Season Tickets 2015/16 - ST sales have now ended

[Dusk_Till_Dawn]

This was a positive thread about our ST sales.

Now everyone is talking about a crap support the two Edinburgh teams have.

Well done you are an expert in the field of negativity.

People started debating the need for a bigger ground. No-one is saying that 13,500 isn't a good figure by our standards - just that it isn't a great figure compared to Edinburgh's population

[scott herbertson]

People started debating the need for a bigger ground. No-one is saying that 13,500 isn't a good figure by our standards - just that it isn't a great figure compared to Edinburgh's population

 

 

It's great as a proportion of 1/2 edinburgh's population compared to aberdeen  (228,000) - probably the best comparator considering we both live in Oldfirmland, where we play our soccer in a league which it is almost impossible to win

 

It's also great compared to what we used to get

[Guest Bilel Mohsni]

Here's the almost exact same discussion on Hibs.net:

 

http://www.hibs.net/showthread.php?301942-(NHC)-Bradford-City&p=4408484#post4408484

 

Spooky, eh?

[Dusk_Till_Dawn]

It's great as a proportion of 1/2 edinburgh's population compared to aberdeen (228,000) - probably the best comparator considering we both live in Oldfirmland, where we play our soccer in a league which it is almost impossible to win

 

It's also great compared to what we used to get

But does it justify a much bigger ground? That's the question.

 

My own view is that a modest increase by updating the main stand is all we need

[scott herbertson]

But does it justify a much bigger ground? That's the question.

 

My own view is that a modest increase by updating the main stand is all we need

 

 

so is mine for now (21000 or so)  but in the longer term I am in the 25-30,000 way of thinking

[hueyview]

But does it justify a much bigger ground? That's the question.

 

My own view is that a modest increase by updating the main stand is all we need

agree........

[hueyview]

One of the main shifts, as i see it in football crowds over the last 20/30 years has been the move away from walkups to season tickets. Well over half, in some cases three quarters of the home support are season ticket holders in the top 20 clubs.  

 

This works well for the clubs finances, but with the fracturing of large scale employers, into more individual employment/self employment.  There are weaker communal ties to traditional clubs.  The availability of satalite TV games is all to clear.  How many of potential supporters have TV Football channels in their home, or are within easy walking distance of a pub showing games.

 

Mass walkups through the turnstyles may have gone, but in the case of Hearts, getting nearly 14,000 to pay up front can only be considered a success

[Martin_T]

Re stadium debate.

I think it was soccernomics i read that teams who build a new purpose built stadium usually see an increase in attendance (if you build it, they will come)

 

Middlesbrough new stadium 95

http://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attnclub/midd.htm

 

Huddersfield new stadium 94

http://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attnclub/hudt.htm

 

Reading new stadium 98

http://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attnclub/read.htm

 

I am wary of this though as English football has much more finance and exposure than scottish football.

Worked for Darlington right enough.

[luckydug]

People started debating the need for a bigger ground. No-one is saying that 13,500 isn't a good figure by our standards - just that it isn't a great figure compared to Edinburgh's population

 

I dont think that you can use size of City as a comparison in Scotland.

The figures are skewed by the Old Firm effect.

We live in an age where people can reach Glasgow in an hour and TV has bred a whole new generatioin of arm chair "supporters".

A large percentage of our city's population have no interest in football and of those that are interested they are just as likely to "support" an English team via the TV screen.

The only way we will get close to getting attendances relevant to the size of Edinburgh is by playing in the EPL (no chance) or dominating the SPL.

People are never going to turn up in their 20/30+thousands to watch clubs like Hearts competing for third place in the SPL.

I use the term SPL for ease of reference .

[Ray Gin]

I dont think that you can use size of City as a comparison in Scotland.

The figures are skewed by the Old Firm effect.

We live in an age where people can reach Glasgow in an hour and TV has bred a whole new generatioin of arm chair "supporters".

A large percentage of our city's population have no interest in football and of those that are interested they are just as likely to "support" an English team via the TV screen.

The only way we will get close to getting attendances relevant to the size of Edinburgh is by playing in the EPL (no chance) or dominating the SPL.

People are never going to turn up in their 20/30+thousands to watch clubs like Hearts competing for third place in the SPL.

I use the term SPL for ease of reference .

If we were getting crowds of 30,000 we'd be regularly competing for first.

[Watt-Zeefuik]

But does it justify a much bigger ground? That's the question.

 

My own view is that a modest increase by updating the main stand is all we need

 

I may have missed it, but is there anyone calling for an immediate, massive increase in stadium size?  I fear we're talking past each other -- most of those I've seen on here talking about a much bigger stand (including me) are wanting to make sure we don't lock ourselves out of a larger stadium rather than wanting a much larger stadium right away.  I don't think we're much in disagreement over the immediate future (a matter of a few thousand seats, I think).

 

 

I dont think that you can use size of City as a comparison in Scotland.

The figures are skewed by the Old Firm effect.

We live in an age where people can reach Glasgow in an hour and TV has bred a whole new generatioin of arm chair "supporters".

A large percentage of our city's population have no interest in football and of those that are interested they are just as likely to "support" an English team via the TV screen.

The only way we will get close to getting attendances relevant to the size of Edinburgh is by playing in the EPL (no chance) or dominating the SPL.

People are never going to turn up in their 20/30+thousands to watch clubs like Hearts competing for third place in the SPL.

I use the term SPL for ease of reference .

 

But is the OF effect any different than the EPL effect?  Surely Bradford has its share of United fans who pay no attention to the local teams. (Edit: I may have misunderstood you -- I was reading this as still being about Bradford City vs. Hearts. If not, I apologize.)

[luckydug]

Here's the almost exact same discussion on Hibs.net:

 

http://www.hibs.net/showthread.php?301942-(NHC)-Bradford-City&p=4408484#post4408484

 

Spooky, eh?

 

That poster with the username KWJ     

[Guest Bilel Mohsni]

That poster with the username KWJ

 

Probably undercover on here...

[luckydug]

I may have missed it, but is there anyone calling for an immediate, massive increase in stadium size?  I fear we're talking past each other -- most of those I've seen on here talking about a much bigger stand (including me) are wanting to make sure we don't lock ourselves out of a larger stadium rather than wanting a much larger stadium right away.  I don't think we're much in disagreement over the immediate future (a matter of a few thousand seats, I think).

 

 

 

But is the OF effect any different than the EPL effect?  Surely Bradford has its share of United fans who pay no attention to the local teams. (Edit: I may have misunderstood you -- I was reading this as still being about Bradford City vs. Hearts. If not, I apologize.)

 

 

I think the two clubs are very similar. Both clubs are recovering from a period of decline. Bradford were briefly an EPL team at one time. Now they are on the road to recovery and have a feel good factor around the club. Its worth pointing out though that Bradford ST total includes sales of a membership scheme costing ?50 which allows fans to buy a match ticket for a tenner. Coupled with the artificially low price of ?149 for a full ST package its not really a fair comparison on ST sales.

Just for fun how many STs do folks think Hearts could shift at Bradford prices ?

[Paolo]

That poster with the username KWJ

Or this post:

 

 

 

 

 

:sold more than a big team like that gorgie mob could ever do.

[GregorJack51]

A - 65

B - 40

C - 6

D - 1

E - 24

F - 27

G - 78

 

H - 75

J - 5

 

N1 - 7

N2 - 1

N3 - 85

P - 13

Q - 8

R - 8

S - 14

T3 - 76

T2 - 6

T1 - 26

 

V - 17

W - 4

X - 11

Y - 18

Z - 21

 

Total - 636

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[McNeil5-1]

.

[FarmerTweedy]

I dont think that you can use size of City as a comparison in Scotland.

The figures are skewed by the Old Firm effect.

We live in an age where people can reach Glasgow in an hour and TV has bred a whole new generatioin of arm chair "supporters".

A large percentage of our city's population have no interest in football and of those that are interested they are just as likely to "support" an English team via the TV screen.

The only way we will get close to getting attendances relevant to the size of Edinburgh is by playing in the EPL (no chance) or dominating the SPL.

People are never going to turn up in their 20/30+thousands to watch clubs like Hearts competing for third place in the SPL.

I use the term SPL for ease of reference .

Disagree with the 'dominating' bit. We'd struggle to get really big crowds if we were consistently miles away from any sort of title challenge, but if we were able to put in a realistic challenge on a fairly regular basis, I think we'd get huge crowds. I'm not talking about actually winning titles regularly, never mind actually dominating the league, just challenging fairly regularly. Now I know we've not been able to do that for a long time, but this is the first time in a long time that we've had genuinely competent management of the whole club, and with the state of the rangers and diminishing strength of celtic, I don't see any reason why we shouldn't be able to do that.

[CJGJ]

Meanwhile, St Mirren have announced that season ticket sales ahead so far have reached 2475, including 180 new adult supporters.

[Thomaso]

Meanwhile, St Mirren have announced that season ticket sales ahead so far have reached 2475, including 180 new adult supporters.

 

 

Stunning news!

[3fingersreid]

Meanwhile, St Mirren have announced that season ticket sales ahead so far have reached 2475, including 180 new adult supporters.

So roughly a third of what hibs have sold , so does that make it good for them or really just highlights how pish a set of supporters the hibs fans are?

[All roads lead to Gorgie]

Meanwhile, St Mirren have announced that season ticket sales ahead so far have reached 2475, including 180 new adult supporters.

So the wee Parkheid will be reasonably filled in the coming season.

[Alma Matters]

Didn't renew because won't be able to get to many games.

 

Woke up today and thought stuff it, a few is better than none and I can't be arsed with the scramble for the few general sake tickets.

 

See you there.

[Unknown user]

Didn't renew because won't be able to get to many games.

 

Woke up today and thought stuff it, a few is better than none and I can't be arsed with the scramble for the few general sake tickets.

 

See you there.

Well played, maybe also see if you can get someone else hooked when you can't make it

[mainstandjambo]

Wheatfield - 236

Gorgie - 67

Main - 238

Roseburn - 76

 

Total - 617

[Nixie]

If we could manage to get only 5% of the 1.2 million that turned up after the Scottish Cup win we would have an average attendance of 60,000. We need a stadium that size.

[poultry]

Didn't renew because won't be able to get to many games.

 

Woke up today and thought stuff it, a few is better than none and I can't be arsed with the scramble for the few general sake tickets.

 

See you there.

Well done. Only 617 to go great stuff. Looking forward to seeing septic stuck away in the corner. pleasing.

[King Of The Cat Cafe]

If we could manage to get only 5% of the 1.2 million that turned up after the Scottish Cup win we would have an average attendance of 60,000. We need a stadium that size.

ROFL

 

 

You were having a laugh, weren't you?

[queensferryjambo]

If we could manage to get only 5% of the 1.2 million that turned up after the Scottish Cup win we would have an average attendance of 60,000. We need a stadium that size.

 

 

H1b5 patter.............

 

H1b5 fans on .net roll out this kind of guff every time attendances and 'who is the biggest club' is discussed.

 

Think they all use the 400,000 figure to try to mock Hearts though.

[Clerry Jambo]

H1b5 patter.............

 

H1b5 fans on .net roll out this kind of guff every time attendances and 'who is the biggest club' is discussed.

 

Think they all use the 400,000 figure to try to mock Hearts though.

Losers are just bitter and in denial..........

[queensferryjambo]

Losers are just bitter and in denial..........

 

 

[Daveandal]

Wheatfield - 236

Gorgie - 67

Main - 238

Roseburn - 76

 

Total - 617

 

I now make it 611.  Taking the agreed figure of 14,000 being available it is look like we have sold 13,389 so far. 

 

An amazing effort.  Hopefully our winning run can continue in pre season.  A few good headlines along the line of unbeaten Hearts etc could possibly add a few more sales.

[Champions15]

Hibs do have a much larger proportion of support within the city

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

of Leith.

They also have a much larger proportion of "supporters" who don't go to games.

On another note, whilst I am delighted at our current support levels, we do

have to remember Edinburgh has a massive % of incomers from all over Scotland

and the rest of the UK who already support there own home town team or Man U

Chelski,Barca etc.

Once we return to European football again we may entice them along,if we have the capacity.

[Daveandal]

Hibs do have a much larger proportion of support within the city

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

of Leith.

They also have a much larger proportion of "supporters" who don't go to games.

On another note, whilst I am delighted at our current support levels, we do

have to remember Edinburgh has a massive % of incomers from all over Scotland

and the rest of the UK who already support there own home town team or Man U

Chelski,Barca etc.

Once we return to European football again we may entice them along,if we have the capacity.

 

I think a successful team playing well can do this as well.  In the early Romanov era my next door neighbour (who was Northern Irish and supported "Man U") started taking his kids along. All 3 had season tickets.  As far as I know he doesn't go anymore but his kids (who are adults now ) are both solid Jambos.

 

Edinburgh is one of the most attractive cities in the world to live in and people who make this city their home and come along to watch Hearts fall in love with the club and its history.  Its just getting them to come along in the first place.

[King Of The Cat Cafe]

I think a successful team playing well can do this as well.  In the early Romanov era my next door neighbour (who was Northern Irish and supported "Man U") started taking his kids along. All 3 had season tickets.  As far as I know he doesn't go anymore but his kids (who are adults now ) are both solid Jambos.

 

Edinburgh is one of the most attractive cities in the world to live in and people who make this city their home and come along to watch Hearts fall in love with the club and its history.  Its just getting them to come along in the first place.

Well said.

[Gorgie_Rules]

Think there will a bit of a rush in the couple of weeks before the season which will take us to 13,500. Would like to see phase 2 being scrapped in future years. The phase 1 prices were fair and most season tickets seemed to have a good bit jump in price, and sales have sharply declined since

[Cairneyhill Jambo]

I think we'll shift a good few more once people realise that it's the only way they are guaranteed to get a ticket for a game.

 

If we win our first couple of games, demand for walk ups will be high and a lot of folk will miss out.

[Daveandal]

Totally agree. Hope the club has some marketing idea up its sleeve. "Only way to guarantee to see Hearts this season is with a season ticket....only a few 100 left etc" obviously alot more catchy than that.

[HoGwash]

Think there will a bit of a rush in the couple of weeks before the season which will take us to 13,500. Would like to see phase 2 being scrapped in future years. The phase 1 prices were fair and most season tickets seemed to have a good bit jump in price, and sales have sharply declined since

One of te main purposes of phase 1 is to encourage people to buy early so that the club have a better idea of how much income they'll have for the season ahead. This could also influence how much we may have to bring players in.

[The Treasurer]

Totally agree. Hope the club has some marketing idea up its sleeve. "Only way to guarantee to see Hearts this season is with a season ticket....only a few 100 left etc" obviously alot more catchy than that.

West Ham are using a similar type of approach to marketing ST's although they are using the "only way to see the last season at the Bolyen" as the selling point.

Looks to be working as they are expecting a complete sell out of ST's before the season starts. 

Considering the season they just had it shows they have a real loyal fan base and don't just turn up because some rich owner has spent millions bringing in overpriced "stars"

[the general]

West Ham are using a similar type of approach to marketing ST's although they are using the "only way to see the last season at the Bolyen" as the selling point.

Looks to be working as they are expecting a complete sell out of ST's before the season starts. 

Considering the season they just had it shows they have a real loyal fan base and don't just turn up because some rich owner has spent millions bringing in overpriced "stars"

 

 

Hopefully an independent enquiry into their highly dodgy if not fraudulent cosy deal will scupper the move

 

 

"The cost of renovating the stadium continues to spiral - much like every sports project the government gets involved in," he told me. "Taxpayers will be astounded that West Ham have been gifted a stunning new stadium for the same price that they paid for Andy Carroll.

"You can't blame the owners for taking advantage of this generous subsidy but such a cut-price deal simply isn't appropriate when you consider the extraordinary windfall coming the Premier League's way as a result of the new TV deal."

[Paolo]

Think there will a bit of a rush in the couple of weeks before the season which will take us to 13,500. Would like to see phase 2 being scrapped in future years. The phase 1 prices were fair and most season tickets seemed to have a good bit jump in price, and sales have sharply declined since

To be fair to the club, they gave fans plenty notice, and then plenty time, to secure the phase one price.

[Boab]

Think there will a bit of a rush in the couple of weeks before the season which will take us to 13,500. Would like to see phase 2 being scrapped in future years. The phase 1 prices were fair and most season tickets seemed to have a good bit jump in price, and sales have sharply declined since

 

Great idea...totally agree.

It would be another sensible, forward-thinking move by the club.

Another thank you to the supporters who have done all that has been asked of them.

[And he's not praying]

Great idea...totally agree.

It would be another sensible, forward-thinking move by the club.

Another thank you to the supporters who have done all that has been asked of them.

Offering fans the opportunity to buy at a 'discounted, early bird rate' is absolutely the correct thing to do from a marketing perspective.

 

The sales are proof enough that it works.

[Paolo]

Offering fans the opportunity to buy at a 'discounted, early bird rate' is absolutely the correct thing to do from a marketing perspective.

 

The sales are proof enough that it works.

Also from a preparation point of view. The earlier we sell tickets, the easier it is to make plans on recruitment, budgets, and other decisions.

 

If there was no incentive, folk could wait until the day before the season starts, so we would have no idea as to where we stand.

[And he's not praying]

Also from a preparation point of view. The earlier well tickets, the easier it is to make plans on recruitment, budgets, and other decisions.

 

If there was no incentive, folk could wait until the day before the season starts, so we would have no idea as to where we stand.

Correct.

 

Phase one pricing sets a deadline where 95% of sales will have been made. Punters love a 'bargain'. The club love early sales.

 

Absolutely no need to change strategy.

[Mikey1874]

Offering fans the opportunity to buy at a 'discounted, early bird rate' is absolutely the correct thing to do from a marketing perspective.

 

The sales are proof enough that it works.

gives people an incentive - clearly worked

 

including big sales on first day of extended period

[Stevesee]

Great to see so many season tickets sold but if we want to encourage new fans for the future it has to be possible for people to get tickets reasonably easily.

"Once you've gone maroon you'll never go green".

Doesn't rhyme but does ring true.

[Daveandal]

Very tired counting so this might have errors and come with a health warning but I make it there are 595 seats left not (sold 16 in the past 24 hours) meaning we have sold 13,405 season tickets.

 

 

As for the marketing of season tickets there is no doubt an early bird "reduced price" is a great idea and clearly works.  But this has to be then backed up with some kind "last chance" "Only way to see the team" campaign in the closing days before kick off!

[Gorgie_Rules]

On my previous post I never considered the impact of early sales on budgets, which is very true. I guess the club will budget up to end of phase 1 then any phase 2 sales are a bonus.

 

In terms of any way the club can maximise sales, I suppose the only option is to put them on sale before season end (and not touch that money like many other clubs do). Not a huge deal as numbers are impressive but would maybe increase the renewal % a little