Match day pricing....

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Most Pompey fans just switch off whenever talk of a new ground comes around again. This has been going on for nearly 50 years now starting with John Deacon back in the early 70s. Each new owner trots out their "vision" and each owner eventually disappears with the blueprints long since discarded.

On the plus side, every fan's personal match day experience hasn't had to change too much. Same journey to the ground, same pub etc. Seeing the way that many other fly-by-night owners just discard their club's ground and all the history and relocate to some desolate, edge of town location, I think we've actually been quite fortunate.

The irony is that we've had to spend so much over the past 5-6 years (and still £10m to go) just to keep FP operating at current capacity, we probably could have built a new stadium 30 years ago for the same outlay, and greatly improved facilities. If we had the owners then that we do now, i'm sure it would have happened.

Always been torn between a shiny new stadium or staying with tradition. Clearly a lot of fans in this thread would love to have stayed and not moved. I guess you don't appreciate what you've got until it's gone.

 

[Floreat Salopia]

The irony is that we've had to spend so much over the past 5-6 years (and still £10m to go) just to keep FP operating at current capacity, we probably could have built a new stadium 30 years ago for the same outlay, and greatly improved facilities. If we had the owners then that we do now, i'm sure it would have happened.

Always been torn between a shiny new stadium or staying with tradition. Clearly a lot of fans in this thread would love to have stayed and not moved. I guess you don't appreciate what you've got until it's gone.

You absolutely don’t appreciate what you’ve got until it’s been turned to rubble and then eventually housing. Somebody’s kitchen literally where you once stood on the terraces growing up and where you fell in love with the game at your local hometown club. Depressing just thinking about all these old school stadiums that won’t exist in another 10-20 years down the line.

We’ve 100% moved forwards on and off the pitch since moving, even Stevie Wonder can see that. However, for me personally, it’s not just about the football. It’s about the whole match day experience. We could have 2,500 fans on a Tuesday night against Macclesfield at Gay Meadow and it would be an incredible atmosphere to that of 8,000 fans against Ipswich on a Saturday 3pm.

If I could go back to Gay Meadow now, get the club rightfully back into the town centre, then I’d be all for it even if it did mean we’d be a mediocre League 2 team on the pitch. It was one of the best, if not the best, picturesque stadium in England. Right on the banks of the River Severn with leaves falling all over the pitch from the trees behind in the Autumn and from the main stand you could oversee the town centre and all that’s going on. Loved it.

Two of my favourite ever away days were Saltergate & Underhill. Both of those clubs (Chesterfield & Barnet) have gone backwards since moving and are now in shite stadiums. Bet the fans of those clubs wish they could go back aswell!!

Always be careful what you wish for, old school wins everyday in my book!

 

[masi51]

Saturdays home game against Rotherham is a Family fun day fixture £10 across the board......Another great gesture by the Board
Should get a healthy away following at £10 a pop

 

[Millerbri]

Saturdays home game against Rotherham is a Family fun day fixture £10 across the board......Another great gesture by the Board
Should get a healthy away following at £10 a pop

It is a great gesture and my two tickets were a fiver each.
I picked them up last Thursday and they had sold just over 500, which I thought was poor.
Last Saturday's terrible performance against an impressive Fleetwood side won't have helped shift many more.
We have to hope for a decent result at Lincoln tonight to help boost the numbers.

 

[masi51]

It is a great gesture and my two tickets were a fiver each.
I picked them up last Thursday and they had sold just over 500, which I thought was poor.
Last Saturday's terrible performance against an impressive Fleetwood side won't have helped shift many more.
We have to hope for a decent result at Lincoln tonight to help boost the numbers.

The Rotherham public know a good deal when they see one......Expect a couple of thousand at least
As you say a fiver for pensioners and u23 almost giving them away

 

[Millerbri]

The Rotherham public know a good deal when they see one......Expect a couple of thousand at least
As you say a fiver for pensioners and u23 almost giving them away

Apparently we were allocated 1881 tickets and as of 3.30pm today had sold 1120, so we need a decent result tonight to stir up some additional interest.

 

[masi51]

Apparently we were allocated 1881 tickets and as of 3.30pm today had sold 1120, so we need a decent result tonight to stir up some additional interest.

Seems you have made it all ticket for your fans...15k plus tickets gone up to dinnertime today

 

[Millerbri]

Seems you have made it all ticket for your fans...15k plus tickets gone up to dinnertime today

Good performance tonight but an even better one from Lincoln's keeper.
Still, it should encourage a few more to travel on Saturday.

 

[Imp in Branston]

Good performance tonight but an even better one from Lincoln's keeper.
Still, it should encourage a few more to travel on Saturday.

Yep, hands down the much better side on the night, how we kept it at 1-1 even with Griffiths as MOM was a mystery. Will take a very undeserved draw though, even a point at SB against the Millers in the league is as rare as hens teeth.

 

[Millerbri]

Seems you have made it all ticket for your fans...15k plus tickets gone up to dinnertime today

Club tweeted 1355 sold as of 10am this morning. (Thursday)
1497 at 9am tickets go off sale at 4pm today. (Friday)

 

[Camdenite v.ii]

Oh, and another thing… what’s with all the No Pay On The Day for away fans at some clubs this season?

We’ve got it again today at Gillingham after the same at Ipswich and Cheltenham (May even have been the case at Bolton, but I can’t quite remember). I get that the home team wants to have accurate away attendances so they can plan stewarding, barrells of beer, pies etc. but it never used to happen to this degree. Post Covid financial planning, I guess?

I know it’s only away fans (and our numbers are negligible…) however, surely they must be missing out on some revenue, even if its just a few dozen who wake up on a Saturday morning and go “oh, weather’s nice. I might head down after all”? Seems odd to deny yourself a bit of extra revenue.

 

[Si Robin]

In our case it's because we've gone down the cashless turnstile route, which is proving a massive pain in the ass.

Hundreds of people missed the first 10-15 mins of the Ipswich game (myself included) due to having to pick up the tickets for the match on the wrong side of the ground. They've tried to resolve this, but the queues for ticket pick up is a nightmare.

To be honest, everything Cheltenham regarding match tickets has been an absolute disaster this season.

 

[stevowanderer]

Oh, and another thing… what’s with all the No Pay On The Day for away fans at some clubs this season?

We’ve got it again today at Gillingham after the same at Ipswich and Cheltenham (May even have been the case at Bolton, but I can’t quite remember). I get that the home team wants to have accurate away attendances so they can plan stewarding, barrells of beer, pies etc. but it never used to happen to this degree. Post Covid financial planning, I guess?

I know it’s only away fans (and our numbers are negligible…) however, surely they must be missing out on some revenue, even if its just a few dozen who wake up on a Saturday morning and go “oh, weather’s nice. I might head down after all”? Seems odd to deny yourself a bit of extra revenue.

Pretty sure there is no pay on the day today for us. I assume there’s all sorts of reasons. Like you say with staffing. They may not be keen on cash handling in a pandemic. You have to float all the turnstiles with cash for people to pay (which nowadays can cost a fortune depending on who provides the floats - NatWest used to charge between 1 and 2% of the amount of cash withdrawn for floats). Most clubs probably think it’s too much hassle for what would be for at most a few hundred extra fans at most.

 

[stevowanderer]

In our case it's because we've gone down the cashless turnstile route, which is proving a massive pain in the ass.

Hundreds of people missed the first 10-15 mins of the Ipswich game (myself included) due to having to pick up the tickets for the match on the wrong side of the ground. They've tried to resolve this, but the queues for ticket pick up is a nightmare.

To be honest, everything Cheltenham regarding match tickets has been an absolute disaster this season.

Can you not print your tickets off at home or download to Apple wallet? That’s how we do ours?

 

[THE LAST WALTZ]

Can you not print your tickets off at home or download to Apple wallet? That’s how we do ours?

Same as ours.
I believe it is just a cost saving exercise.
need less staff.
A lot of our fans are less than happy with it.
Not really bothered myself.

 

[stevowanderer]

Same as ours.
I believe it is just a cost saving exercise.
need less staff.
A lot of our fans are less than happy with it.
Not really bothered myself.

Im not bothered either and actually think it makes it easier to be honest as a fan. I can’t go to every game anymore living 100 miles away and having a young family. Buy ticket online…download to Apple wallet or print. Scan at the turnstile. Much better than having to queue for a ticket collection for me and worry about missing the first 10/15mins as some people are saying.

 

[Si Robin]

Can you not print your tickets off at home or download to Apple wallet? That’s how we do ours?

You must be joking.

Our season tickets are literally single match tickets printed off and then put into wallet. I bought 8 season tickets for myself and some family members, and on collection I needed a carrier bag.

 

[PuB]

Oh, and another thing… what’s with all the No Pay On The Day for away fans at some clubs this season?

We’ve got it again today at Gillingham after the same at Ipswich and Cheltenham (May even have been the case at Bolton, but I can’t quite remember). I get that the home team wants to have accurate away attendances so they can plan stewarding, barrells of beer, pies etc. but it never used to happen to this degree. Post Covid financial planning, I guess?

I know it’s only away fans (and our numbers are negligible…) however, surely they must be missing out on some revenue, even if its just a few dozen who wake up on a Saturday morning and go “oh, weather’s nice. I might head down after all”? Seems odd to deny yourself a bit of extra revenue.

I agree with you, and yes we must be losing some income (even if that’s very minimal) by not taking money on the day. We have gone the cashless route this season which has its pros and cons.

However we sometimes move the away support depending on the size/weather from the open golf stand behind the goal to the covered stand to its right hand side. So I guess it’s just makes it easier to plan in advance.

 

[Camdenite v.ii]

Pretty sure there is no pay on the day today for us. I assume there’s all sorts of reasons. Like you say with staffing. They may not be keen on cash handling in a pandemic. You have to float all the turnstiles with cash for people to pay (which nowadays can cost a fortune depending on who provides the floats - NatWest used to charge between 1 and 2% of the amount of cash withdrawn for floats). Most clubs probably think it’s too much hassle for what would be for at most a few hundred extra fans at most.

Ah, cheers. I wasn’t aware of the levy on “buying“ cash. That makes a lot of sense, as does the concerns about handling cash. We‘ve gone cashless ourselves this season, but you can still buy at the ticket office (by debit or credit card) on the day as a home or away fan. I guess we’re in the minority in that we’ve had sales closed at 4pm on the Friday before in all our away league games (including at yours now).

 

[Luke Imp]

Most of our away games this season have started as all ticket and then moved to pay on the day at very last minute, albeit presumably from the ticket office rather than cash at turnstiles.

I think most Clubs have had ticketing issues at the start of the season due to Covid protocols etc.

 

[SMH]

Crewe charging £12 quid for our Pizza game there tomorrow. Jesus Christ, good luck shifting those!

 

[Crewelad87]

Crewe charging £12 quid for our Pizza game there tomorrow. Jesus Christ, good luck shifting those!

Hoping for a record low at those prices to be honest. We only opened the main stand and one block of the away stand for it.

 

[Marked Ox]

Agree complete with your post - although You say take you back to the 80s. But we also had perimeter fencing - caged in like animals. And we all know what that lead to at your stadium. Perhaps in your time machine you could rip them down on the morning of April 15th.
I always remember oxfords manor ground. The fences were so high and barbaric.
amazing to think they are still in existence by lower league polish teams.

Those fences were brutal. I'd happily have the Manor back.

 

[Indian Dan]

Those fences were brutal. I'd happily have the Manor back.

I know you’re trying to look upwards as a club but if you were still at The Manor you’d have zero chance. We played Bristol Rovers Saturday and it was somewhat of a reminder of The Manor. An unholy mish mash of various stands. There should be no open to the elements stands these days - ours included. No matter how much some of us older fans hanker after the ‘old days’ those replacing us won’t, and shouldn’t, accept the dreadful infrastructure that was our spiritual home. Our 2 ‘ends’ haven’t changed a jot since my first game in 1968.

 

[Bartonyellow]

I know you’re trying to look upwards as a club but if you were still at The Manor you’d have zero chance. We played Bristol Rovers Saturday and it was somewhat of a reminder of The Manor. An unholy mish mash of various stands. There should be no open to the elements stands these days - ours included. No matter how much some of us older fans hanker after the ‘old days’ those replacing us won’t, and shouldn’t, accept the dreadful infrastructure that was our spiritual home. Our 2 ‘ends’ haven’t changed a jot since my first game in 1968.

There are still too many substandard stands in the 92. Never mind non league. Too many to mention.
I don’t like soulless new stadiums but at least you don’t get pissing wet and it has some sort of facilities if you want to take the kids.
your place is not a major issue as most teams are put in the covered stand on the side, but if ever you climbed the leagues, your away end is not fit for purpose.
same for Accrington, Gillingham and forest green.

 

[Indian Dan]

I hope you mean ‘if you ever climbed the league’s AGAIN’! We’ve not always been bottom feeders.

Plans are afoot regarding upgrading the CG - again. I think this time it may actually happen.

 

[eric read]

I hope you mean ‘if you ever climbed the league’s AGAIN’! We’ve not always been bottom feeders.

Plans are afoot regarding upgrading the CG - again. I think this time it may actually happen.

Oh Dan, it's the hope that kills you!

 

[Indian Dan]

I hope to see it before the lid closes I must admit!

Who do you reckon will be first? You lot in a new stadium or us upgrading?

 

[Davidimp]

Not sure if this is right but we're charging a tenner for home fans and £24 for away fans!

 

[Marked Ox]

I know you’re trying to look upwards as a club but if you were still at The Manor you’d have zero chance. We played Bristol Rovers Saturday and it was somewhat of a reminder of The Manor. An unholy mish mash of various stands. There should be no open to the elements stands these days - ours included. No matter how much some of us older fans hanker after the ‘old days’ those replacing us won’t, and shouldn’t, accept the dreadful infrastructure that was our spiritual home. Our 2 ‘ends’ haven’t changed a jot since my first game in 1968.

Agreed on not going anywhere if at the Manor but the match experience was so much better there than the Concrete Wind Tunnel we now play at.

The last few times I've been on the Stratton Bank (thankfully for us winning) there has been no water at all in the toilets which is appalling really. The toilets in the East Stand at the Concrete Wind Tunnel are poor but at least the water is running in the toilets themselves.