Matches Should clubs look at compensating fans?

  • Thread starter Steve Gilbert
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Steve Gilbert

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I fully expect a load of grief for this but here goes...

With it looking more and more likely that fans won’t be allowed into games this season do clubs need to start looking at pricing of season tickets or some form of compensation for fans?

If I hadn’t bought a season ticket and decided to just purchase every league game, home and away it would cost me £460 across the season.
With my East Stand season ticket which is £299 I pay a total of £529 for the same amount of games.
Some will say that you don’t have to buy the away games but that is still £69 more for a season ticket holder to watch every home game than it is for a non season ticket holder.

Some people will say that we all knew fans weren’t allowed back into the grounds when we paid for our season tickets. Again, I agree with that but we didn’t expect to pay £69 more than someone who didn’t purchase a season ticket to watch the same amount of games.

Now where was that tin hat?
 
Come next summer, I would expect our club to make some recognition of these issues in their ticket pricing/offers for next season, but dont think they can even begin to think about it until we are out the other side of the Covid-winter.....
 
The club were clear about the risk of ST holders potentially not being able to attend, no need for compensation and I say that as a member of a household where there are two season ticket holders and so our ’net loss’ is even higher.

Far better we let the club use the money on getting another left winger ?
 
Given the 'lacklustre' performances (in the main, ) so far....as things stand OUFC are, imo , 'huge debt 'to the fanbase

Hopefully things will start to change this evening
 
My "other" club Union Berlin will be reimbursing the whole cost of your season ticket (or part thereof, if you managed to get tickets for the reduced attendance games that have already happened) proportionally for all home games this season. The refund is either in the form of a voucher for the club shop or can be used as a voucher for next season's season ticket.

Also, if you didn't buy a season ticket this year (due to the situation), then you don't give up your right for one next season.
 
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If I hadn’t bought a season ticket and decided to just purchase every league game, home and away it would cost me £460 across the season.
With my East Stand season ticket which is £299 I pay a total of £529 for the same amount of games.
Some will say that you don’t have to buy the away games but that is still £69 more for a season ticket holder to watch every home game than it is for a non season ticket holder.

Some people will say that we all knew fans weren’t allowed back into the grounds when we paid for our season tickets. Again, I agree with that but we didn’t expect to pay £69 more than someone who didn’t purchase a season ticket to watch the same amount of games.
This was always going to be one of the main issues once football as a whole shoved its head in the sand. It was being discussed on this very forum as far back as April - in terms of fans having little to no chance of getting to a game this season, and that the leagues and clubs should have been proactive with digital access and packages as a result - and how charging people multiple price points (all of which are more expensive than simply streaming every home game individually) for the same service was a problem in waiting.

Most of us did it to help our respective clubs survive and as a result thousands have already waved goodbye to our cash, but come next summer the entire sport needs to have a better handle on things than it did this time. If football isn’t already planning ahead as a contingency, rather than blindly ploughing headfirst into the same gamble it took this season, it will find a lot of people aren’t willing (or able) to keep endlessly bailing the clubs out by stumping up for season tickets they’ll never use.

There are much bigger issues than football right now, so it’s got nothing to do with “being proper fans” or “toughening up and getting on with it”. Putting all the responsibility on people who are trying to stay afloat themselves in some cases, and refusing to consider anything but same old same old, won’t fly beyond this season. It’ll be very interesting to see what the state of it all is come June/July.
 
I fully expect a load of grief for this but here goes...

With it looking more and more likely that fans won’t be allowed into games this season do clubs need to start looking at pricing of season tickets or some form of compensation for fans?

If I hadn’t bought a season ticket and decided to just purchase every league game, home and away it would cost me £460 across the season.
With my East Stand season ticket which is £299 I pay a total of £529 for the same amount of games.
Some will say that you don’t have to buy the away games but that is still £69 more for a season ticket holder to watch every home game than it is for a non season ticket holder.

Some people will say that we all knew fans weren’t allowed back into the grounds when we paid for our season tickets. Again, I agree with that but we didn’t expect to pay £69 more than someone who didn’t purchase a season ticket to watch the same amount of games.

Now where was that tin hat?

No need for the tin hat Steve, it's a very valid question.

For what it's worth I'm sure the club are acutely aware of it.
 
I think it's one of those that until the season is complete or it is confirmed that there is no plans for fans to attend any matches this season (whichever is earliest), then the club will keep any possible plans in relation to compensation, discounts etc. close to their chest.

No doubt from me that they will do something to recognise at least the difference between 23 ifollow home passes of £230 versus cost of your season ticket. But again, wouldn't expect anything to happen until well into 2021.
 
The only problem with the question is not thinking through the implications.

Can the club afford to do anything? If by doing so it means the club goes out of existence, would you still want compensation?

If they do compensate, the only place that is coming from is the playing budget. Will fans tolerate a worse team or will they slate the board for lacking ambition/not having a pot to P**s in etc?

You would imagine the only way it is can be done with the least impact would be credit/discounts for club shop/hospitality etc.
 
The only problem with the question is not thinking through the implications.

Can the club afford to do anything? If by doing so it means the club goes out of existence, would you still want compensation?

If they do compensate, the only place that is coming from is the playing budget. Will fans tolerate a worse team or will they slate the board for lacking ambition/not having a pot to P**s in etc?

You would imagine the only way it is can be done with the least impact would be credit/discounts for club shop/hospitality etc.
I agree, it doesn’t have to be money because, as you say, this could have a negative impact on the club. However 1 example would be a free home shirt for ST holders. Shirts are fairly cheap for the club to get in bulk so the fans feel like they are getting something back without the club massively losing out.
 
I agree, it doesn’t have to be money because, as you say, this could have a negative impact on the club. However 1 example would be a free home shirt for ST holders. Shirts are fairly cheap for the club to get in bulk so the fans feel like they are getting something back without the club massively losing out.
Free cup matches (1st round) as per ST of old.... or as pappa johns trophy matches dont (apparently) require any form of entrance fee paying attendance , FREE entry to at least the group stages perhaps?
 
Are not ST holders getting a free e-program for each home game? There's you £69 back.....

Edit - yes they are, just received an email with the link to tonight's issue.
 
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No.

Anyone who bought into this knew what they were buying into.

Suck it up.
 
Sadly I think as supporters we just have accept that when we bought our season tickets we understood that we may not be able to attend, and this is looking to be the case for the rest of this season. The most important thing is that we still have a club to support when this is all over.
I expect like me loads of us have saved a small fortune in travelling costs
 
Sadly I think as supporters we just have accept that when we bought our season tickets we understood that we may not be able to attend, and this is looking to be the case for the rest of this season. The most important thing is that we still have a club to support when this is all over.
I expect like me loads of us have saved a small fortune in travelling costs
Yep, which is fine for this season. But next season football needs to have more answers.
 
I think that the greater issue is that without attending games people will become disinterested in football as a whole not specifically Oxford United, season ticket renewals will drop , paying more to watch a game, linked to the actual product won’t help either, I renewed mine this year as I hoped I could see a game in the flesh, next season not sure as I am not convinced it’s something that’s safe for me
 
No.

Anyone who bought into this knew what they were buying into.

Suck it up.
The argument isn’t whether fans should get a refund or some form of compensation for not attending a whole season worth of games. It’s the fact season ticket holders are paying more to watch games than someone who hasn’t bought a ST.
I didn’t expect to be able to go and watch any games this season but still bought a ST. I knew what I signed up for.
I do however think that due to me paying up front for a season of football shouldn’t come at a higher cost than someone who just pays each week.

It’s a delicate subject because we all have an emotional attachment to the club and still want our club to be there at the end of the season.
 
As a loyalty bonus the club could say draw out a season ticket holder for each match and maybe get the squad for that day to sign a shirt or a football and give it to that supporter. Just a small gesture that wouldn’t cost the club very much
 
What's going on in the Premier League?
I think I read that some Newcastle fans are waiting for refunds from last season, and also this season.
Do they get free IFollow for home (untelevised) matches?

Legally it's pretty clear that we have paid for a service that we haven't received so are entitled to a refund.
From our own club's point of view, we know that our ST money makes up a significant chunk of overall revenues (1/3?) and that without that it will put even more strain on our funding. Surprisingly we haven't heard of any funding issues which normally crop up like WUPs or staff / rent paid late.

Perhaps what would be fairer would be a flat rate for all ST holders of £300 until we are able to go to games again (to support the club), then back to full rate for SSU etc when we can?
 
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