Howlin' Wilf Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Are you sure that season ticket holders had priority for these fixtures? And, if so, what's the point given how unlikely we are to take up full ticket allocations? It's a pointless gesture. I never said anyone had priority. I was answering your point when you said that instances of DFC selling tickets for away games had never happened. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Here Come The Sons Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Don't really understand the whinging every year about season ticket prices. You either choose to pay them or you don't. They are more expensive than they used to be because we are a better team than we used to be playing in a better league. True supporters should be happy to pay these prices to give us the chance to continue to compete at this level. If financial circumstances mean that you cannot afford to do so then you should direct your funds elsewhere, but you have two choices:- pay up or shut up. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThirdrockfromtheSon Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Don't really understand the whinging every year about season ticket prices. You either choose to pay them or you don't. They are more expensive than they used to be because we are a better team than we used to be playing in a better league. True supporters should be happy to pay these prices to give us the chance to continue to compete at this level. If financial circumstances mean that you cannot afford to do so then you should direct your funds elsewhere, but you have two choices:- pay up or shut up.Agree with that summary. Just a couple of years ago, as the SEVCo fiasco was causing chaos and laughter, our prices were the same as they had been when we were still in the lowest division. It appeared a big hike last year but we had three huge(ish) sets of fans to screw every penny out of. With our limited, fixed capacity, we had to get extras from somewhere. We'll have at least one of them next year, so the same requirement applies.Only thing that's a pain in the erse is that if we go down a league, the prices don't usually follow suit. As Nowhereman said earlier, a ST still works about £14 a game. That's not all that bad; it's about 2 hours wages for a lot of folks 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonsanorak Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Season tickets are more expensive because the teams in this league like us, alloa/cowden/stranraer/forfar can sell more to the big travelling supports than we can. So our club seeks to charge its core support more for a season ticket, rather than expand its core support. How does that sound to you? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Moonster Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Season tickets are more expensive because the teams in this league like us, alloa/cowden/stranraer/forfar can sell more to the big travelling supports than we can. So our club seeks to charge its core support more for a season ticket, rather than expand its core support. How does that sound to you? How do we go about expanding our core support? We can't even sell the home end out for games against Rangers, Hearts or Hibs. Or is it just down to price that folk don't show up? Fact is we have a small ground and if we want to be competitive in this league we need to raise funds. I hear there's a couple of fundraising events planned but those alone won't be enough. I'm sure the Trust will have open ears for any further cash raising ideas. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nowhereman Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Season tickets are more expensive because the teams in this league like us, alloa/cowden/stranraer/forfar can sell more to the big travelling supports than we can. So our club seeks to charge its core support more for a season ticket, rather than expand its core support. How does that sound to you? I'd love to expand our core support but its been about the same since 1980. I have no idea how we regularly get more people through the turnstiles but genuinely don't think the current prices have a great deal of effect on them.Dropping them to say a tenner would just lose the club money so doesn't really make sense 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bring Back Paddy Flannery Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 The core support wont change with slightly cheaper ticket prices. But... I have a lot of mates and work mates who show a keen interest in popping down to the Rock to take in a game. I'm obviously selling it well. First question is always 'how much is a ticket?' to which I have to embarassingly respond. The 18 quid price tag is generally met with astonishment. If these guys are put off attending one singular game we're never going to expand our support, ever. I know plenty of folk who have taken in a single game, and ended up becoming a season ticket holder. This is absolutely no fault of DFC. It's the general pricing structure of Scottish football that's the issue. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu20vt Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 (edited) This is absolutely no fault of DFC. It's the general pricing structure of Scottish football that's the issue.Just take a look at the Bundesliga pricing structure to see where we are going wrong/being ripped off. Maybe dropping the price wouldn't get that many more supporters through the gate, but I now only go to a couple of games a season due to the cost. If it were a tenner I would go to most games, and take my 7 year old son with me. Edited May 9, 2015 by stu20vt 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thechicogibsonexperience Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 How do we go about expanding our core support? We can't even sell the home end out for games against Rangers, Hearts or Hibs. Or is it just down to price that folk don't show up? Fact is we have a small ground and if we want to be competitive in this league we need to raise funds. I hear there's a couple of fundraising events planned but those alone won't be enough. I'm sure the Trust will have open ears for any further cash raising ideas. Agreed. It's a tough gig trying to attract revenue and public interest but the same could be said to every other provincial club in this country. There's no one quick fix to get the casual fan through the door. But do we just shrug the shoulders and accept it? I hope not. Personally I see the club overachieving on the park but underachieving of it and believe there's a lot of scope for improvement. More community focus and communication would be a start (not just from the Trust but the Club itself). But it's a hard road on limited resources and apparent drive from the internals of the club. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thechicogibsonexperience Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 The core support wont change with slightly cheaper ticket prices. But... I have a lot of mates and work mates who show a keen interest in popping down to the Rock to take in a game. I'm obviously selling it well. First question is always 'how much is a ticket?' to which I have to embarassingly respond. The 18 quid price tag is generally met with astonishment. If these guys are put off attending one singular game we're never going to expand our support, ever. I know plenty of folk who have taken in a single game, and ended up becoming a season ticket holder. This is absolutely no fault of DFC. It's the general pricing structure of Scottish football that's the issue. What is a DFC problem is the fortnightly 'musical chairs' routine of the casual fan trying to find a seat prematch. Better guidance from stewards (don't laugh!) and clear unreserved seating sections would help. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boghead ranter Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 What is a DFC problem is the fortnightly 'musical chairs' routine of the casual fan trying to find a seat prematch. Better guidance from stewards (don't laugh!) and clear unreserved seating sections would help. This. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bring Back Paddy Flannery Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 It's all well and good complaining about increasing prices etc but the club have to raise funds to keep us competitive. Perhaps it would be worth submitting ideas to the trust to help raise some extra revenue? I'm sure they'd take all ideas on board. I'm not sure what's involved etc but what about some sort of lottery type thing? I know we had similar in the past but not sure how successful it was. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bring Back Paddy Flannery Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 What is a DFC problem is the fortnightly 'musical chairs' routine of the casual fan trying to find a seat prematch. Better guidance from stewards (don't laugh!) and clear unreserved seating sections would help. There are about 500 empty ones to choose from with season ticket seats clearly labelled. Surely it can't be that hard finding a seat? Stewards should be helping, it's not like they have much else to do. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BallochSonsFan Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 How do we go about expanding our core support? We can't even sell the home end out for games against Rangers, Hearts or Hibs. Or is it just down to price that folk don't show up? Fact is we have a small ground and if we want to be competitive in this league we need to raise funds. I hear there's a couple of fundraising events planned but those alone won't be enough. I'm sure the Trust will have open ears for any further cash raising ideas. With great difficulty. In an ideal world, Dumbarton would have a bigger support than we currently have. Considering the population of West Dunbartonshire and Helensburgh, we certainly have the population to draw a couple of thousand. In theory we could be drawing crowds of 2500+ every week. In practice? More fans leave Dumbarton and the Vale of Leven to follow Rangers and Celtic than follow their local team. Significantly more. When was the last season that Dumbarton regularly drew an average of more than 2500 fans? You're probably going back 20-25 years. That's a generation of fans who are lost to local football. You could easily go back to my generation - I was born in 1979 - to see when the rot really set in. My old man was raised in Helensburgh (grew up with Wilf) but he and his cousins were Rangers fans who travelled from Helensburgh to Ibrox on a regular basis. This isn't a new problem and theres no quick fix. If its solely down to price then you cut prices and you attract fans to Dumbarton. Sadly its not down to price - bigger clubs than Dumbarton have struggled to attract fans despite running any number of ticket offers for supporters. If it's solely down to the quality of football on offer then Ibrox has hardly been a theatre of dreams over the past few years. Nightmares perhaps, but those fans aren't actively looking for a different team to follow. The unfortunate truth is that it would take a generation of any number of initiatives to even begin to attract more fan to Dumbarton. Your average armchair fan can pay a single match entry price for a month of televised football from all round Europe. We've spent so long talking down our game - telling the world that it's a backwater that isn't worth watching - that potential fans believe it. The poor perception people have of Scottish football is just as big a problem as price. We sell our game short by talking it down. The biggest indication of how low Scottish football has slipped in the eyes of the public is that Braehead Clan will have more than 1000 season ticket holders next season and their crowds now regularly exceed St Mirren, Morton, Kilmarnock, St Jonstone and Falkirk. The Clan sell out their 3600 rink and are due to move to a 7000 capacity within the next 5 years. They've gone from 0 fans to 3600 in 5 years in a part of Scotland that was always traditionally a footballing hotbed. It'll take a generation to address. We nee to chip away at the poor public perception of Scottish football, make Saturday afternoons at your local ground a big part of people's leisure and social culture and make the game a far more enjoyable experience for the Sky Sports and Playstation generation. That can't be at the expense of sanitising football beyond recognition of the current fan. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan Vojáček Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 There are about 500 empty ones to choose from with season ticket seats clearly labelled. Surely it can't be that hard finding a seat? Stewards should be helping, it's not like they have much else to do. I was going to say that, if I go to another game and sit in the home end I don't sit in a seat with a 'Reserved for season ticket holder' sticker and I've never had any bother. Against Rangers last year at home a guy did try and convince me I was in his seat. I pointed out I've sat in the same seat for 6 years and asked to see his ticket. I'm F20 and he was looking for E70 or something. That's the only time I've ever had an issue with seats at home. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bring me SON shine Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 £18 for a category B game is a hell of a lot of money for the standard of football I believe season tickets average just over £13 for adults which is good value for the Championship. I'm thinking about getting a season ticket next season, does the club do a direct debit scheme, or is it cash up front only? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonsanorak Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Why not give out a small number of casual "floating" tickets for use by friends of st holders for Cat B games? Would bring in extra bodies and would nt neccessarily cost the club a lot of money.. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Pete Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 £18 for a category B game is a hell of a lot of money for the standard of football I believe season tickets average just over £13 for adults which is good value for the Championship. I'm thinking about getting a season ticket next season, does the club do a direct debit scheme, or is it cash up front only? Its always been pay in full up front for ST's. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnny graham Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Dumbartons best ever average attendance was 5772 in 1972-73. By 1980-81 it was 731. In 90-91 it was 502. In 98-99 it reached an all time low of 390. By 2003-04 it got back to 1050 and this season was 1074. There is a huge shortage of children at the games which bodes ill for the future. Up till the eighties all children under 12 were lifted for nothing over the turnstile. I would suggest for the whole of next season that anyone under 16 accompanied by.an adult gets free admission 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigmacDFC Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 Asking how Scottish Football attracts significantly more fans is similar to asking how the Labour Party regains support in Scotland... The whole thing needs to die and be completely reborn. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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