Attendance for the first match of the season last season was 5017. However, there are supposed to be some stayaways returning so that might go up. But then again we have a double header at home which might lower the figure. So I'll go for 5017
Norton in his wisdom has put ticket prices up by 20% which is bound to put some families off going.
I will go for 4,900, which in all honesty I think would be pathetic.
I would have gone for 5,500 if the prices hadn't gone up.
the nickname of my fellow Steeler. Bandanaman gave us those names because of our positive outlooks .
In all honesty Steve, I'd be absolutely delighted if you're right about the crowd, but unfortunately, I just can't see it, especially when you take into account last years opener against the same opponents got near enough 5,000 at £10 a ticket.
As regards the score, I think we'll win by 3-2 against what I expect to be one of the weaker ISL teams this year.
For me, Belfast and Nottingham will be the teams to beat, but I do like the balance of our squad better than last year.
3 keys to our success this season:-
1.Laing being as good as I think he's going to be.
2.Sessa to turn out to be the goalscorer Blaiser thinks he can be.
3.Brown maintaining his standards (and maybe even bettering) of the latter half of last season.
I think we pretty much know what to expect from the others....watch out, there's a truck coming called Szysky .
....i hope that Szysky (bless you!!) lives up to the hype...I used to love watching Carps hit players in mid ice and lift em off the deck...
I must also be feeling ill cos I also think we may be down a bit on crowds as a result of the price increases..I see em as a necessary short term evil, but it could either send us into the spiral of increases each season to cover the attendance drop or be the making of us...being abit of a pessimist..
...you could pay the extra on two (if not three) tickets for less than a packet of fags! All those who are moaning and smoke (or drink)...think on!! I know which is the bigger pleasure for me!!!
Plus, our tickets didn't go up last year when everyone elses did, did they??!1
If you have a product that you are selling and you don't sell all of your capacity at price X, you will most certainly not sell the same amount of your product when you sell at price X + 20%. Putting up prices is all fine and dandy when you are selling all of your capacity, but, not at the level that spare capacity is at the moment.
I see absolutely no initiative from within the club at the moment to bring any fans back, only initiative's to drive some of those remaining away.
If you increase your prices by 20% but you don't lose more than 20% of your customers (averaged out over the different ticket prices), then you are will be making more.
I'd be surprised if this season's average attendance will be 20% down on last season's average.
For ease of mathematics we'll work on 1000 attendees :-
1000 @ £10 = £10,000
800 @ £12 = £9,600
Plus that will be 20% less on merchandising sales from loss of crowd alone, then add in the loss from the crowd of those casual punters who go for a night out and a good atmosphere, which was severley lacking for a large part of last season, your crowds will go down and down.
Everybody has a good time when the house rocks, but, at the current level it very rarely gets past a tremble.
That'll teach me not to check my maths before posting!
But (trying to dig myself out of a hole) I don't think the attendances will be anywhere near 20% down. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens when the season starts (I wish is was tomorrow and not a week tomorrow).
With both yours and Scuffs thinking on this subject.
In fact I'll go a bit further and tell you what I think might happen in the future:-
1.Crowds down again this season....by the way, I thought NL put the prices up last season from £9-50 to £10-00 because I remember thinking at the time what a ludicrous decision it was after the summer of turmoil. Thought I'd mention that to correct NL at the Forum and one of the posters above
2.NL increases prices yet again next season
3.CJS apply to put a BNL team in the new 1500 seater in Sheffield and charge say £8. The new team would be called.....the Sheffield Steelers. I'm assuming CJS still have the rights to the name.
4.1,000+ fans desert NL's team to go and watch the BNL team.
5.NL's team is no longer sustainable with crowds around the 2 - 3,000 mark and are forced to quit the ISL.
6.CJS move there BNL team into the Sheffield Arena and charge a sensible price which is likely to attract families back.
Just my thought's, but I think if NL isn't careful, this is a real possibility.
... I do expect that we will get a big turnout from the Storm fans to help achieve this crowd. They look to be a much stronger team this year, and I think there is more of a buzz from them than last year.
I also think the return of Lobby will be a draw to some of the "not every week" supporters.
I think the attendance will be around or lower than that mark, mainly dependant on how confident the Stormies are, if they think they're in for a pasting then we'll pull about 500 away fans tops, if not then maybe they'll bring 1000+. However I think the club will be extremely lucky to see anything over 5000.
..that last season was totally different from any other season. I know I didn't attend every match through not purchasing a season ticket - however this year I will. I don't need any initiatives to return other than the sport itself. At the end of the day you go to see the product on the ice and that's good enough for me!
Surely the stayaways no longer have a reason for doing so - Norton has shown that he will not allow the club to go bankrupt again. I know it's a matter of opinion but I think some people may still be taking this too far. However, I am open to hearing peoples reasons for staying away now.
the crowds in the 'grand slam' season weren't exactly up were they?
face it.. we now have a fan base of around 4500..not like in the 'good ole days' of the mid nineties..We are not gonna get back those numbers on a day to day basis..the Glory hunters will come back for a final at the HOs but thats about it..
and putting the prices UP instead of thinking about a few more reductions and special offers (not saying these wont be forthcoming tho) is more FOOTBALL club management than hockey which is a different style of business all together..No bloody solid assets for a start!
all my opinion and not necessarily one that will be what happens..In cases like this i will be happily proved wrong...BEFORE you accuse me of bveing a moaner..Jus that I tend to se BOTH sides not just the rose tinted one..or the anonymous one
I happen to agree with. I just hope NL isn't applying the same business model to the Steelers as he would to CFC. I guess time will tell, but if he does, I think that will be the end of NL's version of the Steelers.
.. my view isn't rose-tinted. I just don't think it's my place to poke my nose into how the business is run. Yeah sure, if people want to stay away - they will. I see nobody managed to put forward a decent reason for staying away now. The prices haven't gone up THAT much - Nottingham charge the same, if not more don't they? Not forgetting that our arena rent is one of the highest in the league we can't expect to get it cheap forever. I'm betting it's still cheaper than football! With a bit of careful budgeting I've made sure I can afford the extra that I expected this year so I'll be there with bells on!!!
