I do wonder. The smc don't seem to be working that hard to maximise these sources of revenue. What happened to the gigs/concerts they used to have. I know there were some duff ones, but if you choose wisely there must be money to be made. Cynics would say it doesn't suit Allam's long term plans to make the stadium profitable at this time.
You'd be surprised how many matchday stewards start at 1100 on a matchday, at the carparks, in and around the stadium. Don't know what time their shifts finish and how much extra stewards cost. Of course it may be that council closes 'their' stadium as soon as their demotivated and apathetic employees can do so.
The club would like to maximise beer/food sales, but for the majority of fans the only facility open to them would be the concourses which are basically concrete tunnels with nowhere to sit, selling a limited choice of overpriced drinks and junk food. A lot of people also like to drink real ale which is not suited to an outlet only open a few hours on one day a week. Fans who like to make a day of it mainly go to pubs and/or restaurants before and after the match where the quality and choice is better and the surroundings more comfortable. Without improvement to what is on offer not enough customers will be attracted to justify the expense of keeping the staff on longer hours.
The council have no say what time the stadium closes, that is entirely down to the SMC who also pay the wages for stewards etc. There has been a massive drive to reduce staffing costs at the KC since the Allams took over & as the provision of food & drink in the concessions is contracted out, and as has also been pointed out the SMC would also have to pay the stewards longer & would need to keep them both in the concourses & in the stands to stop fans going back then the costs could certainly exceed the additional income. There are some stewards at the KC as early as 9am on a matchday. Policing costs would also be higher with the need to maintain a presence in the stadium as long as fans remain
But why when there is no financial gain for the club, in fact there will more likely be an increased cost. Other clubs perhaps get the receipts from the sales, ours doesn't. People need to separate the SMC from the football club, they are not the same and a benefit for the SMC is not a benefit for Hull City AFC
It's the same with merchandise - lots of clubs seem to have deals in place with other retailers as well as having their own club shop. I walked through St.Stephen's after the game - the pop-up calendar stall didn't have a Hull City calendar, yet it had Charlton Athletic and Fulham ones... you can buy a Leeds shirt in 2 different shops on Kingswood, but there isn't anywhere you can buy a Hull City one. Like I've said previously; City should at least use the current state of the high street and our current on-field position and take advantage during the summer months with a pop-up shop in Bridlington, enticing young holiday-makers into begging their dads to buy them a shirt of Yorkshire's No.1!
It's the same with merchandise - lots of clubs seem to have deals in place with other retailers as well as having their own club shop. I walked through St.Stephen's after the game - the pop-up calendar stall didn't have a Hull City calendar, yet it had Charlton Athletic and Fulham ones... you can buy a Leeds shirt in 2 different shops on Kingswood, but there isn't anywhere you can buy a Hull City one. Like I've said previously; City should at least use the current state of the high street and our current on-field position and take advantage during the summer months with a pop-up shop in Bridlington, enticing young holiday-makers into begging their dads to buy them a shirt of Yorkshire's No.1!
It's the same with merchandise - lots of clubs seem to have deals in place with other retailers as well as having their own club shop. I walked through St.Stephen's after the game - the pop-up calendar stall didn't have a Hull City calendar, yet it had Charlton Athletic and Fulham ones... you can buy a Leeds shirt in 2 different shops on Kingswood, but there isn't anywhere you can buy a Hull City one. Like I've said previously; City should at least use the current state of the high street and our current on-field position and take advantage during the summer months with a pop-up shop in Bridlington, enticing young holiday-makers into begging their dads to buy them a shirt of Yorkshire's No.1!
It's the same with merchandise - lots of clubs seem to have deals in place with other retailers as well as having their own club shop. I walked through St.Stephen's after the game - the pop-up calendar stall didn't have a Hull City calendar, yet it had Charlton Athletic and Fulham ones... you can buy a Leeds shirt in 2 different shops on Kingswood, but there isn't anywhere you can buy a Hull City one. Like I've said previously; City should at least use the current state of the high street and our current on-field position and take advantage during the summer months with a pop-up shop in Bridlington, enticing young holiday-makers into begging their dads to buy them a shirt of Yorkshire's No.1!
They didn't, every PL club got that money (£200k) from the league to boost away attendances. City chose some free away travel while others provided reciprocal reduced prices for away tickets, most clubs providing free travel have done if for more games than City
Not the clubs deals, these are generally national deals where the retailer sells shirts bought direct from the manufacturer. They only sell shirts which they know will sell all over the country. Restricting City shirt sales to the club shop/online means they get ALL the profits rather than a negligible amount if anything for shirts sold by high street retailers
All driven by a need to prop up a sagging product and subsidise non profitable activities in its long term interests.
But propped up by the Premier League not the SMC or Club I very much doubt the league will fund the longer opening of the concessions, especially when this incentive was to boost the number of away fans at games while the league policy remains to get the away fans out of the stadium/surrounding area as soon as possible after the final whistle. The SMC will not be willing to lose money by extending the opening of the concessions as the policy of the Allams is to make the SMC as profitable as possible
The away fans after the game getting away promptly is fine- it's the home fans who could be targeted and encouraged to stay. As they do at other grounds......
People should be encouraged to stay and spend, especially if it boosts club coffers. Personally, I prefer to **** straight off after the final whistle/salutations and I'd much rather just sod off home or go to a proper pub then hang around the stadium. Although, I have had a beer after the game at BP (not long before the move) in some sort of marquee near Bunkers or Kempton.
We're all different- but games such as Man Utd 2009 and Cardiff last season would have been good to celebrate outside the ground rather than eveyone skulking off to Princes Ave or whatever,
