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Club Statement


Jag
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I don't really get the notion of 'owning' your seat or a stand. As long as I'm side on to the park, with a good view and sitting with my friends and family, I don't care. However if just one of these things changed I wouldn't be a happy bunny.

 

I would suggest that the club should be working on a like for like move for all season ticket holders. So that if you sit on the 18 yard line in the JHS, you will be doing the same in the MS.

 

Make the move as smooth as possible.

 

In fact it the first question on JHS renewal forms should be, where do you want to be in the event of a Sevco/Celtic game. JHS or NS.

 

 

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It's a sensible move from a financial perspective but what irks me about the decision is that it appears to have been made without any fan consultation. I would have hoped Beattie would have learned from the Board's mistake last year.

 

From a budgetary stance, I think season tickets excluding Celtic (and potentially Rangers) games is a non-starter.

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We have Beattie in the paper the other week taking about trying to entice back the 600 home fans missing from each game, now we are moving 80% of our fan's and 2/3 of our ST's for 2 (3 or 4) games next season. There are guys that have sat in the same seats for 2 decades over there, who will not be happy about being moved, there are older fans who will be put off with the staairs in the main stand, this will all affect ST sales.

 

I also struggle with his figures, £250,000 extra is an extra 5000 fans @ £25 for 2 games before we take the VAT off, remember there was only 5,766 at our last match against Celtic at Firhill and they never filled their end (NS + half the JHS)

 

Wondering how many of the older generation will decide with this, the reduction in the value of the ST over the years, and the amount of games being changed to suit telly that they will pay at the gate from now on

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From a business point of view, a perfectly sensible decision. From my view, a feckin ridiculous decision. The Jackie Husband Stand is our home stand and has been since it was built. There are many who have sat in the same seat every home game for 20 years, so why should they have to move to the shitty old main stand? Will it really make us that much more money, especially as the games will likely be televised? They only way they will sell out the away end will be if it's near the start of the season, or near the end with a league winning opportunity. How often do the OF take more than 6000 to an away game nowadays?

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Firstly, I’ve no problem with us trying to maximise income- just not sure of the maths. How many tickets have we given Celtic last 2 years, 4500 or so? North Stand plus almost half JH stand, allowing for segregation etc. Might even be more than this. We’re now giving them 6250. Extra 1750 seats @ £25 = £43,750. Not all seats would be full price so less than that. Also not sure how hospitality capacity increases if only Celtic fans are in the JH, surely hospitality is open to all anyway? edit: looking at it the other way, £250k at £25 a ticket is 10,000 extra fans. Even allowing for 2 games vs each arse cheek (which we're unlikely to get, normally if you get 2 vs one you get 1 vs t'other) that's 2500 per game. I assume the £250k is if Rangers do come up as the comparison will be with the number of tickets they sell compared to Killie / Motherwell.

 

I assume they are anticipating 2 home games against Celtic as we only got one this year?

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I assume they are anticipating 2 home games against Celtic as we only got one this year?

 

Which is an extra 5000 (Celtic) fans at each game (5850 if you allow for VAT) as the JHS holds 6300 (IIRC) do we think Celtic only brought 1300 fans the last time or that our support will grow after being moved to the main stand

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I assume they are anticipating 2 home games against Celtic as we only got one this year?

 

Yes, but pre-2012 the fixtures were structured so that if you got 2 pre-split home games against Celtic you got one vs Rangers and vice versa. I presume should they come up, this scenario will resume so the only way we can get 4 home league games against them is by finishing top 6 (assuming Rangers finish top 6 as well)

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From a business point of view, a perfectly sensible decision. From my view, a feckin ridiculous decision.The Jackie Husband Stand is our home stand and has been since it was built. There are many who have sat in the same seat every home game for 20 years, so why should they have to move to the shitty old main stand? Will it really make us that much more money, especially as the games will likely be televised? They only way they will sell out the away end will be if it's near the start of the season, or near the end with a league winning opportunity. How often do the OF take more than 6000 to an away game nowadays?

 

If you agree to that then the rest doesn't matter. We want the club to progress and we lost money this season. We have a set up better than any we've had - well, ever - and I'd want that to continue. (Yeah we've got the Weir money but that's only for so many years and we want to attract youngsters into the system and being a PL club helps with that). Banks nowadays won't give clubs any leeway so we can't afford to slip into the debt we had in the past - and that came near enough killing us.

 

I hate the idea we're doing this because OF fans will say - you need us (but we wouldn't if they weren't around). But I hate even more the idea that after getting the club really back on the rails once more all that we've achieved might be endangered.

Edited by Mr Bunny
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Can someone copy & paste the club statement before I jump in...

 

my first thought as a season ticket holder that has sat in the same seat since the JHS was built is displeasure, but before I post my full thought I better read the statement.

 

can anyone confirm the average home attendace split between the North & JH stands?

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Yes, but pre-2012 the fixtures were structured so that if you got 2 pre-split home games against Celtic you got one vs Rangers and vice versa. I presume should they come up, this scenario will resume so the only way we can get 4 home league games against them is by finishing top 6 (assuming Rangers finish top 6 as well)

 

I didn't read the arguments by you and others in detail. You may very well be right but it still brings us in money we lost even if it doesn't cover the total loss. Do we say out of some chip on our shoulders re the old firm that we want to keep losing money and build up our debt or do we try to get it down as much as possible? I think there's only one answer to that.

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How many tickets have we given Celtic last 2 years, 4500 or so? North Stand plus almost half JH stand, allowing for segregation etc. Might even be more than this.

 

We’re now giving them 6250. Extra 1750 seats @ £25 = £43,750. Not all seats would be full price so less than that. Also not sure how hospitality capacity increases if only Celtic fans are in the JH, surely hospitality is open to all anyway?

 

edit: looking at it the other way, £250k at £25 a ticket is 10,000 extra fans. Even allowing for 2 games vs each arse cheek (which we're unlikely to get, normally if you get 2 vs one you get 1 vs t'other) that's 2500 per game.

 

I don't think Celtic have had 4,500 per game at Firhill the past couple of seasons. More like 3,000-3,500 I'd say.

 

I think the figures given by Thistle were possibly exaggerated in order to appease us, but it's not as bad as you've made out either. Somewhere in the middle, which is fine by me as it's still going to be a fair windfall for our club.

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I don't think Celtic have had 4,500 per game at Firhill the past couple of seasons. More like 3,000-3,500 I'd say.

 

I think the figures given by Thistle were possibly exaggerated in order to appease us, but it's not as bad as you've made out either. Somewhere in the middle, which is fine by me as it's still going to be a fair windfall for our club.

 

They had the full NS (2014) plus 2500 of the JHS........... and failed to fill their allocation.

 

The strange thing is when you go on our ticketting site there are only 1891 tickets available for the JHS for the game with Killie, the other 4508 are sold

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As one of the (nearly) 40% of season ticket holders that skips Celtic games I can't complain about this - I'm also a pragmatist, so if it brings in vital additional revenue then fair enough. Like others though, I think the club should offer a season ticket without the Celtic game(s) and Rangers (should they come up), and I will be emailing the club to this effect.

Edited by Charlie Endell
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As one of the (nearly) 40% of season ticket holders that skips Celtic games I can't complain about this - I'm also a pragmatist, so if it brings in vital additional revenue then fair enough. Like others though, I think the club should offer a season ticket without the Celtic game(s) and Rangers (should they come up), and I will be emailing the club to this effect.

 

fair point that. Also there won't be a problem of having to issue separate tickets. The chip in the season ticket card can have extra games added - e.g. for cup ties - so why not offer variations with slight pricing differences: it's all done at their end anyway with very little effort.

 

I'd also add it's time we had some extras for the season ticket. I suppose if we're hard up it can't be a free (or reduced) cup tie but say free entry to a pre-season game. I'd imagine they must count these games as a right-off financially.

Edited by Mr Bunny
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I don't think Celtic have had 4,500 per game at Firhill the past couple of seasons. More like 3,000-3,500 I'd say.

 

I think the figures given by Thistle were possibly exaggerated in order to appease us, but it's not as bad as you've made out either. Somewhere in the middle, which is fine by me as it's still going to be a fair windfall for our club.

 

i believe the combined number for ns and section of jhs in past is about a dozen short of 3300.

 

so, in effect, we are giving them 3000 more, almost doubling the green arse cheek allocation.

 

the argument can be made that infiltrators resulted in several hundred extra within home support, but if we ignore that, for each home game against them, giving them the entire jhs is worth an extra £75k each game (before stripping out vat and concessions).

 

perhaps the added hospitality increase that beattie attributes towards the quarter of a million figure extra to the club for two games like this, is based on the jhs having hospitality for them and aitken suite exclusively for jags supporters?

 

there would also likely be savings in the cost of stewarding and policing for the jhs by the removal of the segregation area.

 

i agree though, the quarter of a million figure is inflated, but not as much as some seem to think, to try assist in appeasing the 80% of current st holders in jhs.

 

the fact that almost half of them already don't use their st when the eastenders come calling is already quite a loud indicator of loyal jags fans abandoning this fixture and giving it a miss, so hopefully the move to ns and ms will also see an upturn in home suppporters attending future games against them (or sevco if they ever make it into the top league of scottish football). it should also remove the infiltration of eastenders into either the ms or ns ..... can you imagine a green bigot lasting long in the ns? :lol:

 

it is no secret that i have not always been impressed by mr beatties public utterances or way he communicates with and interacts with the thistle supporters. beattie and the board have made some bad and embarrassing decisions and communications in the past, but in this instance (as with any time they do something right or sensible or communicate correctly), in the main, i think they have got this one right, so am quite happy to acknowledge this.

 

the only part they missed out (which is remiss of them), was before communicating this, was to bring it up for discussion and agreement with the supporters reps at one of their quarterly meetings.

Edited by yoda-jag
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Do we say out of some chip on our shoulders re the old firm that we want to keep losing money and build up our debt or do we try to get it down as much as possible? I think there's only one answer to that.

 

only my opinion, but, if the eastenders mutant supporters (or zombies, if we ever get to play them ..... does anyone think they'll ever manage to get promotion under their own merits, without the aid of league reconstruction jiggerypokery incidentally?) wish to forego some of their dole and instead of buying a few carryoots of bucky and super, and instead give thistle fifty quid a season for the privilege of visiting firhill in wonderful maryhill to see the thistle, i'm more than happy to take their money, especially if they are housed in one stand, separate from us.

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