Does ticket price affect our attendance?
Good evening and a warm welcome to the Globe Arena for this evenings match against Preston North End.
May I take this opportunity to extend a welcome to the players, officials and supporters of Preston North End, on what will be their first competitive visit to our new ground.
It certainly makes a change for our club to be welcoming teams and supporters who haven't had to travel over 200 miles to get here! It will be great to see the away end at the Globe Arena filled with some good passionate away support. It should certainly make for a great atmosphere here tonight whatever the result.
Our own club Chairman has gone on record saying that the club's aspiration this year is to attract an extra 400 supporters to the Globe on average per game. Be assured if we could achieve this it would have a very positive affect on the club's performance both on and off the field. However, how we achieve this is open to debate.
Based on some constructive feedback from some of our own supporters the most consistent suggestion is for Morecambe FC to reduce its ticket prices as this would immediately correlate into increased gates. I thought it appropriate to consider this point further in tonight's notes.
Unfortunately in recent times we have been unable to utilise the away end of the stadium due to the lack of away team support. Some would say our recent downturn in attendance at home games this season (and possibly last season) is a sign of the times or due to the club's pricing but I place a slightly different stance on it.
When one looks at the make up of our own NPower League Two, it's clear that the geographical centricities of the clubs are firmly balanced in the South of England. Although I have not had the time to confirm my findings with Google Maps, I would hazard a guess that 60% of teams in the league are approximately 200 miles away or more, which makes the task of travelling somewhat more burdening both financially and family wise.
As I've already touched on, the fact that Wimbledon and Plymouth have replaced teams such as Stockport and Bury will have and had a more than significant effect on our average attendance figures. If things carry on as they are Shrewsbury will be considered a local derby soon!
For those who follow Morecambe FC online you will have noticed that Southend United have indeed reduced ticket prices for our forthcoming away match on the 15th of October. Travelling Shrimps fans can enter the ground for just £5. For those of you with an appetite for economics it will be interesting to see if they generate any extra income from the away end. According to 2010/11 figures last years' gate was 5,106 of which 66 were Morecambe FC fans.I for one will certainly be monitoring the outcome of this match and the attendance. If ever the proof was in the pudding this is it.
On a more micro level, I contemplated if a reduction in match day prices for our home fans would have a significant affect on gates and ultimately the clubs net income per match. As we play most of our matches at 3pm on a Saturday, I question if a reduction in price of say £4 would cause the local lads who play football, golf or enjoy taking their wives shopping to change their plans on a Saturday? For me and I've gone on record in Board meetings with this, a change of kick off times may help like it has done in most other sports.
I'd start with more Friday Night matches as statistics have evidenced healthier gates when we played on Fridays at Christie Park. It certainly gives supporters some flexibility with their weekends, own sports and family lives. However logistically it may create issues for fans from down south who may have to be at work on a Friday.
A practical approach in my eyes would be encouraging Friday Night matches with the more locally based teams. The previous response from Sponsors and the likes was also very positive. To compound my theory both Macclesfield and Southend each played their home matches last week on a Friday evening.
Finally, I'd like to extend a further welcome to Malcolm Woodhouse and his guests at the Globe tonight. Malcolm and his family have been board members and supporters of Preston North End for many years. However, Malcolm has always found the time to visit the occasional Shrimps match and we hope he enjoys this evening. Without such families supporting local teams football would be a far poorer place.
Many thanks and enjoy tonight match.
Mark Mace
Director Morecambe FC
