Etihad Atmosphere - 2022/23

[pride in battle]

Can't see the club not going for a 3 tier stand, if only to ensure more hospitality dollars, but if they do go for a 2 tier stand, I expect the development of more hospitality areas in the centralised areas of the East and CB stands and relocations of supporters to the new stand. Imagine the atmosphere then !

You are right though, the year drums and megaphones wielded by wonks on ladders arrives is the year the ST gets given up unfortunately. I'll leave supporting in person to the half and half scarf wearing fan who watch the game on their phone screen and posts on social media about the City 'Ultras' !

Out of interest do you sing at the ground ?

 

[PPT]

You can't rinse young, local and vocal fans for hundreds and hundreds of pounds for each and every game. That's why it will never happen unfortunately. The focus of the club is 100% revenue / profitability. Nothing wrong with that either. The bills have to be paid. However, it is incompatible with attracting young, local and vocal fans. I think we have to start accepting what we have become and what we now are.

 

[Citizen of Legoland]

You can't rinse young, local and vocal fans for hundreds and hundreds of pounds for each and every game. That's why it will never happen unfortunately. The focus of the club is 100% revenue / profitability. Nothing wrong with that either. The bills have to be paid. However, it is incompatible with attracting young, local and vocal fans. I think we have to start accepting what we have become and what we now are.

Is it just about money though? Lots of youngsters seem to prioritise other things rather than be at the game regularly. There’s just so much to spend money on for them these days, I see and know loads driving new cars, even students. Then there’s £1000 every two years on new phones, expensive clothes, ripoff takeaway food, regular holidays, daft concert ticket prices. I had none of that in the eighties. I just don’t think simply reducing ticket costs will work, some will just not turn up, write it off because they can afford to do so. You’d need to identify those that will make a noise AND turn up regularly. Not saying it’s not worth a try, I just think it’s more complicated than it looks.

 

[Betterdeedthan red]

It's like going to altona towers .
Too may tourists .
To expensive .
Footballs gone from the working man.

 

[Cheadle_hulmeBlue]

Is it just about money though? Lots of youngsters seem to prioritise other things rather than be at the game regularly. There’s just so much to spend money on for them these days, I see and know loads driving new cars, even students. Then there’s £1000 every two years on new phones, expensive clothes, ripoff takeaway food, regular holidays, daft concert ticket prices. I had none of that in the eighties. I just don’t think simply reducing ticket costs will work, some will just not turn up, write it off because they can afford to do so. You’d need to identify those that will make a noise AND turn up regularly. Not saying it’s not worth a try, I just think it’s more complicated than it looks.

Not sure I agree with that. In cup games and champions league games there are way more young people. I often see groups of young lads going to those games - I don’t see that in league games.

Away games with the cheaper tickets and percentage going to younger fans has also made a big difference.

Not all young people do things you mentioned above either. Expensive phones, regular holidays are a luxury for most. Plenty would gladly come to more games if it was cheaper. Obviously as you say it’s a lot more complicated than that and is just one part of a wider topic

I think they should of be reduced regardless, in particular the eye watering match day tickets

 

[Northerndave]

Out of interest do you sing at the ground ?

I sing, I shout, I swear and I do it all without a drum or a megaphone.

I'll point to Copenhagen away as the absolute low point of what organised ultras can do to an atmosphere

 

[trevorriley]

one last time, the north stand is looking extremely likely to be two tier. It is not going to be a stand focused on corporate. There will be enough room in the massive new stand to offer various ways to watch the game. We are having meetings with the club on what we can do to help it improve the atmosphere, but of course there are no official new shape plans submitted yet therefore it is early days.

i dont think we will improve the singing until fans realise that the reason why the atmosphere is quiet is because fans dont join in and choose not to sing. Cheap beer, getting rid of neon signs, not playing concourse music and so on wont change the atmosphere. Fans wishing to sing / improve atmosphere need to move in to areas where singers congregate and sing rather than rushing to the bar or looking at mobiles.

It is a culture in the premier league that we seem to have, tourists arent to blame, we have enough passionate noisy singers amongst the 55k crowd to make it work.


Over the next 12 / 18 months we will arrange meetings to discuss ideas, pre offer tickets in the redeveloped north stand. Please everyone buy in to it because this will be our last chance.

 

[John Wayne]

Is it just about money though? Lots of youngsters seem to prioritise other things rather than be at the game regularly. There’s just so much to spend money on for them these days, I see and know loads driving new cars, even students. Then there’s £1000 every two years on new phones, expensive clothes, ripoff takeaway food, regular holidays, daft concert ticket prices. I had none of that in the eighties. I just don’t think simply reducing ticket costs will work, some will just not turn up, write it off because they can afford to do so. You’d need to identify those that will make a noise AND turn up regularly. Not saying it’s not worth a try, I just think it’s more complicated than it looks.

Yes, I see what you are saying. Our cup tickets are relatively cheap, so there are opportunities for people to attend on a low budget. I'm a season ticket holder but when I can't get to a game, I'd happily give the ticket to someone who cannot normally afford to go to games.

I think that there are societal changes, as you have outlined. Saturated football coverage has perhaps made it seem less imperative to attend games. As a kid, I'd have given up eating before giving up my season ticket.

 

[East Level 2]

There are a number of issues and their resolutions seem mutually incompatible.
The police want away fans where they are at present.
Our vocal support want to be as close to the visitors as possible hence making the North Stand a singing area is going to be tricky, but I think that area has been louder for the past season and a half.
The club insists on putting corporate areas where they split the support. I believe the South Stand would be much louder if it wasn't for the corporate bit in the middle of the second tier preventing any link between the top and bottom tiers. Similar corporate bits split the support in the East and CB stands.

 

[Eric Hitchmough]

one last time, the north stand is looking extremely likely to be two tier. It is not going to be a stand focused on corporate. There will be enough room in the massive new stand to offer various ways to watch the game. We are having meetings with the club on what we can do to help it improve the atmosphere, but of course there are no official new shape plans submitted yet therefore it is early days.

i dont think we will improve the singing until fans realise that the reason why the atmosphere is quiet is because fans dont join in and choose not to sing. Cheap beer, getting rid of neon signs, not playing concourse music and so on wont change the atmosphere. Fans wishing to sing / improve atmosphere need to move in to areas where singers congregate and sing rather than rushing to the bar or looking at mobiles.

It is a culture in the premier league that we seem to have, tourists arent to blame, we have enough passionate noisy singers amongst the 55k crowd to make it work.


Over the next 12 / 18 months we will arrange meetings to discuss ideas, pre offer tickets in the redeveloped north stand. Please everyone buy in to it because this will be our last chance.

Great post mate. Appreciate everything you are doing and agree it won’t work without buy-in.

On a side note, any chance you can twist a few arms and get the club to stop playing the fast version of Blue Moon?! Not the most pressing priority by any means I know, it’s just a bug bear of mine and a number of others on here!! :)