Stadium Expansion (Confirmed)

[Didsbury Dave]

The only daft thing about this thread is this bizarre concept that somehow adug were going to pump yet another £100m in the club and not expect a return beyond tens of thousands of happy fans sitting in cheap seats.

The £299 tickets are a simple pr exercise, a Trojan horse. I'm sure they will keep a few of the seats relatively cheap on an ongoing basis for the same reasons; partly altruistic but mainly for show. But the club, top to bottom, are on a desperate surge to try to stop losing money, and maybe even get close to break even one day. Make no fucking bones about it, soriano is tasked with pushing revenue forward and one of the areas we lag hugely behind our rivals is match day income, both corporate and general.

I'm not moaning about this, I just accept that that's how it is. My only disappointment is that the club could have had a stab at solving the atmosphere problem here in conjunction with these cheap seats.

Clearly the club are trying to move to a situation where there's a bigger discrepancy in pricing between the good and the shit seats, like at many other grounds.you can see it creeping in year by year and this expansion is part of it. What's a bit odd, though, is that these cheap seats (back of the top tier behind the goal) probably aren't the shittest seats in the ground. They are the front 6-8 rows right around the bottom tier, and they will be twice as much as these.

Suppose it depends DD.

I don't have great eyesight. Being back at the top of the world doesn't suit me but my mate has eyes like a sh*ithouse rat and it doesn't bother him.

I also actually like being closer to ground level and nearer to the pitch. You don't get the expansive overview that you do from high up (if you have the required 20/20 vision), but you get the feel for the game more, the smell of the turf, the proximity with the action.

Just my view.

I know it's horses for courses, mate. When I was a lad I begged my dad to take me to the front and would be gutted he always wanted to go up to the back of the platt lane. But in general seats with some perspective are more attractive and saleable than without.

 

[mcfc1894]

Or alternatively:

"Hi, I've been a ST holder for 40 years and have made financial sacrifices to support the club I love and grew up with."

"How can we help you?"

"Times are tough, I'm interested in relocating to one of the cheaper seats you've been advertising"

"Sorry, we're keeping those for people who've not been to a match for 10 years"

"Oh. So what can I do?"

"Carry on paying up or sod off"

Extreme perhaps, but I can see both sides of the argument. We'll have to wait and see won't we? Whatever happens, there'll be winners and losers. But that's life innit?

erm, existing season ticket holders get priority on relocation before any newbies can order one. so if you are a season ticket holder now or next season, you get the chance to relocate to the cheaper seats before non season ticket holders. read the faq on the site.

Or alternately.

"Sorry, we're keeping those seats for City fans who currently don't have and can't get a season ticket because our season tickets have been sold out for x(?) years."

"I appreciate your loyalty Sir."

"However, we feel current season ticket holders as a whole are more than happy with their seats and location within the stadium."

"The opportunity to relocate was afforded to them at the start of the season."

"If any £299 season tickets remain, those will be offered to current season ticket holders like yourself. (who have been ST holders for 40 years and have made financial sacrifices to support the club you love and have grown up with."

"Please put your name down on the relocation waiting list."

"We(the club) appreciate your continued support."

"Can I help you with anything else Sir?"

Of course it doesn't matter, and you and I are just jousting and going through the motions. As others have pointed out, the decision has already been made.

The outcome will be interesting. :-)

am I missing something here? why the fuck would they say you can't relocate if you want too. read the faqs on the site. seems pretty straight forward to me. have a season ticket and order it just like you normally do, but then, just like there is now, theres a relocation window for them season ticket holders who wish to move seat before the rest of the season tickets go on sale to the public. people who sign up to the witing list now are not guaranteed a £299 season ticket. just like it says in the faqs!!!!

 

[cleavers]

There will be 13,000 ish new seats available to us, I doubt they will increase the away allocation above the 3000 minimum required by the PL, IF both ends are redeveloped, but there won't be 13,000 ish new season tickets, I would bet that it will be no more than 5,000 extra season tickets. So most of us won't have any choice but to stay where we are, and pay the price increases.

Prices will still go up for most, and the cheap prices are for nothing more than PR purposes, like DD says above, that's not a complaint or a moan, its how it must be, if the club are to ever be profitable.

 

[cibaman]

There are quite big differences in "Seat quality" in the same blocks within the stadium. As has been said, the first few rows of tier one are poor, but you only have to go back 10-12 rows and the view improves dramatically. The first few rows of tier three are some of the best in the stadium, but the back rows are terrible unless you like watching subbuteo.

 

[Bluemoon230989]

Not at all.

I'm not taking sides.

To me it's not about us and them. It's about getting missing City fans back.(into the ground) And by getting them back via the incentive of a cheap season ticket.

As it stands they don't have a season ticket unlike me and you.(?) In a nutshell they can't get one. So they either have to buy a match ticket or miss out.

Yes we pay for the privilege, but at least we get to watch the matches. They can't or can't afford too.(in some cases)

All I'm saying is give new and old fans the chance to buy the cheaper season tickets first. If they sell out or not, existing season ticket holders will still renew their season tickets. They won't bother, they'll just do it.

As long as I've been on here the general consensus is that City need to get missing City fans back, via an expanded stadium, and via cheaper tickets. Now it's happening, why are the club moving the goal posts by offering the cheap season tickets to current season ticket holders first? How is that going to attract those missing fans back? Will they want to buy the more expensive and vacated seats/season tickets? I don't think so.

"Hi, I'd like to buy a £299 season ticket."

"Sorry, the majority have been sold to existing season ticket holders relocating."

"The rest have now sold out."

"OK, what's left?"

"The seats that have been vacated or more expensive seats."

"No thanks."

"Bye!"

Or alternatively:

"Hi, I've been a ST holder for 40 years and have made financial sacrifices to support the club I love and grew up with."

"How can we help you?"

"Times are tough, I'm interested in relocating to one of the cheaper seats you've been advertising"

"Sorry, we're keeping those for people who've not been to a match for 10 years"

"Oh. So what can I do?"

"Carry on paying up or sod off"

Extreme perhaps, but I can see both sides of the argument. We'll have to wait and see won't we? Whatever happens, there'll be winners and losers. But that's life innit?

erm, existing season ticket holders get priority on relocation before any newbies can order one. so if you are a season ticket holder now or next season, you get the chance to relocate to the cheaper seats before non season ticket holders. read the faq on the site.

Erm, I did mate. And what I'm suggesting in my little exchange is what could happen if they didn't do what they've said they will in the FAQ.

OK?<br /><br />-- Sat Oct 12, 2013 12:57 pm --<br /><br />

Or alternatively:

"Hi, I've been a ST holder for 40 years and have made financial sacrifices to support the club I love and grew up with."

"How can we help you?"

"Times are tough, I'm interested in relocating to one of the cheaper seats you've been advertising"

"Sorry, we're keeping those for people who've not been to a match for 10 years"

"Oh. So what can I do?"

"Carry on paying up or sod off"

Extreme perhaps, but I can see both sides of the argument. We'll have to wait and see won't we? Whatever happens, there'll be winners and losers. But that's life innit?

erm, existing season ticket holders get priority on relocation before any newbies can order one. so if you are a season ticket holder now or next season, you get the chance to relocate to the cheaper seats before non season ticket holders. read the faq on the site.

Or alternately.

"Sorry, we're keeping those seats for City fans who currently don't have and can't get a season ticket because our season tickets have been sold out for x(?) years."

"I appreciate your loyalty Sir."

"However, we feel current season ticket holders as a whole are more than happy with their seats and location within the stadium."

"The opportunity to relocate was afforded to them at the start of the season."

"If any £299 season tickets remain, those will be offered to current season ticket holders like yourself. (who have been ST holders for 40 years and have made financial sacrifices to support the club you love and have grown up with."

"Please put your name down on the relocation waiting list."

"We(the club) appreciate your continued support."

"Can I help you with anything else Sir?"

Of course it doesn't matter, and you and I are just jousting and going through the motions. As others have pointed out, the decision has already been made.

The outcome will be interesting. :-)

Abso-bloody-lutely!!

Think I'll concentrate on this season for now! (from my haven in 117)

 

[mcfc1894]

why the hell would they say that though? seems like you're just looking to moan about something that isn't there to moan about.

 

[totallywired]

Can`t wait to have the xpansion done and dusted. What a great stadium we will have, 61,000 !! i`m in dreamland, we will definately be one of Europes big players for years to come. A good view from every seat unlike the swamp. Well done ADUG. SHEIKH MANSOOR IN MY HEART !!!!!

 

[mostonbluemark]

This shit escalated quickly, didn't it?

It seems all the lunatics escaped from the asylum at the same time. City announce a stadium expansion to c61500 with some cheap tickets available for £299 and on come the moaners. Its beyond me.

For those of us that have given up due to the rising costs the thought of seasoncards at a reasonable £299 sounds great to get us back.

However it now looks like only about 75% of the new 3rd tier seats will be £299 and it's likely that the majority will be taken by existing seasoncard holders relocating due to the high prices in other areas of the ground. Asking for £100 to be on the waiting list is a piss take, so they can stick it

Does anybody honestly believe that 75% of the new South Stand third tier will be £299. Nothing like. City is a business foremost whether we like it or not. Having said that i'm sure the club is trying to do its best to accommodate new fans or returning old fans, making it as attractive as possible for them to begin attending. The reality is there will be some disappointed people who can't be accommodated at these lower prices. What might be worth applying pressure to the club is preventing away fans from being on level three, as undoubtedly some of those tickets will be the cheaper ones. And before some smartass asks the question I am unsalaried but despite this want to remain in my South Stand lower tier seat.

 

[gordondaviesmoustache]

Can anyone point me to a time in the last 40 years where the interests of the fans were paramount?

Swales? Franny? Taskin?

 

[jrb]

Just bought a new camera.

A good excuse to do an update and to take some pictures next week.