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Post by Jello Biafra on Mar 27, 2024 12:19:25 GMT 1
I believe the term for this is ‘Shrinkflation’. In the hope that either/or Smithers/Nagle read this, I’m going to repeat a couple of points I’ve made previously: Tiered pricing in a (relatively) modern stadium is bullshit. The days of paying a premium to sit down, as opposed to standing on an (often open) terrace are long gone. One of Hoyle’s better ideas was to recognise this and price attendance accordingly - all seats are effectively the same. The one caveat to this is the Shit Stand Lower at the North end, which is still temporary seating. This area could easily be used for pay on entry and/or any other special offers. Anyone buying a football club nowadays should be willing and able to fund it out of their own pocket. Clearly maximising revenue is more beneficial all round, but if your owner’s brassic, a la Potless, then it’ll all turn to shit pretty quickly. Clearly the owners at City, Newcastle, United, Chelsea etc haven’t bought in just to piss about at the bottom of the league, they’re there to win stuff and grow their ‘brand’. In Town’s case, Nagle will need to invest in an attempt to get into the Premier League (with commensurate cash windfall), then invest again to stay there, all whilst trying to increase revenue to help sustain the new status. Ultimately though, Nagle has to be prepared to fund his indulgence and an extra £500k on STs isn’t worth a fart in comparison. To me, Hoyle’s idea of realistic pricing to maximise sales makes more sense. As long as what’s going on on the field is entertaining the concessions etc revenues will take care of themselves. It’s up to Nagle now to appoint someone that can successfully sell Huddersfield Town as a brand in all the lplaces that that it currently isn’t, in order to bring in the missing £millions. That’s the bit where Nagle needs to maximise his business acumen, dramatically increase commercial revenue and get wealthy businesses to throw money at Town. There must be plenty snake oil salesmen over in the Land of Opportunity that could talk a couple of dozen Septic multinationals into chucking a £million each at Town. They could sponsor a player apiece and just write it off in a tax dodge as ‘advertising’. I’m being facetious, but that’s where the funding needs to come from, not out of the fans’ pockets. |
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Post by castlehillterrier on Mar 27, 2024 12:29:28 GMT 1
the summer was down more than one thing - budgets set by Dean that were kept by Kevin when he took over ( we did not reach this budget either in the end )- The management team not wanting the players we had chance to sign instead they wanted players the club did not beleive were good value at the stage of there careers Why didn't he change the budgets? probably would say now it was a mistake, like a few other parts, but consider we did not even reach the budget level in the summer not becuase the club didnt want to but because the manager didn't want the players offered, the manager was in charge of the football side at that point also. Mr Nagle didnt have time to look deeper into these kinds of choices and trusted waht was told by the people already at the club many if not all of these people dont work for HTAFC any longer. As much as NW did for the club at the end of last season which i for one am very thankful, his thinking and way of working has not helped the team on the pitch this season. - players not fit enough and thus we have manged to pick up lots of injuries. - poor pre season with no games that replicated a championship fixture, hence the poor start. - not willing to invest in players recomended by the recruitment team - happy to give big contracts to players (2 years) that we possibly could have spent on better (none of the 3 are playing much, and all on good money) - Wanting to sign players he knew on big wages (thankfully we said no to a few of these) Kevin and his team realised it was not the they way they wanted to take the club and appointed Darren, hey I agree this was a mistake, Darren had an awful time with injuries but even with this he needed to perform better, we have now made an appointment that I for one am still excited about and I am very hopeful with the correct results in the next few weeks we have the building blocks to be in a much stronger position next season. I think Kevin needs to come out with a statement before season tickets about the ambition and plans for next season on and off the pitch, but I dont see this until we are safe or at least a lot safer from the drop, no point telling people what we want to do if we are not sure on survival. |
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Post by castlehillterrier on Mar 27, 2024 12:36:42 GMT 1
The problem with owners funding the club out of their own pocket is FFP especially for a club like ours.{apparently} That’s the bit where Nagle needs to maximise his business acumen, dramatically increase commercial revenue and get wealthy businesses to throw money at Town. There must be plenty snake oil salesmen over in the Land of Opportunity that could talk a couple of dozen Septic multinationals into chucking a £million each at Town. They could sponsor a player apiece and just write it off in a tax dodge as ‘advertising’. I’m being facetious, but that’s where the funding needs to come from, not out of the fans’ pockets. the funding needs to come from all areas. - More realistic ticket pricing (not expensive, just an increase to get us a little closer to the normal championship pricing) - More income from the stadium (full ownership) - More income from the commercial department (better sponsors, better sponsors however tend to come from success on the pitch) - More income from outside the stadium (new bars, entertainment etc). - More income from Merchandise (doesnt need to mean higher prices, could be better margins, better more desirable products) - More income from Player sales (this is more long term with the plans for the Accd and player development, also buying lower league talent and selling them on for a big profit) - More income from the EFL (there is a deal waiting to be signed) Not all of the above can come at once but its all being worked on very hard. The club will be fully aware of the balance on ticket pricing and numbers sold and finding the correct balance is difficult but for sure possible with the correct ambition. The owner can not just throw endless money in to the club due to FFP rules so we need to get everything working together over time in order to be able to invest more money its a long term thing and not something that will come in the first year. |
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Post by Mastercracker on Mar 27, 2024 12:53:46 GMT 1
There was a point early in the last home game, where you could hear the players on the pitch shouting (I sit around the middle of the upper tier).Imagine how more commonplace that would be with a few thousand less in the ground. Hearing the players on the pitch isn’t my idea of a good atmosphere… At least you were nice and toasty. |
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Post by townarentbest on Mar 27, 2024 13:06:24 GMT 1
I believe the term for this is ‘Shrinkflation’. In the hope that either/or Smithers/Nagle read this, I’m going to repeat a couple of points I’ve made previously: Tiered pricing in a (relatively) modern stadium is bullshit. The days of paying a premium to sit down, as opposed to standing on an (often open) terrace are long gone. One of Hoyle’s better ideas was to recognise this and price attendance accordingly - all seats are effectively the same. The one caveat to this is the Shit Stand Lower at the North end, which is still temporary seating. This area could easily be used for pay on entry and/or any other special offers. Anyone buying a football club nowadays should be willing and able to fund it out of their own pocket. Clearly maximising revenue is more beneficial all round, but if your owner’s brassic, a la Potless, then it’ll all turn to shit pretty quickly. Clearly the owners at City, Newcastle, United, Chelsea etc haven’t bought in just to piss about at the bottom of the league, they’re there to win stuff and grow their ‘brand’. In Town’s case, Nagle will need to invest in an attempt to get into the Premier League (with commensurate cash windfall), then invest again to stay there, all whilst trying to increase revenue to help sustain the new status. Ultimately though, Nagle has to be prepared to fund his indulgence and an extra £500k on STs isn’t worth a fart in comparison. To me, Hoyle’s idea of realistic pricing to maximise sales makes more sense. As long as what’s going on on the field is entertaining the concessions etc revenues will take care of themselves. It’s up to Nagle now to appoint someone that can successfully sell Huddersfield Town as a brand in all the places that that it currently isn’t, in order to bring in the missing £millions. The problem with owners funding the club out of their own pocket is FFP especially for a club like ours.{apparently} Which is why they have to grow the neglected revenue streams, which for Hudds Town are PRETTY CLEAR. The club has massively underperformed on commercial and retail compared to competitive peers over the last 20 years. Bristol City pretty much quadruple Towns commercial and retail revenues. |
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Post by castlehillterrier on Mar 27, 2024 13:10:30 GMT 1
There was a point early in the last home game, where you could hear the players on the pitch shouting (I sit around the middle of the upper tier).Imagine how more commonplace that would be with a few thousand less in the ground. Hearing the players on the pitch isn’t my idea of a good atmosphere… At least you were nice and toasty. at half time he would have been. I do think the lack of atmosphere recently is bad, the best game was when we had the clappers back one week cant remember when it was but a month or two ago now, atmosphere was a lot better, I used to hate the clappers but they certainly made the ground louder and got more people involved in making an atmosphere. I think the last game on a Sunday, early kick off and on Sky many just decieded to not turn up maybe down to the fact they paid so little for there season tickets they dont mind missing a few games, I hope friday see a lot more in the ground and a much better atmosphere. |
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Post by iangreaves on Mar 27, 2024 13:11:38 GMT 1
FFS Captain Tory, stop using the word ‘cheap’. Just because every other club is bum-raping fans doesn’t mean that Town are ‘cheap’. It’s relative. Football is massively overpriced just about everywhere, you should be applauding Town’s recent/current pricing and embarrassing the rest of the League into following suit. We saw during the COVID lockdown what a shit spectacle most sport is without the fans in the ground. The whole fucking League should be trying to fill their grounds every fortnight and getting commerce to put in the £millions in sponsorship etc because the atmosphere’s in the grounds make the games unmissable. Not sure what being Tory, if I still am, has got to do with it. If everyone charges roughly the same amount, but one club charges a lot less, then theirs are cheap..its practically the definition of the word!It makes me laugh how some are really trying hard to make out our pricing isnt even cheap! I agree though..in an ideal world all clubs would charge a lot less and players ( who at this level are nowhere near the top of their profession ) would earn a lot less to make that possible...£100k a year or something like that seems perfectly reasonable for a player at this level. But that isnt going to happen so its a bit of a pipe dream. You could say that the prices are cheaper than some other clubs and that would be a fact. Whether they are cheap is a subjective judgement. |
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Post by castlehillterrier on Mar 27, 2024 13:25:18 GMT 1
Not sure what being Tory, if I still am, has got to do with it. If everyone charges roughly the same amount, but one club charges a lot less, then theirs are cheap..its practically the definition of the word!It makes me laugh how some are really trying hard to make out our pricing isnt even cheap! I agree though..in an ideal world all clubs would charge a lot less and players ( who at this level are nowhere near the top of their profession ) would earn a lot less to make that possible...£100k a year or something like that seems perfectly reasonable for a player at this level. But that isnt going to happen so its a bit of a pipe dream. You could say that the prices are cheaper than some other clubs and that would be a fact. Whether they are cheap is a subjective judgement. Cheap dictionary def = low in price, especially in relation to similar items or services. I would say Cheap is actually a perfect way to describe our recent pricing on season tickets. |
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Post by mosher on Mar 27, 2024 14:04:11 GMT 1
Yeah, that's what I was asking, so I retract the original statement about you being bilingual, bloody foreigner  Dad was REME for 23 years, grew up mostly in Germany with 2 years in Hong Kong and 4 years near Salisbury, the rest was Iserlohn, Hameln (Pied Piper town), Dortmund, Soltau and Fallingbostel. Loved it and hated it in equal measures; loved the experiences, but hated moving every 2-3 years in a time before Fakebook, Friends Reunited, Twatter and the like. If we wanted to keep in touch with anyone we had to write a letter and then POST it  Never actually lived on a base, always in family quarters on estates within German communities. wow you travelled a lot must have been difficult, probably why my mum would not accept this, she loved her family and home life. Engineers very nice massive respect for your Dad serving the UK for so long, my Dad did 15 years and was in some awful parts of the world, he only finished so we could try and live together as a more normal family. My old man was quite lucky. The only time he's been close to getting killed was NI in his three tours; first tour IRA mortared his barracks. His mate was blown into "little tiny pieces" (his words) whilst he was completely unscathed in the very next bunk. From his second tour he's got the bullet that missed him by inches on a chain he wears round his neck. On his third tour he did duties in Maze prison, two months before the massive riot so again, lucky. He went to Falklands 83-84 to do the clear-up but missed the actual conflict, lucky. Volunteered for Desert Storm (he was attached to Desert Rats 7 Armoured at the time) but got rejected because he was the unit's Family Liaison Officer, lucky AF. The biggest downside (apart from us as a family moving all the time) was him barely being there while we were growing up, due to training exercises and being attached to other armies, mentoring and teaching them his job. He did Canada 2 or 3 times, Norway 5 or 6, Belize once, all teaching their troops how to be mechanics |
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Post by conman on Mar 27, 2024 14:34:26 GMT 1
wow you travelled a lot must have been difficult, probably why my mum would not accept this, she loved her family and home life. Engineers very nice massive respect for your Dad serving the UK for so long, my Dad did 15 years and was in some awful parts of the world, he only finished so we could try and live together as a more normal family. My old man was quite lucky. The only time he's been close to getting killed was NI in his three tours; first tour IRA mortared his barracks. His mate was blown into "little tiny pieces" (his words) whilst he was completely unscathed in the very next bunk. From his second tour he's got the bullet that missed him by inches on a chain he wears round his neck. On his third tour he did duties in Maze prison, two months before the massive riot so again, lucky. He went to Falklands 83-84 to do the clear-up but missed the actual conflict, lucky. Volunteered for Desert Storm (he was attached to Desert Rats 7 Armoured at the time) but got rejected because he was the unit's Family Liaison Office, lucky AF. The biggest downside (apart from us as a family moving all the time) was him barely being there while we were growing up, due to training exercises and being attached to other armies, mentoring and teaching them his job. He did Canada 2 or 3 times, Norway 5 or 6, Belize once, all teaching their troops how to be mechanics Wow , your dad and oti would have got on like a house on fire 👍 I mean that in a nice way.. |
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Post by Big Ern on Mar 27, 2024 14:38:40 GMT 1
If you don't believe our season tickets are cheap when comparable to all clubs in the championship then you are off your rocker.
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Post by castlehillterrier on Mar 27, 2024 15:03:36 GMT 1
wow you travelled a lot must have been difficult, probably why my mum would not accept this, she loved her family and home life. Engineers very nice massive respect for your Dad serving the UK for so long, my Dad did 15 years and was in some awful parts of the world, he only finished so we could try and live together as a more normal family. My old man was quite lucky. The only time he's been close to getting killed was NI in his three tours; first tour IRA mortared his barracks. His mate was blown into "little tiny pieces" (his words) whilst he was completely unscathed in the very next bunk. From his second tour he's got the bullet that missed him by inches on a chain he wears round his neck. On his third tour he did duties in Maze prison, two months before the massive riot so again, lucky. He went to Falklands 83-84 to do the clear-up but missed the actual conflict, lucky. Volunteered for Desert Storm (he was attached to Desert Rats 7 Armoured at the time) but got rejected because he was the unit's Family Liaison Office, lucky AF. The biggest downside (apart from us as a family moving all the time) was him barely being there while we were growing up, due to training exercises and being attached to other armies, mentoring and teaching them his job. He did Canada 2 or 3 times, Norway 5 or 6, Belize once, all teaching their troops how to be mechanics amazing and lucky this is far better than talking about HTAFC..... |
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Post by Captainslapper on Mar 27, 2024 17:42:43 GMT 1
Not sure what being Tory, if I still am, has got to do with it. If everyone charges roughly the same amount, but one club charges a lot less, then theirs are cheap..its practically the definition of the word!It makes me laugh how some are really trying hard to make out our pricing isnt even cheap! I agree though..in an ideal world all clubs would charge a lot less and players ( who at this level are nowhere near the top of their profession ) would earn a lot less to make that possible...£100k a year or something like that seems perfectly reasonable for a player at this level. But that isnt going to happen so its a bit of a pipe dream. You could say that the prices are cheaper than some other clubs and that would be a fact. Whether they are cheap is a subjective judgement. Think it works out at £10.80 a game..for an hour and a half of 2nd tier football. It is subjective whether thats 'cheap' for what it is...but at the same time everything has a price, and the price of championship football is considerably more than we pay. So by the definition of the word it very much is cheap. it's about the same as a portion of fish and chips or a couple of pints in a lot of bars nowadays. |
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Post by andyboothscat on Mar 27, 2024 19:03:42 GMT 1
This was quite an interesting thread to start with but the last ten pages or so have just been the same points over and over again.
Roll on the announcement!
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ram
Andy Booth Terrier
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Post by ram on Mar 28, 2024 11:02:14 GMT 1
The problem with owners funding the club out of their own pocket is FFP especially for a club like ours.{apparently} Which is why they have to grow the neglected revenue streams, which for Hudds Town are PRETTY CLEAR. The club has massively underperformed on commercial and retail compared to competitive peers over the last 20 years. Bristol City pretty much quadruple Towns commercial and retail revenues. That is how it should be, The club funding itself. Not coming out of the owners own pocket. |
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Post by royrace on Mar 28, 2024 11:16:02 GMT 1
You could say that the prices are cheaper than some other clubs and that would be a fact. Whether they are cheap is a subjective judgement. Think it works out at £10.80 a game..for an hour and a half of 2nd tier football. It is subjective whether thats 'cheap' for what it is...but at the same time everything has a price, and the price of championship football is considerably more than we pay. So by the definition of the word it very much is cheap. it's about the same as a portion of fish and chips or a couple of pints in a lot of bars nowadays. Of course it's cheap, compare it to any other form of entertainment and the vast majority of clubs in the English leagues, they're currently very cheap. People have got used to the price. Funny same people complaining are probably happy to spend well over a hundred quid to go to a gig. I can't think of any other live entertainment that's as cheap, probably costs more to go to the cinema! I'm not advocating a big rise, especially with the way things are on the pitch, but I think it's obvious they will need to go up. They just need to go about it in a way that won't price people out or put people off. |
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Post by htafcokay on Mar 28, 2024 11:18:30 GMT 1
Think it works out at £10.80 a game..for an hour and a half of 2nd tier football. It is subjective whether thats 'cheap' for what it is...but at the same time everything has a price, and the price of championship football is considerably more than we pay. So by the definition of the word it very much is cheap. it's about the same as a portion of fish and chips or a couple of pints in a lot of bars nowadays. Of course it's cheap, compare it to any other form of entertainment and the vast majority of clubs in the English leagues, they're currently very cheap. People have got used to the price. Funny same people complaining are probably happy to spend well over a hundred quid to go to a gig. I can't think of any other live entertainment that's as cheap, probably costs more to go to the cinema! I'm not advocating a big rise, especially with the way things are on the pitch, but I think it's obvious they will need to go up. They just need to go about it in a way that won't price people out or put people off. Going to gigs is enjoyable. |
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Post by Orinoco on Mar 28, 2024 11:40:29 GMT 1
Of course it's cheap, compare it to any other form of entertainment and the vast majority of clubs in the English leagues, they're currently very cheap. People have got used to the price. Funny same people complaining are probably happy to spend well over a hundred quid to go to a gig. I can't think of any other live entertainment that's as cheap, probably costs more to go to the cinema! I'm not advocating a big rise, especially with the way things are on the pitch, but I think it's obvious they will need to go up. They just need to go about it in a way that won't price people out or put people off. Going to gigs is enjoyable. Gisele aren't as often as a football match, by time you've forked out travel and food and drink for the day,football is not cheap. |
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Post by Captainslapper on Mar 28, 2024 12:26:22 GMT 1
Drinks and food are optional.
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Post by htafcokay on Mar 28, 2024 12:32:14 GMT 1
Drinks and food are optional. Fuck me. I've heard it all now. |
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Post by royrace on Mar 28, 2024 12:36:25 GMT 1
Drinks and food are optional. With what's on offer id imagine most don't bother. Meaning a lot of people will pay just over a tenner to watch 90 minutes of championship football, one of the best leagues in the world with big clubs, full internationals, premier league quality squads. It's a massive bargain currently whichever way you look at it... although I admit it didn't feel like it at times, particularly under Moore! |
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Post by Ginger Ogre on Mar 28, 2024 13:53:10 GMT 1
| Club | Average Attendance | Match Day Revenue | Season | | Norwich | 26069 | £10m | 22/23 | | Middlesbrough | 26234 | £8.8m | 22/23 | | Stoke | 20570 | £7.6m | 22/23 | | Watford | 19172 | £6.8m | 22/23 | | Bristol City | 20374 | £6.3m | 22/23 | | Millwall | 12950 | £5.8m | 21/22 | | QPR | 14977 | £5.7m | 22/23 | | Hull | 12888 | £5.6m | 21/22 | | Town | 20076 | £5.2m | 21/22 | | West Brom | 21788 | £5.1m | 21/22 | | Cardiff | 18869 | £4.7m | 21/22 | | Coventry | 19451 | £4.3m | 21/22 | | Swansea | 17389 | £4.2m | 21/22 | | Birmingham | 16162 | £4.2m | 21/22 | | Preston | 16287 | £3.9m | 22/23 | | Blackburn | 13478 | £3.4m | 21/22 | | Rotherham | 10515 | £2.5m | 22/23 |
Most clubs who have been in the championship over the 2 accounting periods shown. Town doing OK in mid table, in spite of 'dirt cheap' season cards. I'll let someone else do the commercial revenue version, which has us in the relegation zone. Just coming back to the list. Match Day income in the latest set of accounts shows £3.9m, so we would be joint 3rd bottom with Preston, with a 3,789 higher attendance figure. Looking at Preston (as its the same amount) they sell adult tickets ranging from £280 (Early Bird)/£400 (Non Early Bird) to £535, and appear (from what I can see) to have category pricing depending on block sat in within the same stand. Interestingly they allow U11s in for free which I think is great. They sold around 11,300 when the early bird prices came to an end (3rd June 2023) and around 11% of these were new Season Card holders for the season so the reduction in price certainly enticed new fans to attend, or attracted existing fans who may have stopped going due to cost. I suppose the point to consider here would if prices were put up to the same as Preston, would we lose around 4k fans in doing so? If we did then the net on ticket sales alone would be the same as them, but we would potentially lose a lot of 'non-ticket matchday income' alongside it so would effectively be worse off over the course of the season. |
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Post by andyboothscat on Mar 28, 2024 14:01:40 GMT 1
Drinks and food are optional. It does make me chuckle when people price up the cost of the day after a bad result and it includes the obligatory 10 pints! |
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ben1987
Mental Health Support Group
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Post by ben1987 on Mar 28, 2024 14:12:54 GMT 1
ATT minutes
Note: These minutes were taken by the Huddersfield Town Supporters’ Association
(HTSA), not Huddersfield Town Association Football Club.
Present
Club representatives: Andy Booth (Supporter Services – AB); Gina Buckley (Head of
Ticketing – GB); Jake Edwards (CEO – JE); Robyn Kennerdale (Head of Supporter
Experience) – RK); Domenic Notarfrancesco (Director of Global Brand – DN); Rachel
Taylor (Supporter Services – RT); David Threlfall-Sykes (Marketing and
Communications Director – DTS)
Supporters’ Groups: HTSA; Huddersfield Town Disabled Supporters’ Club; Cowshed
Loyal
+ Multiple panel members
Agenda
1. Season Cards
2. Stadium Ownership
3. Stadium Connectivity
4. Frequency of ATT Panel Meetings
1. Season Cards
Jake Edwards began the meeting by providing a brief overview of the club’s
commercial strategy.
He explained that, over the past nine or so months, the club had begun the process of
benchmarking itself against other Championship sides across a range of categories.
Mr. Edwards pointed out that this was particularly important in light of ongoing
negotiations between the EFL and Premier League with regards to a new financial
settlement for the professional game in England and Wales.
He added that although a new deal would involve immediate financial benefits for
clubs such as Huddersfield Town, it would also likely come with certain strings
attached. Mr. Edwards gave the example of performance (i.e., final league position)
playing a more prominent role in the revenue distribution formula and core spending
being directly linked to revenue. In addition, he predicted that the ability of owners
to subsidise losses would be somewhat curtailed.
Mr. Edwards continued, highlighting the fact that this will force all clubs to prioritise
financial sustainability. It will also make it harder for Town to compete with other
teams, including those in receipt of parachute payments and with bigger stadia. As a
result, Mr. Edwards concluded, the club will have to work much harder to generate
additional revenue. He said that much of this will come from the rewards of up-front
investment (i.e., stadium infrastructure, academy expansion, player trading, etc.),
but some will inevitably have to come from season card sales.
Continuing this line of reasoning, Mr. Edwards observed that Town offer one of the
cheapest season card deals in the EFL and remain one of the only clubs not to use a
zoning system.
To emphasise this point, David Threlfall-Sykes presented several slides to the panel
which showed that Town’s adult season cards are cheaper than the average
equivalent in the National League North (Step 2).
Mr. Threlfall-Sykes argued that, first and foremost, low prices have a negative impact
on the club’s ability to generate revenue and thus compete with its peers. On top of
this, he suggested they devalue the product itself, with up to 4,000 season card
holders regularly not attending games.
Mr. Edwards said the Board had therefore concluded that the club must gradually
increase the price of season cards over the next five years to meet the average
Championship price point.
In the short-term, Mr. Edwards clarified, this could involve the introduction of zoning
across the stadium. The new system will follow a simple and largely universal logic:
i.e., the cost of a ticket will be determined by the quality of the view. Season card
prices could therefore be lower in the North and South stands and higher in the
Riverside and Kilner Bank stands.
Mr. Edwards stated that categorisation (Under 23, Under 18, Under 16, Under 11)
will be preserved and incorporated into this system and the 65 and over price will be
reintroduced. The cost of matchday tickets, which are closer to the Championship
mean, will increase only slightly. Mr. Threlfall-Sykes added that the new prices will
be decided with a view to retaining as many current season card holders as possible.
A HTSA representative questioned the notion that football in general and
Huddersfield Town specifically have a revenue problem, pointing out that both make
more money than ever. They proposed that football has a cost control problem, which
is not something supporters are either responsible for or capable of solving. They
added that there is no proven correlation between the price of season cards and
success on the field. The representative pointed to the fact that other clubs at the
bottom of the table charge far more than Town but do not perform any better. The
risk, they argued, was that ever-increasing prices would, in the grand scheme of
things, do little to remedy the club’s revenue problem or make it more competitive,
while gradually eroding its active fanbase.
Another HTSA representative asked on what the extra projected revenue would be
invested. Mr. Edwards replied that the club was planning to invest heavily in the
playing squad, academy, and stadium to improve the club’s position in the league and
enhance the matchday experience – both of which, he claimed, would offer fans more
value for money.
Several panel members expressed concerns that the zoning system would add an
unnecessary level of logistical complexity for some fans, potentially deterring them
from renewing for the upcoming season. Others stated that, in the end, the team’s
performances drive demand for season cards and fans’ perception of their value.
Mr. Threlfall-Sykes assured the panel that the club was aware of these issues and
committed to resolving them. He said they were especially focused on improving the
level of service from the ticket office. One of the main problems on this front, he
explained, is the impact of high demand at peak times. The club is examining
different options to address this, including the possibility of splitting season card
renewals across two different periods. Under this scenario, the North and South
stands could open for renewals first – because more people will likely move down a
price category – followed by the Riverside and Kilner Bank stands. Mr. Threlfall-
Sykes said this could deliver an improved service through reduced phone queues and
email backlogs, but would come with a downside – namely, a shorter timeframe for
fans to renew.
A number of panel members suggested that a shorter renewal window may pose
challenges for some, specifically those who buy season cards on behalf of family or
friends. A HTSA representative worried that simultaneously introducing higher
prices, zoning, and a split-renewal system would create too many new obstacles. The
representative added that if the latter was implemented, fans should be given at least
one month to renew.
Representative of HTDSC enquired as to the car parking situation and particularly
accessibility spaces. Mr Edwards advised this is still under discussion.
Mr. Edwards brought the discussion to a close by stressing that the season card policy
is a work in progress, promising an announcement on the outcome before the end of
the season.
2. Stadium Ownership
Mr. Edwards reported that there was no significant update on the stadium ownership
situation, reiterating the club’s desire to take operational control of or a long-term
lease on the site.
He stated that the new ownership had invested a great deal of time and effort into
building relationships with the Huddersfield Giants and Kirklees Council to better
understand their interests and aims.
Mr Edwards confirmed that despite the slow progress of negotiations, the club was
determined to invest in the stadium, beginning with key improvements in the
summer.
A HTSA representative asked whether there were any risks to taking on the
stadium’s liabilities. Mr. Edwards disputed the premise of the question, arguing that
the main risk would be to continue to pay 90 percent of the costs while holding only
40 percent of the shares.
The same representative enquired who would pay for the estimated £8-10 million of
required infrastructure investment to extend the stadium’s lifespan to 2050. Mr.
Edwards responded that the costs would be covered by the club and Kevin Nagle.
3. Stadium Connectivity
A panel member enquired about the potential for the installation of wi-fi at the
stadium.
Mr. Threlfall-Sykes said the club was examining the possibility of doing so. He also
confirmed that the club was in the process of developing a new website and app.
4. Frequency of ATT Meetings
HTSA said that it would be useful to hold meetings of the ATT panel every three
months to make sure that the club was consistently engaging with fans on important
matters.
A panel member also raised the issue of short notice periods, suggesting that fixed
dates would encourage higher attendance.
Mr. Threlfall-Sykes said that, from next season, the club aims to host four meetings
a year if possible.
5. AOB
None.
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ben1987
Mental Health Support Group
Posts: 7,239
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Post by ben1987 on Mar 28, 2024 14:13:33 GMT 1
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dooky82
Jimmy Nicholson Terrier
Posts: 1,438
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Post by dooky82 on Mar 28, 2024 14:26:17 GMT 1
I might be in a minority here but I agree with zonal pricing. Those who have more disposable income can choose to have a better view of the game. Hopefully mitigating the level of increase for folk who are struggling.
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Post by benhomly on Mar 28, 2024 14:27:20 GMT 1
I might be wrong but I thought Town always had a structure for over 60's, not over 65's. If so they will be introducing a pricing structure for over 65's not re-introducing one. It's important to those of us who fall between the two  |
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Post by gledholt terrier on Mar 28, 2024 14:54:03 GMT 1
I might be in a minority here but I agree with zonal pricing. Those who have more disposable income can choose to have a better view of the game. Hopefully mitigating the level of increase for folk who are struggling. It makes complete sense. It is a far superior view from the Riverside Upper and Kilner (again, at the higher levels) than the North and South stands. The more central the seat/block the better too. I’ve only been in the Director’s box once, many years ago, but it was a surprisingly much inferior view to the one I have in the Riverside upper. Similarly, having your retinas burnt out on occasion in the north stand can’t be fun! |
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Post by fredcarno1 on Mar 28, 2024 15:01:37 GMT 1
Funny that there’s never any acceptance from the club heiracy that the product over the last 5 years except for one outlying season has been absolutely appalling. Talk of bringing pricing in line with the rest of the Championship whilst we head for League 1 on the back of for the most part absolutely soul destroying football. Massively increase revenue streams on a much reduced fanbase !!
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Post by Gag_N_Bone_Man (Destabiliser) on Mar 28, 2024 15:07:50 GMT 1
Drinks and food are optional. With what's on offer id imagine most don't bother. Meaning a lot of people will pay just over a tenner to watch 90 minutes of championship football, one of the best leagues in the world with big clubs, full internationals, premier league quality squads. It's a massive bargain currently whichever way you look at it... although I admit it didn't feel like it at times, particularly under Moore! The bars are always busy enough. I certainly always have a pint or 3, and a pie. Between food & drinks and my golden gamble tickets I'll spend an average of £25 a game, easily. |
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