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Post by manny on May 17, 2017 18:33:56 GMT
I know this sounds crazy. But did you know that it costs about three times more to pay on the day at Salford (Standing) than it did (Inflation adjusted) to pay on the day and stand in the Stretford End at Utd during the mid 1980's. I found a site showing prices of admission at United going back years and used a historical inflation calculator to work this out.
Has RL tried to keep prices more in line with football despite football being in a different stratosphere? Thoughts? |
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Post by SalfordSlim on May 17, 2017 18:43:55 GMT
In relation to other sports Rugby League is still a decent price. The problem is there is virtually no money in the sport apart from what is taken through the turnstiles and merchandise sales. The broadcasting rights are sold for peanuts when compared to football and rugby union so unless you have an extremely wealthy benefactor running your club who is happy to operate at a substantial loss then there is no way to subsidise the cost of a match day ticket.
Football has no excuse. It's obscene that the billions paid for broadcast rights isn't used to subsidise the cost of fan's tickets. Sure I heard somewhere that the likes of Utd and City could let fans in for free and they'd hardly miss the money as they earn so much through sponsorship deals, TV rights, merchandise etc.
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Post by SalfordSlim on May 17, 2017 18:49:58 GMT
Oh and I paid £199 for my Salford season ticket this year which, if my maths is correct, works out at just over £14 a match. Not bad for our elite comp. When you consider I was fleeced for £16 to watch a match in the 6th tier of the football league pyramid (Halifax v Salford) a couple of weeks ago it seems pretty good value for money to me!
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Post by manny on May 17, 2017 18:56:21 GMT
I know it's great value to us diehards but what about those being fleeced for their loyalty by watching United and City? Do some simply not have the disposable income to watch us as well?
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Post by buxtonred60 on May 17, 2017 19:12:03 GMT
I'm sorry to say , those being fleeced by the round ball clubs and the yawion come to that, would still not come to watch a rugby league game if it was £10 a game, as they have no idea how good our game is, Until the powers that be RFL , the BBC, and SKY and the clubs, promote our game more and better than they do . Crowds will not increase by much. All we have to do is look how the NRL promote every game , every week, with different rounds for different things, And what do we come up with?  the Magic weekend . and a stupid play off system at the end of the season. As for clubs attracting more fans, when Cass move to this new ground alongside the M62 there crowds will drop like ours have. because they cant walk to the ground etc same problem we have. As for the price per game i think it is great value for money. Season ticket is even better if you can afford one. |
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Post by manny on May 17, 2017 19:20:36 GMT
In today's money it would have cost about £6.50 to stand in the Stretford End during the mid 80's. Do you think some would pay that?
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Post by earlybath on May 17, 2017 19:44:39 GMT
They would have to pay me that Manny.
I just hate to see empty seats at grounds. Surely we can give 1,000 tickets to kids accompanied by parents who pay a fiver per kid - its all bunse and would help the atmosphere. Nowt to lose for instance v Catalan.
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Post by lemmy on May 17, 2017 19:48:59 GMT
I suppose it could be seen as quite expensive, especially if you're bringing a couple of kids with you - it could soon add up to over £70 if you add on car park, food, a programme etc. And without meaning to sound like a snob, I'd say the demographic of people who follow Salford (or rugby league in general) typically aren't the wealthiest of people. On the other hand, I believe our prices are pretty average when compared to other Super League clubs. Life in general is expensive these days - even going to the cinema can cost a small fortune.
When compared to what you'd pay to go watch a United or city match though, we're miles cheaper. The difference is, they have the product on the field - we haven't up until this season, and haven't done for donkey's years. People will only pay if it's worth paying for.
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Post by salfordlad1 on May 17, 2017 20:00:39 GMT
It's obviously cheap when compared to Football and £20 on a match day is very reasonable but I would like to see prices to come down across the board in Rugby League to attract more support to the game.
If you look at the NRL in Australia you can go and watch Melbourne Storm for around $20 which is extremely cheap when you consider their minimum wage is roughly around the same per hour. It's the equivalent of paying £7/8 on a match day at Salford. As mentioned earlier though the NRL can afford to do this because they a lucrative market-value TV deal, which we do not because the RFL are atrocious when it comes to the commercials. (Hopefully Roger Draper can sort this out, it's worth mentioning too that the Sky coverage is the worse it's ever been too, Thursday night just need to go).
I know we've struggled with attendances this year despite the good form but imagine selling match day tickets at the cost of 1 hours minimum wage and having a solid marketing strategy off the back of it across the whole of Rugby League? I think a lot of odd-game Football fans would look at Rugby League as a cheaper alternative, especially when you consider money is now tighter for most that ever before with higher costs of rents, mortgages, fuels etc.
More money off TV and a World Cup win in Australia would put a whole different perception on the game in this country, it kills me how good the game is as a product but we've seemed to go backwards over the last 20 years. If we made the game more financial viable to outward investors (by achieving a better TV deal), I think we would see a lot more money coming to the game as a consequence and teams popping up in none Rugby League areas (such as Toronto) more often and having sustainable long-term success.
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Post by manny on May 17, 2017 20:03:47 GMT
Do you think some people compare the profile of the sports and the pricing rather than the product? For instance Wayne Rooney is paid 250k to 300k a week and our elite players don't earn this a year. Is the perceived value of attending a top level football match so much more in many people's eyes? I think another factor is that big crowds and demand creates more demand and some people are probably put off with a stadium that's a third full rather than experiencing a full house at Old Trafford or the Etihad.
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Post by dodgybobmcmayday on May 17, 2017 20:21:38 GMT
As a new fan, I think that £18 (cheap seats in the West Stand) or £20 isn't too expensive these days, particularly for top level sport. I've been watching L1 and L2 football down the years and it's £23 for some of the most dire football you can imagine! Also, under 5's are free and a family ticket is only £34. It would be good to have a few more offers on though to encourage people. The offers for the Catalan and Wakefield games are good but as far as I can gather it has to be a season ticket holder to purchase you a £10 ticket, obviously getting season ticket holders to bring a mate. However, what about all those people that we want to encourage to come that don't know anybody with a season ticket? All those fans in Manchester, with no connection with RL will be missing out!  |
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Post by salfordlad1 on May 17, 2017 20:30:59 GMT
Completely agree, when you look at it that way you're paying £20 at Salford to watch players on £150k max. Let's say you go to United v City at Old Trafford and pay £60 to watch players on £18m per year, suddenly Football looks way more appealing.
I completely agree to the demands create more demands and people are put off with half full stadiums (people new to the game would question why the grounds aren't full the product must be sh!t). But when you take of all that away and just look at what's going on - on the field, I genuinely don't think anything compares to Rugby League.
My honest opinion is that most people are sheep and just get into what everyone else is into because it's either a. fashionable b. popular c. of high interest and want to "fit in". For example there's a mate at my work who I've known for just under a year who's never been to a sports game in his life (increadible I know, he's a bit of a geek), however since moving from Southampton to Manchester and being surrounded by passionate Football fans he's putting the effort in to get into Football. He still knows jack sh!t about the game but at least he knows what we're on about.
That's why I mentioned in my earlier post, we need to win a World Cup for everyone to take any real interest in Rugby League in this country, the same could probably say about Salford winning at Wembley this year. Game changing events, like these hypothetical examples would make people take interest and give a desire to be associated with the Sport. When England RU won the World Cup in 2002 that was huge for RU in this country.
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Post by awayfan on May 17, 2017 20:48:43 GMT
Only thing I would change is a set price for away tickets at £10-15 when purchased in advance through your own club. With the cost of petrol/trains etc this would help.
Alternatively a deal with Northern Rail that fans get free travel on match days when producing a match day ticket.
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Post by red666 on May 17, 2017 21:25:52 GMT
I think it's all down to an individuals perception of value and the benefit they derive from a product or service. I personally feel the cost is great value, I enjoy the game immensely and feel entertained. However, whilst I wouldn't dream of paying £35+ to watch Utd, a friend of mine was quite happy too as he felt he was getting value for money.
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Post by manny on May 18, 2017 6:47:50 GMT
They would have to pay me that Manny. I just hate to see empty seats at grounds. Surely we can give 1,000 tickets to kids accompanied by parents who pay a fiver per kid - its all bunse and would help the atmosphere. Nowt to lose for instance v Catalan. Could the club not find a sponsor to subsidise this? Surely the local council could pass on the names of a few businesses who they spend a lot of money with. A company could get some good publicity by doing this and giving something back to the local community. |
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the Magic weekend . and a stupid play off system at the end of the season. 
