Re: Opening SL weekend sees attendances tumbling by 12.66% : Sun Feb 24, 2013 11:01 pm  

Salford were unable to sell season tickets until the season had virtually begun - surely a factor.

Re: Opening SL weekend sees attendances tumbling by 12.66% : Mon Feb 25, 2013 9:18 am  

The Video Ref wrote:

Less than 2,000 at Salford for the visit of Hull KR.

I don't care if it was on TV and played on Sunday evening. That attendance is shocking.

Economic reality starting to hit home?

Maybe potentially. However due to all the pre season shenanigans I never got round to making sure I'd booked days of work to attend games. So with the last minute buy out happening I've had to work for 2 of the 4 games.
I wonder if others have done similar to me. Though i realise that wouldn't account for the possible 1500 missing from our "core" support.
I would also guess that having to get public transport to the ground wouldn't be the best option especially with children the night before school on a Sunday with a vastly reduced service. Especially in view of it being on telly and on the back of 3 big defeats!

I'm also sure that due to season ticket applications only coming through the door this week will also have an affect this year. Especially in view of the fact there is no 0% finance direct debit option this season. So they are using a firm who charge an admin fee. I know this has put a few people off getting one as it then works out similar to paying on the gate price wise.

But your right it was a terrible attendance. Lets just hope with the new owner and the vision he wants to put into place, his long term goal to increase attendance will work. Then this discussion will be a thing of the past.

Re: Opening SL weekend sees attendances tumbling by 12.66% : Mon Feb 25, 2013 9:44 am  

JonB95 wrote:

Salford were unable to sell season tickets until the season had virtually begun - surely a factor.

Not having pre season ST sales is a bizarre excuse.
If you haven't got a ST just rock up and pay on the gate.

The new owner must be chffed to bits with the backing of the local public

Re: Opening SL weekend sees attendances tumbling by 12.66% : Mon Feb 25, 2013 10:25 am  

wrencat1873 wrote:

Not having pre season ST sales is a bizarre excuse.
If you haven't got a ST just rock up and pay on the gate.

The new owner must be chffed to bits with the backing of the local public

Yeah, but you'd be amazed at how season tickets affect week-to-week attendances.

On a hot, Sunday afternoon in July, with the game not televised, you will get thousands rocking up on the gate.

When it is a horrible kick off time like this, plus the TV factor, and you are not tied down by a season ticket, a hell of a lot of fans will have been giving this a miss.

Re: Opening SL weekend sees attendances tumbling by 12.66% : Mon Feb 25, 2013 10:41 am  

wrencat1873 wrote:

Not having pre season ST sales is a bizarre excuse.
If you haven't got a ST just rock up and pay on the gate.

The new owner must be chffed to bits with the backing of the local public

The new owner is a sensible man. He knows the limitations inplace at present. That's why he got reassurances that the council and peel will get the infrastructure sorted with access roads etc... For next season.
He also knows and understands a winning team will bring the crowds in better than anything else.
He's implementing a sensible plan to build crowds over the next few seasons.
So I doubt very much last night concerned him at all.

Re: Opening SL weekend sees attendances tumbling by 12.66% : Mon Feb 25, 2013 10:43 am  

An example of how a truly shocking attendance (and come on, sick of hearing excuses, that is abysmal) might be a good thing, if that shock reverberates to the new owner. He's a businessman who seems to know what he's doing, so hopefully will be reading the riot act in respect of finding out, analytically, what the heck is going on (i.e. none of this "its the fans fault" rubbish) and demanding a plan to fix it pronto. I reckon he's smart enough to get things turned around (which actually means smart enough to hire the kind of people who really know how to analyse what's going on and fix it strategically, rather than coming up with a few random marketing ideas).

And please, please, please drop the utter pointless delusion that "low attendances is the 'fans fault'". Thousands of Salford fans didn't suddenly become lazy good-for-nothing, game-better-off-without-them people. There are reasons people don't turn up, and reasons that they do. I'm confident the new guy will work out what those reasons are and do something about it.

Re: Opening SL weekend sees attendances tumbling by 12.66% : Mon Feb 25, 2013 10:45 am  

wrencat1873 wrote:

Not having pre season ST sales is a bizarre excuse.
If you haven't got a ST just rock up and pay on the gate.

The new owner must be chffed to bits with the backing of the local public

You do know that "rocking up and paying on the gate" involves getting there early and spending time queuing up at the ticket office, don't you? People were walking away last season when they were still stood outside 10/20/30 minutes into a game. Whilst I understand it's improved slightly, it's still going to have put many people off.

There's a lot to get right off the pitch at the new ground, all of which will help boost attendances. Nothing bizarre about any of the "excuses", it's cold hearted fact that the problems Salford have faced coupled with issues around the new stadium have had a bad effect on the start of this season. Lack of pre-season ST sales included.

Re: Opening SL weekend sees attendances tumbling by 12.66% : Mon Feb 25, 2013 11:04 am  

There is good news on the horizon for Salford, they have the Broncos at home next- we may end up with a negative number!!!

Re: Opening SL weekend sees attendances tumbling by 12.66% : Mon Feb 25, 2013 11:09 am  

Why someone would want to use incomplete figures with such a clear bias and incorrect comparisons to present the game they apparently love in a negative light I don’t know.

How so many people have fallen for it is an even bigger mystery.

Re: Opening SL weekend sees attendances tumbling by 12.66% : Mon Feb 25, 2013 11:11 am  

wire quin wrote:

There is good news on the horizon for Salford, they have the Broncos at home next- we may end up with a negative number!!!

Pity Dr Koukash doesn't have a southern based mate who is equally keen to turn around a rugby league club. The Broncos couldn't half do with a Koukash to step in and shake things up!