£17 for a Kid!

[beachcomber]

It is a disproportionate hike by any measure though.

Its not a hike - its the standard price for an 'A' rated game : TICKET PRICES

Maybe I should have used 'price differential'.

As I said, £60 for a kids season ticket in the family section is very reasonable, it's a good bit less than I thought it would be,  under £3 per game by my calculations. To charge the same kid nearly 6 times that price to come to a cup game seems disproportionate and very hard to justify.

[caley_donkey]

I agree that the prices are steep, but I will be going to support the team and I'm confident another several thousand Caley fans will be going also and fill out the stadium. They can up their prices because it is a massive game (as are all Old Firm games). Like someone said before - supply and demand. However, I do think that the board have to restructure their prices for the 'run-of-the-mill' league game, for example, where we are drawing meagre crowds that are a bit embarrasing.

[RiG]

Agreed. Last weekend Dundee United made up nearly half the crowd at the game.

This is a bit of a kick in the teeth for the folk that turned up to support the team last week. Surely those who went that aren't season ticket holders should have been given some kind of voucher to reward their support?

[L_G]

It is a disproportionate hike by any measure though.

Its not a hike - its the standard price for an 'A' rated game : TICKET PRICES

Maybe I should have used 'price differential'.

As I said, £60 for a kids season ticket in the family section is very reasonable, it's a good bit less than I thought it would be,  under £3 per game by my calculations. To charge the same kid nearly 6 times that price to come to a cup game seems disproportionate and very hard to justify.

Family section children's season tickets are fantastic value, pay at the gate price is usually £15 per game and £17 for the old firm games which is the case here.  I think you are slightly spoilt in the fact that you pay on average £3 per game for your child/ren. If I got every other game for £3 I would be happy to pay the price for a big cup game.  In the main stand our season tickets don't return nearly as much of a saving per league game. And our prices are £5 per head more for the cup game.  As I have said somewhere already we will have 2 adults @ £27 and 2 children @ £22 = £98 for a family of 4, now that is expensive, but I don't expect a reduction for such a big game.

The only thing I think that they might have done is sell some family section tickets at the usual pre-sold prices, but I can understand why they aren't doing this.  Can you imagine the people who paid the price for the Dundee Utd game finding out it was going to be cheaper for the Celtic game.  You really can't please all of the people all of the time.

As I have said many times, ticketing prices and in particular children's and family prices are discussed regularly, but this is a QUARTER FINAL OF THE SCOTTISH CUP AGAINST CELTIC.  So on this occasion get behind the team, but as has been suggested elsewhere if you would prefer a review of the ticketing prices, e-mail the club with your comments. But remember a full review might not always work in your favour. If they reduce ticket prices in some cases they will have to recover the money elsewhere.

[CaleyD]

Ticket Prices aside as I don't think too many would argue they are steep, regardless of the justification.

What the club should be doing, IMO, is encouraging loyalty and that can be done without necessarily reducing the "at the gate price".  They do that to a certain extent with the Season Ticket Prices, but they include no benefit/discount other than priority for (expensive) tickets.

Season Ticket Holders in the Family Section should have the opportunity of purchasing tickets at proportional prices, the accept seats in one of the least desireable viewing areas in return for these lower season ticket/league ticket prices, why then should they be expected to pay full whack just because it's a cup game?

Supply and demand - blah blah blah - I think some people forget that football clubs are more than just a business, they are organisations which have huge dedicated communities that develop around them, and every now and then you have to take a step back and accept a slight hit in the pocket on the basis of giving something back to that community - these are the actions that people will remember and it will pay dividends in the long term.

"we'll sell out anyway" - that maybe the case, but we hear CC, Players and Club Officials constantly go on about how they would like to see more bums on seats every other week at home.  By denying those locals who may have come along to see a cup match as it was something a little special on the basis of cost only serves to keep "future fans" away.  The club should be investing a little time and energy into making sure the tickets (over and above those that go to Season Ticket Holders) for these matches are not only reasonably priced, but that they end up in the hands of people they have a chance of converting to regular fans (not an easy thing I know).  They have 1/2 season tickets available, why not offer some kind of combined package for a cup ticket and a 1/2 season ticket?  Give these sales priority before general release.

Again, I think the club are lacking a bit when it comes to thinking outside the box and I repeat - If You Can't Reduce The Price of The Product, Then Increase The Benefits For Purchasing It

The club need to be investing now for the future, not only financially but in terms of initiatives to get bums on seats more regularly.  Our finances are in good shape and now is the time to be doing these things, not when something goes wrong and debts start to mount and they are then begging people to come along and support the club or drop a couple of quid into a bucket.

[Charles Bannerman]

Celtic presumably have some kind of say in this too since they are entitled to an equal share of gate receipts. I can't imagine them or any other visiting club in a cup tie, accepting a situation whereby Caley Thistle season ticket holders got preferential rates for a match where there's an equal share of revenues. Indeed I wonder how much input (?) there was from Celtic in the overall "agreement" over the prices?

[CaleyD]

Who's asking Celtic to take a reduce share?  Any cost involved in making it more affordable/beneficial for OUR fans to attend can be taken out of our share of the gate.

[davieB]

Season ticket sales work both ways. Yes, they do make the games less expensive, and the deals are very good. But, many people(like myself) simply wouldn't be able to attend every game as a PATG supporter, because they couldn't afford it. And don't forget, the more games a family attends, the more they'll spend on merchandise, food, drinks etc, so some of that ticket price saving is recouped with every game the season ticket holders attend.

And the club needs it's pre-season ticket sales to help it in it's financial planning for the coming season, that's why they desperately try to encourage people to buy their tickets as early as possible.  Again, the club needs us when it's convenient.

As said elsewhere, a football club, particularly ones like ours, should be at the heart of local communities, and not run in purely business terms. They need us as much as we need them. I get tired of hearing someone from the club bemoaning the fact that people aren't coming through the turnstyles. It doesn't take a business guru to figure out why that is. And it only takes a basic grasp of economics to see that a stadium filled with a crowd of low priced ticket supporters is more financially beneficial than a stadium half full with maximum priced ticket paying supporters.

I find it hard to believe that a club of Celtics size would have been that stubborn in it's resistance to a Caley request for reduced ticket prices for a small section of it's supporters. Nope, to me this is Caley saying 'well, feck the kids who come along every week, we'll keep them out of this one 'cos we can make looooooooooooads of money'

[Harry Chibber]

Complete rubbish, I agree that the club could maybe look to do something about kids prices for league games.. but this is one of the biggest opportunities the club has had to make some decent revenue, from Sky and ticket sales etc. and then put that money back into the club.... and think about prices or whatever but if we are ever going to try and compete with the bug boys we need to start raising some capital!

[Scotty]

I have mentioned this before, but in my opinion, Toronto FC, a brand new 'soccer' team in a city where hundreds of thousands of youngsters play the game at a young age before changing loyalties to Ice Hockey, Baseball, Basketball and even Lacrosse have got it spot on.

[li]They have a graded pricing plan for different areas of the ground that will be in operation for all matches. The lowest price is equivalent to about £7.50 and goes up to £30 for seats at the half-way line, season tickets cost anything from £100 to £850 and they will also have multi-game packs which are good for those who cant attend all games. [/li]
[li]They advertised season tickets very early and made it worthwhile - decent discount and a small 'welcome pack' that will come with your season ticket. There will be nothing special in the welcome pack as far as I know, just a badge, fixture list, and details of things like how to get slightly discounted additional tickets for friends/relatives should you require them for occasional matches, details of how to upgrade your seat for certain matches if you want to then sit beside those you have bought extra tickets for, and a few other 'little' (and inexpensive) touches to make you feel valued. [/li]
[li]One of the best touches - in my opinion - is that they also supply you with a direct dial number to your very own account executive. Should you need to contact them for anything regarding customer service or your tickets you will always deal with a real person and unless they are on holiday or something, it will always be the same person. My account exec - Matt - seems like a thoroughly decent chap and helped me enormously when I was trying to figure out a few things about my seat.[/li]
[li]Season Ticket holders will get first refusal for their seats for playoff games at the end of the season[/li]
[li]Cup games (up to 5) are included in your season ticket[/li]
[li]15% discount on merchandise[/li]
[li]First refusal on your seats for International games and the Youth World Cup in July 2007[/li]

At last count, Toronto had sold more than 12,000 season tickets and that was before any players were signed or the fixture list published, and well before it was announced that David Beckham would be coming to the MLS. Obviously, sales went up a fair bit after the Beckham revelation, and will probably take a further upswing today as the fixture list was announced yesterday and it seems that DB's first ever game in MLS will be in Toronto in August (unless Real release him before the end of the Spanish season).

Whilst it may not seem fair to compare Toronto - a city of 2.5 million - with Inverness, it is perhaps closer than you might think in football terms. Other than a small hardcore of fans, local support for football has been apathetic to say the least. Although hundreds of thousands of people play the game on a casual basis either at school or socially, the last professional team here - the Toronto Lynx - had an average crowd of only around 3500 and with the formation of Toronto FC have recently decided to drop down a few levels to become the equivalent of a Highland League side. In effect, Toronto will now have the equivalent of ICT & Clach playing in the city. The difference - the owners of TFC have gone all out in an effort to grab fans attention and make them feel valued in the hope that they can develop brand loyalty very quickly ..... and it appears to be working.

I dont necessarily think that ICT should drop prices across the board for games like this as they are a chance to raise revenue and we are still not a rich club so do need money from games like this to make the books balance. However, I do disagree with the removal of the family section and think the club could do a lot more to make its customers feel valued. They have to look at the overall ticket and pricing structure (season tickets, family tickets, gate prices, 'graded pricing' for various parts of ground, a voucher scheme perhaps, 'away' season tickets, 'multi-game' packs etc etc etc.).

Probably the one comment on this thread that perturbs me the most is the following from Maimie .....

The Trust meet with the FC Board on a monthly basis and it's on the agenda time and time again... for some reason the club aren't keen to reduce prices at the gate.

This indicates to me that there is an issue and that fans are concerned about it but that it is being brushed aside each time it is brought up. To those on the trust who ask this question time and time again, I would say ... dont say 'for some reason' .... ask the question and publish the exact response. The trust is in the position of liaison between ordinary fans and the club and it is obvious that something is getting lost in translation if fans are bringing it up all the time and the club is saying no. To the Board, I would say ... There may well be a good reason for it but until the reason is explained the issue will not go away.

Regardless of anyone's opinion on this matter - whether you feel ripped off, frustrated, or undervalued or whether you think the club are 100% correct - the mere fact that this discussion is taking place means that there is a significant quantity of customers who are not currently feeling valued and the simple fact is that disgruntled customers will eventually go elsewhere.

[Action Man]

I really hope the club look at this site. There are a lot of season ticket holders not going to this game because of the price. If you alienate the backbone support of the club, what are you doing to the potential future fans?

Opportunity to win more support and thank the regular loyal fans gone.

And there are far too many on here with an " I'm alright Jack " attitude. 

[davieB]

And there are far too many on here with an " I'm alright Jack " attitude. 

Spot on :025: :025: :025:

[davieB]

but this is one of the biggest opportunities the club has had to make some decent revenue, from Sky and ticket sales etc. and then put that money back into the club....

Is it? Why?

Why should this game generate any more money than the league game against them the other week? We got the additional TV money for that, plus we got to keep ALL the gate receipts, unlike this game where half those receipts will go to the opposition. If anything, I'd say the league game against them generates far more money for the club.  Yet the club didn't take the stupid decision to remove the family section for that game.

[tm4tj]

We all know when we buy a season ticket that cup games are not part of the package. Therefore we all have to stump up for cup games. The club should though in my opinion look after it's ain folk first, ie the people that go along every second week to ICT matches. There is little reward for these people other than being first in the queue to purchase your ticket, and additional ones......... wow, what an incentive. Still this is premium rate prices for A list performers, not much different to the league prices, but the family section issue is the one whiuch is causing most grief. But, as it is a cup game, family sections don't exist? or do they?

Anyway, I am behind the team on the day, I've got mine as they say.

[CaleyD]

The opinions we are seeing here are the extremes - the solution lies somewhere in the middle and rewards loyalty whilst maintaining a satisfactory income for the club.  What frustrates me is the fact that all decisions being made at present are blinkered to the idea of screwing as much money out of the loyal fans as is possible at every opportunity and there's only so many times you can do that before people start to vote with their feet.

[Row S]

On a small point about family sections at cup games, we were in the family section of Hampden for last year's Hearts v Gretna final and paid £20 for an adult and £10 for a child.  The same prices would have applied if it was the Old Firm contesting the final.  So why can't we have a family section for the quarter final?  If there is no real answer it only serves to fuel the view that the club are trying to make as much money out of this tie as possible.

[Action Man]

This game suits the occasional football fan who never attends a regular saturday fixture and can therefore afford the ticket price, to them it is just a day out to see Celtic, it hurts the fan who attends whenever possible but cannot afford the extra expense. There is a very fine line between being a greedy club who rips the punters off at every opportunity, and a club who try to generate maximum revenue whilst encouraging local support. Or is there?

CaleyD has a point, there is a middle ground, I just don't see the club attempting to find it.

Just to clarify something. There are families and individuals in Inverness who would love to go to ICTFC games.......

they just cannot afford it. It is financially out of their reach and no-one at the club seems to be addressing this.

I would despair if there was an attitude at the club similar to some of the posters on this site, " if you don't have the dough, you don't get to go!"  

[CaleyJulz]

I  very much doubt i will be at this game as i cant afford to pay for an adult and 2 children there should be some rewards scheme for those who attened all home games (which i do ) with my kids.

I wonder how many celtic fans will be keeping our seats warm

[cairngorm]

i have paid for my son and my wife to go to the game yes i think it is dear but we try to get to many as possible , i will not attend this one though , as i am a Celtic fan first then a Caley fan , i hope because i did not go to the game a genuine Caley fan buys the ticket, as usual Mrs Cairn and the young Cairn will be in the Bridge end , only one problem trains dont run to 12.30 to get their and this is one time i am not giving them a lift, will suply tissues for them though :019:

[cairngorm]

Mrs Cairn has just reminded me , for myself, her and young cairn to go to Scotland V France worked out cheaper, i forgot about that :024:

[Bridge_Ender]

Not going.

Too expensive, impossible kick off time and a distinct hate of being ripped off.

We play Celtic 3/4 times a year, it's nothing special. If the club want to squeeze every penny, fine. Will watch it on Sky.

TiredOfBeingRippedOffICTSC

[Kingsmills]

The fact of the matter is thatfrom a commercial point of view the club need to maximise income from these occasional windfall matches so that we can compete in the SPL which will cost the best part of three million pounds in the current financial year.

[CaleyD]

The club cannot survive on income from 'big' cup matches and matches v the Old Firm alone, these are the icing on the cake and they should be putting more effort into securing bums on seats for the bread and butter games.

The "maximise income" argument looks sensible enough on the surface, but if the cost is loosing season ticket holders and regular pay at the gate customers because they are fed up being squeezed for their hard earned then it becomes counter productive.

[Guest Bob the dog]

As a season ticket holder, I strongly object to the exorbonate prices for cup games. I find it extremly difficult to find the money for my season ticket, plus child season ticket, plus what we spend each time we are at a game. So if ICT are not willing to accomodate the regular season ticket holders, they will only have themselves to blame when some supporters do not renew their season tickets. As for ***** supporters in the home end, if you complain you are likely the one to be thrown out!! So come on ICT get your finger out, and look after your commited supporters whether season ticket holders or regular supporters.

[Alex MacLeod]

I'm sorry for all of you who feel hard done by for this game but please bear a thought for people like me. I dont have a season ticket simply because it wouldn't make sense to reserve a seat that would be empty for a good part of the season so I have to pay those prices for all the OF games.

The prices are agreed by both clubs involved in the tie so unless Celtic agree to reductions then they cant happen. If the game was at Parkhead we'd likely be paying OF v each other prices. Yes I know some have suggested ICT could make reductions for their fans subsidised by their share of the gate but it just doesnt happen like that. All gate reciepts are accounted for and, after expenses, shared between the clubs. This is controlled by independant auditors to make sure there is no cheating the figures. (Yes the cynics may laugh but its true)

RowS...The pricing for semi and final is set by the SFA not the clubs.