Season Ticket Sales Pass 5,000!

[SwalePie]

Season ticket sales have surpassed 5,000 with a week to go before the early bird and renewal deadlines.

With well over a month to go before we kick off our Sky Bet League Two campaign, sales have soared beyond last season's total of 4,000.

The cheapest prices are available until 12pm on Tuesday 4 July. This includes seasonal hospitality (https://www.nottscountyfc.co.uk/news/2023/may/2023-24-seasonal-hospitality-180523/).



https://www.nottscountyfc.co.uk/news/2023/june/2023-24-season-tickets/ (https://www.nottscountyfc.co.uk/news/2023/june/2023-24-season-tickets/)

[laddo]

Good to hear. I wonder when the last time we sold over 5,000 ST?

Back just before the commencement of the 2018/19 season we had sold over 3,000. Quite the contrast.

Hoping for a late rush before the early bird deadline to push that figure higher.

[countygump]

Well done to us all!!!

Now if we can just break that 6 barrier???

[Mapperleypie]

When was the last time Notts sold over 5,000 season tickets?

I can't think that has happened ever since the ground was redeveloped.

[countygump]

When was the last time Notts sold over 5,000 season tickets?

I can't think that has happened ever since the ground was redeveloped.

What's the average price of an S/T renewal then? Bout £150? That's just a straight average though, and takes no acc that we might well sell a lot more of one cat than the others. Even at those values though, that's worth 750,000 smackeroonies, not to be scoffed at!


https://i.postimg.cc/MTy3CHMr/st.png (https://postimages.org/)

[nw6pie]

This is great news and no more than the owners deserve. No reason why we shouldn’t get over 10k for the first home league game of the season against Grimsby.

[laddo]

Echo nw6 thoughts.

Grimsby bound to bring a very healthy number early with it being so early in the season and local.

[uysapie]

Echo nw6 thoughts.

Grimsby bound to bring a very healthy number early with it being so early in the season and local.


They usually turn up in numbers that's for sure.

[Ex_Southwell_Magpie]

When was the last time Notts sold over 5,000 season tickets?

I can't think that has happened ever since the ground was redeveloped.

I can’t either, in fact for most of those years to get 5000 Notts to watch a game was considered good.

Hopefully we can sell a few more hundred before the cheap seat deadline passes. If only Nottingham had a local press that could help promote the fact….

[PedroTheFisherman66]

Good to hear. I wonder when the last time we sold over 5,000 ST?

Back just before the commencement of the 2018/19 season we had sold over 3,000. Quite the contrast.

Hoping for a late rush before the early bird deadline to push that figure higher.

I'm gabberflasted !! well done Notts and testament to the hard work the Brothers and staff have put in !!

[BJPIE]

Had a look on Transfer Market UK for Notts attendance figures in last 25 seasons. If we discount 20/21 due to Covid, the average crowd through that period is 5987. Four seasons where total attendances averaged under 5000. Twelve seasons when the average was between 5000 and 6000.
It is probably too much to hope for to reach 6000 season ticket sales but it does give some perspective to the direction the club is heading. We'll done everyone at NCFC

[slack_pie]

Had a look on Transfer Market UK for Notts attendance figures in last 25 seasons. If we discount 20/21 due to Covid, the average crowd through that period is 5987. Four seasons where total attendances averaged under 5000. Twelve seasons when the average was between 5000 and 6000.
It is probably too much to hope for to reach 6000 season ticket sales but it does give some perspective to the direction the club is heading. We'll done everyone at NCFC

I think attendances are up across the board. Look at Mansfield, for example. They used to struggle to get 4000 at home including away fans but have already passed that number in season tickets sales.

But yeah, things are definitely on the up, and last season will have got a whole load of youngsters and peripheral fans hooked.

Our average attendance for the coming season could be the highest in decades, especially if we make a push for promotion. There are a handful of teams that will pretty much sell out the away allocation (Mansfield, Grimsby, Bradford, Stockport, Wrexham) and a few more that will take 1000 or so, so 10k+ attendances could be fairly regular.

Honestly, I don't remember a time when we were so well run, and when optimism for the future was so justified. Good times!

[upthemaggies]

I think attendances are up across the board.
!

They are, clubs are seeing average attendances they haven't seen since the 1970s at all levels, but you don't have to look too far away to find that some clubs have hit a celling, they can't go any higher because their capacity won't allow them to. That means other clubs will start to close the gap in terns of bums on seats. You don't have to look very far either for an example of that phenomena.

It isn't so much of a stretch of the imagination to predict that Notts could average 10k this coming season *if* we were in the mix for promotion again, which would bring Notts up to a third of the size of our PL rivals on gates with the local newspaper hilariously still doing their best to ignore us.

If we got promoted again (which has to be more likely than going back down, and as I've shown in a previous thread, clubs generally don't tend to stuck around in L2 for more than 4 seasons) you're going to be looking towards Notts becoming half the size of Fword if the current trend continuers and Fword don't expand. There's also a reasonable chance that by the time we go up, they will be going in the other direction again.

[kill_the_drum]

Outside of Notts, it’s quite interesting to see what’s happening post lock-down.
Inflation is the highest in years and everything costs a fortune. Everyone seems to be striking, the economy is only narrowly avoiding recession. Yet, the demand for live events, bars, restaurants, shows, holidays etc, is through the roof.
Whenever I’m in town, it’s rammed.
However, manufacturing is on its backside.
We had two years of being starved of socialising so spent our money on ‘things.’
Now, it seems, we’ve gone the other way with a vengeance.

[laddo]

Yeah it's the opposite of what many (understandably) expected. Quite a few predicted the cost of living issue/crisis would have a widespread detrimental impact on attendances. Then when it didn't happen last year, those same people claimed it was due to 'suppression' and a 'bottle neck effect'. Yet it doesn't appear to be that way, especially not in the East Midlands where the City Ground is unfortunately sold out or close to getting 28-29K each week, Derby getting huge crowd in L1, Mansfailed selling more season tickets than ever and now as reported Notts breaking 5K in ST sales. Yes a couple of these teams have had great success recently but the expected significant drop in crowds just hasn't materialised yet. Will it?

[WarsopPie]

Mansfield we’re struggling to sell there season tickets at first until they brought in the pay monthly by DD and they instantly went and sold another 2k season tickets within 4 days.

[Chicken Balti Pie]

Mansfield we’re struggling to sell there season tickets at first until they brought in the pay monthly by DD and they instantly went and sold another 2k season tickets within 4 days.

This would be useful, but with our previous owners screwing up financially, would any credit companies touch us with a barge pole?

[OP67]

5k is excellent, shows that we're on the right track.

Sunderland have sold over 33k season tickets, that's just nuts :O

[slack_pie]

They are, clubs are seeing average attendances they haven't seen since the 1970s at all levels, but you don't have to look too far away to find that some clubs have hit a celling, they can't go any higher because their capacity won't allow them to. That means other clubs will start to close the gap in terns of bums on seats. You don't have to look very far either for an example of that phenomena.


This is why we're so lucky to have a relatively big stadium. Sure, opposition fans will mock us for only quarter-filling it when times are bad, but on the off chance the good times return, we're fully prepared to grow and grow.

[laddo]

This is why we're so lucky to have a relatively big stadium. Sure, opposition fans will mock us for only quarter-filling it when times are bad, but on the off chance the good times return, we're fully prepared to grow and grow.

True. You have to have the capacity to grow, or you are showing limited ambition.

Would be incredibly frustrating to be doing really well, offering cheap tickets, or getting that long overdue big side in the cup at home and only having 3 stands and a capacity of under 10,000 when you could get so many more in.

[Magpies1959]

It would be great to get to 6,000 S/T sales, and I think it is doable now.

[TSANHO]

It would be great to get to 6,000 S/T sales, and I think it is doable now.

It would be great, Gump said the same a month or so back and I didn’t think it possible….perhaps it is! An interesting/exciting signing or two could push the numbers up!

[upthemaggies]

Yes a couple of these teams have had great success recently but the expected significant drop in crowds just hasn't materialised yet. Will it?

You can't rule it out. As soon as there's a drop, however small, it's going to be a news story with an attempt to explain why gates have gone into reverse, with the negative aspects of the game inevitably highlighted and potentially encouraging the people who only jumped on the bandwagon in more recent times to jump back off again.

We could be looking at something similar to population growth, which is increasing now because people are living longer but is predicted to collapse due to younger generations not having kids. I've heard/seen people claim the genuine football fans that stick with their club through thick and thin are now much older on average and the extra bums on seats are because those men who traditionally turned up on their own or as father/son are now bringing the whole family along who spend much of the match looking at their phones and therefore won't be so inclined to continue the tradition once the older dyed in the wool types have climbed that additional staircase into row Z of heaven.

That's a theory which may have some sound logic behind it, but you can't underestimate the power of media hype. As long as they're making money off the back of the game and relentlessly pushing football as one of the most positive and meaningful aspects of secular life that brings communities together, then high attendances can probably be maintained for the foreseeable, at least until the super league happens.

[laddo]

Interesting thoughts UTM, and lets hope your last paragraph runs true.

Even if Notts understandably saw a level of correction/regression due to stalling in L2, consistently winning less games etc, the increases and progress made over the past few years have been so noticeable and so great, it would still be a very positive story. I suspect the base level at Notts has increased noticeably following the clubs/owners excellent work to date.

Sounds like if anything major is to happen to send it into reverse it could be a long term, slow burner thing rather than a a sudden fall.

[Jampie]

impressive

[slack_pie]

You can't rule it out. As soon as there's a drop, however small, it's going to be a news story with an attempt to explain why gates have gone into reverse, with the negative aspects of the game inevitably highlighted and potentially encouraging the people who only jumped on the bandwagon in more recent times to jump back off again.

We could be looking at something similar to population growth, which is increasing now because people are living longer but is predicted to collapse due to younger generations not having kids. I've heard/seen people claim the genuine football fans that stick with their club through thick and thin are now much older on average and the extra bums on seats are because those men who traditionally turned up on their own or as father/son are now bringing the whole family along who spend much of the match looking at their phones and therefore won't be so inclined to continue the tradition once the older dyed in the wool types have climbed that additional staircase into row Z of heaven.

That's a theory which may have some sound logic behind it, but you can't underestimate the power of media hype. As long as they're making money off the back of the game and relentlessly pushing football as one of the most positive and meaningful aspects of secular life that brings communities together, then high attendances can probably be maintained for the foreseeable, at least until the super league happens.

I also think social media has a lot to do with increased interest in football as well. When I was a kid, you'd go to the game or listen to Uncle Colin if you couldn't make it, then you'd get your Football Post on a Saturday evening. That was pretty much it. I remember going to Asda during school lunch breaks to read the NEP and find out the latest Notts news, or checking teletext. Often, you'd turn up to a game to see we'd signed someone but have no idea who it was.

Today, there's endless exposure to football at pretty much every level. Non-league clubs have top-level media teams, and there are tons of armchair data analysts pouring through every detail of a performance or signing. You've got videos of fans celebrating goals, and people commenting on the 'limbs'. It's just nonstop content every day of the year. Nonstop banter and rivalry, too. That's bound to make interest in actual matches greater as well. That and the post-COVID urge to get out there and experience real stuff.

With attendances up pretty much everywhere, it's a great time for Notts to have a renaissance. If we keep improving year on year and find ourselves a decent L1 club in a few years, we could easily be averaging 12k, which is pretty much what we got in the top flight and twice what we got last time we were at L1 level.

[Pensionerpie]

Reading the last post brought back memories of an away trip to Chester ( I think?) in the 80’s with my dad and we had no idea who the full back playing for Notts was .It turned out to be Chris Withe who’d we signed the day before

[Proactive not Reactive]

Reading the last post brought back memories of an away trip to Chester ( I think?) in the 80’s with my dad and we had no idea who the full back playing for Notts was .It turned out to be Chris Withe who’d we signed the day before

Played golf with him lovely modest guy was a member at Oakmere Park

[The_Don_ORiordan]

I think the season ticket amount has to be put in context. For example, clubs like Chesterfield sell similar amounts, but a lot of their fans buy them knowing that they will have a seat for busier games when they will absolutely sell out.

A large proportion of our fans clearly don’t buy a season ticket because they only attend a proportion of the games and know they will pretty much always get a seat.

So essentially our 5k is not comparable to clubs who regularly sell out their grounds, it’s significantly better for our average attendances.

I for one can’t make enough home games to warrant buying a season ticket, but I’ll still attend the majority of home games, because I know I can pretty much pick up a ticket the day before without issue when I know I can get there.

At say Chesterfield or Wrexham or even Mansfield that wouldn’t have been possible.

[MAD_MAGPIE]

Is a really good achievement to have broken 5,000 season ticket sales. Going down to the National League has enabled the club to reset and the Reedz brothers build it from the bottom upwards. The club is going in the right direction and it’s a big thumbs up to the owners that they are doing something right.

I’ve said it many times on here over the years that with our ground we have the infrastructure in place for us to climb the leagues if we do well. The owners do not have to do too much in terms of the ground to take Notts to a higher level. This has always been a good selling point and a legacy from the Derek Pavis era. Meadow Lane would hold its own in the championship. It might need a bit of tidying up now and again but when you think in recent years the conference and banqueting facilities and changing rooms were renovated by Hardy. Then the MLSB by Trew. The pitch, scoreboard and now PA system and Padel Centre have been upgraded by our current owners. So infrastructure wise the club is in a good place.

The culture of football is changing as well in the U.K. Especially since the likes of Pep and Klopp joined the premier league brining their different styles but ones which other clubs want to emulate. Of course winning is the aim, but it’s also becoming more about a teams technical style and stats. Fans now want to see good football and some will call for managers to leave or be sacked if they play a turgid brand that might even get results. What is this good football? It’s creating chances (expected goals), scoring goals, but also has other aspects such as dominating possession, having a high pass completion ratio, and many other things that fans who are armchair enthusiasts of stats will use to measure their teams performance. We had the perfect blend last season. Look at how complimentary other teams managers were last season of the way we played even though we beat them.

It’s the same with players. If a manager or coach is able to improve their stats they may choose to go to that club over another. They all become methods of comparing performance between other kinds of players. Our owners with Football Radar have brought stats to a tier five and now EFL club as an extra string to the clubs bow.

That’s why I don’t think or can’t see us changing our style as we progress under the current owners. What we will need to be is better at it at league two level and to do that you either improve what you’ve got or bring in better players than those that have left to execute it. It may take one season or four seasons but like they said in commentary against Boreham Wood we won’t change the way we play.

Football is changing and thankfully we are on the right side of the curve.

[Proactive not Reactive]

Is a really good achievement to have broken 5,000 season ticket sales. Going down to the National League has enabled the club to reset and the Reedz brothers build it from the bottom upwards. The club is going in the right direction and it’s a big thumbs up to the owners that they are doing something right.

I’ve said it many times on here over the years that with our ground we have the infrastructure in place for us to climb the leagues if we do well. The owners do not have to do too much in terms of the ground to take Notts to a higher level. This has always been a good selling point and a legacy from the Derek Pavis era. Meadow Lane would hold its own in the championship. It might need a bit of tidying up now and again but when you think in recent years the conference and banqueting facilities and changing rooms were renovated by Hardy. Then the MLSB by Trew. The pitch, scoreboard and now PA system and Padel Centre have been upgraded by our current owners. So infrastructure wise the club is in a good place.

The culture of football is changing as well in the U.K. Especially since the likes of Pep and Klopp joined the premier league brining their different styles but ones which other clubs want to emulate. Of course winning is the aim, but it’s also becoming more about a teams technical style and stats. Fans now want to see good football and some will call for managers to leave or be sacked if they play a turgid brand that might even get results. What is this good football? It’s creating chances (expected goals), scoring goals, but also has other aspects such as dominating possession, having a high pass completion ratio, and many other things that fans who are armchair enthusiasts of stats will use to measure their teams performance. We had the perfect blend last season. Look at how complimentary other teams managers were last season of the way we played even though we beat them.

It’s the same with players. If a manager or coach is able to improve their stats they may choose to go to that club over another. They all become methods of comparing performance between other kinds of players. Our owners with Football Radar have brought stats to a tier five and now EFL club as an extra string to the clubs bow.

That’s why I don’t think or can’t see us changing our style as we progress under the current owners. What we will need to be is better at it at league two level and to do that you either improve what you’ve got or bring in better players than those that have left to execute it. It may take one season or four seasons but like they said in commentary against Boreham Wood we won’t change the way we play.

Football is changing and thankfully we are on the right side of the curve.

Very good post ... imagine if they ban heading we will be very far round the curve

[laddo]

What a fantastic and insightful post by MAD MAGPIE. There is a lot in there that I instantly agree with and hope as many on here as possible read it.

I never thought getting relegated to the dreaded non league football but now we are out after a few memorable and overall enjoyable seasons it did indeed allow a reset of the club.

Could this reset of happened in L2 , yes possibly. Is the reset easier when you are winning more in a less competitive league , I'd say yes most definitely.

If Notts had finished above Macclesfield that season would Hardy have sold to the Bros? Obviously we will never know, and frankly after one of the most enjoyable entertaining seasons ever I don't care.

[1955pie]

I know that this probably won't go down too well but:
From a purely business perspective, do you think that the club should consider increasing the price of tickets. I believe there was no increase this year.
The club does, like all businesses, live in a very inflationary environment and at some point they will surely have to make an unpopular decision.
Does anyone know if the price of hospitality has gone up this year?

[laddo]

It's a good point 1955. They could have taken the decision to wait to see whether we were promoted via the playoffs or not before announcing prices. With promotion they would have been justified increasing them IMO. However, these owners are different gravy and announced a freeze when promotion was clearly a distinct possibility.

I think they have chosen the correct option to seek to increase revenues from increased attendance rather than increased ST and match day prices. This option is clearly facilitated by the size of the stadium and no doubt they wanted to keep the tsunami of positivity they have helped create going.

[Newish Pie]

Football is changing and thankfully we are on the right side of the curve.

Good post. Another way in which football is changing (and County are on the right side of the curve) is the make-up/demographics of the crowd. When I first moved to Nottingham and went to the occasional game, it felt like an older fanbase to me - sometimes I'd feel like the youngest person around me by a generation or so. Now... many more younger people, a lot more children, and a lot more women and girls. It's still probably a 'whiter' crowd than the catchment area, but I'm sure that's true for most teams.

Football now feels like a lot more of an accessible, welcoming and safe environment than it used to, and that's probably true for most teams.

[uysapie]

I know that this probably won't go down too well but:
From a purely business perspective, do you think that the club should consider increasing the price of tickets. I believe there was no increase this year.
The club does, like all businesses, live in a very inflationary environment and at some point they will surely have to make an unpopular decision.
Does anyone know if the price of hospitality has gone up this year?

Hospitality up about 10%, which is reasonable given energy/food costs

[MAD_MAGPIE]

I know that this probably won't go down too well but:
From a purely business perspective, do you think that the club should consider increasing the price of tickets. I believe there was no increase this year.
The club does, like all businesses, live in a very inflationary environment and at some point they will surely have to make an unpopular decision.
Does anyone know if the price of hospitality has gone up this year?

It might become a possibility at some point and it’s hard not to think that it won’t happen. However I think it’s been a good way to approach it this year by freezing ticket prices because it’s encouraging more people on board and supporting the club. Also it’s a bit of a thank you to all those fans who have stuck through the club for the four years it was in the National League

Who remembers the famous 8 through the gate scheme where Scardino tried to promote higher attendances and I may or may not be correct to think that was a marker to break even at what was League One level.

Many previous chairman going back decades have bemoaned about attendances. I think the Reedz brothers are different and see a picture whereby we had or have an ageing fan base and needed to change the clubs image. Therefore it’s important that we get the next generation in and into the habit first and foremost. The only way of doing this is by making the football appealing to younger generations, but also the entire matchday product. Not forgetting to social media aspects. We have a generation of those under 25 who have grown up with devices and phones. As others have said it’s the content that the club puts out that becomes part of its identity as well. We also become part of the story as fans because we are in these videos and clips whether it be during the good times or bad. We might not have our own documentary on Netflix but the material is out there to see what it’s like being a part of this club. Even in the changing rooms after the Wembley final and all that insight. It’s all about connecting with and engaging with the supporters.

[Mud Pie]

Very good post ... imagine if they ban heading we will be very far round the curve

haha! true dat

Agree, insightful post

[Mud Pie]

It might become a possibility at some point and it’s hard not to think that it won’t happen. However I think it’s been a good way to approach it this year by freezing ticket prices because it’s encouraging more people on board and supporting the club. Also it’s a bit of a thank you to all those fans who have stuck through the club for the four years it was in the National League

Who remembers the famous 8 through the gate scheme where Scardino tried to promote higher attendances and I may or may not be correct to think that was a marker to break even at what was League One level.

Many previous chairman going back decades have bemoaned about attendances. I think the Reedz brothers are different and see a picture whereby we had or have an ageing fan base and needed to change the clubs image. Therefore it’s important that we get the next generation in and into the habit first and foremost. The only way of doing this is by making the football appealing to younger generations, but also the entire matchday product. Not forgetting to social media aspects. We have a generation of those under 25 who have grown up with devices and phones. As others have said it’s the content that the club puts out that becomes part of its identity as well. We also become part of the story as fans because we are in these videos and clips whether it be during the good times or bad. We might not have our own documentary on Netflix but the material is out there to see what it’s like being a part of this club. Even in the changing rooms after the Wembley final and all that insight. It’s all about connecting with and engaging with the supporters.

I recall 8 through the gate, but marketing was totally different then, as you say.

A major part of getting supporters in and keeping them (and selling season tickets, damn, we're doing well!) is creating consistent levels of entertainment on the pitch (and to a lesser extent, a club vibe that's enjoyable).

We're all competing for market share, and I'm very happy that Notts have next gen skills these days, but it's even harder, imo, to get, and keep getting, the product right.

[laddo]

Naturally leaving the (home) game happy and with 3 points far more often than not plays a huge role in increasing and maintaining the healthy attendances we've all been witnessing.

I suspect playing attractive attacking tippy tappy possession based football on the deck pleases the majority of the supporters. It's what they want to see and I strongly suspect it's what the younger element of the fanbase want to watch (Gracias Pep, Dánka Jürgen). This has to have a positive impact also on attendances.

I also believe, and it was touched on earlier re media team, club engagement and interaction with fans is key and the club has made huge leaps in that regard.

[Watchdogs]

Mansfield we’re struggling to sell there season tickets at first until they brought in the pay monthly by DD and they instantly went and sold another 2k season tickets within 4 days.

I don’t know where you got this information from but that’s completely untrue, since the direct debit scheme came in Mansfield sold around 700 season tickets, how many were brought using the DD option is only known by them though.

[irishpete]

Now passed 5300

[countygump]

Now passed 5300

Deadline for early magpie is tomoz, Pete, so might get a last minute rush?

[laddo]

Now passed 5300

I really must remember this for next seasons attendance guesses. I can't through another whole season underestimating the level of home support at the San Sirrel.

Naturally impacted by results on that pitch but next season's average attendance should be very healthy with that many ST holders signed up.

[Chicken Balti Pie]

I really must remember this for next seasons attendance guesses. I can't through another whole season underestimating the level of home support at the San Sirrel.

Naturally impacted by results on that pitch but next season's average attendance should be very healthy with that many ST holders signed up.

If I remember correctly, I think the attendance announced is now tickets sold rather than tickets scanned so it will be always 5,300+ for home games

[irishpete]

Deadline for early magpie is tomoz, Pete, so might get a last minute rush?

Probably will be gump, with some just getting paid at end of month

[caj85]

Went down on Saturday to buy mine and my dads season tickets. First one since Munto season.

5,300 is an immense taking. It certainly helps that we've had a few seasons at the right end of the table even if it was a league lower.

Hypothetically speaking, what would getting another promotion this season do to next season ticket sales? Another 1,000?

[ncfcog]

I've been that busy i nearly forgot to renew! Doing it today so that's definitely another one!

[irishpete]

5600 sold truly amazing

[caj85]

5600 sold truly amazing

Have the club released the price of season tickets for anyone missing the deadline today?