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So, should Charlton drop prices to increase attendances?
Comments
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msomerton said:eaststandmike said:Valleysarr said:Look I think we can safely say again anyone who wants a ticket will get a ticket !
what happened to the 40k at Wembley ?
The bloke in front of us had two kids under five with him, he spent the entire game entertaining them as they never seemed to be looking at the pitch
I reckon his wife said if you are disappearing for the day you take the kids with you2 -
seriously_red said:Airman Brown said:redman said:And, again, the whole discussion is what prices maximise ticket revenue, not what changes are fair or desirable.We might get a lift from having put the retail cost of sale back in, but I can’t see it being huge and as above it’s not profit.
Charlton’s commercial income was £1.4m in 23/24 and £2.1m in 2019/20 (Championship season truncated by Covid).
We know that the Championship is a harsh environment where often one club a season runs into difficulty as the owner loses interest or ability to finance losses, often due to mistakes over time. There's a long list of owners writing down accumulated losses of anything up to £200M in order to handover the club.
As you correctly state, CAFC commercial revenue is way, way lower than a typical Championship club so how quickly might this be addressed? Hefty increases in lounge pass prices have occurred over the last couple of seasons with the Vista lounge now costing £2,000 per season + VAT. Individual match passes aren't cheap! How much might our commercial sponsorship increase given our location and new Championship status? And what of the bars and catering where many fans object to the queues etc.?
Taking a broader view of the revenue together with our emergence form nigh on a decade in League One, one wonders whether we might look at the question posed differently. In other words, "No, prices should not be dropped - instead the club should look at improving the performances and results on the pitch for this and next season". That might sound obvious, but how many additional seats will be sold should we become a top eight contender? What will it take to retain our best players, AND to acquire even more talent next summer? The Enterprise Value of CAFC will rise significantly should we establish ourselves in the top eight simply because of increased revenue streams, massive increased value of the players and proximity to the EPL. And that could well equate to significantly more access to capital?
Perhaps we might then look at the gates as a symptom / outcome of all the other decisions, rather than a variable to be studied in isolation? All things being even, we may well hit sell out games in the home areas simply by pushing on. And with Nathan Jones and others at the helm, we certainly have people who have made this journey before. As you state, the average gate for this season will evolve so we shouldn't look at just one game. But let's instead look at the development of the performances and results under this new ownership, and see how far / how fast we might climb both the league and the revenue tables over the next year or two.Player sales are clearly important, as owners like Duchatelet have recognised, but they are not a consistent or reliable revenue stream and they also damage your chances of growing other revenue.
The owners will likely need to contribute £10m this season, which is roughly the same as last year. That could be offset by sales.Simple maths tells you that you can only raise a fraction of that even by adding 5,000 people to the average crowd - let’s say £3m - and the investment in players needed to do that (at current pricing) is likely to be several multiples of that.Incremental tweaks are far more feasible even though the outcomes will be less dramatic.0 -
For those not going to tonight’s cup game - what’s your reason? The price point is very attractive and you'll get to see some players that your club has spent millions on.
I imagine the explanations won’t be too different from those who skipped the Watford match, which brought the attendance down to around 22k, rather than 25k.
Be interesting to hear.0 -
Autograph session before the game. Football for a fiver. Kids for a quid. 7pm kick off. Discounted voucher with your ticket on food and drink and /or club shop. Half time appearance by a social celeb.0
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40,000 willing to trek to Wembley but cant attract 25,000 for season opener......plastics lol0
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As a former season ticket holder who lives on the Kent coast and doesn't get to many games these days, I don't think dropping prices would make any difference to me. The ticket isn't the issue, it's the cost of the whole day out. If I lived a walk or a bus ride from the ground, maybe. But I don't, and the cost of public transport to the match from where I live is the factor that means I can't afford to go that often. Unless someone has some sway on the railways, I don't see that changing, unfortunately.1
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_uptheaddicks said:For those not going to tonight’s cup game - what’s your reason? The price point is very attractive and you'll get to see some players that your club has spent millions on.
I imagine the explanations won’t be too different from those who skipped the Watford match, which brought the attendance down to around 22k, rather than 25k.
Be interesting to hear.
These new communities must be the future supporters of the club if it is to thrive.1 -
RDG said:As a former season ticket holder who lives on the Kent coast and doesn't get to many games these days, I don't think dropping prices would make any difference to me. The ticket isn't the issue, it's the cost of the whole day out. If I lived a walk or a bus ride from the ground, maybe. But I don't, and the cost of public transport to the match from where I live is the factor that means I can't afford to go that often. Unless someone has some sway on the railways, I don't see that changing, unfortunately.5
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Airman Brown said:RDG said:As a former season ticket holder who lives on the Kent coast and doesn't get to many games these days, I don't think dropping prices would make any difference to me. The ticket isn't the issue, it's the cost of the whole day out. If I lived a walk or a bus ride from the ground, maybe. But I don't, and the cost of public transport to the match from where I live is the factor that means I can't afford to go that often. Unless someone has some sway on the railways, I don't see that changing, unfortunately.0
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Tonight proved that cheaper prices bring in new and younger fans, as well as more families!Great to see a lot more diversity toniggt0
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As someone who doesn't know a great deal about the finances of Charlton, I just feel that every price range of season tickets are slightly high, wouldn't argue with the cheapest price but my zone one seat just feels a bit to high.0
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40K at Wembley and a 1/10 of that tonight.....glory hunters
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think anyone who has forked out at least £68+ (ticket and coach) to go to Bristol City on Saturday is rightly given a free pass not going tonight.1
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kentred2 said:sammy391 said:Tonight proved that cheaper prices bring in new and younger fans, as well as more families!Great to see a lot more diversity toniggt
what it did do, was being more families and locals to the ground2 -
_uptheaddicks said:For those not going to tonight’s cup game - what’s your reason? The price point is very attractive and you'll get to see some players that your club has spent millions on.
I imagine the explanations won’t be too different from those who skipped the Watford match, which brought the attendance down to around 22k, rather than 25k.
Be interesting to hear.4 -
_uptheaddicks said:For those not going to tonight’s cup game - what’s your reason? The price point is very attractive and you'll get to see some players that your club has spent millions on.
I imagine the explanations won’t be too different from those who skipped the Watford match, which brought the attendance down to around 22k, rather than 25k.
Be interesting to hear.
Missed the goal on saturday cos i'd had enough. Didn't fancy it again for Stevenage. Sorry.0 -
Tbh I’m amazed at the crowds that keep flocking to football despite the number of people who can watch any game they want on tv with a dodgy stick or sky or similar - the predicted affect on football gates has never happened0
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ct_addick said:40,000 willing to trek to Wembley but cant attract 25,000 for season opener......plastics lol
The ticket to Wembley is always going to comparatively more popular. The Play Off Final in a stadium that offers a more than adequate number of catering outlets and other facilities, comfortable seats (not that we used them), plenty of leg room and most likely a whole raft of other stuff and is the football equivalent of offering people and families a day out in Disney World compared to the local common fairground ride that the Valley offers it’s paying customers. The Valley may be a 27k capacity ground but its facilities and catering probably are more suitable for the 4k numbers we had last night. Wembley tickets cost more but value for money is streets ahead. The Valley’s only real attraction is the team. If we are not playing a box office match and expected to win (& we don’t have a great record in this cup, or any cup competition tbf) then the appeal of paying a premium price to go there will not be so great.4 -
msomerton said:Airman Brown said:RDG said:As a former season ticket holder who lives on the Kent coast and doesn't get to many games these days, I don't think dropping prices would make any difference to me. The ticket isn't the issue, it's the cost of the whole day out. If I lived a walk or a bus ride from the ground, maybe. But I don't, and the cost of public transport to the match from where I live is the factor that means I can't afford to go that often. Unless someone has some sway on the railways, I don't see that changing, unfortunately.0
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letthegoodtimesroll said:ct_addick said:40,000 willing to trek to Wembley but cant attract 25,000 for season opener......plastics lol
The ticket to Wembley is always going to comparatively more popular. The Play Off Final in a stadium that offers a more than adequate number of catering outlets and other facilities, comfortable seats (not that we used them), plenty of leg room and most likely a whole raft of other stuff and is the football equivalent of offering people and families a day out in Disney World compared to the local common fairground ride that the Valley offers it’s paying customers. The Valley may be a 27k capacity ground but its facilities and catering probably are more suitable for the 4k numbers we had last night. Wembley tickets cost more but value for money is streets ahead. The Valley’s only real attraction is the team. If we are not playing a box office match and expected to win (& we don’t have a great record in this cup, or any cup competition tbf) then the appeal of paying a premium price to go there will not be so great.0 -
Redrobo said:letthegoodtimesroll said:ct_addick said:40,000 willing to trek to Wembley but cant attract 25,000 for season opener......plastics lol
The ticket to Wembley is always going to comparatively more popular. The Play Off Final in a stadium that offers a more than adequate number of catering outlets and other facilities, comfortable seats (not that we used them), plenty of leg room and most likely a whole raft of other stuff and is the football equivalent of offering people and families a day out in Disney World compared to the local common fairground ride that the Valley offers it’s paying customers. The Valley may be a 27k capacity ground but its facilities and catering probably are more suitable for the 4k numbers we had last night. Wembley tickets cost more but value for money is streets ahead. The Valley’s only real attraction is the team. If we are not playing a box office match and expected to win (& we don’t have a great record in this cup, or any cup competition tbf) then the appeal of paying a premium price to go there will not be so great.0 -
Many people in my street don’t have London roots and support a variety of British and World clubs. They won’t go to the Valley at £30 unless it’s against their team or there’s a promotion with cheap(er) tickets. I fear that many with Charlton roots living out of London who haven’t been for a while will be difficult to entice back because of transport and match ticket costs.
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iainment said:Many people in my street don’t have London roots and support a variety of British and World clubs. They won’t go to the Valley at £30 unless it’s against their team or there’s a promotion with cheap(er) tickets. I fear that many with Charlton roots living out of London who haven’t been for a while will be difficult to entice back because of transport and match ticket costs.The club could run an aggressive marketing initiative to attract people back but it appears to focus on not subsidising coaches and promoting them to people already attending. Hence it runs a rump service which successive ownerships have regarded as a nuisance. It’s far easier for the club to bombard people with emails, etc.2
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msomerton said:Airman Brown said:RDG said:As a former season ticket holder who lives on the Kent coast and doesn't get to many games these days, I don't think dropping prices would make any difference to me. The ticket isn't the issue, it's the cost of the whole day out. If I lived a walk or a bus ride from the ground, maybe. But I don't, and the cost of public transport to the match from where I live is the factor that means I can't afford to go that often. Unless someone has some sway on the railways, I don't see that changing, unfortunately.0
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I'm insensitive to ticket prices but the whole matchday experience is unappealing especially as I get older (I live in Herts).There is unpredictable and often bad traffic (particularly if Spurs or West Ham are at home), virtually no parking options (a big factor if I take my old man), queues for packed post-match train platforms (if used as travel alternative), limited local food/drink options (even worse once inside the stadium)....and now the best part of half the games are available on Sky.The lack of parking however is the biggest issue. If the club could somehow secure a couple of thousand spaces dotted around the various industrial estates etc. then it would make a huge difference to me and I suspect many others (and personally I couldn't care if they're making a small profit for facilitating it).I only attended two home games last season and doubt I will do many more unless we are in an unlikely promotion battle. Either way I wouldn't do an evening game regardless.2
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MartinCAFC said:think anyone who has forked out at least £68+ (ticket and coach) to go to Bristol City on Saturday is rightly given a free pass not going tonight.0
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MartinCAFC said:think anyone who has forked out at least £68+ (ticket and coach) to go to Bristol City on Saturday is rightly given a free pass not going tonight.0
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In my opinion it is more important to support the team in Home games, that's where the club gets most of it's income from.
Last night's game cost me a total of £10.00 to attend, over 65 price plus free travel on my 60+ Oyster card.
Since i started work aged 16 i've had a season ticket so that i never have to miss a home game, although obviously have had to pay for cup games.
For about the the last 40 years i've attended the vast majority of away games, but i would never prioritise an away trip instead of attending a home game.
In fact Saturday [16/8/25] will be the 50th anniversary since i last missed a home game 16th August 1975, V Notts County.
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clive said:In my opinion it is more important to support the team in Home games, that's where the club gets most of it's income from.
Last night's game cost me a total of £10.00 to attend, over 65 price plus free travel on my 60+ Oyster card.
Since i started work aged 16 i've had a season ticket so that i never have to miss a home game, although obviously have had to pay for cup games.
For about the the last 40 years i've attended the vast majority of away games, but i would never prioritise an away trip instead of attending a home game.
In fact Saturday [16/8/25] will be the 50th anniversary since i last missed a home game 16th August 1975, V Notts County.3