Bigger Ground = Less ST's ?????

[RoyalBlue]

but then there were people who applied for ST's but couldn't get one due to availability.

I suspect that was one of Boyd's final marketing ploys!

I don't believe it was true of anyone who had anything more than a very meagre Royalty points tally.

[TFF]

but then there were people who applied for ST's but couldn't get one due to availability.

I suspect that was one of Boyd's final marketing ploys!

I don't believe it was true of anyone who had anything more than a very meagre Royalty points tally.

They got down to something in the region of 80-100 points IIRC. I believe they still had 1,000 odd extra applications.

[Symposium]

but then there were people who applied for ST's but couldn't get one due to availability.

I suspect that was one of Boyd's final marketing ploys!

I don't believe it was true of anyone who had anything more than a very meagre Royalty points tally.

They got down to something in the region of 80-100 points IIRC. I believe they still had 1,000 odd extra applications.

My girlfriend had just under 100 points, and was told that anyone with less than 100 was refused. She's managed to get to every game this season so far, though...

[Ian Royal]

but then there were people who applied for ST's but couldn't get one due to availability.

I suspect that was one of Boyd's final marketing ploys!

I don't believe it was true of anyone who had anything more than a very meagre Royalty points tally.

Well I'm very sorry those of us with a meagre points tally wanted to join in and get a season ticket you smug git!

Just because people don't have a lot of points doesn't make them any less a Reading fan. But then I don't want to get into that crap old Chestnut again.

[jq urz]

i think the original point was valid. i believe villa have less season ticket holders than us which purely due to the fact they have a 40,000 seater stadium that has rarely sold out in the last few seasons - OK they've had a mediocre team but people can turn up on the day and get in so there's no incentive to shell out for a season ticket.

i would guess at least 50% of season ticket holders miss 1 match this season due to other commitments and since the discount you get is only worth about 1 match the only benefit is potentially better seat.

once the novelty of the prem wears off and we become a mid table premiership team i suspect demand will start to fall. man city are similar they have much cheaper tickets but a lot of their fans have become disillusioned with the fact they are no where near challenging for honours.

ok i've made a few assumptions - like we become an established mid table team but apart from last season which was once in a life time we have a handfull of sell out crowds in the last 10 years.

expanding to 38k might mean we could drop the ticket prices though.....

[LumpWarden]

mmmmmmm.... It seems to me that there isn't a simple relationship such as more seats = more income;

The club will need to put a lot of thought into sales strategy for the next few seasons to ensure that we maintain a decent atmosphere through good crowds, whilst maximising the potential revenue.

I think the secret to our longer term success is in the club identifying the best plan as to how to go about it

[BLUES & ROYAL]

They need to get it right or the Mad Stad could become a big empty shell like Elland Road.
Leeds have kept their prices at Premiership levels and play in a half empty stadium.

[Dirk Gently]

I think for a lot of people it's not the saving that makes them buy a ST - it's not having to bother to book for every game and it's sitting with the same people, etc.

In any case, most people know they can always find a mate to use a ST if they have to miss a match, so won't bother too much about the finacial loss.

[Dirk Gently]

mmmmmmm.... It seems to me that there isn't a simple relationship such as more seats = more income;

The club will need to put a lot of thought into sales strategy for the next few seasons to ensure that we maintain a decent atmosphere through good crowds, whilst maximising the potential revenue.

I think the secret to our longer term success is in the club identifying the best plan as to how to go about it

I think you're right - they need to develop a flexible pricing plan, so that they keep prices high for the big games that they could sell out several times over so they maximise revenue, and they can do all sorts of promotions (KFAQ etc) to ensure we are full for the much less attractive fixtures.

[weybridgewanderer]

Its much more versatile not to get a season ticket.

I can't ever see me giving up my season ticket. Even if I coudl only get to 10 games in the season - there will always be someone who wants it. I love my seat/position in the stadium and love the fact that I will always have a guaranteed ticket.

Another factor is the much talked about royalty points. Without them you will struggle to get tickets for home matches and some away matches.

last season, at £17 per game online advance purchase, you were worse off if you missed 3 games in the season if you bought aseason ticket

Not everyone that follows reading lives in reading and has an abundance of people they work with / live next door to that will take their season ticket off them each week

[Woodcote Royal]

Not everyone that follows Reading lives in Reading

This seems to be the point that many disregard when talkng about the novelty wearing off if we become a mid-table Prem side and "doing a Charlton"

Reading in the Premiership is no longer "little Reading". It's fan base is largely affluent and might stretch all the way to Cornwall!!

On the other hand, Villa and Charlton are in working class areas with competition from several other clubs close by.

In Charlton's case, this includes some of the most glamorous teams in the land. I can just see most neutral football fans living in South London plumping to watch Charlton rather than Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal or West Ham

Traditionally we have some of the most fickle fans in the land but it's high time some of them realised that their local club is spreading it's net further a field with every passing day................and the longer we stay in the top flight, the more of these new fans will be kept.

Premiership footy in Berkshire is going to be BIG.

[Dirk Gently]

Woodcote is quite right.

It's exactly what Robert Maxwell said in the 80s and what JM has known all along - a successful club in the Thames Valley could be absolutely phenomenal.

We're right in the middle of the most affluent areas in the UK and with no major competition nearby - even more so after the demises of the other clubs which could have been viewed as potential competition - Aldershot, Oxford and Swindon. Ditto the two Bristols (oo-er missus) whilst Southampton and Portsmouth are on the coast and so on the fringe of their cactcment area is limited, as is scope for expansion in the case of the latter.

We're right in the heart of the South, so all of the M3, M4 & M40 corridors are our catchment area.

[Platypuss]

They need to get it right or the Mad Stad could become a big empty shell like Elland Road.
Leeds have kept their prices at Premiership levels and play in a half empty stadium.

That's also because they have pretty much failed to get it right on the pitch too.