12000+ empty seats at Falmer

[Superphil]

I wonder if you'll be able to buy more than one ticket with your phone, i.e. if your mate decides to give it a go at the last minute, can you buy 2 "tickets". Or, i guess, it depends how much the sign up process involves. It normally takes very little time to sign up for concert tickets, and with more people having mobile internet, might not be too much of an issue anyway.

 

[Icy Gull]

Why do people have such a downer on this concept? thousands of Londoners have been using Oyster for years, and it is ultra convenient. What is wrong with it, if it is quicker, easier, and safer? Do you fear change?

It seems inherent in some people's nature to resist change, it covers most things not just football. Alternatively maybe there really are people who are too thick to understand the concept?

I haven't read this thread in detail, so this may have already been covered but how will allocation of big game tickets work? Season ticket holders 1st obviously and then whatever colour members but then what? A mad scramble dialling in to top up your card for the relevant game or will it revert to queuing/phoning the club for a ticket??

 

[clippedgull]

Meant to add that (as I mentioned earlier) I think transport will prove to be a far bigger issue than ticketing. There's a worrying glimpse of the future on 'Ask the Club' where Twinkle Toes asks what happened to the extra buses going into town after Leeds. Insider said that due to adverse weather conditions and congestion in the town centre only a third of the extra buses were availiable.

I can just imagine that at Falmer: A 20,000 or so crowd for a match with Palace. Adverse weather and congestion means a severe lack of buses - and then signal failure and/or a body on the line (DON'T tell me it can't happen) means that the trains are up the spout as well. All the brainwashed FOOLS who think that public transport is better than private will have a bit of explaining to do then.

Yes, agreed.

Getting home is going to be a challenge with a gate of over 10,000.

Martin Perry touches on things that will make you want to stay behind so the rush home is staggered. That might work to a degree, but will it work after an evening game when people have to go to work the following day?

As for B&H Buses, let's hope that the club are not going to put all their eggs in one basket and other operators (coach firms?) will be awarded contracts to get the people into the centre of Brighton (Old Steine or Brighton Station for example) to relieve the pressure.

 

[LA1972]

This might seem a silly question to the "super fans" but WHY would the club, and indeed it appears, other Brighton fans not want people to be able to pay at the gate? It is only a game of football and I reakon theres enough seats

 

[Icy Gull]

This might seem a silly question to the "super fans" but WHY would the club, and indeed it appears, other Brighton fans not want people to be able to pay at the gate? It is only a game of football and I reakon theres enough seats

Part of the conditions imposed on the club by the planning does not allow sale of tickets at Falmer on the day I believe. As far as I understand the club are unable not unwilling to sell tickets on the gate.

 

[Silkster365]

Sorry CS, what EXACTLY are these ticketing restrictions? can you explain them please, I have listened to the horses mouth as it were, and his explaination is that there will be no ticketing restrictions, far from it, it will be just about the easiest place to get into on matchdays.

I agree, my view is that the ticketing system will be the easiest its EVER been! What could be simplier than waking up, deciding you fancy a bit of footy, texting a number on your phone and picking your ticket up at the ground

Blimey we really are a bunch of moaners these days!

 

[LA1972]

I live in a town some 17 miles from Brighton full of Albion fans. The ones that didnt go to Southampton met down the pub,some 25 of us,and it was great. However all but 2 said they would NOT go to Falmer if you cant pay at the door. NOT becase they are thick, NOT because they cant use a phone or the internet ,they are all in there 30s and 40s maybe a bit more research is required.

 

[The Large One]

There might be a myriad of reasons for not wanting to attend any given match at Falmer - team playing shite / work commitments / bit strapped for dosh at that time / family issues and so on.

To say you - or they - won't go purely down to the method of how you purchase your ticket does seem to me to be cutting of your nose to spite your face.

I assume your friends don't go to Withdean for the very same reason either?

 

[Thunder Bolt]

His mates didn't go to Southampton so must have been too much effort.

 

[The Large One]

Meant to add that (as I mentioned earlier) I think transport will prove to be a far bigger issue than ticketing. There's a worrying glimpse of the future on 'Ask the Club' where Twinkle Toes asks what happened to the extra buses going into town after Leeds. Insider said that due to adverse weather conditions and congestion in the town centre only a third of the extra buses were availiable.

I can just imagine that at Falmer: A 20,000 or so crowd for a match with Palace. Adverse weather and congestion means a severe lack of buses - and then signal failure and/or a body on the line (DON'T tell me it can't happen) means that the trains are up the spout as well. All the brainwashed FOOLS who think that public transport is better than private will have a bit of explaining to do then.

Fair points. Although with your state of mind on this scenario, why don't you add in 'stadium collapse' while you're at it?

Boxing Day at Falmer could prove to be interesting. I was, however, surprised at your question (or rather the pre-amble to the question) last week when you said there's only two trains an hour to Falmer. Where did that little nugget come from?

As someone who travels to Lewes every day, I can tell you there are five trains an hour during the morning rush hour. From Brighton. And probably four or five from Lewes.

However, I do find B&H Buses' reasoning regarding last week utterly pathetic, and hopefully that will be sorted out.

 

[Jamie]

Why do people have such a downer on this concept? thousands of Londoners have been using Oyster for years, and it is ultra convenient. What is wrong with it, if it is quicker, easier, and safer? Do you fear change?

No, change is good, as long as it makes things better for the customer. Lets face it mate, if you can buy a ticket when at the ground, then the idea of having to do so by text is completely and utterly pointless. I like the bloke with the flat cap on the turnstile, its a part of it. Call it retro and quaint if you will, but you know, like sussex by the sea, it might give the place soul in what will otherwise be a ground full of plastic seats. It is what the customer wants, so the club should simply be driven by that - what the customer wants. I can see the benefit to the club maybe, in that they wont have to pay the guy with the flat cap, but then, I doubt the texting system will come for free.

 

[portlock seagull]

There's enough arguments in these threads to suggest Albion scoring an own goal (probably by Elphick) is they don't allow "cash at the gate" as a payment method

 

[drew]

Absolutely, and for the size of the town, Ipswich have possibly got the highest proportion of supporters per head of population than any club in the country. Norwich and Ipswich should be held up as role models for all clubs to follow. As Steve Foster says above, the club need to be proactive on all fronts and look beyond just having some poxy shop on Queens Road as their only outlet for walk-in tickets and merchandise, this is after all a club whose anthem is Sussex By The Sea.

Imho it goes far beyond that, the whole marketing/branding of the club is woeful, where is the consultation with the fans about shirt designs for example? Surely important when it's us who will choose to buy/not buy the replicas and while I know you'll never please everyone it can't hurt to canvass popular opinion online or through consumer questionnaires handed out at the ground about all aspects of the club. If I was Bloom that would be one of the first things I would have done on becoming chairman.

Exactly how many other clubs consult the fans on shirts. The club haven't in the past as far as I know and still sell them. We are supporters of the club, we don't own it. Of course the club would be foolish to ignore everything fans say but at the end of the day, it is in Blooms control, not yours. Next you'll be wanting referendums on who we buy!

why do you need a shop in Haywards Heath when it is BRIGHTON & HOVE Albion

The dumbest post on the thread. The point is, it doesn't have to be Haywards Heath but it could be HH, Worthing and Eastbourne. It will only happen if the club becomes more successful.

People will always find excuses not to buy tickets - particularly as people are deadset on convincing themselves and others that it will be a hassle to follow the team. A successful team will put a stop to that.

Most pertinent post on the thread. If we were top of the prem league people would moan that they can't get tickets because we are sold out.

I live in a town some 17 miles from Brighton full of Albion fans. The ones that didnt go to Southampton met down the pub,some 25 of us,and it was great. However all but 2 said they would NOT go to Falmer if you cant pay at the door. NOT becase they are thick, NOT because they cant use a phone or the internet ,they are all in there 30s and 40s maybe a bit more research is required.

Perhaps they don't appreciate exactly what the cashless stadium process will be. Of those 25, how many check football scores on their mobiles, send texts throughout the game to mates not there yet when it comes to sending a text to the club for a ticket they can't!! Beggars belief.

As for access to the ground, I remember queing on the A23 to turn off at the traffic lights at Patcham to go up Mill Hill on the way to the Goldstone. On numerous occassions the queue went back to the gates of Brighton. Getting home was equally bad.

I have no doubt that the club have plans in place to gradually step up the marketing as the opening of Falmer draws nearer. It would be only a dumb arse that would have all the marketing in place now when the only place people can go is a wet Withdean with no bars, crap concessions and no TV in a concourse to watch.

At the end of the day, there are some stubborn c*nts on here who would have made the Luddites look like sc-fi writers.

 

[Superphil]

I live in a town some 17 miles from Brighton full of Albion fans. The ones that didnt go to Southampton met down the pub,some 25 of us,and it was great. However all but 2 said they would NOT go to Falmer if you cant pay at the door. NOT becase they are thick, NOT because they cant use a phone or the internet ,they are all in there 30s and 40s maybe a bit more research is required.

Then they really are odd. You can't pay at the door at most Premier grounds, certainly half of the Championship grounds and not at Colchester, Norwich and Southampton that I know of in League one. Southampton get 20K a game in, Norwich is virtually full every game.

Tell your 23 mates that times they are a changing, do any of them commute to London, do they refuse an Oyster Card and queue to buy tickets for the train/tube every day?

Bob Dylan plays electric, there's a black fella in the White House, The Berlin Wall has gone.

In fact, ask them, if they are going to refuse to go to Falmer, to support their team, because they don't want to send a text then wander up to the gate, wave their phone in front of a reader and walk into the beautifully presented concourse for a pint of Harveys or Lager, if they still say no, then probably they are not really Albion fans.

The people you are talking about must be unaware of the system that is going to be used.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

This might seem a silly question to the "super fans" but WHY would the club, and indeed it appears, other Brighton fans not want people to be able to pay at the gate? It is only a game of football and I reakon theres enough seats

Maybe I'm missing something but I can't see what the issue is with the planned system. So you can't buy AT the gate but you can buy at the P&R sites, or on the internet or even by mobile phone ( and almost everyone has a mobile nowadays ). If someone is really intent on buying AT the gate why don't they just pay via their mobile standing just outside the ground or on the train on the way there ?

 

[The Large One]

There's enough arguments in these threads to suggest Albion scoring an own goal (probably by Elphick) is they don't allow "cash at the gate" as a payment method

No there isn't.

 

[Tooting Gull]

I live in a town some 17 miles from Brighton full of Albion fans. The ones that didnt go to Southampton met down the pub,some 25 of us,and it was great. However all but 2 said they would NOT go to Falmer if you cant pay at the door. NOT becase they are thick, NOT because they cant use a phone or the internet ,they are all in there 30s and 40s maybe a bit more research is required.

I think you're spot on with what you say - however, I fear the 'pay with cash at a turnstile on the day' horse has bolted. It's a done deal IMHO. My prediction is that we will be signed up with a German company called Payment Solution, who are leaders in the 'cashless' field (did the RICOH).

IF there was consultation way back in the stadium negotiations, it was with a small group of fans who all said 'cashless, yeah that's great'. They perhaps didn't reflect the views of a very significant group of actual/potential fans, maybe even a silent majority, who could have told them how better to fill the place.

 

[Superphil]

I like the bloke with the flat cap on the turnstile, its a part of it. Call it retro and quaint if you will, but you know,

FFS, The planning does not allow that, get over it, it is not going to happen. And it doesn't happen in many other places any more either, it is history.

I liked it when a pint cost 40p, and £5 of four star filled your car up, I also liked going tothe Goldstone and paying a pound to get in.

Things have changed, and the comments on here about the club missing a trick, the Albion scoring an own goal, nothing of the sort has happened. Please rememebr what has happened since 1996, and how long it took to get permission to build the new ground. The planning permission that was secured DOES NOT ALLOW FOR CASH TICKET PURCHASE ON THE DAY. The club should be roundly applauded for coming up with a system that effectively circumnavigates that "problem"

 

[Tooting Gull]

No there isn't.

Yes, there are. It's just that it's not your view. Which is the way you always argue on here, try and ridicule anyone who doesn't agree with you/the club. It's getting very boring.

 

[Jamie]

I think you're spot on with what you say - however, I fear the 'pay with cash at a turnstile on the day' horse has bolted. It's a done deal IMHO. My prediction is that we will be signed up with a German company called Payment Solution, who are leaders in the 'cashless' field (did the RICOH).

IF there was consultation way back in the stadium negotiations, it was with a small group of fans who all said 'cashless, yeah that's great'. They perhaps didn't reflect the views of a very significant group of actual/potential fans, maybe even a silent majority, who could have told them how better to fill the place.

I fear also that you are probably right