I certainly did not expect the scoreline on Sunday at the Ice Dome, that's for sure.
Not that I'm going to bitch and moan about it. We were undone by our own lapse in concentration, allowing Telford to score 3 goals in under 40 seconds. I could get pissy about the D falling asleep, and not paying attention to their game, but as far as I am concerned these things happen. And being totally honest, I'd rather they happened now instead of in the play offs.
There were some positives though. Tom Duggan looks like he has found his scoring stick once more, which is always a boon going into the final 2 weekends of competition. Foney was back between the pipes, which was nice to see, although he looked somewhat rusty as you would expect. Has he come back too early? I guess we will know this coming weekend.
And the crowd.
Well, knock me down with a feather, if it wasn't huge. Easily our best attended game all season that wasn't part of a promo deal. I would hazard a guess at their having been around 1800 fans inside the building, with an especially large and noisy block from Telford. And those Telford fans were a credit to their club. It would be damned nice to get those kind of crowds on a regular basis next season, but that will take a lot of hard work, which should be starting now!
And that's it for this time. For once, I don't have a lot to say really. Which makes a change.
See y'all in the Dome on Sunday!
WARNING!
WARNING!!!!!!!!
This blog can, and does contain language which many readers may find offensive. If you don't like swearing, it might be a good time to read a different blog...
Seriously. this is most certainly a blog written by an adult, containing adult language.
This blog can, and does contain language which many readers may find offensive. If you don't like swearing, it might be a good time to read a different blog...
Seriously. this is most certainly a blog written by an adult, containing adult language.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
That was an interesting couple of weeks...
So, I'm sat here, listening to KISS playing very fucking loudly (screw the neighbours, I wanna rock dammit!), drinking a fresh mug of coffee, ruminating on the events of the past couple of weeks.
Interesting doesn't even begin to cover it.
My 'Getting it off my chest' blog certainly stoke the fires somewhat, eliciting reactions I never expected. For sure, I thought some folks would disagree with my take on the situation, but not quite as vehemently as was the case. Having said that, I guess if you are willing (or dumb enough) to stick your head above the parapet then you have to live with the prospect of upsetting people. Certainly, I was very angry for a good few days afterwards, but common sense prevailed, and I have now filed it away as an interesting experience.
Beyond that, we managed to have 3 very exciting games at the Ice Dome over the past 2 weekends as well. Whilst I missed what was by all accounts a stunning attempt to overturn the 1st leg deficit against the Flames, I certainly managed to see 2 displays myself which certainly bode well for the Play Offs. The Bison were turned over in style, as Stevie Lyle finally cracked in the Dome. You could say we left him with ravaged and sore 5-hole....
Then the Phantoms were dispatched with an almost nonchalant ease, the scoreline underlining just how dominant the boys were.
But there was something even better about those 2 games.
The crowd.
Thanks to a timely bit of marketing through online discount specialist 'Groupon', the Phoenix managed not just 1, but 2 sell out games! Yes, I know, there were a few empty seats here and there, but both games had enough tickets sold/allocated to class as sell out crowds. And it was brilliant. Noisy, excited, and frankly different. If we could get close to those crowd numbers every week, I'd be more than happy, and we most certainly then would have the fiscal muscle to compete with Guildford. Shit, we had to lock people out on Saturday! (And I was lucky. I barely made it inside before the doors were shut, after enduring the absolute worst of Manchesters public transport system alongside a visiting group of some 40 Girl guides) So not just a sell out, but a lock out too!
Yes, there were problems, but it was a learning curve for everyone involved. I'm confident that next time such a situation arises, then the little niggles will be ironed out, and a silky smooth experience will be had by all.
Hopefully a good number of those who took advantage of the Groupon offer will return, which naturally bodes well for the club going forwards.
See you at the rink!
Interesting doesn't even begin to cover it.
My 'Getting it off my chest' blog certainly stoke the fires somewhat, eliciting reactions I never expected. For sure, I thought some folks would disagree with my take on the situation, but not quite as vehemently as was the case. Having said that, I guess if you are willing (or dumb enough) to stick your head above the parapet then you have to live with the prospect of upsetting people. Certainly, I was very angry for a good few days afterwards, but common sense prevailed, and I have now filed it away as an interesting experience.
Beyond that, we managed to have 3 very exciting games at the Ice Dome over the past 2 weekends as well. Whilst I missed what was by all accounts a stunning attempt to overturn the 1st leg deficit against the Flames, I certainly managed to see 2 displays myself which certainly bode well for the Play Offs. The Bison were turned over in style, as Stevie Lyle finally cracked in the Dome. You could say we left him with ravaged and sore 5-hole....
Then the Phantoms were dispatched with an almost nonchalant ease, the scoreline underlining just how dominant the boys were.
But there was something even better about those 2 games.
The crowd.
Thanks to a timely bit of marketing through online discount specialist 'Groupon', the Phoenix managed not just 1, but 2 sell out games! Yes, I know, there were a few empty seats here and there, but both games had enough tickets sold/allocated to class as sell out crowds. And it was brilliant. Noisy, excited, and frankly different. If we could get close to those crowd numbers every week, I'd be more than happy, and we most certainly then would have the fiscal muscle to compete with Guildford. Shit, we had to lock people out on Saturday! (And I was lucky. I barely made it inside before the doors were shut, after enduring the absolute worst of Manchesters public transport system alongside a visiting group of some 40 Girl guides) So not just a sell out, but a lock out too!
Yes, there were problems, but it was a learning curve for everyone involved. I'm confident that next time such a situation arises, then the little niggles will be ironed out, and a silky smooth experience will be had by all.
Hopefully a good number of those who took advantage of the Groupon offer will return, which naturally bodes well for the club going forwards.
See you at the rink!
Friday, March 01, 2013
Ticket prices and attendances....
Given the seeming success of this weekends Groupon offer, the old chestnut of ticket prices has reared its ugly head over on the official forum.
Quite a few folks seem to believe that if we reduce the ticket prices substantially, then attendances will shoot up. If only it were so simple. Here are the figures I use in my counter argument (with a couple of additional notations):
Charging £6 per game would not automatically double attendances.
Lets take £11 as the 'average' ticket price paid at the Dome, and 1000 as the average attendance.
1000 attendees equates to £11,000 revenue per game (although a significant proportion of this is paid 'upfront' by ST holders).
If we drop tickets to an average of £6 (a reduction of 54%), then just to reach the same income level as before, the attendance needs to be 1834, an increase of 83%. Just to match the previous revenues.
And attendances would not jump this much overnight. Any increase would be gradual. Indeed, even if the club increases attendances to 1500 (a 50% rise), the club would actually be worse off financially. And I doubt any increase in sponsors revenue (which would be difficult to secure) would cover the difference.
Worse yet, if the attendance only rose by say, 10-15% then the club would find itself in a deep financial hole once more.
Of course, this is all hypothetical, as the club is highly unlikely to drop ticket prices any time soon. Its not as if the Metros, who charge £6 or do to get in are exactly turning them away at the doors either. Lower prices guarantee nothing except lower revenues in the short to mid term at minimum. The only way to increase attendance is to market the club more (hence the Groupon deal). And remember, if we get a retention rate of 5% (which is the upper limit most would expect), then thats an additional 50 bodies returning for more.
From tiny acorns.....
Quite a few folks seem to believe that if we reduce the ticket prices substantially, then attendances will shoot up. If only it were so simple. Here are the figures I use in my counter argument (with a couple of additional notations):
Charging £6 per game would not automatically double attendances.
Lets take £11 as the 'average' ticket price paid at the Dome, and 1000 as the average attendance.
1000 attendees equates to £11,000 revenue per game (although a significant proportion of this is paid 'upfront' by ST holders).
If we drop tickets to an average of £6 (a reduction of 54%), then just to reach the same income level as before, the attendance needs to be 1834, an increase of 83%. Just to match the previous revenues.
And attendances would not jump this much overnight. Any increase would be gradual. Indeed, even if the club increases attendances to 1500 (a 50% rise), the club would actually be worse off financially. And I doubt any increase in sponsors revenue (which would be difficult to secure) would cover the difference.
Worse yet, if the attendance only rose by say, 10-15% then the club would find itself in a deep financial hole once more.
Of course, this is all hypothetical, as the club is highly unlikely to drop ticket prices any time soon. Its not as if the Metros, who charge £6 or do to get in are exactly turning them away at the doors either. Lower prices guarantee nothing except lower revenues in the short to mid term at minimum. The only way to increase attendance is to market the club more (hence the Groupon deal). And remember, if we get a retention rate of 5% (which is the upper limit most would expect), then thats an additional 50 bodies returning for more.
From tiny acorns.....
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