Falmer pay on gate?

[Simster]

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.

I think I am. Your tone (as seen in the quotes above) are completely uncalled for - his crime appears to be that he doesn't accept that planning restrictions have to be set in stone forever.

 

[The Large One]

I think I am. Your tone (as seen in the quotes above) are completely uncalled for - his crime appears to be that he doesn't accept that planning restrictions have to be set in stone forever.

My tone is borne of exasperation of someone who doesn't accept planning restrictions, full stop - then abuses experts on the back of it.

You think you can lecture people on miserable, self-righteous responses? Good one. Actually, on second thoughts - I suppose you're the perfect person for it.

As such a die-hard attendee of the Albion's home matches, I assume you'll actually be attending Falmer on the same regular basis - in which case, we can re-visit this thread to see how the two venues and their ticketing systems compare and contrast.

 

[Lyndhurst 14]

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

So we're both wrong and we're both right - glad that's settled.

 

[Everest]

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

No it's not Al. He's finally conceded that we are RIGHT.

Has anyone thought about seeing how it goes over the first season? Then you can make your minds up.

 

[portlock seagull]

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.

Concur. I wish the club had done this at Withdean and challenged the council rules imposed in 1999 when we're still there in 2009 e.g. 10 years have elapsed since the original rulings were last debated.

 

[portlock seagull]

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.

Same point I've been making for a long time now. Glad to see someone else thinking along the same lines. Will happen - no question.

 

[Simster]

My tone is borne of exasperation of someone who doesn't accept planning restrictions, full stop - then abuses experts on the back of it.

First of all, it's arguable whether he was abusing those experts. Secondly, he wasn't abusing YOU, especially as you're not a planning expert, yet you see fit to talk to him like a child.

As such a die-hard attendee of the Albion's home matches, I assume you'll actually be attending Falmer on the same regular basis - in which case, we can re-visit this thread to see how the two venues and their ticketing systems compare and contrast.

What feeble snipe. I'm so hurt!

I was a STH at Withers for the first 3 seasons, then kids came along, and in the last few months money has been extremely tight.
Nonetheless, I do hope to have a season ticket when Falmer is built - I intend on getting closer to the Albion in a couple of years. But of course, there won't be any difference between holding a season ticket at Falmer when compared to holding one at Withdean.

 

[portlock seagull]

his crime appears to be that he doesn't accept that planning restrictions have to be set in stone forever.

Absolutely.

 

[Notters]

Some of the people slagging off Jamie and the like would do well to remember that there are thousands like him, and like you Bry. I just don't see that what you're asking for is that unreasonable.

I'd have thought one reasonable solution would be to install matchday ticket dispensers at the major(ish) stations - Haywards Heath, Burgess Hill, Worthing, Lewes, Brighton main, Preston Park etc. These could allow credit card payment in exchange for a ticket printed right there on the platform.
But even then, another plastic card would still be required detailing who bought the tickets appararently. That just seems annoying.

BUT virtually no-one is going to be able to travel by train, this has been said again and again.

 

[Simster]

BUT virtually no-one is going to be able to travel by train, this has been said again and again.

Really? If that's true, how are we supposed to get to the stadium? (serious question, this)

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

Bloody better be travel by train...

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

BUT virtually no-one is going to be able to travel by train, this has been said again and again.

?

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Concur. I wish the club had done this at Withdean and challenged the council rules imposed in 1999 when we're still there in 2009 e.g. 10 years have elapsed since the original rulings were last debated.

I think, considering we agreed to only be there a few years anyway, the council have been pretty flexible so why piss them off by trying to change the parking restrictions. If the council had considered it would have been likely the local resisdents would have pointed out the original agreement was for us to stay a certain amount of time. This would have made considerably more difficult for the council to extend our stay.

 

[Bozza]

Really? If that's true, how are we supposed to get to the stadium? (serious question, this)

Bloody better be travel by train...

?

Is it a line/capacity issue making it difficult (or impossible) to transport more than a handful (relatively speaking) people to the stadium in the time immediately preceding and following a match?

 

[Easy 10]

I think, considering we agreed to only be there a few years anyway, the council have been pretty flexible so why piss them off by trying to change the parking restrictions. If the council had considered it would have been likely the local resisdents would have pointed out the original agreement was for us to stay a certain amount of time. This would have made considerably more difficult for the council to extend our stay.

Indeed.
We've got people trying to burn the place down now as it is.

 

[Notters]

Really? If that's true, how are we supposed to get to the stadium? (serious question, this)

Oh come on simster, we've discussed this time and time again. I think (and I'm sure Lord B willl be able to confirm), that the capacity of trains going back to Brighton with be able to carry about 2 to 3 thousand people in the hour after a match. Bearing in mind, if there's a big match (e.g. Palarse), a large proportion of these are likely to be away fans, there is likely to be very little capacity for Brighton fans to travel by train, if heading west.

Fans will have to travel either by bus, park and ride or on foot, or park in the Universities.

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

I WANT to take the train. I WILL take the bloody train lol

 

[Simster]

Oh come on simster, we've discussed this time and time again. I think (and I'm sure Lord B willl be able to confirm), that the capacity of trains going back to Brighton with be able to carry about 2 to 3 thousand people in the hour after a match. Bearing in mind, if there's a big match (e.g. Palarse), a large proportion of these are likely to be away fans, there is likely to be very little capacity for Brighton fans to travel by train, if heading west.

Fans will have to travel either by bus, park and ride or on foot, or park in the Universities.

I hope these transport planners have done their homework because I'm actually quite worried if those figures are correct. The lack of car parking spaces is only a minor inconvenience if the rest of the transport is in place, but I thought (assumed?) the trains would be taking up the slack. You can't rely on park & ride buses to do the job - some people wait forever at Withdean for these when the gate is only 6,000.

If there is too much inconvenience, people simply won't turn up.

P.S. I don't recall discussing this time and time again, myself.

 

[house your seagull]

el pres, it's free for a membership card at city.

this is how it works ... it's reasonably simple but not perfect

- everyone registers for a card, city send you the card, kids get special cards. gratis.

- you can buy tickets online or over the phone, £2 booking fee, or go to the ground anytime and get them for face value - there is no vendors in the city centre.

- tickets for the card holder are credited to the card, you zap it on your way in, for other sales for non-card holders you pick the ticket u at the ground before the game.

- pay on the day tickets are available from the ticket office at the ground, though you will need to register first (the card will be sent to you later).

- bus to the ground costs £1, walk is 30 mins, they're building the met extension their at the moment.

and city's attendances are on the rise, they still sit within the top 5 supported in the country and regardless of your thoughts on the atmosphere (which i don't agree with really) the experience at CoMS is fantastic.

the thing with falmer is that people aren't going to be able to get near the ground without a ticket, which is fair enough, but the club need to make the connecting stations virtual entrances to the ground, so the turnstile is at the station in a round-about way ... so brighton station for example will need to have at least 20 vending machines or the club open another ticket office in or very, very near to the station. fans will buy their ticket using cash, card, whatever and then either get a physical ticket or have their fan card credited.

i think there's valid aguments from both sides here, but do you have the faith in the club to ensure their process is going to be for for it's purpose?

 

[Spiros]

I hope these transport planners have done their homework because I'm actually quite worried if those figures are correct. The lack of car parking spaces is only a minor inconvenience if the rest of the transport is in place, but I thought (assumed?) the trains would be taking up the slack. You can't rely on park & ride buses to do the job - some people wait forever at Withdean for these when the gate is only 6,000.

If there is too much inconvenience, people simply won't turn up.

P.S. I don't recall discussing this time and time again, myself.

And what about when the trains aren't running? Aside from London to Brighton there are no trains on Boxing Day. Also at least twice each season the line to Preston Park is closed for engineering works so we have to use replacement buses. There might be enough for 6000 at Withdean but where will they find all the buses to shift 12,000, 15,000 or even 20,000 to and from Falmer when that line has to be maintained. Don't tell me that it will never happen because you just know it will.