Season Tickets 23/24

[Kauto Star]

We’ve even (quite laughably - but you never know) capped ours at 6,000

After the dark days of haslam the fans are returning in record numbers, the youth academy is working wonders and the connect with schools, youngsters and families through this is helping spur this.

the connect between the club and town has never been so strong.

As my fellow Bantam Firthy alluded to earlier, its great to see a lot of league 2 clubs with very healthy season ticket sales.

 

[GTFCfish]

Salford City have also broken their season ticket record.
They have sold 11 so far and their previous best total was 8.

 

[TheEndIsNigh]

There’s a university thesis to write about the reasons why lower league clubs are selling record numbers of season tickets during a huge cost of living crisis.

 

[Limerick Mariner]

There’s a university thesis to write about the reasons why lower league clubs are selling record numbers of season tickets during a huge cost of living crisis.

Still a relatively cheap day out though. Once you’ve paid for the ST marginal expenditure on the day can be negligible if you live local and don’t spend a wedge on beers. Be interesting how away fan numbers hold up when as the mortgage pain spreads.

What I’ve noticed is a big increase in the 55+ age bracket numbers at GTFC home and away games over recent years - mortgages probably paid off, kids grown up and gone, retired or semi- retired, not interested in the Premiership snore fest on TV, instead wanting to recapture our youth of the days on the Pontoon watching Waters, Drinkell, Ford…?

I was at a Stiff Little Fingers gig the other night and thought it’s just the same crowd - all of us old gits, dragging partners along, to sing along to Gotta Getaway, Wasted Life, Alternative Ulster etc remembering those testosterone fuelled days, sweaty and packed in at Cleethorpes Winter Garden (sadly gone) Sheffield Top Rank, the Leadmill, Leeds Uni Union…

 

[クレイグ]

Finished on 14,645.

Actually a little disappointed with that. Although it beats last seasons total by a good 500 or so, I expected us to shift a good few hundred more - certainly hit 15,000.

Poor form over these past couple of weeks have definitely played a part. That realisation in knowing another season in L2 beckons is enough to turn anyone’s stomach.

It’s a win-win for City, because if we somehow go up, we’ll shift a few more at the higher price. If it’s L2, I expect us to be challenging again; meaning we should average 3,000 or so walk-up.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1651285111432790016

https://twitter.com/x/status/1687493344966926336

 

[F!RTHY]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1687493344966926336

I actually heard they hit 15k weeks ago.

Decent all things considered, I suppose.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

I would say sensational

 

[WilsdenBantam]

Certainly our most ever at this level and numbers we could only dream about when the affordable scheme was introduced in 2007, I believe it was around 9/10000 in the first few years. If only those on the pitch could start performing.

 

[GTFCfish]

 

[AdamStag]

Bournemouth in the prem couldn’t even get that many as their ground isn’t big enough!

 

[F!RTHY]

Certainly our most ever at this level and numbers we could only dream about when the affordable scheme was introduced in 2007, I believe it was around 9/10000 in the first few years. If only those on the pitch could start performing.

07/08: 13,500
08/09: 12,500
09/10: 11,000
10/11: 10,000
11/12: 10,000
12/13: 9,500
13/14: 13,100
14/15: 12,700
15/16: 18,000
16/17: 18,000
17/18: 18,000
18/19: 15,000

Since returning to L2 we’ve sold between 13-15k per season.

We find ours in packets of Kellogg’s so it’s to be expected, really.

 

[PuB]

Well we’ve broken our season ticket record

 

[Lancs@(Bantam)]

I know a lot of our lot bang on about crowds and season tickets etc. which in the main without doubt can be cringey, and we've demonstrated to good affect over the years these stats count for nothing, we have a rich owner who's not interested, so as a result we have to operate within what we generate. We are in a lucky position of being in a large City and being the only EFL team, having a large stadium enabling us to price accordingly the target market, we have priced our season tickets at a great price for many years now giving us a great data base of information to adjust our prices accordingly year on year. We are without doubt run badly in many areas and despite us not having a rich sugar daddy to help us along our very good income for L2 level should see us competing much better than we've shown in recent history. But for all the clubs many many faults the one area apart from the pitch they always get right is season tickets, they can't be faulted on that side at all, even despite the recent history of our football being shocking many families across the City were priced in as a family activity, something cheap to do with the kids etc. I think any lower EFL club who regularly have empty seats at games need to be thinking creatively at how to fill them seats.

 

[F!RTHY]

I remember my first beer!

 

[Lancs@(Bantam)]

I remember my first beer!

I don't drink lol

 

[Lancs@(Bantam)]

Probably slightly long drawn out agreed, but i'm sure many get my drift and definitely true.

 

[PuB]

Bradford are quite a strange one, whilst the season ticket prices should absolutely be applauded I wonder if you charged £350 (like us for example), but had reduced gates would you make more money? And subsequently have a better budget?

But also match day prices, we’ve gone over 3,500 but had 6,500 people there today. So that’s 3,000 people paying either 20-22 quid (but with concessions of course). I’m wondering which of those two make the most money or if it equals out?

 

[Lancs@(Bantam)]

Bradford are quite a strange one, whilst the season ticket prices should absolutely be applauded I wonder if you charged £350 (like us for example), but had reduced gates would you make more money? And subsequently have a better budget?

But also match day prices, we’ve gone over 3,500 but had 6,500 people there today. So that’s 3,000 people paying either 20-22 quid (but with concessions of course). I’m wondering which of those two make the most money or if it equals out?

I fully agree we are currently at a fine balance line with regards prices like your example, but for all our good work over the years with cheap STs the downside is we have a large proportion of ST holders who have only ever known cheap STs and would no doubt oppose to any sizeable increase, I'm sure the club have pondered over this conundrum many times and decided it's better to get bums on seats selling more food/drinks etc. and potentially building a future fan base of a younger generation over a few extra quid here and now.

 

[Optipez]

Bradford are quite a strange one, whilst the season ticket prices should absolutely be applauded I wonder if you charged £350 (like us for example), but had reduced gates would you make more money? And subsequently have a better budget?

But also match day prices, we’ve gone over 3,500 but had 6,500 people there today. So that’s 3,000 people paying either 20-22 quid (but with concessions of course). I’m wondering which of those two make the most money or if it equals out?

I think the value priced season ticket prices and a full ground is the better way to do things even if it costs them some revenue. Football unites the city, gives a place civic pride and there is a value to that.

Nottingham is a relatively small city with two clubs and it has always made life hard for Notts but between us we average around 38,000 and compared to Bristol or Leeds which are way bigger it's actually very good. Forest need a bigger ground by around 10,000 I would say, fans can't get tickets every week.
Our owners have steadily supported the club throwing in millions but the support base has grown and as important it's got younger with a sliding scale of ticket prices. 5,500 sold this year which is around double we sold when they first came and 10,000 home supporters yesterday which is a big gate for us.
Meadow Lane with 2,500 rattling around inside is dispiriting, it's great to see the place regenerating and it becoming a place the city is proud of again.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

Prior to promotion their were some Notts fans who were regularly questioning the ambition or lack of by our owners, even though they had pumped in millions including during a pandemic, had improved almost every metric at the club including ST sales attendances, corporate etc all because we lost in the playoffs a round earlier. They called it regression.

You know the sort of henpecked supporter, you know the demographic in your own fanbase on your own message boards. They just need a place to moan outside of game time.

 

[Kauto Star]

Bradford are quite a strange one, whilst the season ticket prices should absolutely be applauded I wonder if you charged £350 (like us for example), but had reduced gates would you make more money? And subsequently have a better budget?

But also match day prices, we’ve gone over 3,500 but had 6,500 people there today. So that’s 3,000 people paying either 20-22 quid (but with concessions of course). I’m wondering which of those two make the most money or if it equals out?

We regularly had 2000-3000 paying on the gate every game last season on top of the season ticket sales. We occasionally also had an away following that topped 500, so we do get plenty of match day revenue plus of course all the sales at beer and snack kiosks inside the stadium

 

[F!RTHY]

We regularly had 2000-3000 paying on the gate every game last season on top of the season ticket sales. We occasionally also had an away following that topped 500, so we do get plenty of match day revenue plus of course all the sales at beer and snack kiosks inside the stadium

Exactly.

I believe we turned over £8.5m last season. There isn’t another club in this league who will turn over £8m-£9m, apart from Wrexham and their silly sponsorships deals.

 

[AdamStag]

Exactly.

I believe we turned over £8.5m last season. There isn’t another club in this league who will turn over £8m-£9m, apart from Wrexham and their silly sponsorships deals.

So there is another club who will turn over £8m-£9m, right.

 

[F!RTHY]

So there is another club who will turn over £8m-£9m, right.

Point being, ours is largely driven by ticket sales.

 

[Mighty_Bantam]

With our STs, it's changed the entire dynamic of the club. We've persevered with value pricing now since 2007/08 when we were first relegated back to L2. We were getting crowds of 8k the year before in L1. We now have a much bigger base of fans and last season had multiple crowds over 20k. In Division 4. We've had to be patient but it is reaping rewards now. And as Firthy has mentioned last season we generated record turnover for any of our seasons outside the top two tiers.

We're unique in that we have a big ground and a large catchment area. There's few clubs with similar circumstances where it could/would work quite as well.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

I still can't quite comprehend that Bradford City are in L2. It's like Notts County being in NL, it's just wrong.

 

[Mighty_Bantam]

I still can't quite comprehend that Bradford City are in L2. It's like Notts County being in NL, it's just wrong.

We're right up there in terms of English footballs biggest underachievers.

One club city (though that hasn't always been the case with Park Ave). 5th/6th/7th biggest city in the country depending on measurement. Historically lower league except a period of reasonable success in the very early years when Bradford was still somewhat of an economic powerhouse.

 

[Kauto Star]

I still can't quite comprehend that Bradford City are in L2. It's like Notts County being in NL, it's just wrong.

I've been watching the Bantams since 1965 and we've been in the 4th tier for quite a lot of those years.

We may well have a good stadium, well 3 sides of it, and terrific support, but those factors don't get you out of this league.

We've had a string of underachieving managers since Phil Parkinson left us about 7 years ago and we are where we deserve to be right now.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

Huge underachievers, yes. Clubs are in the division that they deserve to be in, true. But it's still wrong. Great stadium, great support, until this seasons traditionally great home shirts.

I feel the same about Derby County being in League One, bar the home shirts. It's just wrong.

 

[AdamStag]

We're right up there in terms of English footballs biggest underachievers.

One club city (though that hasn't always been the case with Park Ave). 5th/6th/7th biggest city in the country depending on measurement. Historically lower league except a period of reasonable success in the very early years when Bradford was still somewhat of an economic powerhouse.

Whereas it’s not aimed at bradford it’s one of the most amusing comments in football “x side shouldn’t to be in this division”

It’s comedy gold.

Yes that side is in that league so therefore at that time they deserve to there, whether it’s fair or not is another matter, but the fact is they are there, and that’s what.

Clearly there’s sides in leagues that have more potential but all sides in this league all deserve equally to be here at present.

A salford with 2,000 fans deserve to be here as much as a bradford or a wrexham or a colchester on face value.