A bit worrying

[Wycombe Royal]

So why extend the stadium when demand is falling. It just doesn't seem worthwhile until a long term demand can be demonstrated. It simply isn't being demonstrated at the moment, demand is less because the premiership is no longer a one season in a lifetime experience.

To be honest you don't really know that demand is falling and if it is how significantly. We cannot compete fnancially with other clubs in this division because we just don't have the capacity. You don't have to have the demand in place to expand but you do need it ready for when the demand is there.

Why on earth did we move from Elm Park to a 24,000 capacity stadium. Demand was probably falling at that point and we weren't selling out Elm Park. Under your theory we shold have either stayed at Elm Park or moved to a 15,000 capacity stadium. Wouldn't that have been great decision.

You need to plan for the future, not plan for where you are now.

We moved from Elm Park because, if we ever made it to the premeirship, we had the potential to fill the new stadium.

What are you suggesting will happen to increase demand from this point?

A growing fan base, continued success, change in pricing of tickets including more special offers.

It's called planning for the future.

[Schards#2]

Bigger ground allows the club to generate wider interest.... the short sighted approach of waiting to extend until we have 10,000 people writing to the EP complaining the can;t get in seems very odd.

I know lots of 'casual' fans who would love to go to a few games a season and would do so if they knew they could get a ticket but at the moment it isn;t really possible for large numbers to do that.

Let's wait until the holiday season is over before we start going on about demand 'falling'. Every year people raise this in August when they claim we are losing support whereas it's obvious that huge numbers of people are on holiday !

They can. Tickets usually end up on general sale. What is stopping them buying them?

Perception ?

Games are sold out every week, people who aren't regular fans believe there are no tickets (and in reality there aren't many that are available on general sale). There are no opportunities for the club to do promotions to get the 'new' fans in.
As long as the ground is too small to accomodate all those who want to go the extension is vital....

If that's all that's stopping them, do you think it might be worth spending a couple of grand marketing the fact that tickets are available before spending £10 million on an extention?

If we go through the season with the majority of games not selling out, will you agree that the decision should be reviewed?

[Mr Angry]

As far as I'm concerned, the club should expand the stadium as soon as it possibly can.

The only way we are going to be able to compete with the middle tier of clubs (those who are pushing for UEFA spots which, realistically, has to be our target) is by generating more revenue; this has to be done by increased ticket sales.

If we went to 38,000, even if we "only" averaged 30,000 (I think it would be higher) thats still a 25% increase in revenues compared with what we can generate now.

Obviously this depends on staying in the Prem, but one of the ways of helping ensure that is by increasing revenues.

[Behindu]

If that's all that's stopping them, do you think it might be worth spending a couple of grand marketing the fact that tickets are available before spending £10 million on an extention?

If we go through the season with the majority of games not selling out, will you agree that the decision should be reviewed?

If there are significant numbers of home tickets not sold then obvioulsy the club ought to get out and make sure people are aware that then can attend.

And equally obviously any business should be constantly reviewing it's decisons, especially where they involve significant expenditure. Fortunately the decison will be made by people who understand the business, the costs, the risks and the opportunities and not the likes of me and you who frankly don;t have any of the information needed to make the right call on it !

If JM / Nigel Howe decide they've been wasting their time and no one is interested in Premiership football in this area then it will be a sad day and we can look forward to playing Wycombe and Oxford again inside the next 5 years.

[Skyline]

What evidence is there of a wider audience?

Season tickets, tickets for Man Utd away, Chelsea at home and Everton at home have all reached general sale. So anyone who wanted one could have got one. If there was a wider audience out there, they would be buying these tickets.

I think you'll find, if you look at the numbers, that attendances at Reading games have started off (relatively) low and have steadily increased throughout the season for the last five seasons or so, with the possible exception of last year which, as has been pointed out many times on this thread, was unique.

The only other argument is that the extention would result in reduced prices. I can only say IMHO - dream on. You might get the odd kid for a quid but given that the club doesn't seem interested in doing this for cup games when we are clearly not going to sell out, the evidence is that you would not.

This, of course, completely ignores the fact that ticket prices in cup games have to be agreed with the opposition, as they are still entitled to a proportion of the gate money, as opposed to league games where all the money goes to the home club and they can set their prices as they see fit.

But why let the facts get in the way of a poor argument? If businessmen throughout history had taken your attitude of 'let's not do anything until we know the demand is there' none of us would be having these conversations anyway, because the internet wouldn't have spread out from being used by a small group of academics and defence contractors, and Henry Ford would never have built the Model T because there wasn't the demand for an affordable car.

[Schards#2]

I think there's a slight difference between 'no one' and 24,000.

Blackburn/Bolton seem to get by in the Premiership on lower gates in stadiums that aren't full.

As a percentage of the total revenue, even an increase in gates to 30,000 (extremely optimistic IMHO) isn't that significant.

[Behindu]

I think there's a slight difference between 'no one' and 24,000.

Blackburn/Bolton seem to get by in the Premiership on lower gates in stadiums that aren't full.

As a percentage of the total revenue, even an increase in gates to 30,000 (extremely optimistic IMHO) isn't that significant.

It's probably worth well over 200k a game (6000 x £30 plus extra catering / programmes / merchandise).

Forget misleading percentages, that is a tidy some of money

[working class hero]

Perhaps the extension should be phased? Add to the South stand first allowing more home and away fans to attend.

If that sells out then do either the East or North and the following season complete the job.

I don't care either way - I don't speak of attendance as being important to me. It matters to the financiers but why an individual fan should care less if there are 2,000 or 40,000 present baffles me. Numbers do not affect atmosphere per se - just look at Highbury / Emirates / OT for proof.

Of course if it meant reducing prices it would be great.... but I don't necessarily believe that that will happen.

[Behindu]

The plan has always been to phase the work.

Currently it is East Stand first then N/S the season after.

Doing the East first would allow extra home and away fans to attend.

[Stranded]

Indeed the plan is to go to 30K first of all - nobody is suggesting a jump to 38K that would be stupid.

An extra 6K on the East would allow the South to become a full away end or 3k dependent on if they move segregation under the stand.

A slight drop at the start of this season does not indicate any fall in interest to date. If we are struggling to get over 22k regularly next year that would begin to be significant - if we average over 23k then I see no real arguement against expansion beyond us being relegated this term.

[Winchester Royal]

If we average, say, 27,000, then theres an argument to keeping ticket prices the same.
Benefits us all.

Unless they decide to make us pay for the expansion through our season tickets.

[premiership_bound]

I think the money we have saved on transfer fees must go some way to pay for this extension.

[Winchester Royal]

I think the money we have saved on transfer fees must go some way to pay for this extension.

I doubt it, I reckon its just gone into the shareholders pockets.

[Quagmire]

I think the money we have saved on transfer fees must go some way to pay for this extension.

I doubt it, I reckon its just gone into the shareholders pockets.

Considering the shareholders of the club haven't seen any return on their investments in the 15 odd years since I became one, I can't see it starting now to be honest

[Rawlie19]

SOLD OUT

[Royal Lady]

Sold out today via general sale (well ok you have to have a member card but loads of people bought one when they first issued them) - Everton still on general sale for Saturday's game.

I would have expected the tickets to have sold out very early on, considering there are so many people who allegedly couldn't get a season ticket and are desperate to go to games. But then, that's just my opinion.

[Stranded]

But they did sell out and Everton could do the same so you could say the demand is there. Obviously it's just one game though so not proof of anything really.

[Royal Lady]

But they did sell out and Everton could do the same so you could say the demand is there. Obviously it's just one game though so not proof of anything really.

Yes, but they only sold out just before the game, my point is, if there's another 10,000+ people desperate to see us play, I'm surprised they didn't try to buy a ticket much earlier, to secure their seat.

[Rawlie19]

Boring now.

The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round...

[Stranded]

And whose to say that if there weren't more seats available that they would have sold as well. All seats available were sold, can't see that it matters if they sold to people with 100 points or on general sale the day before the game.

Arguement could well be made that the latter is better for the club and shows a need for extra seating.

It pretty much seems like a situation for the club that they are damned if they do and damned if they don't.