[Jemmo]

Re: Reasons for not attending Dons' matches : Tue Aug 20, 2013 10:22 am  

rupert bear wrote:

The Knights only charge a tenner to stand on the terrace for a League game.

I'll charge you £5 to watch my grass grow

Re: Reasons for not attending Dons' matches : Tue Aug 20, 2013 10:41 am  

Jemmo wrote:

I'll charge you £5 to watch my grass grow

That's as may be, but they can still attract two or three times more people to watch their grass grow than the Dons are pulling in for a league game. The point i am making is it is an affordable price for watching a professional sports team regardless of your opinion of that particular sport.

Re: Reasons for not attending Dons' matches : Tue Aug 20, 2013 10:51 am  

Jemmo's right. The season ticket offer is great but it's not going to get new people to come down.

The cost of getting into games is obviously a critical factor - both for fans and the Dons. The Dons have to make a judgement as to where to pitch the pricing levels.

If dropping prices to £10 would double the attendances, it would be a good move, but if it made no difference, it would be a disaster.

We should certainly get some posters put up at the college, as Geoff says.

With communications from DonsNews, the club has improved relations with current fans considerably and we are certainly better informed than previously.

The area that we're not making any headway is with match day attendances.

Can DonsNews tell us if there is a marking plan at the moment, and which of our suggestions the club think could be taken on board?

Re: Reasons for not attending Dons' matches : Tue Aug 20, 2013 10:57 am  

When we had a lottery , the agent used to drop posters off.
With todays improved technology may be fans who are willing could download a poster . May be an idea for next season !
There have been some good ideas , but they need people to help the club.

Re: Reasons for not attending Dons' matches : Tue Aug 20, 2013 11:54 am  

Isn't it the same price at castle park to sit, ie: £15?, im sure if there was a standing area at the keepmoat it would also be cheaper. And the terrace isn't covered , so you are open to the elements. If i were to go there i would pay to sit anyway, that's my preference , so would be no difference for me. As it is the Dons play in an all seater stadium, so unless something happens to change that, can't really see a price drop. As has been said season ticket offer was fantastic, less than a tenner for a game, nobody could complain at that. But yes first you have to get people there for interest to grow. No easy solution to that one.

[Jemmo]

Re: Reasons for not attending Dons' matches : Tue Aug 20, 2013 12:02 pm  

rupert bear wrote:

That's as may be, but they can still attract two or three times more people to watch their grass grow than the Dons are pulling in for a league game. The point i am making is it is an affordable price for watching a professional sports team regardless of your opinion of that particular sport.

By that token, the prices at the Rovers are twice ours and their attendance are 5-6 times so we should double our price.

My point is, when comparing apples with oranges there is whole range of factors

Re: Reasons for not attending Dons' matches : Tue Aug 20, 2013 12:12 pm  

Football is a much more mainstream and well supported sport than either code of Rugby, not just in Doncaster I mean across the UK.

The comparisons between the Knights and the Dons are valid in my eyes.

[Jemmo]

Re: Reasons for not attending Dons' matches : Tue Aug 20, 2013 12:15 pm  

SteveRoebuck wrote:

Football is a much more mainstream and well supported sport than either code of Rugby, not just in Doncaster I mean across the UK.

The comparisons between the Knights and the Dons are valid in my eyes.

I'd say they're closer related, but it's still not the same. Rugby Union gains most of its following from its Old Boys networks and the media outlets they run generating national interest. League has not, and probably never will have, that same level of presence in the main stream culture.

The only like for like comparison you can do is compare how attendances this year, with our attendances last year, and the year before that. Every club, in every sport has their own "micro-climate" around them which is unique to them

Re: Reasons for not attending Dons' matches : Tue Aug 20, 2013 12:37 pm  

From my point of view, its obvious that attendances across the board at all levels of RL are lower than they have been for a long time. Now, is it financial, or is it just apathy from supporters who are showing their disdain for the wider product on offer?

I think we're always looking at ways of increasing support, and to be honest, the product on offer on the pitch from the Dons over the last couple of seasons has been worthy of extra fans, and I feel that people are beginning to notice this.

Its not helped with the fact that possibly the biggest match, gate wise, this season, Featherstone, was played on a Thursday night, and put on TV, so theres always other ways we can look at it.

Re: Reasons for not attending Dons' matches : Tue Aug 20, 2013 12:58 pm  

A chance to speak to Ray about your ideas , see Race Night thread.