Empty seats.. worsening trend?

[Prestwich_Blue]

We should not have a situation where tickets are on sale for £50, and fans can't buy tickets together, and yet there are empty seats together at the front of a stand.

That's the nub of the problem. I'm all for trying to encourage students to attend as they could be season ticket holders of the future. But when there is demand and supply, we should be able to meet that demand instead of putting barriers in the way.

I presume we're physically handing over blocks of tickets to third parties, which means that they're not available for sale to others. But the technology is there to print tickets remotely. If I order a train ticket online, I can book a seat and pick the ticket up from a machine, the ticket office or even print it at home. Same for the cinema, theatre or a concert. So why can't we do something similar? So rather than give them 200 tickets, 100 of which may be unsold and result in empty seats, just sell tickets to anyone and when they're gone, they're gone.

Also that should enable us to ditch Viagogo, which I believe is another obstacle to shifting empty seats.

 

[Tim of the Oak]

Or people giving a flying fuck about the club in front of themselves but I can see that it's challenging for many people.

So have I got this right? The ones that aren't overly bothered by an empty seat that the club has received money for don't give a flying fuck about the club?

Wow, to go with the disdain for soldiers, the forcing the prices up for everyone else and the slain bunny rabbits they really are objectionable people.

Hey Moomba. You are the one who started this "can't make the game cos the Budgie's not well" type arguments so just try and enjoy today's game!

Come on City!

 

[moomba]

Hey Moomba. You are the one who started this "can't make the game cos the Budgie's not well" type arguments so just try and enjoy today's game!

Once again, I have no idea what you are talking about.

Are you suggesting that people who are ill don't have a legitimate reason to not attend? And one thing I'm yet to see answered by anyone is who at the club will make the assessment whether or not people have a valid reason to miss a game. Or would you just get rid of the lot regardless?

 

[Tim of the Oak]

Hey Moomba. You are the one who started this "can't make the game cos the Budgie's not well" type arguments so just try and enjoy today's game!

Once again, I have no idea what you are talking about.

Are you suggesting that people who are ill don't have a legitimate reason to not attend? And one thing I'm yet to see answered by anyone is who at the club will make the assessment whether or not people have a valid reason to miss a game. Or would you just get rid of the lot regardless?

Most people will have good reasons for missing the odd game e.g. Family circumstances. There will be a great crowd at the game today.

I was pointing out how willing you are to stretch to the theoretical to support your own points (but criticise others for doing so). Anyway we are boring other Bluermooners with this but I'm sure you will want the last word so go for it. I'm getting ready for the game!

 

[moomba]

I was pointing out how willing you are to stretch to the theoretical to support your own points (but criticise others for doing so). Anyway we are boring other Bluermooners with this but I'm sure you will want the last word so go for it. I'm getting ready for the game!

So who at the club will make this assessment? You want the policy in place, it would be good if you can share the practicalities.

And I'm not stretching to the theoretical in an effort to make the other side of the argument look like they don't give a fuck about the club. I'm stretching to the theoretical to show that what you propose is not workable.

 

[Tim of the Oak]

I was pointing out how willing you are to stretch to the theoretical to support your own points (but criticise others for doing so). Anyway we are boring other Bluermooners with this but I'm sure you will want the last word so go for it. I'm getting ready for the game!

So who at the club will make this assessment? You want the policy in place, it would be good if you can share the practicalities.

And I'm not stretching to the theoretical in an effort to make the other side of the argument look like they don't give a fuck about the club. I'm stretching to the theoretical to show that what you propose is not workable.

OK Moomba. Fair enough.

Bluemooners have identified 3 or 4 "quick fix" wins that might help before the Bayern option was even considered by the Club. It might not be needed!

Also, I don't know if you have been to Munich but it is very difficult to get thrown out of the ground. The Bavarians are very good people. If we learnt how they operate their system better, i'm sure we would be reassured that nobody looses their season ticket for anything less than a very good reason and as a last resort. Also, the debate had moved on to withholding loyalty points so our Club would not need to stop season card renewals.

 

[jrb]

A few ideas to fill and make the remaining empty seats out of sight. Not saying all of these idea are good, or workable, but here goes.

If and when the North stand is expanded, move the family stand to the front of the 3rd tier, along with with complementary tickets(EDS, staff, family, etc), who should be at the back of the 3rd tier.(empty seats out of sight)

Change the North Stand lower tier into a single standing end(safe standing?) for fans who want to stand and sing.(our end) This will make both the South and North stand lower tiers full constantly.

Next season. Those fans on the waiting list who miss out on a seat in the new South Stand 3rd tier should be offered similar priced seats in other parts of the stadium for one season, or for the duration of the North stand 3rd tier expansion. That way the additional seats along with the current(empty seats) have a chance of being filled on a regular basis next season.(extra matchday income, etc)

Make the 1st 5 rows(?) of seats along the bottom of the lower tiers cheaper, which may encourage better sales.

(I appreciate City have a sponsorship deal with Viagogo, but...) Get rid of viagagogo and do any spare matchday tickets sales(£5 admin charge?) in-house via the OS ticket page. It's obvious to the tie-up with Viagogo isn't working.(I appreciate I don't have access to ticket sales via Viagogo, etc) Yes, Viagogo works for the big games(Arsenal at home next), but for the small games there are 100's of tickets unsold, leaving empty seats scattered all over the stadium. City could easily and with little cost or disruption put a link on the OS ticket site for fans who have tickets to sell because they can't make the match, etc.

In general. Make match tickets easier to buy. I still think the OS ticket site could be improved to make buying tickets easier. Open all the seats on the seat planner, instead of individual blocks. On numerous occasions the ticket OS has stated the match is sold out, when it clearly sin't, with a link to viagogo for remaining tickets.(which don't sell) I'd like to see cinema type ticket machines outside the stadium, or in a building located next to the stadium, where fans can turn up and pick up their pre-booked tickets, or pick a seat/s via a touch screen and pay with a debit or credit card.

Allow any remaining unsold seats to go on general sales to non City fan card holders the day before the match, or on the day of the match, on a pick up basis at the ground only.

I appreciate City need to increase their matchday revenues as we are miles behind the likes of United, Chelsea, Arsenal, etc, but I hope when the stadium is expanded to 62,000 City will review matchday ticket prices as they are currently some of the most expensive in the PL, when they used to be some of the best value. ;-) (cheapest) Also. Most of our season tickets have gone up by almost 10% each season for the last 4/5 seasons.(I stand corrected on that) I think it's now getting to a point where a season ticket price freeze would be welcomed by the majority of season ticket holders, even if it was for only 1 or 2 seasons.

Fire away. :-)

 

[worsleyweb]

A few ideas to fill and make the remaining empty seats out of sight. Not saying all of these idea are good, or workable, but here goes.

If and when the North stand is expanded, move the family stand to the front of the 3rd tier, along with with complementary tickets(EDS, staff, family, etc), who should be at the back of the 3rd tier.(empty seats out of sight)

Change the North Stand lower tier into a single standing end(safe standing?) for fans who want to stand and sing.(our end) This will make both the South and North stand lower tiers full constantly.

Next season. Those fans on the waiting list who miss out on a seat in the new South Stand 3rd tier should be offered similar priced season tickets in other parts of the stadium for one season, or for the duration of the North stand 3rd tier expansion. That way the additional seats along with the current(empty seats) have a chance of being filled on a regular basis next season.(extra matchday income, etc)

Make the 1st 5 rows(?) of seats along the bottom of the lower tiers cheaper, which may encourage better sales.

(I appreciate City have a sponsorship deal with Viagogo, but...) Get rid of viagagogo and do any spare matchday tickets sales(£5 admin charge?) in-house via the OS ticket page. It's obvious to the tie-up with Viagogo isn't working.(I appreciate I don't have access to ticket sales via Viagogo, etc) Yes, Viagogo works for the big games(Arsenal at home next), but for the small games there are 100's of tickets unsold, leaving empty seats scattered all over the stadium. City could easily and with little cost or disruption put a link on the OS ticket site for fans who have tickets to sell because they can't make the match, etc.

In general. Make match tickets easier to buy. I still think the OS ticket site could be improved to make buying tickets easier. Open all the seats on the seat planner, instead of individual blocks. On numerous occasions the ticket OS has stated the match is sold out, when it clearly sin't, with a link to viagogo for remaining tickets.(which don't sell) I'd like to see cinema type ticket machines outside the stadium, or in a building located next to the stadium, where fans can turn up and pick up their pre-booked tickets, or pick a seat/s via a touch screen and pay with a debit or credit card.

Allow any remaining unsold seats to go on general sales to non City fan card holders the day before the match, or on the day of the match, on a pick up basis at the ground only.

I appreciate City need to increase their matchday revenues as we are miles behind the likes of United, Chelsea, Arsenal, etc, but I hope when the stadium is expanded to 62,000 City will review matchday ticket prices as they are currently some of the most expensive in the PL, when they used to be some of the best value. ;-) (cheapest) Also. Most of our season tickets have gone up by almost 10% each season for the last 4/5 seasons.(I stand corrected on that) I think it's now getting to a point where a season ticket price freeze would be welcomed by the majority of season ticket holders, even if it was for only 1 or 2 seasons.

Fire away. :-)

More importantly - how is the new camera?

 

[jrb]

A few ideas to fill and make the remaining empty seats out of sight. Not saying all of these idea are good, or workable, but here goes.

If and when the North stand is expanded, move the family stand to the front of the 3rd tier, along with with complementary tickets(EDS, staff, family, etc), who should be at the back of the 3rd tier.(empty seats out of sight)

Change the North Stand lower tier into a single standing end(safe standing?) for fans who want to stand and sing.(our end) This will make both the South and North stand lower tiers full constantly.

Next season. Those fans on the waiting list who miss out on a seat in the new South Stand 3rd tier should be offered similar priced season tickets in other parts of the stadium for one season, or for the duration of the North stand 3rd tier expansion. That way the additional seats along with the current(empty seats) have a chance of being filled on a regular basis next season.(extra matchday income, etc)

Make the 1st 5 rows(?) of seats along the bottom of the lower tiers cheaper, which may encourage better sales.

(I appreciate City have a sponsorship deal with Viagogo, but...) Get rid of viagagogo and do any spare matchday tickets sales(£5 admin charge?) in-house via the OS ticket page. It's obvious to the tie-up with Viagogo isn't working.(I appreciate I don't have access to ticket sales via Viagogo, etc) Yes, Viagogo works for the big games(Arsenal at home next), but for the small games there are 100's of tickets unsold, leaving empty seats scattered all over the stadium. City could easily and with little cost or disruption put a link on the OS ticket site for fans who have tickets to sell because they can't make the match, etc.

In general. Make match tickets easier to buy. I still think the OS ticket site could be improved to make buying tickets easier. Open all the seats on the seat planner, instead of individual blocks. On numerous occasions the ticket OS has stated the match is sold out, when it clearly sin't, with a link to viagogo for remaining tickets.(which don't sell) I'd like to see cinema type ticket machines outside the stadium, or in a building located next to the stadium, where fans can turn up and pick up their pre-booked tickets, or pick a seat/s via a touch screen and pay with a debit or credit card.

Allow any remaining unsold seats to go on general sales to non City fan card holders the day before the match, or on the day of the match, on a pick up basis at the ground only.

I appreciate City need to increase their matchday revenues as we are miles behind the likes of United, Chelsea, Arsenal, etc, but I hope when the stadium is expanded to 62,000 City will review matchday ticket prices as they are currently some of the most expensive in the PL, when they used to be some of the best value. ;-) (cheapest) Also. Most of our season tickets have gone up by almost 10% each season for the last 4/5 seasons.(I stand corrected on that) I think it's now getting to a point where a season ticket price freeze would be welcomed by the majority of season ticket holders, even if it was for only 1 or 2 seasons.

Fire away. :-)

More importantly - how is the new camera?

Stop it, Worsley. :-) It's fine thanks. The next round-up will be when we play Arsenal. Let the construction workers get back on site. Got some tickets for the EDS-Schalke match at the mini stadium as well.

 

[bobmcfc]

People don't have to have a reason for not going to the match, it's not a compulsory part of being a city fan. All these threads do is grind down people's enjoyment of attending and it actually pisses me off that people get so much crap about it. It's up to the club to get bums on seats at the end of the day !