Club survival..

[Gullscorer]

..and I don't mean in the league or the FA Cup. I'm talking about the financial survival of the club itself.

Given the state of the economy and the fact that we live in one of the country's worst places for jobs, low pay, unemployment and poverty, and the consequent low attendances at Plainmoor, our club, more so than most others, cannot rely upon income from football alone.

The club needs non-football revenues in order to survive. Apart from the ones we already have around Plainmoor, can anybody think of any other ways for the club to raise money? Perhaps a big corporate sponsor with the attendant silly name for Plainmoor Stadium? Hmm... Perhaps not..!!

Other bright ideas please...?

[ferrarilover]

Get a new kit sponsor who is prepared also to sponsor the Family stand?
Get a manufacturer of alcoholic beverages to sponsor the Pop side?
Get someone to sponsor the away end?
Find a lottery winner with a few million in their bin?
Become one of only three sides on Earth sponsored by Toyota?
Install a big screen and generate revenue from that?
Develop the single best programme in English football and sell advertising in that?
Produce a business directory?
Have 'sponsor a player/match/match ball/event' ideas?
Employ one of Devon's best chefs (hi, Callum, is my cheque in the post?) to enhance the food sales?

What more, realistically, can the club do? No fecker has any money, so they're not giving it to the club, they're spending it on £6.50/gallon diesel and £1300pa Council Tax. The only possible thing I can see that we can do immediately is to encourage more people into the Gull's Nest and away from B&L et al, that way the club get the money rather than the local pubs, which get theirs at other times.

Our gate receipts, net, for a recent game were not brilliant (perhaps best not to actually publish them here, although "The Mentalist" was happy to tell me in conversation), so it's things like cup runs that will give us the real financial clout that we will need to survive in L1 next season... :devil:

Matt.

[usagullmichigan]

Get Pro-Direct to put some money into the club that has helped them over the years.

[ferrarilover]

Elaborate for those of us who are not entirely up to speed?

Matt.

[DTG]

Hi guys, I don't post here often but thought this is too important a topic to slip under the radar.

On my recent visit to the UK I put forward some ideas to the club for consideration. Some were obvious and others required radical and brave thinking. The problem for TUFC is not that they don't want to market the club more creatively, they just don't have the manpower or the cash. It's a catch 22. They need to spend 1 pound to generate 2 but don't have the 1 pound to do it. They can't afford to do it and yet cannot afford not to. This is an impossible position to be in.

How do you put bums on seats when you're competing with Sky and the Champiuons League? You either decide not too and spiral slowly downward or you take a risk. I know which I would do, but it's not my money. One suggestion i made was that the westcountry quartet of Us, Scum, Cornish and (erm can't think of anything derogatory) Yeovil pool their resources to tackle a common problem they all have. The joint issue they all have is not being able to tempt the armchair fan to live games on their doorstep. A joint approach and charm offensive would help them all and spread the cost of such a campaign. Promote "live" westcountry football to all the Prem fans who can't get to see their team. We have a huge number of "outsiders" in the westcountry that follow footie yet very little is done to tempt them to come. A joint approach to a common problem. You could even include the Bristol teams. Between them they surely must have the skill sets and ability to fund such a campaign.

I put forward a number of different ideas. Some of them were a bit out there, but something needs to be done before it is too late to stop the rot. Sky is becoming ridiculously priced and the Prem has descended into farce recently. If ever there was a time to attack, it's now.

[Forest gull]

The only possible thing I can see that we can do immediately is to encourage more people into the Gull's Nest and away from B&L et al, that way the club get the money rather than the local pubs, which get theirs at other times.clout that we will need to survive in L1 next season... :devil:

Matt.[/quote]


I thought the club now got all the income from Boots and Laces?

[MidDevon]

It is always worth remembering that whilst 1000 season ticket holders generate around £300,000 in sales each year, it only takes 1 Bobby Olejnik to generate £300,000 in sales.

I feel that the scouting network has been a success in recent years with many players easily capable of playing league football coming to us for free and some generating profits when they move onwards and upwards. If I was running the club I would put as much resources behind the scouting network as I could afford.

There is no doubt that on the commercial side we are in-ept at times. I am sure without Andrew Candy doing such a good job driving the match day experience little would have moved on. The recent appointment of a commision only commercial assistant is a prudent move and may bring some much needed business acumen to the club......but going back to my original point, players offer the best pontential of generating serious cash.

[Gullscorer]

Agreed. Apart from a good Cup run, it seems that the best way of generating income is to do what Lingy has been doing: to bring players in for next to nothing and make a big profit on them when they move on. While most clubs are, like us, operating on small budgets, there will always be some with money to spend. So any money put aside for scouting will be money well spent. Developing our own talent will cost a little more, and will take longer to achieve results, but is also something that must be done.

The only other thing I can think of right now is the selling of Torquay United draw/lottery tickets for small cash prizes in local shops. The club did this years ago (I remember when I was a youngster my father won £500) but in recent years I've not seen anything (or perhaps my eyesight is failing me). Other organisations do this sort of thing; why not the Gulls? It would not require a huge initial financial outlay. We could even sell them in Exeter...

[AustrianAndyGull]

What about some sort of partnership with local accommodation providers who would be recommended by the club in programmes on the website etc in return for a small cut of any bookings. The amount of away fans ( including some home fans like myself ) who live miles away and looking to stay in the area near the ground is huge and that is an untapped market. Also local hoteliers could promote us in their things to do sections with details of home games.

The cost of ticket prices is a massive concern and in some ways it is a vicious circle, the club need to put the prices up to keep ticking over and the fans increasingly are getting annoyed by this. Lower prices and that means less revenue obviously. This is a particular issue which is so difficult to find the right answer because we aren't Man Utd where we could charge £100 a game and still sell out. We are Torquay United and all increasing ticket prices does is gradually REDUCE attendances bit by bit, little by little. That is what will happen eventually if the economic situation doesn't improve and when the minimum wage is £6.19 an hour, the max mortgage loan circa £30,000 and the cheapest houses around £70 -£80 grand there is an obvious shortfall not only in the basic need of home security but food, fuel, tax and leisure activities. Ticket prices HAVE to reduce for the club to move forward and that means finding regular alternative regular income streams and i don't feel Torquay as a club do anywhere near enough thinking outside of the box to maximise income and help increase support. Potential fans are out there, money is out there to be made if they want to go and get it. Torquay is struggling as an area but i'm not having it that it's much better in many other areas. Torquay has many attributes to attract away fans in particular and we should be tapping in to that. Most away fans treat the away trip to Torquay as a mini holiday and stay overnight and THAT is something we need to be exploiting. One thing is for sure, if the club keep increasing prices the club will struggle to exist. People won't and in many cases can't keep continuing to pay it. Today's debacle is a case in point, £17 quid to get in the pop to play Harrogate, you could argue that a league game against Accrington is no more attractive but the club should be trying to help fans wherever they can and things like this don't help. I know it may be out of their hands today as BOTH clubs have to agree on the prices but it doesn't help. Yes the club have 'bring a friend' for free offers but it doesn't help me if i go to Plainmoor on my own does it? Even if i bring a friend it still doesn't save ME any money so although it's a good idea to try and encourage new fans, it once again gives zero rewards to loyal fans.

[ferrarilover]

Andy, your first point is (or will be if I start getting grumpy about it) in progress.

I think DTG is panicking unnecessarily. No, we aren't rich, but we don't lose money and we are successful on the pitch and progressing off it.

Matt.

[Gullscorer]

Andy, advertising is not normally paid for by giving away a percentage of a business's turnover. There are usually fixed rates for adverts.

But yes, the people who currently run the club are, and have been, doing well to keep it financially stable. We have only to look at clubs who have gone under to see the results of inefficient administrations.

But the club cannot rest on its laurels. It should be continually looking for new ways of, shall we say, staying ahead of the game. It may be too much to ask here for a brain(!)storming session, but there may be at least one bright spark of inspiration among us...!! :ping:

[AustrianAndyGull]

Cheers GS, the one thing that annoys me about the club is the lack of incentives for fans, they take the regulars for granted. I seriously believe that the club should have a scheme whereby when a fan goes to game he gets a card and gets it stamped on entry and after he/she has been to say 8 or 10 games then they take their card with the requisite amount of stamps on and get free entry into the next home game they wish to attend. This will encourage floaters or people who don't go too often to go more and also feel they are being valued by the club. A reward scheme if you like. The club wouldn't suffer because many fans who pay on the day don't go to every game and will be going to different games than other fans therefore the free entries will be spread out so you won't be getting say 500 fans on any set game getting in free thus losing revenue. I really think that would work and if a fan needs say 8 stamps and he has been to 5 or 6 games he will be mindful that he/she only needs 2 or 3 more stamps to get a freebie so might go to some games they weren't going to in order to get the stamp. It's psychology and i reckon it will work. For season ticket holders, you already get a discount for buying your season tickets anyway so you are in effect receiving free games so this scheme is not applicable to you guys.