Watford hope to keep 10,000 season ticket holders despite raising prices (From This Is Local London)
Watford hope to keep 10,000 season ticket holders despite raising prices
9:00am Friday 19th March 2010 in
Watford legend Graham Taylor hopes the club will continue to “punch above its weight” by retaining their 10,000 season-ticket holders despite putting prices up this year.
The Hornets dropped all season-ticket prices by 16 to 20 per cent last summer but always intended to increase fees for the 2010/11 season.
Chief executive Julian Winter stated the VAT increase means the club now receives less money from seats sold but all prices are still cheaper than two seasons ago.
Winter said: “If we can keep our season-ticket base at around the 10,000 level that will enable us to continue forward on the journey of being a sustainable business whilst ensuring we are competitive on the field.”
Watford now have three different prices for each seat, with a new discounted fee if you purchase online rather than by phone or post and six-month direct debit.
The ‘Early Bird’ deadline is April 30 for those purchasing online or by direct debit and May 14 for fans paying by phone or post.
The cost of an adult seat in the Rookery or Lower Rous is now £340 if you purchase online, £41 more than this season, which works out at less than £15 a game.
There is a £20 increase for young adults, students and Over-65s in the Rookery or Lower Rous, with online tickets costing £199, which is £8.65 a match. An Under-16’s ticket costs £90.
An Upper Rous adult seat is £440 if purchased online, up £55 on last season, and concession prices have increased by £40 to £325. An Under-16’s Upper Rous ticket will cost £180.
Watford’s new board decided to slash prices by up to 20 per cent last year due to the global financial crisis and in a bid to retain the support base built up in recent years.
The Hornets claim their fees are still favourable against other Championship clubs and chairman Taylor believes the board have addressed the major financial problems and the club’s “foundations are now in stone, not sand”.
Taylor said: “We have to improve and grow our revenue and support base so my message to you is, if you can, please support your club by buying a season-ticket for next year.
“We’ve started on another journey on and off the pitch and the whole place feels very ‘Watford’ again. Experience tells me that when we stay true to our beliefs the Watford way can be an interesting journey. Please join us.”
Existing season-ticket holders can renew online via the club’s website from 9am this morning (Friday) and their seats will be reserved until the end of the ‘Early Bird’ deadline on May 14, when they will then be released for new applicants and those wanting to move.
New season-tickets will be loaded to existing cards. New applicants can apply now by calling 0844 856 1881 but requests will not be processed until after the current holders have been dealt with.
For more information and to renew your season ticket, click here
Comments(24)
Prof Plum
says...
11:19am Fri 19 Mar 10
Regardless of the price increase, I’m personally fed up with football (cheating, poor refereeing etc) and footballers (see John Terry, Ashley Cole etc etc etc) and this, coupled with the appalling facilities on offer at Vicarage Road will make me think twice before renewing. I've spoken to many, many people who feel the same.
wyldething1990
says...
11:30am Fri 19 Mar 10
hy should we pay to watch them sell our best stars. As for the stadium, it is embarrasing.. doubt I will renew my season ticket.
hemels golden
says...
12:08pm Fri 19 Mar 10
Sy
says...
12:29pm Fri 19 Mar 10
When it somes to it the club doesn't get enough money through the gate to pay for the expenses, an awful lot of which are player wages.
Your choices are increase revenue (increase ticket prices and/or get more people through the door) or reduce costs (cut player wages). As it is, the club is doing both.
The only other solution is to find a benefactor that is happy to fund the loss out of his own pocket (ie he pays the extra £40 on behalf of everyone else in the ground and then adds the extra shortfall on top of that).
If any of you who are compaining want to do that then be my guest but I certainly don't have the cash to do it.
herts hornet
says...
12:55pm Fri 19 Mar 10
LEY,LANSBURY,EUSTACE
,HELGUSON ,HOSKINS plus no doubt more and what have we got for our extra investment ,the PR of reducing prices last season and now whacking it up this year is disatrous in my opinion and i think the board have missed read this massiveley ,alot of fans are fed up already with standard of football we are getting at moment not to mention the terrible off field events we have had to put up with ,and are we in good hands moving forward ,yes GT has nothing to prove but does not really want to be chairman ,Winter is part of the "old" ashton simpson regime whatever anyone says so do we trust him ,Lord Ashcroft not interested ,Mr Fransen has put money in short term that is repayable with interest but credit to him for at least doing something but what of rest of directors What does Mr Timpererly do for his free match day ticket home and away each week ,sorry can see many fans not renewing next season and picking and choosing there games in fact i know several myself already , up to the fans themselves now ,after 33 years being a season ticket holder i for one am seriously considering not doing so next season ,will always support my club i just don't identify with it anymore and just feel a mug for putting up with the disgraceful off field events over the last few years and think i will have a break and see if the directors of this football club will start investing too in this club or finding investors who will ,you got rid of the Russo's so time to put up or well ..........
Elton Bog
says...
1:17pm Fri 19 Mar 10
1 Get revenues to equal costs.
2 Find a weallthy benefactor who doesn't mind spunking £6m a season to keep the club going
3 Go out of business.
Do you really think the Russo's wanted to be, or indeed could afford to be "2"? Ashcroft doesn't want to be "2", but after the last rights issue and the current one he will have around £13m in the club (and NOT as a repayable loan)
So unless you know of another "2" who will come riding to the rescue, we have to face the economic reality oof "1". If staying that means increased prices and player sales, so be it. Not good, but what's the alternative? I'd rather have a team than not.
herts hornet
says...
1:50pm Fri 19 Mar 10
Elton Bog wrote:Fair enough Elton ,just i do not have to stomach it anymore and many other's feel the same ,we have been lied to , ringfence money , we have seen no investment in club facillities of any note apart from lovely new directors box funny that ! ,we have a tip of a ground with know sign or communication to say it will improve,we have a rugby club playing at our ground for next to nothing and no movement forward to agree changes and maybe investment not even in the playing surface !!,we have been to premiership TWICE in last ten years and still have a 3 sided ground ,we have sold players for milliions and millions of pounds and what do we have to show for it ? a team whose best players are loan players ,so much for our academy ,an inexperienced management team ,a powerless board of directors chaired by a part time chairman and we are asked to pay fEXTRA next season for all this ,you could not make it up ! ,I am lucky i have a very good job and can confortably afford to buy a season ticket ,but i do not feel i wish to pay to sit in that stadium and watch a reserve team fight relegation , It is not my job to find investmnt in the club BUT it is the current board of directors and major shareholders ,i ask what are they doing we are not even linked with talk of takeovers or investment .
Herts, at the end of the day, as Sy quite rightly says, there are 3 options 1 Get revenues to equal costs. 2 Find a weallthy benefactor who doesn't mind spunking £6m a season to keep the club going 3 Go out of business. Do you really think the Russo's wanted to be, or indeed could afford to be "2"? Ashcroft doesn't want to be "2", but after the last rights issue and the current one he will have around £13m in the club (and NOT as a repayable loan) So unless you know of another "2" who will come riding to the rescue, we have to face the economic reality oof "1". If staying that means increased prices and player sales, so be it. Not good, but what's the alternative? I'd rather have a team than not.
hemels golden
says...
2:11pm Fri 19 Mar 10
WMH
says...
2:13pm Fri 19 Mar 10
Only 2 Ross Jenkins
says...
2:36pm Fri 19 Mar 10
We need to think back, again, to what has happened to our club for it to be in this position.
Show your anger towards Simpson and Ashton, if you can find them.
How many people gladly accepted the reduction last season when the club did not have to drop prices, but did so by 16-20%? You could actually blame the Russo's for dropping it so much last year!
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It's an extra £40 per year, less than £1 a week and still cheaper than 2 years ago.
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People are complaining that we can't get some good players in, well, if prices are kept low, that's likely to continue. If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.
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Would love to see how we compare with other Championship clubs, I bet we are actually pretty good.
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Finally, I think it's reasonable to expect alot of activity in the transfer market this summer. Just because some players are leaving, does not mean we don't get suitable replacements.
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Potentially exciting times ahead, especially if the impending clearout of certain overpaid players can make way for genuine, hungry talent.
West Country Hornet
says...
3:13pm Fri 19 Mar 10
We all want sucess for our club on and off the pitch and the basis for this starts with the supporters - no support, no hope, no club.
I'm sure that most of us hold on to a golden era at Watford when we tasted some form of success. In fact, for a club like ours we have tasted more sucess than most ever will!
The club is going through a transition period and its hitting supporters where it hurts the most - our wallets and our passion. 'I'm Watford till I die!' and nothing will ever change that, not relegation, not administration, nor the constant moaning and negativity on here!
We all want to be proud of our club again, so, lets start with ourselves - Sing your herats out for the lads, applaud every pass, encourage every run, go mental when the ball hits the back of the net! After all, that why we keep coming back...
U' ornz.
scottwfc
says...
4:01pm Fri 19 Mar 10
There were no guarantees this pricing level could be sustained, and most sensible supporters would I guess have been expecting a 10-15% increase.
Its still a fair price, and for the TRUE supporter the Division the team plays in doesn't matter. I will always support the team whatever division they are in, and buying a season ticket is just one way of showing that support.
The club have the right to set prices at whatever level they think are sustainable. Genuine supporters will renew, those taking advantage of cheap tickets with no real affinity for the club won't.
On the Ball
says...
4:06pm Fri 19 Mar 10
Magician
says...
4:07pm Fri 19 Mar 10
Maybe we can get back to days of the true supporters following Watford and actually cheering on the 11 players (however they are).
WFC4ever
says...
4:19pm Fri 19 Mar 10
On the Ball wrote:Off to MK Dons or somewhere?
the trouble is that everytime us fans are the ones let down, i wouldn't mind paying the increase if we had a stadium and facilities that they have promised us several times only to let us down. Our stadium is a joke, our team is getting poorer every year and our managment team im MM & SD are useless. Also GT ( Mr watford is a family club ) how about creating a decent family area rather than sitting them next to the away fans.
1. Nice Stadia
2.Improving team
3.Good manager
4.Popular chairman...
;)
HH is right...people will be put off by the quality of facilities if they are a bit uncertain and ofcourse this is a risky move as its not known which league we'll be in.
Mind you somebody did tell me earlier this prices are still cheaper than they were under Simpson and co which I think pretty much sums up that era...
Lots of money in...very little invested for the good of the club.
not a regular
says...
5:00pm Fri 19 Mar 10
If an increase of 15% on what is comparatively an incredibly cheap season ticket is unaffordable, then perhaps you need to reassess your expenditure priorities.
Oh, and by the way, change (i.e. the results of setting a wage cap) are not instant. Just because we have a new board and policies to put us in good stead for 10 years time doesn't mean we're all of a sudden loaded with cash.
You don't need to spout off all this whinging that we all know about, if you want to cancel your ticket then go ahead, but don't complain about a lack of funding. Did you take the train/bus when petrol prices went up? No.
not a regular
says...
5:06pm Fri 19 Mar 10
Richard - Come On You Golden Boys!
says...
6:42pm Fri 19 Mar 10
If you take account of the recent reductions and consider the frank comments from Taylor and Winter - explaining the need to establish a balanced budget in order to ensure our survival; everyone over the age of 12 should be able to understand the situation.
I realise there will be a few who don't get it, but sense there are those on this site who don't want to understand and just want to moan and run the club down about anything and everything.
I doubt whether these people are either supporters or season ticket holders.
bonserout
says...
8:01pm Fri 19 Mar 10
Has anyone been to Loftus Rd recently. It'll cost you that for a burger.
After all this moaning I guarantee there will be just as many season tickets sold next year as this. True supporters will continue to support the club no matter what division we're in .
luther blissett
says...
9:16pm Fri 19 Mar 10
Hopefully some of the people who are moaning won't go to the games next season so we don't have to read their drivel.
Ok, the facilities and team aren't up to standard at the moment, but they weren't 20 years ago and we still got hooked.
If I had the same attitude as the moaners, the club will not only miss out on my money this season, but my sons for many years to come.
I have been made redundant but will still make sure we find the money for 2 season tickets.
Chris the Vic
says...
10:33pm Sat 20 Mar 10
aAre we really meant to believe that when the Russos cut prices last year they intended to push them right back next year. I doubt whether anyone at WFC, especially Winter, is capable of thinking that far ahead.
The current board including GT belong to the school of Homer...Keep the fans in the dark for as long as you can, flog the decent players and charge the punters more.
When most companies have to provide value for money why do the numpties running WFC think they are different.
and to think GT described Jimmy as a bad man...well I guess he would know...Not the taylor I knew and respected
Catbird
says...
10:35pm Sat 20 Mar 10
Only 2 Ross Jenkins
says...
11:41pm Sat 20 Mar 10
Chris the Vic wrote:I agree regarding the Russos.
I guess I will renew but I am getting heartily sick of the spin (returning to Homer's days) THAT IS EMANATING FROM THE BOARDROOM THROUGH TO THE OBSERVER. aAre we really meant to believe that when the Russos cut prices last year they intended to push them right back next year. I doubt whether anyone at WFC, especially Winter, is capable of thinking that far ahead. The current board including GT belong to the school of Homer...Keep the fans in the dark for as long as you can, flog the decent players and charge the punters more. When most companies have to provide value for money why do the numpties running WFC think they are different. and to think GT described Jimmy as a bad man...well I guess he would know...Not the taylor I knew and respected
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The flogging of decent players is not a new thing though and we are now paying the price of ambition.
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People can feel ripped off if they like but who are the real culprits here? The trouble is by the time it's too late the culprits are long gone and the fans staying away only makes it worse for the club who are trying to put things on an even keel.
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Ironic really that we had all those season ticket holders 2 years ago and yet the value for money was virtually zero.
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Wellhung says...
10:42am Fri 19 Mar 10