@fmttmadmin are the club doing anything about people not being able to buy tickets? Are they bothered if it doesn't sell out? Surely someone is looking at how to fill the ground? It's bonkers they people are being blocked from buying tickets for their kids.
Sthmptn hme tkts avail..suppts wth 2+ Prty Pts able to purch up to 3 addl tcks per a/c
- Thread starter NorthumberlandBoro
- Start date
A lot of other clubs have stadium wide cheap tickets for U11s. Like circa £50.
Then slightly more for U16 / U18. £80-£100.
Still makes it very accessible for children but at least costs something and bring in some revenue for the club and people arent just getting them because they are free and leaving them empty.
It also allows people to sit where they want with children rather than having to move out of the areas of the ground they want to sit in just because its affordable.
MickaelDebevePhenomenal
Well-known member
I think the issue is, if you arent going to attend the biggest game of the season, on a saturday morning, when are you going to attend?
Some, not all, are clearly "buying" them as punt becasue it's free. I have a friend who got two for his kids, knowing full well one of them was unikely to ever attend as she doesn't like football.
Teesste
Well-known member
I guess the GRFZ worked better back in our Premier League days as kids were more likely to attend the more glamorous games and there are fewer midweek matches.
Dragging a kid away from an X-Box on a cold, wet night in November to watch us struggle to break down a stubborn Charlton (or similar) defence is probably a bit more of a challenge.
Dragging a kid away from an X-Box on a cold, wet night in November to watch us struggle to break down a stubborn Charlton (or similar) defence is probably a bit more of a challenge.
Marvanelli
Well-known member
I think it's pretty easy.....they should have their season ticket taken off them, if they don't attend a certain number of games, or miss a certain number in a row.....without very very good reason.
I know a fair few PL clubs do this....they even do this if the same fans miss cup games. I'm sure Man Utd supporters have to buy cup tickets in order to keep their season tickets, otherwise they potentially lose their SC.
I think the offer from MFC for the GFRZ is amazing and fantastic for young kids and families...but there are definitely a good number of our fans royally taking the p*ss with them and they should be dealt with.
I know a fair few PL clubs do this....they even do this if the same fans miss cup games. I'm sure Man Utd supporters have to buy cup tickets in order to keep their season tickets, otherwise they potentially lose their SC.
I think the offer from MFC for the GFRZ is amazing and fantastic for young kids and families...but there are definitely a good number of our fans royally taking the p*ss with them and they should be dealt with.
huththeball
Active member
Only about 350 tickets left in the stadium now (at a quick count), excluding the GRFZ which still appears to have about 200 left
atypical_boro
Well-known member
atypical_boro
Well-known member
So what are we saying, that those seats won't be sold at all? Or that they just haven't been sold yet?
I got my youngest his SC the year he was born knowing full well he wouldn't come for a good while. But it's not like the stadium was full and I was blocking someone else from coming. We usually used that seat for another child (friend) so it was rarely empty, but even if it was, so what? The attendances were about 23,000.
Got my other son his when he was 2. Had I waited til he was old enough to want to come to all the games, and fork out £200 or whatever it may have been, he'd be a Man City fan now. This predicament is not exclusive to fans who live in Manchester either, I see kids all over Teesside in non-Boro tops. It's alright saying GRFZ isn't working but it depends how we're measuring it. That son is now Boro mad and is gutted I can't take him to the south coast on a school night.
I've nothing against paying a small fee for children's tickets etc (anywhere in the stadium) but you'd still see them being unused for many games. And you still won't see full houses at the Riverside again and waiting lists for season tickets unless we're in the top 10 in the PL, like we were last time it was a consistent sell out (the first half of 95/96 and the first few months of 96/97) through to around the time of Venables (on and off). Steve McClaren's first home win in the PL had 9,000 empty seats.
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MickaelDebevePhenomenal
Well-known member
My point was more a wider one regarding the GFRZ area rather than in relation to this specific match. I imagine it will be sold in the end, regardless.
My issue with the wider policy is having one area dedicated to free tickets for u11's rather than reducing the over all cost for u18s across the ground.
atypical_boro
Well-known member
I'm not against it but I'm just not sure it will make any difference. You might find it has the adverse affect and reduces revenue. Some adults might not bother if they can't bring their kids for free, some kids might not bother even if its only £50 and get hooked on another club.
This really isn't causing any problems until the Riverside is sold out consistently again, like it was when it was first built.
Air Resistance
Well-known member
Last sentence is really important on this one. People can disagree with GRFZ, but unless the stadium is completely sold out elsewhere, those empty seats don’t make a difference at all. Any form of enforcement will have an administrative cost to the club. Disbanding it and making those prices everywhere in the stadium doesn’t really solve anything.
Personally I think the club has done a great job on that area in terms of making it family friendly
What's the point though? We don't sell out. When they are there they are filling a seat and when they aren't the seat is as empty as it would be if it wasn't reserved. This type of thinking only makes sense when it is a sell-out. Man Utd etc is different. If you aren't using a season ticket seat then they have a huge demand for people willing to pay full price every week. We don't.
I know there are some people who have season tickets that live in London and don't use it every week.
The club already treat fans that don't have season tickets with contempt. I don't think we should also be encouraging them treat the ones that do have season tickets but don't always use them with such contempt as well.
Maybe there are people in the GRFZ who think the occasion will be too much for their young kids and another fan that appreciates it would be better to go so have opted not to take up the kids ticket. It's the club's fault if they can't shift them.
indeedido
Well-known member
Fairly clear who has taken advantage of unnecessarily cheap/free SCs.
Cheaper not free or £30 SC tickets for young kids where people really want to sit, is likely to raise higher revenue for the club and make people think more about abusing the current GRFZ.
Unless we sell out of course there will be empty seats, that doesn’t negate the fact that people are abusing the GRFZ.
Cheaper not free or £30 SC tickets for young kids where people really want to sit, is likely to raise higher revenue for the club and make people think more about abusing the current GRFZ.
Unless we sell out of course there will be empty seats, that doesn’t negate the fact that people are abusing the GRFZ.
Marvanelli
Well-known member
What are you on about?
The GFRZ is permanently sold out with Season Tickets. There is a waiting list for families to go there.
I don't have a season ticket at all and have never used the GRFZ. I just think that while the stadium is not full there is no benefit to removing it. If we were selling out then it would be different.
Sorry, I thought you were on about removing the GRFZ, not specific individuals within it. I think it would be a good idea in that case to have a maximum term. 3 years in the GRFZ and then you have to move to another area. It acts as a gateway to allow young fans to experience it for the first time and then once they are used to going and want to continue they can move into another area. It loses its purpose if it's full of kids that have been there 10 years.
atypical_boro
Well-known member
Yep. The club made us all an offer and I took it. As a result, two new Boro fans (who come to most games, they can't come to midweek matches and one of them is not yet 5) who would have otherwise supported Man City. Sorry you've taken issue with this, but I really don't know what your problem is. Are you sitting there staring at the GRFZ from the West Upper with a big nark on about a few young kids who couldn't make it to the match on a Tuesday night?
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atypical_boro
Well-known member
They could make it bigger. Not worth doing if we get to the PL though, which is the club's perpetual aim.
Also, not all kids tickets are free in GRFZ, depends on age.
TRANSIT-TRIPPER
Well-known member
Same here, took both sons to the GRFZ from a young age. They both didn’t attend all games but were there for the most. It was a great way to get them into Boro/footy without spending a fortune.
One son still comes now and will likely be going all his life ( ST in other part of the ground now).
I really don’t understand why people are taking aim at something that IMO is a great idea.?
More angry people taking aim at the Club again? Have a bloody day off. Do people also watch the GRFZ to ensure that all kids are giving the match their full attention? Maybe attention levels of children could also be used to knock the club?
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the_holgate_roof
Well-known member
What’s the plan now, as all the priority points down to 2 points have been released, are we awaiting a further announcement, about ST holders being able to purchase an extra ticket maybe??