Making money

[Boletus Edulis]

Obviously money is going to be tight this year. While season tickets are likely to bring in the most, we have sold 5,000, how else is your team trying to raise income?

The club shop, both physically and online, has been promoted a lot and there appear to have been good numbers of sales, especially shirts. Indeed, we have a new order for shirts due in a few weeks which is very unusual.

The club have also worked on the hospitality side. A few weekends ago I had an al fresco evening meal pitchside. The club having trialled this have now expanded it to include Sunday roasts, afternoon teas etc. Indeed, they announced yesterday all the conferencing and hospitality is available indoors.

The NHS were using some of our rooms for various services displaced from the local hospital, but I have no idea if they were being paid or it was pro bono.

What has brought in money for your team?

 

[Luke Imp]

We're pretty limited because Sincil Bank isn't really geared up for anything other than a match day, so we've not hosted anything. We opened up the stadium for people who wanted to book a slot and use it in a park kinda way and also offered free use of the 4G pitch.

Various supporter groups fund-raise through the year as well.

Outside of that, it's been commercial and the Club Shop(s). The shop at the ground isn't open but the one in the City Centre is. This seasons home shirt sold more in the first few hours than the previous one had in a week so they seem popular.

Season tickets renewals went back on sale today, so that's the only other income stream at the minute.

If anything, we've spent money, albeit on pre-planned work - a new pitch at SB and 3 new pitches at the training ground.

The above said, we brought in / saved money in January by selling players and cutting the wage bill, then releasing all other high earners in June.

 

[Indian Dan]

Power has put his arse up for rent.

 

[PuB]

Sold a couple of snooker tables from the players lounge.

 

[Stagat]

Sold a couple of snooker tables from the players lounge.

It's all money in the pocket.

 

[Kenneth E End]

These are all great initiatives, but it's not going to get anywhere near the sales of tickets. A pimple on an elephants bum really. Clubs don't really make huge amounts on shirt sells - most of it goes into the pockets of the shirt manufacturer.

We have frozen our ST sales at 6,700 - but we know it's unlikely more than 2,500 can go to each match. If no fans go at all this season, it will cost us I'd estimate around £3m in lost income.

 

[redjed]

Really dont know where our money is coming from ........couple of months ago Power was talking about putting the club into administration if he couldn't sale the club ......a bit worrying

 

[Indian Dan]

Really dont know where our money is coming from ........couple of months ago Power was talking about putting the club into administration if he couldn't sale the club ......a bit worrying

That was all bluster and bullshit when the 3 amigos were circling for their share of the Bogle sell on money - which hasn’t happened yet. There is a new geezer in town who is funding certain things.

 

[Kenneth E End]

Where are teams at this level (and those below) making their money right now? TV money doesn't cover the salary cap for a start.

Are teams even budgeting for fans in grounds in season?

 

[Indian Dan]

God knows. It all seems like business as usual. Very strange - I thought we’d have lost a few clubs by now.

 

[Kenneth E End]

I thought we’d have lost a few clubs by now.

Initially I thought the same, but:
-The furlough scheme has taken the strain off
-Clubs are digging into cash reserves
-The EFL have just made big central funding payments to clubs
-Wage deferrals
-Only a few home games per club were actually lost - a lot of clubs were able to tap into fans loyalty and get deferrals / give up refunds.

I fear that come the bleak midwinter, the strain will really start to show if we keep going in the opposite direction with Covid-19, as the furlough scheme will have ended, there are no cash reserves, central funding payments have all been made, players won't want to give up more cash and ticket refunds will need to become a reality for everyone.

 

[Deepcut Cobbler]

They'll have to start moving games to earlier in the day, like we did in the seventies, to save on floodlight electric costs soon?

 

[Boletus Edulis]

God knows. It all seems like business as usual. Very strange - I thought we’d have lost a few clubs by now.

Me too, which is in part why I started this thread. While I think Mr Ends analogy of the pimple is stronger than I would go, these activities are small beer. But there importance may not just be the money raised, the significance may be the very fact that some clubs are putting the effort in - that this might reflect a more innovative club culture which in itself is probably a good sign For long term survival.

From the outside it looks like business as usual for many clubs, but it is not. I would be gobsmacked if this league ends up with as many clubs at the end of the season as begin it. It feels like I am watching an episode of the Twilight Zone.

 

[Luke Imp]

Initially I thought the same, but:
-The furlough scheme has taken the strain off
-Clubs are digging into cash reserves
-The EFL have just made big central funding payments to clubs
-Wage deferrals
-Only a few home games per club were actually lost - a lot of clubs were able to tap into fans loyalty and get deferrals / give up refunds.

I fear that come the bleak midwinter, the strain will really start to show if we keep going in the opposite direction with Covid-19, as the furlough scheme will have ended, there are no cash reserves, central funding payments have all been made, players won't want to give up more cash and ticket refunds will need to become a reality for everyone.

There were also EFL loans, which obviously need to be paid back but short term that aids them. Not sure what the repayment terms are on them, though.

 

[Indian Dan]

Some clubs see this as an opportunity - probably clubs like us, tbh - to do a ‘Wycombe’.

 

[Boletus Edulis]

Initially I thought the same, but:
-The furlough scheme has taken the strain off
-Clubs are digging into cash reserves
-The EFL have just made big central funding payments to clubs
-Wage deferrals
-Only a few home games per club were actually lost - a lot of clubs were able to tap into fans loyalty and get deferrals / give up refunds.

I fear that come the bleak midwinter, the strain will really start to show if we keep going in the opposite direction with Covid-19, as the furlough scheme will have ended, there are no cash reserves, central funding payments have all been made, players won't want to give up more cash and ticket refunds will need to become a reality for everyone.

Agreed, i think the problem has merely been deferred. why I think the money making opportunities are interesting is what it tells us about the clubs - which are the ones being innovative and trying to come up with new ways of working. Those are the ones most likely to survive the dark winter.

 

[Boletus Edulis]

Some clubs see this as an opportunity - probably clubs like us, tbh - to do a ‘Wycombe’.

Our owner has several times that he thinks a lot of clubs from the Championship down are in a lot of trouble. He repeatedly says that while things are tough for us he believes that we will come out of it relatively a lot stronger than many, including some in the Championship.

 

[Luke Imp]

Agreed, i think the problem has merely been deferred. why I think the money making opportunities are interesting is what it tells us about the clubs - which are the ones being innovative and trying to come up with new ways of working. Those are the ones most likely to survive the dark winter.

Absolutely. The can has just been kicked down the road to a point by advancing payments.

Unless there's another, additional, payment of some kind from the PL and/or EFL then that payment gap will cause issues, although by that time, capacity might be getting back to normal levels and it isn't as much of an issue.

 

[Kenneth E End]

Our owner has several times that he thinks a lot of clubs from the Championship down are in a lot of trouble. He repeatedly says that while things are tough for us he believes that we will come out of it relatively a lot stronger than many, including some in the Championship.

I certainly think we will be far stronger this year as a result of surviving on the last day. Clearly as a result of having £6m more in TV funding, but also probably a year closer to the new stadium and a Cat 2 academy. The majority of the rest of the division are a total basketcase.

If we were relegated, I don't even want to comprehend the situation we'd have been in. We wouldn't have gone into administration, but the cuts needed would've been horrendous and all of the good work the club have done in the last 5-10 years would've been almost totally undone.

 

[Indian Dan]

There’s always next Year!

 

[Boletus Edulis]

There’s always next Year!

I see that you are a glass half full man! Always the optimist.

 

[Indian Dan]

The older you get the more optimistic you’ve got to be!

 

[PuB]

From looking at the non-league section it seems the number of supporters allowed in the grounds is a set number for all, rather than as a percentage of capacity.

A sign of things to come?

 

[Indian Dan]

That would be even more ridiculous than the one size fits all salary cap

 

[PuB]

That would be even more ridiculous than the one size fits all salary cap

Exactly my thoughts too, even at lower levels.

 

[PuB]

So our club shop and ticket office have been shut for months (understandably of course), but the online season ticket/any tickets, and club merchandise shop have also remained closed.

How clubs are selling season tickets (which I’ve said before), is beyond me.

 

[Boletus Edulis]

So our club shop and ticket office have been shut for months (understandably of course), but the online season ticket/any tickets, and club merchandise shop have also remained closed.

How clubs are selling season tickets (which I’ve said before), is beyond me.

We sold about 5,000 with a deadline that has now passed. All was done online and only available to those who had season tickets last year. The bit that is controversial is that in terms of allocation it is first come served. So if we have a capacity of 4,500 say, then the first 4,500 to have purchased their season ticket will get allocated a seat for that match. We got ours in the first few hundred, but I am not sure I think that is right.

 

[Luke Imp]

Yeah seems an unfair way to do it i.e. buy a season ticket, help us out but you might not get to any games.

 

[Boletus Edulis]

It is really small beer but it looks like each game we are doing an online guess the MOM raffle. Won’t bring in much, but seems to be evidence that at least we are trying to find ways of getting more revenue.

 

[DearneValleyRover]

Harrogate Town are playing at the Keepmoat while they get their ground in order so we will make a bit from that