Poor attendances

[Filthy Rich]

Why are our attendances so low, especially in comparison to Derby?

We could only muster 22k on Saturday despite the return of NP whereas they had over 30,000 for the visit of Hull.

I know the Rams have about twice as many season ticket holders as we do.

Is their marketing better?

Are the prices a lot lower?

Just curious....

 

[East Anglia Fox]

It seemed to start under Sousa, and has yet to recover.

 

[H T B]

22,000 piss poor? My arse it is!

Go down to the Ricoh, you'll see piss poor there.

If NP continues the way he's started, I'm sure we'll get more through the gate.

 

[bocadillo]

Why are our attendances so low, especially in comparison to Derby?

We could only muster 22k on Saturday despite the return of NP whereas they had over 30,000 for the visit of Hull.

I know the Rams have about twice as many season ticket holders as we do.

Is their marketing better?

Are the prices a lot lower?

Just curious....

If it were true that Derby had "about twice as many season ticket holders", they would have rather bigger attendances than they have got. It's just not true.

I understand that Derby give away a lot of tickets to groups on a match-by-match basis.

 

[Lako42]

They give away a lot of tickets, especially to schools and other groups. They have done this for years now and it boosts the attendance hugely.

 

[Uncle Connolly]

I was very surprised at the figures for our first home games under Sven at the start of the season.

Thought they'd be much higher - at least 30,000.

Now, you can't really complain considering our start.

 

[Fox Fan]

Even clubs like Villa are only getting 35,000 - I don't think 22,000 is bad at all.

 

[Filthy Rich]

If it were true that Derby had "about twice as many season ticket holders", they would have rather bigger attendances than they have got. It's just not true.

I understand that Derby give away a lot of tickets to groups on a match-by-match basis.

I seem to remember we have about 13,000 season ticket holders while they have about 24,000. Anyone know the right figures?

They must give away a heck of a lot of free tickets......

 

[Chrysalis]

our matchday is ok but our season ticket sales seem low.

 

[glyn]

This is a decent page (if accurate). Doesn't include this season but our average is currently around 23,000, a little lower but not dissimilar to our recent seasons at this level
http://european-football-statistics.co.uk/attnclub/leic.htm

I found this site as I wanted to dig out stats on the nadir in the late 80s - 10,157 average in 87/88!

 

[lanxfox]

Win and they will come

 

[Jeff]

our matchday is ok but our season ticket sales seem low.

That's a surprise, considering how expensive match day tickets are and how much you can save by getting a season ticket.



Attendances seem to be down all over the country, not just at Leicester, with the exception of a few clubs that are doing well. Our average this season of 23010 is holding up well compared to other clubs. Leeds, for example are averaging 22660, it's not often we've averaged more than them when we've been in the same division.

 

[Hazzman]

I seem to remember we have about 13,000 season ticket holders while they have about 24,000. Anyone know the right figures?

They must give away a heck of a lot of free tickets......

Not free but the game against Hull involved a 2 for 1 offer on Group-On and I believe this deal open to servicemen. Their recent game against Southampton, they offered all previous season ticket holders discounted tickets. Add to this, deals on schools.

We actually do something very similar for a lot of public sector staff and bigger employers of the city.

The bottom line is attendances are low everywhere, football has reached it's pricing peak for me.

 

[bocadillo]

I seem to remember we have about 13,000 season ticket holders while they have about 24,000. Anyone know the right figures?

They must give away a heck of a lot of free tickets......

The same source that glyn used above shows that Derby's average attendance this season is just 26,023. If it's true that they have sold 24k season tickets, they are doing incredibly poorly on single match tickets.

 

[M17TT C]

Only a matter of time before it all starts colapsing, not just Leicester, but football in general.

Going to football matches has been a rip off for the past 5yrs or so but only now are more and more people are realising there is far greater opportunity cost for their money than football.

 

[Mike - True Blue Tinter]

I do not understand the business model in the Prem of clubs who do not fill grounds not reducing season ticket prices.

Clubs like Blackburn and Wigan that barely get 20000 on a gate, perhaps £15million in a season.

That is dwarfed by their Sky payments of £30-40million. If they dropped their ST prices say by £100 they would need perhaps an extra 4000 fans to make up the shortfall, but there would also be an extra 4000 fans in their store and on the concourses buying food and drink.

Can anyone who understands how football business works explain why Prem Clubs with low gates do not reduce ticket prices to get a bigger spend with a larger footfall to the ground?

 

[M17TT C]

Football doesn't operate like any normal business though. How many clubs actually generate a profit each year but they all manage to keep going, any normal business that consistantly operates at a loss would have been shut down in no time!

 

[Hazzman]

Can anyone who understands how football business works explain why Prem Clubs with low gates do not reduce ticket prices to get a bigger spend with a larger footfall to the ground?

It's cheaper to watch Wigan and Blackburn in the Premier League than it is to watch Leicester in the Championship (this isn't for a bog-standard game too, Wigan v Arsenal is £25...Blackburn you can watch three PL games for £20).

Bottom line for Wigan and Blackburn is that they are positioned next to four big clubs and unless they win, the 'floaters' won't bother. So they attempt cheaper deals against the smaller clubs which doesn't really work as any increase in attendance is offset against the reduction in money. When the big teams come to town, it's a bigger crowd regardless of pricing...so they will charge high.

I read of Hartlepool's recent season ticket decrease which has seen the highest season ticket figures for them but they will still lose money. The board are hoping that they attach some fans to the club through it in the following season.

 

[Jeff]

I do not understand the business model in the Prem of clubs who do not fill grounds not reducing season ticket prices.

Clubs like Blackburn and Wigan that barely get 20000 on a gate, perhaps £15million in a season.

That is dwarfed by their Sky payments of £30-40million. If they dropped their ST prices say by £100 they would need perhaps an extra 4000 fans to make up the shortfall, but there would also be an extra 4000 fans in their store and on the concourses buying food and drink.

Can anyone who understands how football business works explain why Prem Clubs with low gates do not reduce ticket prices to get a bigger spend with a larger footfall to the ground?

A lot of Premier League clubs that can't fill their grounds have cheaper prices than clubs in lower divisions.
The cheapest adult season ticket at Blackburn for this season was £225, at Wigan it was £295, at Bolton it was £285.

 

[SwedeFox]

I do not understand the business model in the Prem of clubs who do not fill grounds not reducing season ticket prices.

Clubs like Blackburn and Wigan that barely get 20000 on a gate, perhaps £15million in a season.

That is dwarfed by their Sky payments of £30-40million. If they dropped their ST prices say by £100 they would need perhaps an extra 4000 fans to make up the shortfall, but there would also be an extra 4000 fans in their store and on the concourses buying food and drink.

Can anyone who understands how football business works explain why Prem Clubs with low gates do not reduce ticket prices to get a bigger spend with a larger footfall to the ground?

Perhaps the clubs you mention don't have a large enough "core" of supporters who are willing to commit themselves to a season ticket (it's still expensive, especially for a family). My local team in Sweden had always had a surprisingly high attendance in the lower divisions with loyal season ticket holders. When they got promoted, people expected them to sell lots more season tickets but it turned out that people only wanted to turn up for a special occasion, thus only buying single match tickets, and the number of season ticket holders was roughly the same.

Regardless of the price, not everyone want to/can have something planned for every other Saturday for the next nine months or so.