lets get more through the door...

[Earl of Currie]

I always think there has to be a more holistic approach to improving the experience for fans, its not just about following the German model or using the NFL as a guide for entertainment , its about getting the fans in earlier to the ground and making sure they are entertained for the few hours before a match. The club has to balance the books ultimately but it has to increase income streams and reduce outgoings ,

Possible ways can include
having a double header ticket with the under 20 match or ladies match first on,
having big screens in the concourse areas showing the lunchtime match on Sky
club owned & better quality concessions within the ground area selling reasonably food and drink (BBQ's , roast chicken , low alcohol drinks, etc)
live bands playing
having an interaction with the public transport bodies where a match ticket allows free transport into and around the city (encourages away supporters also) and lets fans who want a drink to come and leave the car

It also has to look at the expenditure and how we market the club / league
Still think summer football is a no brainer (less competition on tv would encourage other countries to pick it up even to fill a gap, more walk ups , more wak up support on mid week games)
Bigger leagues (2 16 team leagues then regional after that ) but have more games on tv from both leagues even if it meant having games on 7 days a week ( it would also improve corporate and sponsorship revenues)
Promote wages to turnover to be less than 50% of turnover across clubs.
Encourage all clubs to have half the match day squads being home grown and under 23.

There are other ways I am sure , but the above could be a start

[Ronniekirk]

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"If you build it, they will come". A quote from a Kevin Costner movie but true. AS and LD are still building, price will always be an issue for some, not for others. If we have a team playing good football and wining the majority of games the crowds will return. We're starting to show we can do that, all we need is promotion and to do the same next year, this will happen because we're doing things correctly. The people who left and haven't returned yet, will return once in the SPL. I think reducing prices is a backward step, as it reduces the money the head coach has to play with. Stick it out til promotion and SPL football next year, we will see what this team is capable of in a better league and we will see the crowds grow again. Have faith in what we have, cause it's the first time is a while we had something worth keeping.

The Film was Field of Dreams !one of my favourites. ,but the ghost Baseball Players played in front of a handful of family and friends so not a great analogy re getting the crowds back

[Ringothedog]

If we are going to try and increase crowds then a reduction in prices is worth trying. One other way could be the reduction in prices available up to 2 days before the match and then revert back to the current prices.Hibs might make a loss on this but there is also a good chance that it will increase revenue. 11000 at a match is better than the 8500 we are currently getting. There would be a better atmosphere, which would be better for the players and also for the spectators attending.

[marinello59]

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If we are going to try and increase crowds then a reduction in prices is worth trying. One other way could be the reduction in prices available up to 2 days before the match and then revert back to the current prices.Hibs might make a loss on this but there is also a good chance that it will increase revenue. 11000 at a match is better than the 8500 we are currently getting. There would be a better atmosphere, which would be better for the players and also for the spectators attending.

How do Hearts prices and crowds compare to ours?

[Mikey]

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If we are going to try and increase crowds then a reduction in prices is worth trying. One other way could be the reduction in prices available up to 2 days before the match and then revert back to the current prices.Hibs might make a loss on this but there is also a good chance that it will increase revenue. 11000 at a match is better than the 8500 we are currently getting. There would be a better atmosphere, which would be better for the players and also for the spectators attending.

Remember that we're moving towards fan ownership and no longer have an overdraft facility. Given that shareholders are unlikely to want to dig deep to cover any losses it'll be up to the club to remain within budget.

[HappyAsHellas]

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How do Hearts prices and crowds compare to ours?

My brother is an ST holder at the piggery and it costs him £400 which he doesn't worry about as he's supporting his team and that's what it costs. I'm not sure about their kids ST prices but would doubt they are of as good a value as ours. We cannot replicate their buy or die situation and the feelgood factor when they got hauled out of the mire at the last minute. They are in what seems like a great position at present, but that will change drastically over the next few years. We got premiership prices this season and were promised quality over quantity, a statement on which the club has delivered. We need to pay for these players to ensure we keep going in the right direction.
I'm a walk up and go to every home game and some away ones as well, I think it's on the expensive side but don't give a flying f&*% because I'm supporting my team.

[blackpoolhibs]

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My brother is an ST holder at the piggery and it costs him £400 which he doesn't worry about as he's supporting his team and that's what it costs. I'm not sure about their kids ST prices but would doubt they are of as good a value as ours. We cannot replicate their buy or die situation and the feelgood factor when they got hauled out of the mire at the last minute. They are in what seems like a great position at present, but that will change drastically over the next few years. We got premiership prices this season and were promised quality over quantity, a statement on which the club has delivered. We need to pay for these players to ensure we keep going in the right direction.
I'm a walk up and go to every home game and some away ones as well, I think it's on the expensive side but don't give a flying f&*% because I'm supporting my team.

Their crowds have grown over the last few years because of their overspending, thy have watched a conveyor belt of big money signings and European football plus a couple of cup wins that brings in more people.

They then had the the worry of their club actually dying that naturally pulls everyone together. They have had nearly 30 years of overspending thats grown their crowds, add the last year or so onto that and its no wonder we are behind their crowds.

[emerald green]

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It's really that simple?
How do you suggest we attract decent players on much less income then? If our ambition is to remain a lower league team then fair enough, reduce the prices and we can stay down indefinitely.

That's the quandary for a club like Hibs. It's going to be difficult enough to retain players like Scott Allan, Dylan McGeough and Dominic Malonga (especially if Hibs are not promoted at the end of this season) if the club cannot offer them decent wages.

The money these players could earn in England now is easily greater than most Scottish clubs can afford, and that I'm afraid includes Hibs.

[J-C]

I said at the time LD made a huge mistake by chraging last season prices for Championship football, if they'd cut the price of a season ticket to a reasonable price they would've got another 2-3 thousand fans signed up.

[Andy74]

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I said at the time LD made a huge mistake by chraging last season prices for Championship football, if they'd cut the price of a season ticket to a reasonable price they would've got another 2-3 thousand fans signed up.

We wouldn't have though. And we would just have had a lower budget.

[J-C]

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We wouldn't have though. And we would just have had a lower budget.

We have 7,000 season ticket holders at the moment, I like many others decided not to take up the offer due to the cost, there was a lot of discontent on here over the pricing and the majority think LD and Hibs shot themselves in the foot over it, instead of adding 2,000 extra supporters at £320 each, they got these punters paying at the gate but not every gameas our average gate is just over 10,000 one thousand down on last year, so even when we are winning we are still lower than last season when we were atrocious???

[PatHead]

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I said at the time LD made a huge mistake by chraging last season prices for Championship football, if they'd cut the price of a season ticket to a reasonable price they would've got another 2-3 thousand fans signed up.

What is a reasonable price though?

Notice you answered about £320 later but do you really think we would sell 2000 more?

[Hibby Bairn]

If you don't have a season ticket then you will make a decision on the day of the game in most cases.

So say it is 1pm and this non ST holder is thinking about it. It is 3 degrees outside. Cash is tight. Is there a game on the telly.

Contrast that to spending £22 going to ER to watch Dumbarton. Maybe £34 if he/she has a son/daughter. Plus maybe bus fares or petrol.

We don't make it easy for people to say "yes I am going to the game today".

[PatHead]

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If you don't have a season ticket then you will make a decision on the day of the game in most cases.

So say it is 1pm and this non ST holder is thinking about it. It is 3 degrees outside. Cash is tight. Is there a game on the telly.

Contrast that to spending £22 going to ER to watch Dumbarton. Maybe £34 if he/she has a son/daughter. Plus maybe bus fares or petrol.

We don't make it easy for people to say "yes I am going to the game today".

I have always believed that it should be cheaper to buy before the matchday if you print yourself.

[J-C]

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What is a reasonable price though?

At the moment it's £405, I think a price of £330-340 would have been a reasonable price.

£405 for 18 home games = £22.50 per game, at the moment it's £22 for a walk up price, cheaper to pay at the gate.

Drop prices to £340 = £18.90 per game and charge £19 for walk up prices.

Personally I think our crowds would've been higher if this had happened.

Edit. £320 = £17.80 per game or £18 walk up.

[Mikey]

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At the moment it's £405, I think a price of £330-340 would have been a reasonable price.

£405 for 18 home games = £22.50 per game, at the moment it's £22 for a walk up price, cheaper to pay at the gate.

Drop prices to £340 = £18.90 per game and charge £19 for walk up prices.

Personally I think our crowds would've been higher if this had happened.

Edit. £320 = £17.80 per game or £18 walk up.

I can see it now...... "Scott, here's your new contract, just sign here. By the way you pay is 17% lower than the last contract. Scott, Scott..........."

[J-C]

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I can see it now...... "Scott, here's your new contract, just sign here. By the way you pay is 17% lower than the last contract. Scott, Scott..........."

How do you see that???

It's about getting more punters through the gates and as you can see by last year attendances we are 1,000 down on last year and we have a winning team playing this year and playing some really nice football, so how do we attract the 2-4 thousand that have vanished from our gates, giving them value for money.

Surely adding extra punters at a lower rate is better than no extra punters at all.

[Mikey]

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How do you see that???

It's about getting more punters through the gates and as you can see by last year attendances we are 1,000 down on last year and we have a winning team playing this year and playing some really nice football, so how do we attract the 2-4 thousand that have vanished from our gates, giving them value for money.

Surely adding extra punters at a lower rate is better than no extra punters at all.

Assuming they come back.

[Danderhall Hibs]

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How do you see that???

It's about getting more punters through the gates and as you can see by last year attendances we are 1,000 down on last year and we have a winning team playing this year and playing some really nice football, so how do we attract the 2-4 thousand that have vanished from our gates, giving them value for money.

Surely adding extra punters at a lower rate is better than no extra punters at all.

You're not allowed to suggest reasonable pricing.

Don't ask how other teams who are above us manage to attract players with lower crowds and ticket prices.

[NAE NOOKIE]

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I always think there has to be a more holistic approach to improving the experience for fans, its not just about following the German model or using the NFL as a guide for entertainment , its about getting the fans in earlier to the ground and making sure they are entertained for the few hours before a match. The club has to balance the books ultimately but it has to increase income streams and reduce outgoings ,

Possible ways can include
having a double header ticket with the under 20 match or ladies match first on,
having big screens in the concourse areas showing the lunchtime match on Sky
club owned & better quality concessions within the ground area selling reasonably food and drink (BBQ's , roast chicken , low alcohol drinks, etc)
live bands playing
having an interaction with the public transport bodies where a match ticket allows free transport into and around the city (encourages away supporters also) and lets fans who want a drink to come and leave the car

It also has to look at the expenditure and how we market the club / league
Still think summer football is a no brainer (less competition on tv would encourage other countries to pick it up even to fill a gap, more walk ups , more wak up support on mid week games)
Bigger leagues (2 16 team leagues then regional after that ) but have more games on tv from both leagues even if it meant having games on 7 days a week ( it would also improve corporate and sponsorship revenues)
Promote wages to turnover to be less than 50% of turnover across clubs.
Encourage all clubs to have half the match day squads being home grown and under 23.

There are other ways I am sure , but the above could be a start

A few decent ideas in there. The summer football one is probably the one which has to be at least tried. Nobody is going to want to sit through a double header in the freezing cold, but perhaps they would in the months from May to September. I would be happy to sit and cheer on the ladies team before the league game .... in decent weather. That would of course mean all Scottish football being played in the summer.

One thing we could borrow from the NFL is the practice of 'tailgating' ... for a tenner a group we could allow folk to bring in those disposable barbecues and set up in 'fan zones' behind the West and East stands. Hibs could sell beer from stalls. It might not catch on, but we could at least trial it.

There is also the tourist market. Literally hundreds of thousands of people visit Edinburgh in the summer months and yet we do nothing to attract them to games. Tourists buy souvenirs so it could be a boost for the shop too. Even if we could reach a height of 100 per game that's a few grand in the coffers right there.

And here's the controversial one. We have this huge gap site between the East & FF ..... We could look at an arrangement between us and some hotel group to build on the site .. if the hotel was on stilts there would be ample parking underneath ( see TESCO in Galashiels ) and during the winter Hibs could have a deal where folk with season tickets, or who buy walk up tickets in advance, can have first dibs on cheap rooms. Even living as close as Gala I know I would be tempted a few times a season. Surely a hotel with views over the Forth and rooms with a view of the inside of the stadium would appeal to a lot of folk .... not to mention the stadium is 10 minutes from the city centre and Holyrood by public transport.

Or ... We could gift the site to some growing supermarket chain like Lidl or Aldi on the condition that they build another 2 floors above the new store which would be owned by Hibs and could be used as a club for the thousands of folk who will be ST holders, shareholders or members of HSL. This place would be open 7 days a week and would benefit the store underneath surely. Perhaps the HSA could occupy the same building ( gratis ) and therefor bring everybody into the body o' the Kirk as it were.

[J-C]

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Assuming they come back.

We had a 34 page thread about ticket prices at the start of the season and if IRC the majority thought LD and the board hadmade a mstake by keeping prices at Premier level, the board expected more than 7,000 season tickets sold and the average attendance is less than last season, it's not really rocket science, give punters value for money and a winning team and they'll come back.

[Mikey]

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You're not allowed to suggest reasonable pricing.

Don't ask how other teams who are above us manage to attract players with lower crowds and ticket prices.

There have plenty of threads about it. When did this ban come in place?

[J-C]

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There have plenty of threads about it. When did this ban come in place?

EH????

[Mikey]

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EH????

Exactly.

[Danderhall Hibs]

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There have plenty of threads about it. When did this ban come in place?

Maybe my sentence should've been longer. You can't suggest reasonable pricing without being shouted down.

Every time it's mentioned there are 2 or 3 posters that rubbish any suggestion with facts like the crowds wouldn't go up if it was cheaper and we couldn't sign players if tickets were cheaper.

[Mikey]

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Maybe my sentence should've been longer. You can't suggest reasonable pricing without being shouted down.

Every time it's mentioned there are 2 or 3 posters that rubbish any suggestion with facts like the crowds wouldn't go up if it was cheaper and we couldn't sign players if tickets were cheaper.

Jings. That's serious stuff.

[Danderhall Hibs]

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Jings. That's serious stuff.

I've no idea what you're going on about but it feels like you're trolling.

[Mikey]

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I've no idea what you're going on about but it feels like you're trolling.

I'd better ban myself then.

[Danderhall Hibs]

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I'd better ban myself then.

That's why it didn't bother reporting it

[The_Exile]

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It's even cheaper than that pb, only 25 quid for a full season ticket for an under 12 in the ff lower. Anyone who'd bring a wee one along more than twice a season would make an instant saving getting one. Adult was 355 for me so 380 between us.

Agreed, and that's the deal I got for me and my two, 355 for me and 25 each for the kids, so 405 in total. That's £22.50 in total for me and the kids, now for anyone saying that isn't a brilliant deal is kidding themselves on, even for Championship football, remember we have MORE category A games this year than we would've had in the Premiership.

Walk ups have always been, and probably always will be, more expensive per game as you're not committing to the season so can't take advantage of the reductions a Season Ticket will bring. For what it's worth, I'd like to see a raft of deals brought in for the league run in, every point is crucial now and we need as many punters through the gate as possible. I'd bring in a 2 games for £35, Hearts and Rangers game double ticket £40, all kids accompanied with a paying adult are free, rest of the home league games package for £90 (£18 each game).

Edit: League reconstruction is long long long overdue, that and a trial of summer fitba, we need to try and shake things up for the better, I dunno about anyone else but even playing Hearts 4 times a year is boring me ****less.