Are Season Tickets outdated?

[StevieC]

With so many changes and uncertainties surrounding fixtures these days, are season tickets outdated?

There's no doubt that, in years gone by, season tickets proved to be excellent value for money and a good way of showing your support for a club before a ball was kicked .. however, in this day and age, with so many fixtures moved at short notice, is that still the case?

If not, then what alternatives could you suggest as a way of showing loyalty to your club?

[Gatecrasher]

With so many changes and uncertainties surrounding fixtures these days, are season tickets outdated?

There's no doubt that, in years gone by, season tickets proved to be excellent value for money and a good way of showing your support for a club before a ball was kicked .. however, in this day and age, with so many fixtures moved at short notice, is that still the case?

If not, then what alternatives could you suggest as a way of showing loyalty to your club?
I think its still the case, I love being a STH, i get peace of mind when big games are coming as I get priority and no matter how much money i piss away i can still go to the football because the ticket is pre paid. The change in KO times is a real pain in the arse but at least Hibs acknowledge that it pisses us off and i appreciate that. ST'S are the best way to support hibs at the moment IMO.

[Jones28]

Maybe a system where you could pre-book tickets for the whole season? Like you could choose a 10 ticket package for £200 or something.

Mind you...that does sound awfully familiar :greengrin:

Fwiw if I still lived in Edinburgh I would have a season ticket. I loved having an ST, it gave my weekends purpose :agree: :greengrin:

[Andy74]

I think the complaints about kick off times are outdated too. Football hasn't been played just on Saturdays at 3pm for years.

Work patterns and leisure patterns are different as well and I'm sure there are many who the other times are easier for as well as those who can't make the alternative days.

Around 8,000 are still buying them - that's not too bad really. Only better football and results would impact that, not when games are played.

[Franck is God]

Season Tickets are not outdated, the thought that we should be playing at 3pm every Saturday is.

In the past Dad went to work, Mum stayed at home, Friday big shop, you went to the footie with your Dad through the Father & Son gate and your wee sister went shopping with your Mum. That situation no longer exists, both parents work (if they are lucky enough to have jobs), the majority of people have to work weekends at least once per month, the working day of 9-5 is pretty much gone and a 24 hour life style has taken over.

In September both of our home league games were on a Saturday and the crowd was less than 10k at each, in November two of our three league games were Saturdays and weren't bumper crowds either and in December we had 4 home games, two of which were on a Saturday and one was boxing day and the other was the cup match against Hearts and only the cup match did we have more than 10k Hibs fans in the ground.

I have a season ticket this season and have signed up for next because the money goes to the club to pay the wages and sign players, if I go to all the home games then they cost £20 per game which seems pretty good to me and paying £34.55 per month by DD is a no brainer.

[Onion]

With so many changes and uncertainties surrounding fixtures these days, are season tickets outdated?

There's no doubt that, in years gone by, season tickets proved to be excellent value for money and a good way of showing your support for a club before a ball was kicked .. however, in this day and age, with so many fixtures moved at short notice, is that still the case?

If not, then what alternatives could you suggest as a way of showing loyalty to your club?

:top marks for a great question. As you say, if you set aside sentiment, the overall "value" of owning a ST is IMHO much reduced and in many ways is a disadvantage to the average football fan. I'll still buy one, but it is high time football clubs reviewed its ST proposition in the modern age.

[Scouse Hibee]

I think the complaints about kick off times are outdated too. Football hasn't been played just on Saturdays at 3pm for years.

Work patterns and leisure patterns are different as well and I'm sure there are many who the other times are easier for as well as those who can't make the alternative days.

Around 8,000 are still buying them - that's not too bad really. Only better football and results would impact that, not when games are played.


Agree with this :thumbsup:

[Scouse Hibee]

Season Tickets are not outdated, the thought that we should be playing at 3pm every Saturday is.

In the past Dad went to work, Mum stayed at home, Friday big shop, you went to the footie with your Dad through the Father & Son gate and your wee sister went shopping with your Mum. That situation no longer exists, both parents work (if they are lucky enough to have jobs), the majority of people have to work weekends at least once per month, the working day of 9-5 is pretty much gone and a 24 hour life style has taken over.

In September both of our home league games were on a Saturday and the crowd was less than 10k at each, in November two of our three league games were Saturdays and weren't bumper crowds either and in December we had 4 home games, two of which were on a Saturday and one was boxing day and the other was the cup match against Hearts and only the cup match did we have more than 10k Hibs fans in the ground.

I have a season ticket this season and have signed up for next because the money goes to the club to pay the wages and sign players, if I go to all the home games then they cost £20 per game which seems pretty good to me and paying £34.55 per month by DD is a no brainer.

:agree: And this

[7062]

I've had a ST for years, have renewed for next season and have no intention, all things being well financially, of stopping getting one. However, I can't remember the last season where I was able to make every home game due to things like work, weddings (people should really check the fixture list), being on holiday etc and as soon as I miss 1 or 2 games, financially I'd have been better off PATG, but wouldn't have my regular seat and more importantly Hibs wouldn't have had my ST money up front.

I think the OP has raised a good point and now with us all having cards that are being scanned hibs should be able to tell exactly which games you've been to. What if you paid for your ST as usual, but if its not used for a game be refunded part of the ticket price. Even a small amount like £5/game?

I'm more thinking for the people who would swither about whether to get one due to the risk of missing games.

[Geo_1875]

Going to watch football is an outdated concept. For around the cost of an ST you can pay for a SKY Sports package and watch wall to wall football from the comfort of your own sofa. In between games you can log on to Hibs.net and complain about how poor Hibs are compared to Barcelona and Man United :)

[Scouse Hibee]

Going to watch football is an outdated concept. For around the cost of an ST you can pay for a SKY Sports package and watch wall to wall football from the comfort of your own sofa. In between games you can log on to Hibs.net and complain about how poor Hibs are compared to Barcelona and Man United :)


:tee hee:

[fat freddy]

With so many changes and uncertainties surrounding fixtures these days, are season tickets outdated?

There's no doubt that, in years gone by, season tickets proved to be excellent value for money and a good way of showing your support for a club before a ball was kicked .. however, in this day and age, with so many fixtures moved at short notice, is that still the case?

If not, then what alternatives could you suggest as a way of showing loyalty to your club?



i've been thinking about this all season....due to various commitments i have missed 4 home games and i was thinking that it would be good if we could have a season ticket that allowed you to attend, say 15 matches or better still, an amount of matches that the spectator expects to be able to attend....as i spend a lot of the early part of the season out of edinburgh i am again wondering if it is worth my while renewing my season ticket this summer but if hibs offered me the chance to buy a limited s.t i wouldn't hesitate as i am happy to give the club money...the value i get for my money is poor though if 2 or 3 games are missed.

[RIP]

Stevie do you mean the concept of annual renewal? I worked in Insurance and for a long time policyholders had to 'opt in' each year with an up front payment.

These days its rolling renewal by monthly DD.

Can see that trend applying to football as more supporters sign up to monthly payments.

[PaulC]

What about an Oyster card type idea where you load up an amount of money at the start of the season on your card and receive a slight discount on PATG/walk up prices. Then closer to the match go on-line and book a seat bit like when you book onto a flight. Not guaranteed the same seat each game but in the same general area.

Club then gets an amount of money up front as opposed to walk up income.

[HIBERNIAN-0762]

Yes to the original question, I have in laws in Holland, Ajax have swipe cards that you simply top up at the beginning of the season, so simple.

[Gus Fring]

I'd personally prefer a subscription style system. Something like £30 a month, every month and you get into all the home games at Easter Road. Maybe £40 to have Cup Games included and say £70 to sit in hospitality? These are all just rough figures but it would give people a chance to opt in and out a bit more. A season ticket stops being value for money after the second game of the season but if we have a cracking start this would let glory hunters jump on the bandwagon. Yes, that's not the right attitude to have but they exist with all teams. The downside of this would be that the club may get people cancelling their DD when the tough gets going which could be seen as an incentive for the team to do well consistently. People can still cancel Direct Debits on the existing payment plan just now and I'm sure some do.

I'd also like to see the reintroduction of the category B ticket. I had a few mates with kids who had the CAT B ticket because it was a) cheaper and b) meant their kids didn't have to endure the hatred spewed from the South whenever we played the old firm or the Yams.

I'm a little bit sorry to say that I have a few mates who were right up for it after the 2007 L/C win and have stopped going regularly since but whenever there is an offer, or a cheap cup game etc they are there. £15 quid seems to be the sweet spot for them attending and whilst that's obviously anecdotal there's clearly a contingent of people who are the same.

I suppose it boils down to what makes money. More people paying less or less people paying more?

[StevieC]

Stevie do you mean the concept of annual renewal?

Not specifically.

There have been so many changes to football matches (TV games, Sunday games, Cat. A/B/C games, etc.) that it must now be questionable whether a "one size fits all" season ticket is a true reflection on the needs of todays football supporters.

[Ken]

On average (made up stat??????) 10% of season ticket holders don't make the category B home games so how about:

Season Ticket - £380 (19 games for season 2013/2014)
Flexible Season Ticket - £420 (19 games for 2013/2014-2014/2015)

[StevieC]

On average (made up stat??????) 10% of season ticket holders don't make the category B home games so how about:

Season Ticket - £380 (19 games for season 2013/2014)
Flexible Season Ticket - £420 (19 games for 2013/2014-2014/2015)

The downfall of that is the Cat. A/B difference.

What about pre-paid games, jumping up in batches of 5 (incl. 1 Cat.A).
1 game £walk-up cost
5 games £110 (1 Cat.A)
10 games £210 (2 Cat.A)
15 games £300 (4 Cat.A)
Full season £380 (incl. cup game)

Games booked online and automatically loaded onto card.

A pre-paid 5 game card seems like it could have great potential as a birthday/Christmas gift. :wink:

[TRC]

this would help a lot as I work all the time weekends and nights. if I had say 10 games that I could choose when I go it would be amazing and would be more than happy to part with my cash. but to pay full whack when I'm only going to 10% of games would stick be a bit hard to take!

[marinello59]

With over 8000 season tickets sold last season and hopefully more this time around then the evidence seems to be that it is far from outdated. One common theme running through this thread seems to be that a Season Ticket now fails to offer any real savings these days as missing some games is almost inevitable. Whilst the other benefits such as ticket priority, entrance to BTG and having the same seat every game go some way towards compensating for that surely what we are really talking about is a pricing issue?

[VickMackie]

If clubs started offering partial season tickets, say 16 games, we know we'd lose out. Makin things too flexible means less money in. Less money in = more people moanin about ***** players.

[RIP]

Platinum Member. Executive seat, pre match hosted meal, £20 per month donation to the Hibernians plus £10 Lotto. Trip to EM. Attend MOM presentation. Mingle with legends.

Gold Member. Season ticket as current plus £10 Hibernians plus £5 lotto. Trip to EM plus meet player days.

Silver Member. As current.

Bronze Member. 10 game plan. Online prebook prices but guaranteed seat.

Online Prebook. £4 discount if bought online in advance. £2 cheaper than current walkup price.

Walkup. Full price if bought on the day. £2 dearer than current walkup price

[down-the-slope]

If clubs started offering partial season tickets, say 16 games, we know we'd lose out. Makin things too flexible means less money in. Less money in = more people moanin about ***** players.

That is the crux of it.

While there needs to be some tweaking with how we buy football if we make opting out (and not losing financially) too easy then people will fall into habit of doing just that. Whats needed is a change of culture where we see ourselves as members where the benefits are seen less in direct relation to consumption (ie how much per game we attend) and something wider

Most will have mobile phone contracts where we do not use the full benefits possible (minutes / data / texts etc) but continue to pay monthly for the package.
Some will have gym memberships that may be anytime / day only / evening only etc...but what we pay is not related to number of times we actually go....and not reduced if we don't

Many will have boiler service contracts - fixed monthly fee where we receive annual service - but also are a member of the insurance scheme which means any breakdown is covered...again how much we use this does not affect monthly cost.

Travel passes and cards - monthly / annual figure that gives access to travel on specified services / routes ... the convenience of not having to buy tickets each trip combined with being less than Pay as You go for our regular travel...we can use more as a bonus like week ends etc (say like CTU?) but would not expect refund because we are on holiday / working from home / sick etc

There are many examples of where what is paid monthly is not directly related to actual consumption and we find that acceptable (or just don't think about it that way / are not encouraged to by supplier) we need to see the value / desirability of having membership and the wider benefits and priorities that brings.

We also live in a culture where less and less people save / pay up front / lump sum for anything but pay monthly for a whole variety of things from mortgages / rent / credit card bills / utilities / personal loans (home improvements / holidays etc) / memberships / HP ....... try adding up the total value of Standing order / Direct debits in a month on your bank statement....

Therefore expecting people to pay lump sum for ST membership is for a huge number unrealistic - thats why the longest period possible was argued for in this years payment plan...
The speed of take up and number who have stated that monthly cost was the overriding factor seems to back this up...

Rolling membership is the logical next step if 'member benefits' can be widened and seen differently with probably different tiers of membership - but being able to opt in or out too easily goes against the grain of much of the rest of our financial 'purchases'

[StevieC]

While there needs to be some tweaking with how we buy football if we make opting out (and not losing financially) too easy then people will fall into habit of doing just that.

I think that's the point I'm kinda making. The club will not move with the times (and utilising modern technology) for fear of losing out on money "up front". Whilst it is certainly the case that some current season ticket holders would opt for lesser packages (pretty much confirming that there is a need for it) there is potential to get others on board that might not otherwise have bothered.

It seems a poor excuse to say "we are not providing a better level of customer service, incase some of those customers leave".

At the end of the day, the season ticket holders will still be attending matches, it's not like you could ever go elsewhere.


Most will have mobile phone contracts where we do not use the full benefits possible (minutes / data / texts etc) but continue to pay monthly for the package.

Although, they would go with the company that offered the "best" monthly package or incentives. If the package wasn't cost effective in comparison to others, regardless of what you didn't use, you wouldn't buy into it.


Some will have gym memberships that may be anytime / day only / evening only etc...but what we pay is not related to number of times we actually go....and not reduced if we don't

But if you were restricted in the number of times you could attend and it was more cost effective to pay-per-visit .... whilst a lot of the big gyms will (really) push for a monthly contract, there are a lot of smaller gyms that are more than happy with a pay-per-visit arrangement. The smaller gyms obviously see a customer base that can't afford the monthly charges and are utilising that. Big gyms make that much harder because they, as you are stating in your first paragraph, do not want to risk losing a large guaranteed income.

The thing is, Hibs supporters are not going to switch "gyms".


Travel passes and cards - monthly / annual figure that gives access to travel on specified services / routes ... the convenience of not having to buy tickets each trip combined with being less than Pay as You go for our regular travel...we can use more as a bonus like week ends etc (say like CTU?) but would not expect refund because we are on holiday / working from home / sick etc

And in Belgium you can buy a 10 ticket rail card that can be used on a per trip basis. It's been on the go for years so it must be reasonably succesful, or at the very least go towards providing a level of customer satisfaction.


We also live in a culture where less and less people save / pay up front / lump sum for anything but pay monthly for a whole variety of things from mortgages / rent / credit card bills / utilities / personal loans (home improvements / holidays etc) / memberships / HP ....... try adding up the total value of Standing order / Direct debits in a month on your bank statement....

And that same culture will see you "shopping around" for better deals elsewhere when your current one comes to an end. If you are not convinced that the deal you are on is good for you, and the current company doesn't offer an alternative, you'll be off .. it's the way we deal with business these days.


Therefore expecting people to pay lump sum for ST membership is for a huge number unrealistic

I totally agree.


Rolling membership is the logical next step if 'member benefits' can be widened and seen differently with probably different tiers of membership - but being able to opt in or out too easily goes against the grain of much of the rest of our financial 'purchases'

I agree with the opting out, most contracts these days will be for 1 or two years. What you have to get right though are the selection of options that are available in order to get soemone to commit the that 1 or two year contract.

Ideally EVERBODY that supports Hibs should have an annual contract available to them that suits their own needs. That might be as simple as a £30 membership card that allows them to load the occasional game onto, or a full season ticket (with additional benefits?).

[PatHead]

Stevie I am sure Hibs will be looking at this as part of a review. In addition they could look at adding money to the card which you could use in the shop to buy kit or gifts, food from the kiosk and programmes etc.

[gegs70]

I have always enjoyed having a season ticket. Its great geting interest free payments but I also like the idea of having a top up card like a bank account to save up for season tickets where you can put in as much as you want even pay for hibs kits or xmas gifts or even save up fir a corporate day??? Just a thought.

[jonty]

Games should be played at 8pm during the week - ensuring that only local supporters get to attend.



Local supporters for local teams

!Vive la revolution!

[MB62]

What about an Oyster card type idea where you load up an amount of money at the start of the season on your card and receive a slight discount on PATG/walk up prices. Then closer to the match go on-line and book a seat bit like when you book onto a flight. Not guaranteed the same seat each game but in the same general area.

Club then gets an amount of money up front as opposed to walk up income.

I think this is an excellent idea and certainly one the club could think about for the future.
On a personal basis, I am very much a Saturday 3.00pm man as I see football more of a social event, meeting friends and family before the game for a pint to discuss team line up, tactics, who will score a hat-trick for us today (Griffiths obviously) etc etc. Afterwards it is back to the pub to discuss who was MOTM, best goal of the game for us or how who was crap, Fenlon's tactics, good or bad.

I do go on a Sunday, but I don't like it as I can't enjoy it the same with work on a Monday, but I am at the stage nowadays where a game on a freezing cold Monday night in February, live on T.V. just does not appeal to me.

To the split this season Hibs will have played

Saturday = 10 games
Sunday = 5 games
Monday = 1 games
Wednesday = 2 games (one of which was on a Wednesday afternoon, boxing day)

That's almost half our games being played outwith Saturday.
I understand what other people are saying about Saturday's no longer being of importance to them, but it is for me and it has stopped me buying a season ticket for next, well that and the fact I don't know what's happening with the league set up next season.

The idea above from PaulC appeals to me and is something I would consider :top marks

[Ross4356]

I think the complaints about kick off times are outdated too. Football hasn't been played just on Saturdays at 3pm for years.

Aye people need to get over it

[SlickShoes]

I don't think they are outdated but paying £400+ in one single payment is simply not affordable.

The monthly payment plan should be offered year round and not just as a pre season perk to people wishing to take it up. Obviously you would need to commit to an entire year when starting the plan but I think it seems logical to allow people better access to a plan like this when the price of everything is going up and wages are stagnant or going down.

I can pretty easily afford £35 a month or so but there is no way I can fork out £400 in one single payment, I know that people CAN save up but we are trying to get people committed to going to the football not give them advice on whether saving up is better option or not.

[duffers]

£300 all in.
Think if we made it cheaper, then a lot more people would buy Season Tickets.
I will be buying a Season ticket, but it doesn't really make much sence. More just a habbit.
I miss 4/5 games a season, and i'd imagine most Season Ticket holders also miss at least 1 or 2.
In my opinion, being a season Ticket holder doesn't actually gain you much.
Priority tickets, yeah, but, has anyone ever struggled to get tickets? I don't know anyone who couldn't manage to get a ticket for the final last year that were desperate to go...

[JollyGreenGiant]

£300 all in.
Think if we made it cheaper, then a lot more people would buy Season Tickets.
I will be buying a Season ticket, but it doesn't really make much sence. More just a habbit.
I miss 4/5 games a season, and i'd imagine most Season Ticket holders also miss at least 1 or 2.
In my opinion, being a season Ticket holder doesn't actually gain you much.
Priority tickets, yeah, but, has anyone ever struggled to get tickets? I don't know anyone who couldn't manage to get a ticket for the final last year that were desperate to go...


I know loads of people who were stressing about it though, some considering paying £hundreds to secure hospitality tickets.

Being a season ticket holder enables you to sit back knowing you will get a ticket and therefore reduces any stress.

[Keith_M]

My personal feeling is that they are often not value for money. I don't apply this to most of the discounted tickets, as I think Hibs do a very good deal for the likes of kids and students, but with the adult tickets you only need to miss a couple of games before you would have been better off paying at the gate. Because of the regular changes in kick off times and everyday events like getting changes to your work hours, this happens frequently to a lot of people.

[s.a.m]

I think the complaints about kick off times are outdated too. Football hasn't been played just on Saturdays at 3pm for years.

Work patterns and leisure patterns are different as well and I'm sure there are many who the other times are easier for as well as those who can't make the alternative days.

Around 8,000 are still buying them - that's not too bad really. Only better football and results would impact that, not when games are played.


Season Tickets are not outdated, the thought that we should be playing at 3pm every Saturday is.

In the past Dad went to work, Mum stayed at home, Friday big shop, you went to the footie with your Dad through the Father & Son gate and your wee sister went shopping with your Mum. That situation no longer exists, both parents work (if they are lucky enough to have jobs), the majority of people have to work weekends at least once per month, the working day of 9-5 is pretty much gone and a 24 hour life style has taken over.

In September both of our home league games were on a Saturday and the crowd was less than 10k at each, in November two of our three league games were Saturdays and weren't bumper crowds either and in December we had 4 home games, two of which were on a Saturday and one was boxing day and the other was the cup match against Hearts and only the cup match did we have more than 10k Hibs fans in the ground.

I have a season ticket this season and have signed up for next because the money goes to the club to pay the wages and sign players, if I go to all the home games then they cost £20 per game which seems pretty good to me and paying £34.55 per month by DD is a no brainer.

While you both have a point about life having changed, the problem remains that people are paying upfront for a product which is subject to rescheduling and is officially non-transferable. I think it's probably fair to say that the current season ticket isn't the right product for paying for SPL football because of the uncertainty involved.

I have been a season ticket holder for over 20 years, and for the last 10 of them I'm lucky if I've managed to get to half of the games that I've paid for. I keep buying because I want to support Hibs and because I like where I sit, but it's difficult to justify.

(As far as the argument about when football should be played goes, I'm in the old-fashioned camp! With matches being played on different dates / times, the 'ritual' part of the matchday experience that somebody else mentioned is lost, and I think that's what kept a lot of people going in the past.)