THIS WEEK’S Big Picture column discusses why Boro can’t afford to take a chance on a £10 ticket and number-crunches the increasing role gate money plays in the club’s reduced revenues in the Championship. It has some interesting facts and figures in it about the fixed costs of running the matchday operation, the take per head per ticket and the delicate balance between season ticket income and walk up crowds.
Obviously, as usual the paper platform is exclusively downloadable at newsagents across Gazetteshire today but I’ll reformat it, polish and tweak it and stick it up on here later in the week. In the meantime here are some questions to mull over and get you in the zone on ticket prices and attendances. Have a go at one or more.
*Realistically, what is the optimum ticket price for Championship football?
*Realistically, what is Boro’s current fan-base in the Championship?
*Realistically, how many bums on seats would be added by a price reduction?
*Realistically, what ticket/price/package initiatives could the club try that would significantly increase gates as more than just a one off?
*Is the current fall in crowds about price or about the lowering of status?
*Are results and perceived ambition more important than price?
*Is there a missing generation of post-Juninho Riverside Revolutionaries just waiting to be lured back? And should we pander to them?
*What size club are the current Boro? What level SHOULD we be operating at?
*Has the dramatic post-Premier League fall in income been successfully managed? Could it have been far worse? Are we now stable and ready to push on again?
*Has Teesside now got “the club it can afford?”
UPDATE: Read on for this week’s Big Picture column…
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