How do you fill 60k?

An archive of news, events and discussion leading up to and post West Ham United's historic move from Upton Park to Stratford in 2016.

Moderators: Rio, bristolhammerfc, the pink palermo, chalks, Gnome

Locked
User avatar
WestHamIFC
Posts: 5684
Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2004 10:18 pm
Location: Essex
Contact:

Re: How do you fill 60k?

Post by WestHamIFC »

warp wrote: yea', selling tickets for a fiver to man €ity local supporters...
Valid point well made. Massive ongoing problem. It must have happened what, **almost Twice** now is it?

:asleep:
e10hammer
Posts: 867
Joined: Fri Mar 16, 2012 6:09 pm

Re: How do you fill 60k?

Post by e10hammer »

More half price member games, more kids for a quid games, maybe another 1 or 2 cat C games, and the 100,000 free tickets to local community groups and probably a few more to the away supporters,and there will be cheap seats at league 1 and 2 prices in the upper tiers behind the goals, other than the cat A games, there will be deals a plenty, but probably more tourists, and away supporters.
User avatar
Knighter10WHU
Posts: 4157
Joined: Mon May 30, 2011 10:22 pm
Location: Berkshire.
Has liked: 155 likes
Total likes: 194 likes

Re: How do you fill 60k?

Post by Knighter10WHU »

WestHamIFC wrote:
We are top of the entire Premier League when it comes to being % full.

Not sure where you got 5k from(!) :eh: , but in that table we are ahead of Liverpool, ahead of Spurs, and ahead of Chelsea - all clubs who are all desperately trying to find far bigger stadiums (and certainly they want bigger than a 5k increase on their current homes!!).
Just because we can sell 35,000 doesn't mean we can sell 60,000. 5,000 is just a figure unrelated to anything, plucked out of the air, much like the 25,000 extra tickets you think we can sell. There's no evidence to suggest we can fill a 60,000 stadium.
User avatar
eastsider
Posts: 1654
Joined: Fri May 21, 2010 7:30 pm
Location: London E4
Has liked: 54 likes
Total likes: 6 likes

Re: How do you fill 60k?

Post by eastsider »

60000??
It is 54000 isnt it?? :?
User avatar
Rays Rock
Posts: 6419
Joined: Mon Jul 04, 2011 2:10 pm
Location: Outsider
Has liked: 46 likes
Total likes: 104 likes

Re: How do you fill 60k?

Post by Rays Rock »

e10hammer wrote:More half price member games, more kids for a quid games, maybe another 1 or 2 cat C games, and the 100,000 free tickets to local community groups and probably a few more to the away supporters,and there will be cheap seats at league 1 and 2 prices in the upper tiers behind the goals, other than the cat A games, there will be deals a plenty, but probably more tourists, and away supporters.
That's good though isn't it ?
More deals means more opportunities for those that are unable to afford to go or treat their kids to see their hero's in action. Tourists, just see them as walking wallets putting money into the club that wouldn't have otherwise been made.
e10hammer
Posts: 867
Joined: Fri Mar 16, 2012 6:09 pm

Re: How do you fill 60k?

Post by e10hammer »

Rays rock
I agree that deals for all can only be a good thing, so long as it's not at the expense of dearer tickets for our loyal season ticket holders.
I notice that the official site are desperately trying to shift tickets for Sundays game against Swansea, having already offered half price tickets to members, free tickets to youth members, they are offering half price tickets to members friends,definitely affordable football but still not sold out, it does however ask the question will we be able to shift another 20,000 tickets?
User avatar
Rays Rock
Posts: 6419
Joined: Mon Jul 04, 2011 2:10 pm
Location: Outsider
Has liked: 46 likes
Total likes: 104 likes

Re: How do you fill 60k?

Post by Rays Rock »

e10hammer wrote:Rays rock
I agree that deals for all can only be a good thing, so long as it's not at the expense of dearer tickets for our loyal season ticket holders.
I notice that the official site are desperately trying to shift tickets for Sundays game against Swansea, having already offered half price tickets to members, free tickets to youth members, they are offering half price tickets to members friends,definitely affordable football but still not sold out, it does however ask the question will we be able to shift another 20,000 tickets?
I've no doubt the club will continue to fleece the pockets of the loyalist and those with the deepest pockets long before anyone else gets its choice of seats. and that's how it should be.
But with the enormous increase in capacity it should lend itself to be able to cater for more of those who have been, let's say, previously disenfranchised by the hiked prices and also the age groups with the least money (youths), who must be a target audience in an attempt to freshen up the current ageing male support. All obviously in worse seats than those who have been charged the top rates.
Desperate sales techniques have to be applied, but let's not be embarrassed by them, it's just business and the very least the ticket office should be doing, that's their job. It's better a seats sold cheap than stay empty.
User avatar
WestHamIFC
Posts: 5684
Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2004 10:18 pm
Location: Essex
Contact:

Re: How do you fill 60k?

Post by WestHamIFC »

Knighter10WHU wrote: Just because we can sell 35,000 doesn't mean we can sell 60,000. 5,000 is just a figure unrelated to anything, plucked out of the air, much like the 25,000 extra tickets you think we can sell. There's no evidence to suggest we can fill a 60,000 stadium.
What about the evidence/research with regards to fans will have stated intention to either start attending or re-attending due to the vastly improved transport links and likelihood of far more tickets available in the Lower Price Bands (for example, Band 4 is nearly always Sold Out at the Boleyn)?

Or is that being 'conveniently' skipped over now to suit a particular agenda..?

Even on this forum there were quite a few saying that they'd stopped going since they had families etc, citing the scenario of it being too much with screaming kids join a queue 2 or 3 blocks long, in the middle of East London during a dark, cold winter evening up for Upton Park tube to cram on a bottle-necked District Line, and usually then having to make make at least one or 2 connection changes to get home. With young children in tow that's just not feasible in many cases.

The appeal of being able to exit the stadium often directly onto a BR train or onto several lines therefore diluting the crowds, rather than being served by a single slow line which everyone is forced to use is going to attract many who simply would not attend right now.
User avatar
WestHamIFC
Posts: 5684
Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2004 10:18 pm
Location: Essex
Contact:

Re: How do you fill 60k?

Post by WestHamIFC »

e10hammer wrote:More half price member games, more kids for a quid games, maybe another 1 or 2 cat C games, and the 100,000 free tickets to local community groups and probably a few more to the away supporters,and there will be cheap seats at league 1 and 2 prices in the upper tiers behind the goals, other than the cat A games, there will be deals a plenty, but probably more tourists, and away supporters.
Yeah interesting points:
  • ~Affordable football for the masses

    ~ West Ham getting a share of the tourist cash & cementing future overseas fan bases, rather than letting the likes of Man Utd and Chelsea scoop it all up
Sounds f**king terrible!! :lol:
User avatar
warp
Posts: 14014
Joined: Fri Jul 30, 2010 11:13 am
Location: I am everything about this site which is wrong... i don't give a toss about WHUFC.

Re: How do you fill 60k?

Post by warp »

warp wrote: yea', selling tickets for a fiver to man €ity local supporters...
WestHamIFC wrote:Valid point well made. Massive ongoing problem. It must have happened what, **almost Twice** now is it?

:asleep:

too easy Image
User avatar
Denbighammer
Posts: 12871
Joined: Fri Dec 28, 2007 6:53 pm
Location: Dodging, Dipping, Diving, Ducking and Dodging.
Has liked: 701 likes
Total likes: 431 likes

Re: How do you fill 60k?

Post by Denbighammer »

Our attendance figures are massive works of fiction.
orient slacker
Posts: 110
Joined: Thu Mar 14, 2013 5:05 pm

Re: How do you fill 60k?

Post by orient slacker »

This thread seems a good place to post this - Charlton Athletic Supporters Trust fret over knock-on affect to other local clubs of possible cheap tickets issued by WHU at the OS, made possible by "unfair" State Aid.

http://www.castrust.org/2014/12/south-l ... um=twitter" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I think the State Aid objections issue has long sailed. Even Hearn gave up on that. There is an Orient fans spv arguing/campaigning along similar lines called Stand Up For The Orient (mainly facebook based), but I personally don't share the apocalyptical concerns: we issue our own free/cheap tickets to local kids and youths, and believe we and other local, smaller clubs could quite as easily pick up as many disaffected PL fans not interested in the OS experience, as we lose "our" youngsters lured in by such schemes by you (let's face it, these days the local yoof are as likely to support Man City or Real Madrid than any local team not in the PL bubble).
User avatar
Doc H Ball
Posts: 14670
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 5:29 pm
Location: on parole
Has liked: 914 likes
Total likes: 1902 likes

Re: How do you fill 60k?

Post by Doc H Ball »

orient slacker wrote: I think the State Aid objections issue has long sailed.
I don't.
User avatar
btajim - mcfc
There when they were sh*t
Posts: 9867
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2007 11:40 am
Location: Cheshire
Has liked: 73 likes
Total likes: 421 likes
Contact:

Re: How do you fill 60k?

Post by btajim - mcfc »

We left a Maine Road holding about 34,000 and moved to a COMS holding just shy of 48,000. We were doing alright in the Premier League at the time and early matches began to sell out. Difficult seasons followed under Keegan and Pearce but we always had an "extra" 6000 or so appear above the old Maine Road capacity.

I'd say ease of ticket purchase (surely so much is online these days) and affordable deals for families, people on a reduced income and the generation lost to Sky Sports. The team doing well will also fluctuate crowds as is seen pretty much everywhere. There'll also be the novelty of the new stadium.
gavrosh
Posts: 1275
Joined: Tue Mar 29, 2011 5:28 pm

Re: How do you fill 60k?

Post by gavrosh »

Stand Up For The Orient campaigns against West Hams move to the Olympic Stadium, arguing amongst other things that 100k free tickets to Newham residents a season will sway support away from them. Interestingly enough, Orients official programme of giving out 150k free tickets to kids from miles around is called............ Stand Up For The Orient.
gavrosh
Posts: 1275
Joined: Tue Mar 29, 2011 5:28 pm

Re: How do you fill 60k?

Post by gavrosh »

Yes I am bored now that Im on the wagon in January. Anyway, just to clarify maximum capacity for football, i noticed the following in the planning permission for the stadium:

“Event” means a music concert or other cultural or leisure event with a capacity of up to 80,000
spectators.

“Sports Event” means any of the following:
1. A Resident Football Team football match with a capacity of up to 54,000 spectators;
2. Any sports event (either pitch sports including athletics or non-pitch sports),which is not a Resident
Football Team match, with a capacity of up to 60,000 spectators or a Resident Football Team match witha capacity of more than 54,000 spectators;
3. A World Championship Athletics Event with a capacity of up to 59,000 spectators.

Stadium Use and Capacity
OST.33 The Stadium shall operate to a maximum capacity of 60,000 spectators for Sports Events
use
. The use of the Stadium for Sports Events shall not exceed 87 days per calendar year.
Reason: To ensure the Development is operated in accordance with the approved details
and within the parameters assessed pursuant to the Environmental Statement.

OST.34 The Stadium shall operate to a maximum capacity of 80,000 spectators for Events use.
Reason: To ensure that the Development is operated in accordance with the approved
details and within the parameters assessed pursuant to the Environmental Statement.

So it seems that there is permission for the club to have upto 60,000 spectators at games in the current planning permission, though as I've mentioned elsewhere some extra temporary bogs would have to be put in as the permanent ones can only serve 58,000.

There is of course a legal loophole in which you could argue a one off big match be described as a "cultural or leisure event" and is therefore able to accommodate 80,000.
User avatar
mywhufc
Posts: 3326
Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2010 8:25 pm
Contact:

Re: How do you fill 60k?

Post by mywhufc »

Anything over 54,000 would leave those extra sitting outside the cat4 euro stadium category the club love to promote.
gavrosh
Posts: 1275
Joined: Tue Mar 29, 2011 5:28 pm

Re: How do you fill 60k?

Post by gavrosh »

Not necessarily. I reckon there's plenty of opportunity to fill in some of the gap between lower and upper tiers at the ends with the sort of temporary seating theyre using to bridge the gap between the upper and lower east. They could never cover all of the gap, but they could do about half. That would make the entire stadium more appealing.
User avatar
mywhufc
Posts: 3326
Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2010 8:25 pm
Contact:

Re: How do you fill 60k?

Post by mywhufc »

gavrosh wrote:Not necessarily. I reckon there's plenty of opportunity to fill in some of the gap between lower and upper tiers at the ends with the sort of temporary seating theyre using to bridge the gap between the upper and lower east. They could never cover all of the gap, but they could do about half. That would make the entire stadium more appealing.
Then why not do that from the start? Only in the East is there a small gap, the west will have a gap but already has a middle tier where the lounges will be I reckon a very large concourse will be in place to the forward pushed seating, behind the goals no chance the gap can be bridged without the seating moving away from the pitch.
Why would we need more anyway, the club even this season has struggled to sell out every game including the kids for a quid games. The clubs original estimate was they would get 50,000
gavrosh
Posts: 1275
Joined: Tue Mar 29, 2011 5:28 pm

Re: How do you fill 60k?

Post by gavrosh »

Because they are naturally concerned that we cant fill 54k (49k actually, remember around 5k free per game for Newham residents). Its obviously technically feasible, so the only barrier to it is the fact that the club would be concerned it wouldnt be filled. If those concerns were assuaged, it'd be a very simple thing to fabricate offsite and install at some future point in pre season, just like the seating in the east stand will be.

As I originally said, you could potentially bridge half of the gap (with the lower tier fully extended) with this sort of seating. Not perfect, but certainly better to how it will initially look.
Locked