Falmer pay on gate?

[Lord Bracknell]

Er…. where exactly did I mention Millwall ?

I was not making a comparison between home and away supporters, I was making the comparison between home supporters at different clubs and the fact remains that due to the restrictions placed on Withdean Brighton supporters still have to pay an additional ₤2 processing charge to purchase home tickets (as they cannot buy them at the ground) which the home supporters of other clubs do not have to pay as they can, if they wish, buy them at the ground. I assume this charge will remain the case when Falmer is operational.

Why do you assume that?

The current ticketing arrangements require manpower to administer. The new system doesn't.

And I mentioned Millwall because it is an example of a club (and not the only one) where surcharges are levied on people who pay at the gate. And some people (early on in this thread) were saying "Why can't we have a ticketing system like the one at Millwall?"

 

[Bry Nylon]

I can't see how this will make it "difficult" to make a decision on Saturday lunchtime that you want to go to a match.

It doesn't make it difficult. It just makes it easy to decide to do something else instead. Or just stay at home. Everything about British public transport is grim, grimey and depressing and always makes me wish I'd gone to the dentist for major root canal surgery without an anesthetic instead.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

the albion fans were fantastic as im sure was lord b. But the harsh reality is that tony bloom is the person, with dk and their board that kept the club afloat with their money, are the people to thank for the ground.. particularly tony bloom who is apparently now £93 Million poorer!

I agree. The Club's evidence that pay on the gate wouldn't happen was a crucial part of winning the argument. My evidence (that fans needed a stadium) seemed like a statement of the bleedin' obvious.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

It doesn't make it difficult. It just makes it easy to decide to do something else instead. Or just stay at home. Everything about British public transport is grim, grimey and depressing and always makes me wish I'd gone to the dentist for major root canal surgery without an anesthetic instead.

I'd agree with you about public transport in much of Britain. I won't agree with you about public transport between Brighton and Falmer - 10 buses an hour on Saturdays (maybe more when the stadium opens), with free travel for Albion ticket holders, plus 4 trains an hour, also with free travel, is hardly a timetable to complain about.

And every vehicle is less than five years old, with wheelchair access.

What's grim and grimey about that?

 

[looney]

Remembering back to the goldstone how many would turn up on the spur of the moment and at the last minute, if their isn't an onsite ticket office then it will be a f***ing shambles for sure.

 

[looney]

Some people do have quite snobbish attitudes towards this.

"Build it and they'll come" is what many have kidded themselves over the last decade.

Not quite, things need to be done properly and tickets need to be easily accessible or crowds won't be any higher than they are now.

HASSLE FREE is the way to go. Not sure how the club are going build a ticket office to cope with potentially thousands at Mill Road/Mithras etc.

Agree 100%. dont expect an answer from the club mouthpeices in this thread though.

Ive quite often gone on the spur of the moment and/or last minute on my own or with friends, I dont want to go on a wild f***ing goose chase around Brighton to some ticket office that may be swamped, then repeat at every stage.

BTW

Have you seen some of the f***ing weirdo's that go on park and ride?

 

[Everest]

……and some don’t. The implication of LB’s reply is that all clubs have to pay a surcharge for tickets bought on the gate which is not correct.

And in the same way, you were implying that fans of all clubs (apart from us) DON'T have to.

 

[Billy the Fish]

It doesn't make it difficult. It just makes it easy to decide to do something else instead. Or just stay at home. Everything about British public transport is grim, grimey and depressing and always makes me wish I'd gone to the dentist for major root canal surgery without an anesthetic instead.

Good luck with that. Enjoy yourself shopping with the missus, we'll all be enjoying ourselves at the footy with our mates

 

[Simster]

Can we conclude as follows

1. Some people would like to pay on the gate
2. Pay on the gate is likely to have a very marginal impact on attendance
3. Due to the planning conditions pay on the gate is never going to happen, unless Tony Bloom fancies throwing another £3million into an appeal and delaying the opening of Falmer.

The only point we can conclude for definite is the first one.

The second one is the whole point of this debate. You haven't got a clue what impact no "pay on the gate" will have. I'm sure the stadium will open with a fanfare and promotions and the like, but do you honestly trust our crappy marketing department to reach out to those floating fans? I don't. They can't even fill a tiny family stand by selling kids tickets for a quid. They're USELESS.
And your third point is even more ridiculous. Who says that an appeal would a) cost £ 3million and b) delay Falmer. You've just made that up to suit your argument.

What we can conclude is that apparently it is pointless the club contesting these draconian pay on the gate restrictions - because TLO and Everest say so.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

What we can conclude is that apparently it is pointless the club contesting these draconian pay on the gate restrictions - because TLO and Everest say so.

No - we can conclude that because planning law requires a transport plan and planning permission was granted based on the clubs transport plan that said they wouldn't do pay on the gate.

As someone who has tangled with the councils planning department a number of times I can assure you it is impossible to change or side step the rules. Even things that seem very minor ( such a a drainage stack being 2 inches to short ! ) are enforced.

People need to get real - it's pointless challenging the planning rules and we won't have pay on the gate - simples !!!!

 

[clippedgull]

10 buses an hour on Saturdays (maybe more when the stadium opens), with free travel for Albion ticket holders, plus 4 trains an hour, also with free travel, is hardly a timetable to complain about.

I think it's pushing it a bit to state 'free' travel Lord B!

An 'imposed contribution to travel via match ticket purchase' would be a fairer description I believe.

Not that I am complaining, it suits me as I travel on the bus to games.

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

You know what the trouble is that we WILL have a half empty stadium for most games so people will think they can turn up on the day.

If (hopefully when) we return to the days of sold out - due to 000s of season ticket holders, maybe even a waiting list, prawn sandwich eaters, corporates then the thought of turning up on the day wont happen. Its not like you can turn up at the Emirates or White Hart Lane or Old Trafford on the day....

 

[Simster]

As someone who has tangled with the councils planning department a number of times I can assure you it is impossible to change or side step the rules. Even things that seem very minor ( such a a drainage stack being 2 inches to short ! ) are enforced.

You see, I prefer this sort of explanation to the sort of pathetic put downs that others have stooped to on this thread.

I'm guessing that if it is possible to contest these decisions, Tony Bloom will do so. At the end of the day, I think Tooting has hit the nail on the head when he says that it is in nobody's interest to see Falmer turn into a white elephant. If it transpires that pay on the gate is having a severe effect on attendances, I wouldn't be surprised to see the issue get raised by somebody further down the line.

 

[Brovion]

The only point we can conclude for definite is the first one.

The second one is the whole point of this debate. You haven't got a clue what impact no "pay on the gate" will have. I'm sure the stadium will open with a fanfare and promotions and the like, but do you honestly trust our crappy marketing department to reach out to those floating fans? I don't. They can't even fill a tiny family stand by selling kids tickets for a quid. They're USELESS.
And your third point is even more ridiculous. Who says that an appeal would a) cost £ 3million and b) delay Falmer. You've just made that up to suit your argument.

What we can conclude is that apparently it is pointless the club contesting these draconian pay on the gate restrictions - because TLO and Everest say so.

Whilst I broadly agree with you I DO see the point of the 'no pay on the gate' lobby. Whatever we might think about the stupidity of modern planning laws and planning philosophies (and when it comes to transport they are very stupid indeed) the club have been forced to accept them* I think as from Day One trying to get that changed will be a pointless task that is simply not worth the effort.

What is absolutely 100% certain is that it WILL affect attendances. How much depends on two factors: a) how easy it is for casual punters to use the 'pay on the day but not at the gate' method, and b) how the team is doing. However it is a cast-iron certainty that after the initial euphoria has worn off there will be threads on here saying "why are attendances still so bad, I thought Falmer was the answer?" And there will be responses saying "Because getting a ticket a hour or so before kick-off is not as straightforward as it is at, say Lewes - and it's a f***ing pain having to queue for buses and trains."

How the club respond to that will be interesting. I suspect we will simply be berated for being bad fans who can't make the effort to follow some simple procedures.

*I think some people might think the transport strategy and 'no pay on the day' are actually good ideas, but they can be ignored as they are clearly barking mad.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Y

I'm guessing that if it is possible to contest these decisions, Tony Bloom will do so. At the end of the day, I think Tooting has hit the nail on the head when he says that it is in nobody's interest to see Falmer turn into a white elephant. If it transpires that pay on the gate is having a severe effect on attendances, I wouldn't be surprised to see the issue get raised by somebody further down the line.

Absolutely - I'd much rather Tony spent any money that would be spent on a fruitless legal challenge ( £3m or not ! ) on decent players.

 

[The Large One]

What we can conclude is that apparently it is pointless the club contesting these draconian pay on the gate restrictions - because TLO and Everest say so.

What a f***ing dumb-arse thing to say.

 

[The Large One]

How the club respond to that will be interesting. I suspect we will simply be berated for being bad fans who can't make the effort to follow some simple procedures.

Having an irrational hatred what will probably be the simplest method isn't going to help your argument.

 

[Simster]

What a f***ing dumb-arse thing to say.

Really? Compare and contrast some of the better responses with these miserable, self righteous responses:

Oh dear.

Point is, everyone on here FULLY understands the point you're making - you're not so smart as you eveidently like to think you are posting at a level beyond our comprehension.

The plain fact of the matter is, when it comes to planning, YOU JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. You just don't. And you're embarrassing yourslef every time you grizzle about thinking you can change the rules.

The challenges you want the club to put up will fail - guaranteed - it will waste the club time, resources and money. If it takes this course of action (by people who know the planning rules upside down and have had to spend north of £4m to prove it) to show just how naive and ignorant your bleatings are, I suggest you put in your proposals to the club to show them how to do it.

I just hope they're better than your well-intentioned, but ultimately naive, half-baked idea for promoting Withdean by leafleting commuters at Brighton Station for a day by people you wouldn't intend to pay properly. A decent idea, but with holes you could drive a lorry through.

So what? That's your problem.

Oh God, it's PATHETIC.

I give up.

 

[The Large One]

I'm guessing that if it is possible to contest these decisions, Tony Bloom will do so...

If it's not going to affect the construction, opening and running of the stadium - why wait until later? Why not do it now?

 

[The Large One]

Really? Compare and contrast some of the better responses with these miserable, self righteous responses:

No - you said that club can't contest these planning restrictions BECAUSE TLO SAID SO.

Which, of course, is total bollocks, and you know it.

And you're in no position to lecture anyone on miserable, self righteous responses.