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Post by Neil on May 23, 2024 13:31:26 GMT
The previous thread seems to have disappeared, not sure what's happened there. Anyway here it is again.
The Northern League Management committee have decided at a recent meeting to introduce a minimum entry charge at NL games of £5 for adults and £3 for concessions. As per the rule this applied pro rata to season tickets less 15%. It means the minimum charge for season tickets this year will be £90 for adults and £53 for concessions. Many second division clubs and a few first division clubs will now be forced to increase their season ticket prices.
Children, which are classed as a concession according to the rule book, will also now not be able to get in for free as they do at many clubs. I've heard that some people on the LMC have told clubs they can still let kids in for free if they want to but how they can say this I don't know as they can't apply the rule as and how they feel like.
Absolutely shameful.
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wacker
Junior Member
Posts: 51
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Post by wacker on May 23, 2024 16:31:55 GMT
I've never agreed with letting kids in for free. It completely devalues the product and the only time we did it at Northallerton, kids came just to mess about. They would even hang around and walk in with an adult to get around the "accompanying" bit.
The LMC need to decide what age constitutes a concession, and also what is an attendance. Clubs are now including season tickets given to sponsors regardless if they attend to make them look much more popular than they are, although I suspect this is partly why there is a clampdown.
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Post by Neil on May 23, 2024 18:32:06 GMT
I've never agreed with letting kids in for free. It completely devalues the product and the only time we did it at Northallerton, kids came just to mess about. They would even hang around and walk in with an adult to get around the "accompanying" bit. The LMC need to decide what age constitutes a concession, and also what is an attendance. Clubs are now including season tickets given to sponsors regardless if they attend to make them look much more popular than they are, although I suspect this is partly why there is a clampdown. No club has to let kids in for free or a nominal price, but it's their choice and right to decide. It's worked very well for us. The rules state children are a concession. Anything other than a full paying adult is. It's not for the LMC to decide and bend the rules as it suits. Regarding fluffing attendances, it really is irrelevant to what the LMC have done. On a personal note as well I really don't care what other clubs what to state as their gate numbers. |
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Post by brutus on May 23, 2024 18:48:35 GMT
I believe kids from the club's junior teams could be let in for free if wearing their club strip (to make it easier for the gate man)otherwise it should be at a reduced rate.
As for attendance figures, the clue is in the title. It should be people actually present watching the game and not including the management. I'm not clear what is gained by exaggerating the attendance but have been to plenty of matches in the last few seasons where the announced figure bears no relation to the headcount.
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Post by stanscott on May 23, 2024 19:49:06 GMT
It should 100% be for each Club to decide if they want to charge for kids or not.
I personally support free entry for kids. They're the future of non league football - players, supporters, volunteers, committees, league officials, match officials. They all need to come from somewhere and putting up barriers does no good in the long term in my view. If a Club chooses to allow kids in for free, they have to be prepared to manage that. I make a concerted effort to engage with the kids that come to support our Club and make them feel part of it and it's worked well so far.
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Post by kentrebel on May 23, 2024 21:15:48 GMT
It should 100% be for each Club to decide if they want to charge for kids or not. I personally support free entry for kids. They're the future of non league football - players, supporters, volunteers, committees, league officials, match officials. They all need to come from somewhere and putting up barriers does no good in the long term in my view. If a Club chooses to allow kids in for free, they have to be prepared to manage that. I make a concerted effort to engage with the kids that come to support our Club and make them feel part of it and it's worked well so far. In principle it's great to let the kids in for free. The trouble I have seen at some clubs is that the match turns into some kind of free childcare option where said kids show no interest in the game and/or Twit about and cause problems. My ideal would be 2 kids free with a paying adult to ensure some responsibility |
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Post by j on May 24, 2024 11:15:29 GMT
As per the previous thread (and why was that deleted / how thoughtless are the LMC exactly?) this is a disgraceful move and needs clarifying properly.
Iirc, there was a suggestion in the previous thread that there may be some flexibility, or possibly the clubs would appeal this decision. Any word on that?
Edited for spelling/grammar: phone has a mind of its own.
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Post by Neil on May 24, 2024 11:55:59 GMT
As per the previous thread (and why tf was that deleted, how thin skinned are the ospreys on the LMC exactly?) this is a disgraceful move and needs clarifying properly. Iirc, there was a suggestion in the previous thread that there may be some flexibility, or possibly the clubs would appeal this decision. Any word on that? (Think it was my fault the deletion! Looks like I may have deleted it inadvertently) Some on the LMC have told clubs that charging for children can still be at the clubs discretion but this just opens up a whole can of worms. The rules are clear and if the LMC want to set a minimum charge for concessions, then this includes children. They can't then just bend the rules to pick and choose which parts they adhere to or ignore. I believe Billingham Town are already looking into taking it further. I imagine if the LMC try and enforce this ridiculous decision then it could even go down the legal route and rumble on for a while. |
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Post by eastdurhamhopper on May 24, 2024 13:36:11 GMT
Have any clubs announced prices for next season yet? I have not seen any personally yet.
If so are they adhering to this new rule or not? What is the sanction if clubs just set their prices as they see fit anyway?
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Post by j on May 24, 2024 13:37:27 GMT
(Think it was my fault the deletion! Looks like I may have deleted it inadvertently) Ha, I've done that plenty at work, thank God for the undo button! Exactly, they're just creating potential problems for the sake of it. I don't see what an individual club's admission prices should have to do with them |
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Post by bigcbeat1 on May 24, 2024 14:15:27 GMT
As per the previous thread (and why tf was that deleted, how thin skinned are the ospreys on the LMC exactly?) this is a disgraceful move and needs clarifying properly. Iirc, there was a suggestion in the previous thread that there may be some flexibility, or possibly the clubs would appeal this decision. Any word on that? (Think it was my fault the deletion! Looks like I may have deleted it inadvertently) Some on the LMC have told clubs that charging for children can still be at the clubs discretion but this just opens up a whole can of worms. The rules are clear and if the LMC want to set a minimum charge for concessions, then this includes children. They can't then just bend the rules to pick and choose which parts they adhere to or ignore. I believe Billingham Town are already looking into taking it further. I imagine if the LMC try and enforce this ridiculous decision then it could even go down the legal route and rumble on for a while. I don’t feel comfortable charging any kid who pays £23-00 a month to play for our junior set up. Parents aren’t made of money so I would imagine attendances would drop for sure. Other kids who come with an adult pay if not a junior player. I seriously think a rethink is needed here . |
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Post by pooliehopper on May 24, 2024 22:07:38 GMT
What bothers me is the ST price minimum in general. Let's be fair here, most NL grounds are in areas where £60 to £90 is a massive jump. Clubs need bigger numbers more than ever, more STs, more fans, more food and drink bought, word of mouth = more supporters. What Billingham Town did wants championing, not punishing. As did Heaton and Birtley allowing kids in for free at their playoff game.
Does anyone really gain from this new minimum price rule?
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Post by Neil on May 25, 2024 10:08:54 GMT
What bothers me is the ST price minimum in general. Let's be fair here, most NL grounds are in areas where £60 to £90 is a massive jump. Clubs need bigger numbers more than ever, more STs, more fans, more food and drink bought, word of mouth = more supporters. What Billingham Town did wants championing, not punishing. As did Heaton and Birtley allowing kids in for free at their playoff game. Does anyone really gain from this new minimum price rule? There's areas of Billingham and the surrounding area that are classed as deprived with many people in the poverty threshhold. The £21 season tickets not only allowed anyone from any background to enjoy some entertainment on a Saturday afternoon, but was also a huge benefit to the club. We made more money on season tickets last year than when they when they were at a higher price, still had a steady income over the gate, and saw a huge increase in bar takings. It wad also great PR for NL and nonleague football in general. I've no doubt the club would have happily shared the figures with other clubs who might have wanted to try something similar. Instead the LMC have tried to put a stop to it out of pure spite. They tried to stop it last year under the ruling byt were embarrassed when they realised they didn't read their own rules correctly. A joke of a decision from a group of people who get in to games for free who are supposed to run things to benefit the member clubs, not hinder them. |
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Post by eastdurhamhopper on May 25, 2024 10:23:41 GMT
What bothers me is the ST price minimum in general. Let's be fair here, most NL grounds are in areas where £60 to £90 is a massive jump. Clubs need bigger numbers more than ever, more STs, more fans, more food and drink bought, word of mouth = more supporters. What Billingham Town did wants championing, not punishing. As did Heaton and Birtley allowing kids in for free at their playoff game. Does anyone really gain from this new minimum price rule? There's areas of Billingham and thr surrounding area that are classed as deprived with many people in the poverty threshhold. The £21 season tickets not only meant is allowed anyone from any background to enjoy some entertainment on a Saturday afternoon, but was also a huge benefit to the club. We made more money on season tickets last year than when they when they were at a higher price, still had a steady income over the gate, and saw a huge increase in bar takings. It wad also great PR for NL and nonleague football in general. I've no doubt the club would have happily shared the figures with other clubs who might have wanted to try something similar. Instead the LMC have tried to put a stop to it out of pure spite. They tried to stop it last year under the ruling byt were embarrassed when they realised they didn't read their own rules correctly. A joke of a decision from a group of people who get in to games for free who are supposed to run things to benefit the member clubs, not hinder them. This will be the same scenario across the leagues. Why are the league so insistent on this? If they released a statement outlining their reasons there might be less backlash. Do we know what the potential consequences would be if a club ignored the rule? |
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Post by Neil on May 25, 2024 11:06:49 GMT
This will be the same scenario across the leagues. Why are the league so insistent on this? If they released a statement outlining their reasons there might be less backlash. Do we know what the potential consequences would be if a club ignored the rule? I'm not aware of any other leagues that have a minimum pricing policy so not sure it will be the same scenario. There's no amount stated in the fines tariff so they'll just make it up as they go along. |
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