_1600x1200/emirates_stadium.jpg[/bigimg]

[bigimg]http://www.stadiumguide.com/wp-content/gallery/etihad/etihad1.jpg[/bigimg]

 

[coleridge]

I know that I bang on about it but the Charlton game was the most mental in terms of the size of the crowd, pitch invasion and general madness on a very warm Spring day.

The Kippax was so full that you couldn't get your arms out of your side for most the time.

We all agreed at the time that Charlton just gave up the moment that they stepped out to face the baying Mancunian mob that was the Kippax, and it was almost exclusively Mancunian back then.

Glad we've moved on in many ways but it will always be a great memory.

52k 'My arse'.

 

[g180aj]

Crazy days and soon after it will be 61000 I believe.

I thought we were going to a little more than 62,000 putting us at the second biggest in the league just past arsenal and Sunderland.

 

[Davs 19]

Crazy days and soon after it will be 61000 I believe.

I thought we were going to a little more than 62,000 putting us at the second biggest in the league just past arsenal and Sunderland.

Sunderland holds 49,000.

Newcastle maybe ?