Torquay United Fans Forum

arcadia wrote: WE SHOULD GET SCHOOL CHILDREN IN FREE IN THESE GAMES THEY WOULD LOVE THE ATMOSPHERE. It would pay dividends in the future.

Oh That's really bright. We need all the money we can get. This is one game where we are likely to sell most of our tickets and it's suggested we let em in free. There are plenty enough games to try that out without losing money. That's when it needs doing. Frankie has that far end of the family stand for kids and if we use that then it should be plenty. they can join in Frankies lot.

As if we haven't tried that...

Matt.

Behind-the-Gulls wrote:We've turned down a request from Pompey for more tickets(they've sold out their 1,500 allocation).
Reckon we should have said "yes" and given them at least a few hundred more for Bristow's-doubt whether we will sell more than 2000 and even with season tickets might still struggle to get 3,500 for this one,despite the big away following.May need to be more flexible for these all-ticket fixtures if we are to maximise the benefit financially.

WE SHOULD GET SCHOOL CHILDREN IN FREE IN THESE GAMES THEY WOULD LOVE THE ATMOSPHERE. It would pay dividends in the future.

When was the last time the Club gave up the Popside to away fans? Wasn't it vs GAWS under Mike Bateson? I think that was the reason for it being a PR disaster rather than a bad idea. I can remember giving up part of the Pop to Northampton fans, no trouble. Being doughnutted by Rovers fans, no trouble. Under the circumstances where we're not giving up "turf" to local rivals but cashing in on a lucrative opportunity I think most fans would have been ok with it. Pompey could have had the Pop and maybe a bit of the Family Stand for seats without upsetting the locals too much. It also would have been an opportunity for the Club to gauge the fans reaction to having a behind the goal position restored to them. The displaced Popsiders could have had the Bench (not too shabby an alternative), the Away end ( I think we all agree the acoustics are better) and most of the Family Stand (which is normally half empty anyway). As for when the Greeks and Cornish come to town 1500 should cover it so no problem.

Thanks for that Mr Candy, the sensible and practical response

In theory it seems a good idea but in practice it is more complicated and costly. Sunnysideup has identified one of the main problems with using the Bristows Bench ( which is likely to be nearly sold out anyway). The minute we increase the away allocation we are also likely to incur additional policing costs, stewards etc.
The Popside is also not possible because there would have to be additional stewarding to segregate the home and away fans ( more cost) plus more significantly we would have to provide separate toilets and catering for the away fans using the Popside.They would not be allowed to use the facilities at the away end because of safety rules that don't allow the transfer of fans from one stand to another plus those facilities would not be sufficient for say an additional 200 away fans-we have to bring in extra toilets as it is when the away allocation is sold out at extra cost to the Club. This is not practical as well as costly. Also the last time the Club gave up the Popside to an away side it was seen as a major PR blunder.
Hope this provides a bit more clarity as to why certain things that on the surface seem like a good idea do not always happen.

Behind-the-Gulls wrote:Reckon we should have said "yes" and given them at least a few hundred more for Bristow's

This has been suggested plenty of times before and shot down on the grounds that season ticket holders in the stand pay a reasonable sum of money up front for the seat they want for the season. Would you suggest telling the ones that sit in the halfway line block and beyond that thet will have to move elsewhere? Im sure thats going to make them keen to renew their season ticket next year and would really be a PR coup for the club.
The only feasible way to increase the away attendance during the season is to segregate the pop side and every time thats suggested it that leads to plenty of bleating from those that go there.

I suggested this on Saturday on the Ideas for Mr Candy thread.....

After another relatively poor attendance today I would like to suggest that any unsold popular side tickets are sent to Portsmouth and a section of the stand given to away fans. We all know we need all the money we can get and our fans have had plenty of chances to buy tickets.

I was critical of the police for the Bristol Rovers shambles when fans in the home areas were not ejected when we were told they would be; but if it was communicated that pompey fans were to be offered any unsold tickets, and segregated correctly with a net or fence, we could hardly complain after having ample opportunity to buy them ourselves.

We are, by all accounts, in desperate need of money and it would be crazy to think there could be unsold tickets next week that could be taken up by pompey fans.

Behind-the-Gulls wrote:We've turned down a request from Pompey for more tickets(they've sold out their 1,500 allocation).
Reckon we should have said "yes" and given them at least a few hundred more for Bristow's-doubt whether we will sell more than 2000 and even with season tickets might still struggle to get 3,500 for this one,despite the big away following.May need to be more flexible for these all-ticket fixtures if we are to maximise the benefit financially.

You're right - seems a strange decision from a club strapped for cash. What's the ground capacity these days? Even, say, an extra 300 tickets would have brought in £6000 +. Don't think we should be turning down opportunities like that. Maybe the policing issues had something to do with the decision?

We've turned down a request from Pompey for more tickets(they've sold out their 1,500 allocation).
Reckon we should have said "yes" and given them at least a few hundred more for Bristow's-doubt whether we will sell more than 2000 and even with season tickets might still struggle to get 3,500 for this one,despite the big away following.May need to be more flexible for these all-ticket fixtures if we are to maximise the benefit financially.