Empty Seats

Given the club's decision not to sell new ST's, the number of ST holders in the family area must be reducing year on year as kids reach 16 and have to move to a different area of the ground?
 
So... I've taken it upon myself to email the ticket office a very nice, but long (ish) email with all the main points that have been discussed, proposed, argued, on this and other threads, related to seating (ST no shows, lack of away ticket info, empty seats in blocks 1 and 9)...

I am a firm believer in if you've a point to make then make it to the people that need to hear it.. As much as I love to contribute and read the debate on here... Not one of us can do anything about it :)

I have no idea if anyone in the ticket office will pay any attention to it, but I've made the points we're discussing and proposed some of the more sensible suggestions... It is all I can do...

As for you comment @DJ about headlines of 'All tickets allocated' and hiding info further down, working in user research I can 100% confirm that the vast majority of people who interact with web sites/platforms do not read things too well, taking in either the headline only, what they want to read, or very minimal info...

Someone needs to think carefully as to how they market and advertise these things...
 
I wouldn't allow STs in the Family Stand. Make every seat available on a match by match basis, that would ensure a greater level of commitment, and enable more kids to get in over the course of the season.
 
davidwhitehead said:
I wouldn't allow STs in the Family Stand. Make every seat available on a match by match basis, that would ensure a greater level of commitment, and enable more kids to get in over the course of the season.
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That’s quite frankly ridiculous and prejudiced against families. Why is an adult without a child more worthy of having a season ticket than one with a child? If your argument is to enable more people to get in over the course of the season then abolish all season tickets.
 
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SteveJonesLegend said:
As for you comment @DJ about headlines of 'All tickets allocated' and hiding info further down, working in user research I can 100% confirm that the vast majority of people who interact with web sites/platforms do not read things too well, taking in either the headline only, what they want to read, or very minimal info...

Someone needs to think carefully as to how they market and advertise these things...
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I’d imagine it’s a very high percentage wouldn’t bother reading the article after they’ve read that all tickets have been allocated in the headline.

Throw in to the mix that the perception over the past 6 years has been that it’s impossible to get a ticket without priority points and young families simply don’t consider going to the games as an option.

These are now the people who we need to target. There are loads of kids out there who would love to go but their parents think it’s impossible to get tickets for.
 
As an exiled ST holder that doesn't get to as many games as I would like I have no problem with the club implementing a simple resale site.

I might even stretch to registering as an ST that is attendance challenged and I need to confirm my attendance 2 days before a match or the ticket is automatically resold (assuming they read my email confirming attendance). Best done on an online form so no mistakes.
It is a long way to drive and find your seat has been resold by mistake.
 
DJ said:
That’s quite frankly ridiculous and prejudiced against families. Why is an adult without a child more worthy of having a season ticket than one with a child? If your argument is to enable more people to get in over the course of the season then abolish all season tickets.
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OK, maybe there's a better suggestion out there.

But if there is widespread abuse of the family season ticket offer, i.e. a dog-in-the-manger attitude, this means that there are loads of parents and kids who are being excluded by families who aren't committed enough to make full use of their ST. And something needs to be done about it. We are starving the new generation of fans.

It's a bit like during the Premier League years, when there were plenty of adult ST holders who you would only ever see for the glamour games, about 6 times a season. And this while there were thousands desperate to get their hands on a ticket, any ticket.

Shameful.
 
davidwhitehead said:
OK, maybe there's a better suggestion out there.

But if there is widespread abuse of the family season ticket offer, i.e. a dog-in-the-manger attitude, this means that there are loads of parents and kids who are being excluded by families who aren't committed enough to make full use of their ST. And something needs to be done about it. We are starving the new generation of fans.

It's a bit like during the Premier League years, when there were plenty of adult ST holders who you would only ever see for the glamour games, about 6 times a season. And this while there were thousands desperate to get their hands on a ticket, any ticket.

Shameful.
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Maybe let’s suggest all the OAP’s on their concession tickets who don’t go to the colder games leaving vast swathes of empty seats? Or that they might not want to go because of covid? No, because it’s insulting.

The club should organise an incentivised system to re-sell tickets like has been suggested rather than trying to point the finger at supporters.
 
DJ said:
Maybe let’s suggest all the OAP’s on their concession tickets who don’t go to the colder games leaving vast swathes of empty seats? Or that they might not want to go because of covid? No, because it’s insulting.

The club should organise an incentivised system to re-sell tickets like has been suggested rather than trying to point the finger at supporters.
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Yes, but the problem is that for a lot of people, they just can't be bothered with the faff of reselling their ticket for the sake of 20 odd quid.

There was a bloke that sat next to me during the PL years, real hotshot computer guy, worked up in the City, probably on about £200k p.a., maybe more.

He turned up about 5/6 times a year, just for the glamour games. Sometimes, he might pass the ticket on to a friend, but mostly the seat was empty.

You need a massive financial incentive to get someone like that to trade back their ticket. He just couldn't be bothered. What was £20 to him ?
 
davidwhitehead said:
Yes, but the problem is that for a lot of people, they just can't be bothered with the faff of reselling their ticket for the sake of 20 odd quid.

There was a bloke that sat next to me during the PL years, real hotshot computer guy, worked up in the City, probably on about £200k p.a., maybe more.

He turned up about 5/6 times a year, just for the glamour games. Sometimes, he might pass the ticket on to a friend, but mostly the seat was empty.

You need a massive financial incentive to get someone like that to trade back their ticket. He just couldn't be bothered. What was £20 to him ?
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I would have to assume that your example isn’t one that is replicated by many fans, especially not in the family stand.
 
DJ said:
I would have to assume that your example isn’t one that is replicated by many fans, especially not in the family stand.
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Who knows ? Plenty of well-heeled people out there.

But if regularly there are lots of ST seats that are left empty then you might well conclude that for many people, not using a ticket worth, say £25, is of little consequence.

It's a bit like the early days of budget airlines. People would book return flights to wherever for about £50 or less return, but if they didn't feel like going on the day, just wouldn't turn up at the airport.

If you're earning big bucks, then you really don't care about a cheap ticket, aeroplane or football.
 
11,000 capacity....chasing promotion to the PL.. a game v another top 10 team, a London one ... and there were 505 empty seats. !
Says it all about our ' football town '. status in this era.. and the lack of any ingenuity to improve it...or do anything about Stadiums and Training Complexes !
Jah !..You might as well have a sh*t in yer best hat as to get any notion of anyone running the club having VISION for the Future!

Its f√cking Criminal... when you compare the populations of Burnley and Watford.
 
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I’d be prepared to bet that for every ST holder that wouldn’t be bothered with returning their ST for a small incentive, there is one that would…

When you consider that there probably circa 300-500 no shows each game, splattered all over the ground… that’s a lot of extra seats over a season…

Even if the club maxed out at £100 off (£10 per game missed) the ST for next season, for a lot of folk that would be a lot of money…

…but the scenario only works if it doesn’t need a faff to do it… Pick your phone up, open the ticketing app, hit a button and boom… ticket given up… That’s what it needs…
 
It's sounding almost taboo to have a season ticket reading alot of this.ive had the same seat as a ST holder since we moved into the ' new' stadium. I don't remember the clamour for tickets back then so I refuse to accept any notion that ST holders should be obliged to turn up to every single match or potentially stand to lose their ST as out forward as a notion by some on here. We had a few hundred empty seats on Tuesday, 10 years ago or so it would have been about 6000 empty seats. You can't punish ST holders but you can look at a system that regenerates a ticket if a ST can't attend. But like I mentioned earlier what would the cost be of implementing a new system when the club have already had revenue from the ticket and why would the club be interested? How many people are we talking about here aswell? A few hundred that can't get a ticket or a few thousand? I would think the former
 
Red_till_im_ded said:
It's sounding almost taboo to have a season ticket reading alot of this.ive had the same seat as a ST holder since we moved into the ' new' stadium. I don't remember the clamour for tickets back then so I refuse to accept any notion that ST holders should be obliged to turn up to every single match or potentially stand to lose their ST as out forward as a notion by some on here. We had a few hundred empty seats on Tuesday, 10 years ago or so it would have been about 6000 empty seats. You can't punish ST holders but you can look at a system that regenerates a ticket if a ST can't attend. But like I mentioned earlier what would the cost be of implementing a new system when the club have already had revenue from the ticket and why would the club be interested? How many people are we talking about here aswell? A few hundred that can't get a ticket or a few thousand? I would think the former
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Totally agree. As soon as demand outstrips supply there's a bunch on here crying like Zaha that it isn't fair.
 
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Red_till_im_ded said:
It's sounding almost taboo to have a season ticket reading alot of this.ive had the same seat as a ST holder since we moved into the ' new' stadium. I don't remember the clamour for tickets back then so I refuse to accept any notion that ST holders should be obliged to turn up to every single match or potentially stand to lose their ST as out forward as a notion by some on here. We had a few hundred empty seats on Tuesday, 10 years ago or so it would have been about 6000 empty seats. You can't punish ST holders but you can look at a system that regenerates a ticket if a ST can't attend. But like I mentioned earlier what would the cost be of implementing a new system when the club have already had revenue from the ticket and why would the club be interested? How many people are we talking about here aswell? A few hundred that can't get a ticket or a few thousand? I would think the former
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Well of course there was no clamour for tickets when we we were a mediocre lower division club. All that changed when we found success, and it looks like the good days may well be back again. So tickets will be in high demand.

Nobody is talking about punishing anyone, but as others have said, what we do need is a really simple, easy-to-use system to recycle your ST seat if you don't want it.

That, allied with some kind of PR campaign to encourage people to give up their seats if they can't make the game, or just don't fancy it, might make a proper difference.
 
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