Too much for Gills fans according to the BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19813899 No good viewing for Gills fans to be honest. Hope Scally takes notice. I know this comes up fairly regularily but still thought i'd share.
I think the price hike started when improvements to the ground were made - coinciding with on the field success into the Championship and the increased value of contracts. To be slightly fair to the chairman, I think that he has tried to minimise the rises in subsequent ticket prices following relegation to L2. Gills also seem to have a large number of 'backroom' staff - not cheap I'm sure, and Mr. Scally, although a shrewd businessman, has been wasteful in some of the signings over the previous few seasons ( prior to the present one ) ( McCammon As for the pies - I'd have to be desperate to eat the rubbish that is on offer - at any price - let alone @ £3. Oh well, at least my day in Plymouth on 10th November won't be too expensive. UTG
Well as you have already attached the link Gemini, no need for me too on quoting the line... Gillingham is the most expensive club to watch League Two football. The cheapest ticket at the Priestfield Stadium is £21. Adding in a pie, programme and tea, the cost of a day out rises to £28.90. That's £9.30 more than Plymouth fans pay Just about sums it up for me and why gates are suffering in reflection on the other thread, despite being top of the league. As for the cost of pies etc. well I have put my thoughts to words and club emails on that many times. I expect Bill Flavell must love a good read by now!
It really is not that bad, ok we top the price table in league two but look at some of the conference teams! There are 4 teams within £10 of our cheapest seaon ticket!! (2 are just £1 away!)
The price differences are not that huge, and I think people moan too much about this. Initially our comparatively high prices were down to the debt we were carrying. Now that's gone, more dosh can be directly invested on the pitch - which is surely what we all want?
Every year when this thing comes out people kick off. Lets look at a few choice facts. Gillingham, The most expensive day out in league two football (£28.90). Average gate this season? -5018. Accrington, the cheapest day out in league two(£22.50). Average gate this season? - 2032. Southend, the second most expensive team in league two, Average gate this seaons? - 4825 Let's not forget the fact we live in a commuter belt, a lot of people with high disposable income in Medway are not from Medway, they live here to work in London. They can commute to Championship or Premiership football with ease. Changing the prices would have a net result of us being harder up as a club, drop the tickets to a tenner, then we need to sell twice as many to put the same money in the bank as we do now. Do you forsee 11000 in for a Tuesday night in November to Cheltenham if it's ten quid? Theres a better chance of Sir Jimmy rising from the grave and making a confession. Gillingham are a business, the same as any club and I for one am glad we have Mr Scally sorting these issues and keeping us in the black, would you rather we were bankrupt or in administration? We are actually bang in the middle of the average gate list so far this year despite having top 3 pricing, I think that says a lot for the club, and as our mighty march up the football league continues (we will see Gillingham in the championship again) the stadium will begin to fill back out regardless of price. Check out the table I made, this takes all the information and gives you an average matchday income (based on everyone paying the 'cheapest day out rate' which of course negates season ticket holders etc etc.) We are in a sound position, where the top of the league club should be. Halve our ticket prices and even with a full stadium we are making less than many teams in the league, if it stayed just as empty, as I am sure it would we would be making less than relegation fodder. The aim for any business is surely to top this income table, and reducing prices is NOT the way to get there. please log in to view this image
Where do they get £21 from? Must be match day price as I book online and pay £18. Gillingham supposedly most expensive have quality players and are top of league. Plymouth Argyle, Port Vale, Accrington are lower and have all in or threatened with administration in the last year! Oh, and those who go to the away game at Plymouth, the away end is £20, so not that cheap a day out!
Throw off I'm with you on this one. I saw the piece and knew there'd be a lot of negative reaction to it. In my opinion it's not very well researched in regards to ticket price. Stating that the "cheapest ticket" is £21 is surely a lie. Anyways as expected more negative things being posted all over the place. Just found this from one of our "fans" who seem to only follow the gills so they can moan about something. http://www.footballfansonline.net/2012/and-you-wonder-why-the-people-of-kent-follow-london-clubs/
Oh and the ever supportive local newspapers are in on the act too http://www.kentnews.co.uk/sport/gillingham_worst_for_value_in_league_two_1_1661421 Bet Ron on KOL is having the day of his life.
Now I'm no economist or businessman but I fail to see how reducing the prices of tickets a few quid will significantly increase the crowds. I'll tell you why; now clearly there are a significant number of fans travelling from the Medway Towns to the capital to watch Premiership and Championship football, the costs for this will be higher than the costs of watching Gillingham (including travel costs). So if cost was the key driver we would all be going to non league games for half the price. Now if the club really wants to entice more people into Priestfield they should put money into visibility in the community and breed the passion in the children which stays with them into adulthood and keeps them coming week after week, like we do. We need to play the long game.
I think there are some very valid points on this topic and it has actually got me thinking and raised a question in my own mind. If the prices are to expensive and the fans do not have the disposable income, especially when we are top of league two, how come I can visit many social media outlets and find Gillingham fans having discussed recent trips to Maidstone, Dartford and Ebbsfleet? Obviously the answer could be these fans attend every Gills game maybe home and away and are fortunate enough to be able to afford additional games at non league clubs when the Gills are not playing. Although I would question if this was totally true in all cases. So the next question would be are these the local clubs to the Gillingham fans that attend them and it is the travel costs from the outer areas such as Maidstone and Dartford that are the problem? So maybe food for thought. Do we still run a Gills coach from the Maidstone area, did that actually ever get off the ground, I've not heard anything about it since?
gfc1234 you are actually correct in the fact that you pay £18. The club currently runs an offer that providing you buy your ticket before matchday via either phone or online (maybe from the t.office i've never tried) that you get the tickets for £3 cheaper than they actually are on matchdays. This actually shows that we are even more competitive with other league teams than this survey shows. However the media has only published the survey based on the prices that an average fan has to pay on the actual matchday. As for brb's point I agree, I feel being unable to travel to Priestfield is one of the major stumbling blocks for why we have lower attendances that what we currently have. I for one until only recently hadn't passed my driving test and the only way that I would be able to travel to the ground would to first travel to Maidstone by bus and then reconnect for the Maidstone-Gillingham bus or to travel to Strood and then change trains to go to Gillingham. As I was also unemployed until quite recently these travel costs made it very hard for me to actually be able to attend the matches. I was therefore delighted to hear about the plans the club had made for a direct coach service from Maidstone to the ground however I haven't heard anything about it since. If the club was to run a coach service to some of the major towns then perhaps we would gain more supporters. Im not saying every town in Kent like the Valley Express but just some of the major towns like Dartford, Maidstone, Ashford and Dover then maybe we would start to see a bigger fan base. Only a suggestion
As soon as i saw the cheapest price was£21 i was surprised as if you buy before matchday it is £18 which is on par with the rest of the division. Not sure what away supporters pay though? To Mr Scally credit he has been trying different different schemes to get more supporters in, like this week. Kids £1 with an adult, he has also tried £5 tickets and £ 10 tickets also 2 friends can go with season ticket holder for half price. Lets hope the latest incentive brings in over 6000 tomorrow. How much do you think the price will go up next season if we do go up? Looking at the season ticket prices the cheapst ticket is £290 if you buy in advance so it should not go up more than £25 so £315 Would be fair.
gioblues - well done - you made me laugh ( no mean feat ) - I think you're dreaming if you think the £290 ticket will only be about £ 315 next season if we go up. I wouldn't mind betting that it will be nearer £ 335 (+) - We'll be told that we need to finance higher contracts, offer deals to attract better players etc
