Sunday's NOTW re Stadium expansion ...

[cleavers]

Whether or not we increase capacity, anyone thinking our owner will make corporate tickets pay for the ordinary football is living in cloud cookoo land. Talk of £12 tickets for adults is simply not going to happen, apart from maybe one off games that the club know will not sell.

Prices went up across the board this season, this is not a sign of reducing ticket prices, we may well increase capacity significantly, but prices will not (in general) come down.

Success at football clubs almost always leads to higher prices (in fact I can't think of anywhere its caused a reduction in prices), success creates more demand, demand increases prices that's the business model.

Our prices have been lower than average for years, we're just joining the mainstream now, and that's without success so far.

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

In the first Premiership season (1992/3) our average attendance was less than 25,000. In 2003/4 it was just under 47,000.

Some of those 22,000 were "old" fans who stopped going regularly (like me) and started again. Some were probably fans who started going to games for the first time (as they couldn't get to Maine Road). Others were probably completely new fans.

It's not unreasonable to suppose that most of the increase was "old" fans, coming back to games and most of the rest were the second category, with very few real new fans. however, with our new high profile and the success we are hoping for, it's not out of the question that we will find another 20,000 new fans. Probably half of these will be corporates of some sort as we are seen as an increasingly attractive proposition by that market.

 

[Ticket For Schalke]

In the first Premiership season (1992/3) our average attendance was less than 25,000. In 2003/4 it was just under 47,000.

Some of those 22,000 were "old" fans who stopped going regularly (like me) and started again. Some were probably fans who started going to games for the first time (as they couldn't get to Maine Road). Others were probably completely new fans.

It's not unreasonable to suppose that most of the increase was "old" fans, coming back to games and most of the rest were the second category, with very few real new fans. however, with our new high profile and the success we are hoping for, it's not out of the question that we will find another 20,000 new fans. Probably half of these will be corporates of some sort as we are seen as an increasingly attractive proposition by that market.

I think also, its alot safer to take children nowadays aswell. plus as you say, you then had the generation of kids from the 80's being able to attend on their own.

 

[BTH]

Dude, I reckon extending the stadium to 75,000 when we only managed to pull in 23,000 for our last home game is a little bit fuckin daft. I know it was only a mickey mouse team, but even the rags had 55,000 watch their reserves play Burton albion in the fa cup.

Not a chance of us getting that kind of support even if we gave the tickets away. Everyone thinks that a few trophies will have all the closet city fans turning up in their droves, well I don't know any. All the city fans I know go to the match and always have done. Do you think we will steal other peoples fans? Or maybe Khaldoon will fly them all in on the airbus for every home game? I think we've missed the boat on the glory hunting newfan brigade. Our hardcore is the ones who turned up to the last home game. And the day I see 75,000 watching City play wolves at home...... well I won't see it, so stop the shite talk and lets try and fill the stadium we've got. (Actually, why don't we build our own stadium from scratch?)

The rags failed to fill a reduced capacity OT for the derby after we'd beaten them 5-1. That was 30 odd thousand. Along came Sky & their league championships & they started expanding. They would only have got 70k+ once or twice a season in those days, just like we would now. Too many people have been brainwashed by the rag publicity machine into believing they can never be caught & thinking of reasons why we shouldn't dare to ever try.

Of course they can be fucking caught if you have the money. They're just a football team. If they'd won fuck all for 30 odd years & we'd won everything for 20 years their gates would be less than ours are now & we'd be full at 70 odd k. The key is to win stuff constantly. We never have in our history yet we still have big gates. The potential at City is frightning. One Chumps league would put 15k on our average but not if we didn't have the sodding seats for them to sit on!

There's only one flaw in your argument: it isn't actually true. It's always useful to have a copy of Manchester United - The 25 Year Record handy for the argument that obsesses all rags; their legendary full houses, if only because it's pure mythology: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Manchester-United-F-C-Record-record/dp/0947808558

The rags' next game after the 5-1 saw them draw 0-0 with Sheffield Wednesday in front of 41,492 on 14/10/89. Oddly enough, they had a smaller crowd (40,274) when they drew 1-1 with us the following February when Ian Brightwell memorably scored our goal.

Admittedly, they did have several crowds of 30,000+ that season when their ground capacity was about the size ours is now, and their lowest was 29,281 in a goalless draw against Wimbledon on 30/04/90. Their highest was the opening game at home (the second of four consecutive seasons they were at home first!), when 47,245 rolled up the M6 to see a 4-1 win over Arsenal.

They came 13th that season, but crucially they won the Cup. Oddly enough of the several rags I have talked to since, not one of them can ever recall the ground being well below capacity in this season in particular when the "Fergie out!" brigade were in full swing.

 

[fbloke]

I don't understand the obsession with needing to fill a larger stadium.

Most would surely accept the countries best and most modern stadium even if it were oversized for the immediate use for most games?

I would expect that a new stadium will be built with a world cup semi and a champions league final in mind as a show piece event as well.

These sort of eye-catching games wont ever come to COMS in its current form.

We also need to see beyond City as we have been and tihnk of City as we will be after all its 3-5 years for any new/improved/re-modelled stadium to come on stream.

 

[DontLookBackInAnger]

I don't understand the obsession with needing to fill a larger stadium.

Most would surely accept the countries best and most modern stadium even if it were oversized for the immediate use for most games?

I would expect that a new stadium will be built with a world cup semi and a champions league final in mind as a show piece event as well.

These sort of eye-catching games wont ever come to COMS in its current form.

We also need to see beyond City as we have been and tihnk of City as we will be after all its 3-5 years for any new/improved/re-modelled stadium to come on stream.

Very well put, we have to look both long term and outside simply City and as you rightly say this isnt something that will happen overnight and it's also likely to mean a reduction short term in seats and with the number of seasoncards now it's not going to be easy, the longer we hold off the more painful it will be.

 

[City Raider]

imo the club have a long term view to increase our fan base, hopefully based on success.

However the bigger plan is to attract a different type of fan to the traditional working class blue - this group alone would never fill a stadium of this size.

Families are the answer, thats why the club are hellbent on stamping out swearing, smoking, standing etc. That's also why they're building the match day experience around the ground, City Square being a prime example - overpriced beer intended to keep the 'traditional' fan away.

There's an untapped market here, more than enough to fill a stadium the size of which is being talked about

where that leaves fans like most of us though, and the soul of the club - who knows

 

[allan harper]

It must cost a small fortune for a family to attend a football match for 90mintes of entertainment. You can take a family of 5 to Gullivers world for £50 and that's from 10am to 5pm.

 

[City Raider]

It must cost a small fortune for a family to attend a football match for 90mintes of entertainment. You can take a family of 5 to Gullivers world for £50 and that's from 10am to 5pm.

yeah, and there's plenty that have it but prices will probably come down in a stadium of this size - money will also be made from events surrounding the match such as city square, casino and what other developments are coming - basically if your within a certain radius of the stadium, anything you spend will be lining our coffers, ticket sales revenue will no longer be the be all and end all

 

[fbloke]

It must cost a small fortune for a family to attend a football match for 90mintes of entertainment. You can take a family of 5 to Gullivers world for £50 and that's from 10am to 5pm.

And they dont do replica staff uniforms for the punters either?

I never get any sympathy for having 5 kids but more importantly I dont get block booking discount either ;-)