Attendances next season (1 Viewer)

Sky Blue Harry H

Well-Known Member
Just been thinking about next season's attendances, and with the likes of Leeds, Leicester, Sheff Wed joining the division you'd think the average would be even higher than this season.
However, there are going to be more non Saturday 3pm fixtures, due to additional 'TV' coverage, which may impact travelling fan numbers, plus home fans who have to travel further.
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The club's budget shouldn't be too adversely affected, as I believe the TV money has increased significantly, but just hope the possibly more messy schedule doesn't adversely affect things in terms of numbers/atmosphere. I suppose on the pitch performances will help dictate that. Buy a Season Ticket !!
 

Sky Blue Harry H

Well-Known Member
I thought the new TV deal started 24/25?
If so, I'm glad - apologise for misleading info. In which case, I'd expect our attendance average to hold up. Means that the club can budget for a 20k average.
 

Skyblueweeman

Well-Known Member
Just depends how many of our home games are midweek I guess. Not sure if there's a rule that says xx% of midweek games need to be at home over the season and xx % need to be away.

The more away midweek games, the better our average home attendance.
 

Adge

Well-Known Member
It probably will average around 20,000 odd with the likes of the big hitters swelling the gate-balanced out by 17,000 etc v Rotherham/Cardiff etc.
 

pusbccfc

Well-Known Member
Depends how they price it for me.

I think we'll sell roughly the same amount of season tickets (although it should be more considering how cheap it is behind the goal for families).

My fear is category A is going to be £35. That will price people out and they won't pay that much to see us play West Brom at home in January.
 

skybluelee

Well-Known Member
I'm not sure £35 would make much difference to somebody's decision to attend personally. If somebody paid £33 they will pay £35 in most cases, and vis-versa. Some of our biggest attended games last season were category A weren't they?
 

shmmeee

Well-Known Member
I'm not sure £35 would make much difference to somebody's decision to attend personally. If somebody paid £33 they will pay £35 in most cases, and vis-versa. Some of our biggest attended games last season were category A weren't they?

Yeah there’s no evidence ticket price changes things.
 

slowpoke

Well-Known Member
Season ticket sales will be interesting a sleeping giant has been awakened and it wouldn’t surprise me if the ST sales increase significantly, will then be interesting what the club do about away fan numbers and the ground lay out
 

theferret

Well-Known Member
I'm not sure £35 would make much difference to somebody's decision to attend personally. If somebody paid £33 they will pay £35 in most cases, and vis-versa. Some of our biggest attended games last season were category A weren't they?

The Cat A games at the end of the season masked the fact that there were some poor gates earlier in the season for the £33 games (notably down on the previous season). Burnley, Bristol City and even Albion were really poor gates. Sunderland and Norwich also disappointing. To increase prices even further would be a mistake and could produce some shocking attendances if we're treading water in mid table.

I think we have missed the chance the increase the number of ST holders, we'll be around the same level as last season. Depends how we do, and what they do with matchday pricing, but if they increase prices and we struggle, would expect gates to fall a bit.
 

Sky_Blue_Dreamer

Well-Known Member
Yeah there’s no evidence ticket price changes things.
I think the caveat to that is the form of the team at the time.

had we not been on the run we were I doubt those Cat A games would have had anywhere near the crowds they did.
 

skybluelee

Well-Known Member
The Cat A games at the end of the season masked the fact that there were some poor gates earlier in the season for the £33 games (notably down on the previous season). Burnley, Bristol City and even Albion were really poor gates. Sunderland and Norwich also disappointing. To increase prices even further would be a mistake and could produce some shocking attendances if we're treading water in mid table.

I think we have missed the chance the increase the number of ST holders, we'll be around the same level as last season. Depends how we do, and what they do with matchday pricing, but if they increase prices and we struggle, would expect gates to fall a bit.
That applies to all of our fixtures, not their pricing categorisation. The Sunderland and Norwich games were on TV at lunchtime which would have had some impact on the crowds.

I'm not suggesting prices should be increased btw. I just don't think it would impact on somebody's decision to attend if the Cat A price went up £2. If they paid £33 they'll almost certainly pay £35. If they wouldn't pay £33 they certainly wouldn't pay £35.
 

Kingokings204

Well-Known Member
That applies to all of our fixtures, not their pricing categorisation. The Sunderland and Norwich games were on TV at lunchtime which would have had some impact on the crowds.

I'm not suggesting prices should be increased btw. I just don't think it would impact on somebody's decision to attend if the Cat A price went up £2. If they paid £33 they'll almost certainly pay £35. If they wouldn't pay £33 they certainly wouldn't pay £35.

Middlesbrough first leg at home lunchtime kick off and cat A prices and it sold out.
It’s always the same….. if the team are doing well and big games then the price almost becomes irrelevant. If the team are doing badly and it’s dross football then it could be £5 and it wouldn’t sell out.
 

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shmmeee

Well-Known Member
I think the caveat to that is the form of the team at the time.

had we not been on the run we were I doubt those Cat A games would have had anywhere near the crowds they did.

No, and neither would the Cat C games. I think offering cheaper tickets for some games that are never going to sell out makes sense. But for really big games it’s how the team is doing that determines it and at that point you can charge almost anything. I’d be willing to bet Birmingham and Boro would have sold out at £40/ticket.
 

pusbccfc

Well-Known Member
That applies to all of our fixtures, not their pricing categorisation. The Sunderland and Norwich games were on TV at lunchtime which would have had some impact on the crowds.

I'm not suggesting prices should be increased btw. I just don't think it would impact on somebody's decision to attend if the Cat A price went up £2. If they paid £33 they'll almost certainly pay £35. If they wouldn't pay £33 they certainly wouldn't pay £35.

Not too sure they would! £33 was a lot of money for people. £35 would be astronomical for Category A, especially when over half the matches next season will fall into that price bracket.

It would be easy for Doug and Boddy to look at the final few games and the sell-outs at £33 and think it would happen again next year. It won't. As mentioned above, some of the Cat A attendances were dreadful. Norwich would have been a poor crow had it not been televised. It is not an attractive fixture and they will not sell the away end out.

I think it is very important that the club do not announce prices for matches for the whole season. That way they can change prices based on televised fixtures of the form of the team. It would be disastrous to announce Stoke at home in February as Category A £35 for us to be 14th in the table and only 15,000 turn up.
 

pusbccfc

Well-Known Member
No, and neither would the Cat C games. I think offering cheaper tickets for some games that are never going to sell out makes sense. But for really big games it’s how the team is doing that determines it and at that point you can charge almost anything. I’d be willing to bet Birmingham and Boro would have sold out at £40/ticket.

Yep and equally the crowd for Birmingham at £33 a ticket would have only been 22,000 if the team were not pushing for the play offs.
 

Evo1883

Well-Known Member
Yep and equally the crowd for Birmingham at £33 a ticket would have only been 22,000 if the team were not pushing for the play offs.
Not sure , we managed just under 22700 for a night match against them last season
 

Travs

Well-Known Member
so you would expect
Leicester / Leeds 30k
Blues / Baggies/ Sheff wed/ 23k
5 mid week fixtures 17k
all others 20k

so an average of around 21k should not be out of reach

We'll only get 30k for Leeds and Leicester if we're doing at least as well as this season.
 

Evo1883

Well-Known Member
I think Leicester will be high regardless.

Leeds would be about 23,000 on a regular Saturday.


Coventry Leeds has been over 26000 2 of the last 4 times we've played at the ricoh , 1 it wasn't was the season we went down , the other was 23000.

We haven't played them for years .. it will be a good gate
 

pusbccfc

Well-Known Member
Coventry Leeds has been over 26000 2 of the last 4 times we've played at the ricoh , 1 it wasn't was the season we went down , the other was 23000.

We haven't played them for years .. it will be a good gate

That is when we used to give Leeds 6500 to be fair.
 

duffer

Well-Known Member
You'd have to hope for an uplift on last season wouldn't you, I'm sure that some new fans will have got the bug, and I don't see many old ones drifting away.

Plus, at least according to the council's figures, there's also the literally tens of thousands of Wasps fans in the city, with millions of pounds in their pockets and nothing to spend it on (Cov RFC excepted).
 

croatskyblue

Well-Known Member
As always it depends on how we do.

If it looks like we’re on another run to the playoffs it’ll be 23k-25k average, if not then it’ll be a bit higher than last season.

if it looks like promotion might be on the cards then we’d have to play some games twice to get everyone who wants a ticket in

we now have one thing we haven’t had in a long long time- hope.. on the other side we also have expectation and that can go either way, a bad start and people will be writing the whole season off and demanding blood
 

bigfatronssba

Well-Known Member
When you take this season as a benchmark, the only clubs in the division that got a higher average home attendance than us are teams that have all been in the PL within the last 6 years.
When you factor in how long we’ve been out of the big time, our gates look decent.

In fact out of the whole 92, the only club to get bigger crowds than us, who have been out of the top flight for longer is Sheffield Wednesday.
 
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