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denime
07-14-2011, 05:32 AM
Mornin'



TFC pricing policy under fire (http://www.torontosun.com/2011/07/13/tfc-pricing-policy-under-fire)




SUNSHINE (http://www.torontosun.com/sunshine-girl)


_

Batman
07-14-2011, 06:07 AM
kind of nice to see the mainstream media (if that's what the Sun is) pick up this notion.

TFC front office still dreaming as if the last few years hadn't happened.

GBV
07-14-2011, 06:12 AM
think he's off a few days on the dallas game, but it's great that this shit gets/got some mainstream publicity.

spark
07-14-2011, 07:05 AM
Forgot to post the Paul James pod this week, HOWEVER, in lieu of that here is a strong view on the state of the game/structure here in Canada. You may or may not agree but at the end of the day Paul tells it as he sees it.

Politics rule in a weak Canadian soccer nation (http://rednationonline.ca/PoliticsruleinCanadiansoccernation.aspx)

Fort York Redcoat
07-14-2011, 07:11 AM
Forgot to post the Paul James pod this week, HOWEVER, in lieu of that here is a strong view on the state of the game/structure here in Canada. You may or may not agree but at the end of the day Paul tells it as he sees it.

Politics rule in a weak Canadian soccer nation (http://rednationonline.ca/PoliticsruleinCanadiansoccernation.aspx)



Discussing it here as well-


http://www.redpatchboys.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=28667

scooter
07-14-2011, 07:17 AM
mornin d

sashavukelich
07-14-2011, 07:58 AM
mornin' fellas!

mastermixer
07-14-2011, 07:59 AM
Why does everyone except MLSE think they went the wrong way in pricing this game? I would love to hear their rationalization of it.

menefreghista
07-14-2011, 08:13 AM
I would love to hear their rationalization of it.

They don't want to devalue the product.

Its very similar to what the Blue Jays do with their pricing.

Fort York Redcoat
07-14-2011, 08:23 AM
Mornin'

TFC pricing policy under fire (http://www.torontosun.com/2011/07/13/tfc-pricing-policy-under-fire)



Actually skimmed this. What a waste. Please keep comparing U.S. open cup to Champions League. You look more knowledgeable about the game.:rolleyes:

Fort York Redcoat
07-14-2011, 08:26 AM
Why does everyone except MLSE think they went the wrong way in pricing this game? I would love to hear their rationalization of it.

I don't. And feel free to join the discussion here.

http://www.redpatchboys.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=28700

Oldtimer
07-14-2011, 08:34 AM
The Revs get demolished by 4-1 Manchester United in their friendly, with United barely breaking into a sweat:

http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2011/07/14/sports/9882983.txt


According to Foxboro police, there were only four arrest for disorderly persons.

Those "soccer hooligans." :lol:

Parkdale
07-14-2011, 08:41 AM
haha.... "zombies"

read the comments on the Sun article.

I guess he doesn't realize that we 'zombies' care more about this team than almost anyone.

Mark in Ottawa
07-14-2011, 08:44 AM
Why does everyone except MLSE think they went the wrong way in pricing this game? I would love to hear their rationalization of it.
Some of it is past history. The CONCACAF Champions League qualifying is still not seen as a big deal my many as the opposition are usually non familiar names. $60. a seat is a large amount to pay to see unknowns and an unknown level of play.

Some of it is consumer fatigue. Fans pay a fairly high price for the Seasons Seats as it is right now and an extra game at an inflated price just doesn't appeal to them. The seat therefore is available but the casual fan, with family and other money pressures isn't about to drop a large amount of money to "try out" going to a soccer game.

The writers point was that age old argument ... better 10,000 interested fans at $30 a seat or 30,000 fans (which include the aforementioned 10,000) at $10. per seat?? Would the atmosphere suffer one way or the other? Would 30,000 buy more concessions and maybe lead to new interest out there?

I am not sure one way or another.

Fort York Redcoat
07-14-2011, 08:47 AM
haha.... "zombies"

read the comments on the Sun article.

I guess he doesn't realize that we 'zombies' care more about this team than almost anyone.

Love it! The comment reads like

"Save us, Zombies, save us!"

Headline tomorrow

"Zombies attack MLSE. Find no brains."

eustacchio
07-14-2011, 08:48 AM
Why does everyone except MLSE think they went the wrong way in pricing this game? I would love to hear their rationalization of it.

um, supply and demand.

mastermixer
07-14-2011, 08:57 AM
I don't. And feel free to join the discussion here.

http://www.redpatchboys.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=28700

I wouldn't be upset either at 17 dollars a pop, but I had to pay almost $124 for a pair. That is maybe a couple of bucks less than what I pay for my seasons. Whatever, I was going regardless, but it just would have been a great opportunity to pack the stadium and get people excited again.

Waggy
07-14-2011, 11:04 AM
um, supply and demand.

There's an abundant supply, but there's only going to be about 6 or 7000 people demanding tickets. That plus whatever they give away, I'm sayin there'll be 9 or 10 000 people at this game. :facepalm:

Hitcho
07-14-2011, 11:05 AM
MLSE would make a lot more money by packing out the stadium every game (whatever the "official" attendance numbers are, the stadium is not packed out any more).

Best way to do that? Throw people a bone every once in a while and get some full houses. Give the SSH their tickets for free. Make walk ups $10 throughout the stadium. Run some ads on the low prices and big up the new DP players. Result? Place would be jammed, atmosphere would be humming and with a TFC win a likely outcome, people would want to come back again. Instead, attendance will be relatively low and people (now including the media) will continue to gripe about TFC's ticket pricing and being gouged year on year, game on game.

Even Mercedes go on sale now and again. Why can't TFC tickets? MLSE has no fucking clue how to keep a supporter base happy and coming back for more.

Fort York Redcoat
07-14-2011, 11:17 AM
From twitter of Paul B:

I'm told @torontofc (http://twitter.com/torontofc) will be sending out an advance window early bird offer for tix to Real Estelli Champions League match!

Just saying. They aren't doing nothing.

For me, they should really big up the new players. Free game? Not this one please. Last game of the season maybe.

rocker
07-14-2011, 11:43 AM
They don't want to devalue the product.

Its very similar to what the Blue Jays do with their pricing.

yes, I remember Paul Beeston saying they don't lower prices for that reason.

The business logic is you work on your marketing to get people to buy those prices. Probably the last thing you do is lower prices -- after you've done everything you can marketing wise. TFC has never really don't a lot of marketing, beyond the basic stuff. They didn't have to.

If you lower prices to cheap, the public may get a sense that the product itself is cheap. I know that when you give away tickets to events, people sometimes don't even use the tickets, because the perception is that something's wrong if the product is priced that low.

The other point I remember from a business class is that a sold-out stadium is not necessarily a good thing, because it means you may not be maxing out your prices. If you sell out your tickets, you don't know if your price point could have been higher. Optimum ticket prices are known when you've got some empty seats -- the empty seats are the indicator (not 5000, of course).

Similarly, with tickets still available for league games, lower prices for tickets for Real Esteli might compete with the team's tickets for MLS games. This is all MBA 101 stuff.

Not that it's right (I think that the MBA mentality sucks in many walks of life these days.... I work at a school run by MBAs and they do things that hurt community but help the bottom thing) but it makes perfect sense from a business perspective.

menefreghista
07-14-2011, 11:54 AM
The other point I remember from a business class is that a sold-out stadium is not necessarily a good thing, because it means you may not be maxing out your prices. If you sell out your tickets, you don't know if your price point could have been higher. Optimum ticket prices are known when you've got some empty seats -- the empty seats are the indicator (not 5000, of course).

While this can be true, the demand for TFC tickets has collapsed to the point where it is not the case for this team. I'm basing this on the state of the 3rd party market.


Similarly, with tickets still available for league games, lower prices for tickets for Real Esteli might compete with the team's tickets for MLS games. This is all MBA 101 stuff.

I actually was thinking about this a few weeks back. I wondered if the FO even wanted to have the extra inventory of tickets that the CCL brings with it.

But in the end, I think they could use all the positive news they could get. That might be more important than suffering with a few bad crowds.

TFCRegina
07-14-2011, 11:55 AM
FYI, Montreal is now sponsored by Quebecor.

All losses will be blamed on the CBC and the remainder of the great left wing conspiracy.

Whoop
07-14-2011, 12:21 PM
Actually skimmed this. What a waste. Please keep comparing U.S. open cup to Champions League. You look more knowledgeable about the game.:rolleyes:

He was talking in relation to pricing.

There's no reason for TFC to be charging up to $88 for a preliminary game.

As for his knowledge, even though he's America, I think Kurt Larson is establishing himself as one of the better soccer writers working for Canadian media. And unlike some as least he played the game at a somewhat high level (NCAA scholarship, PDL).

Fort York Redcoat
07-14-2011, 12:24 PM
Now that you mention it I think I met him down in Detroit. Glad he played the game. I still don't agree with his comparison.

Even a preliminary in CCL should be a bigger draw than an Open Cup match. It's the mentality of Regular season games must be more important because more people attend. Which is correct if all fans were just businessmen or sheep.

Yagbod
07-14-2011, 12:37 PM
Nana just traded to SanJose as per Molinaro on Twitter

Whoop
07-14-2011, 12:38 PM
The US Open Cup winner though does get automatic entry in the CCL.

Right now only two other MLS teams are in the preliminary:

FC Dallas (vs. Alianza FC) - they're only charging $15 - across the board

and

Seattle (vs. San Francisco) - they're charging $15 to $30.

Now you could argue that Seattle has a bigger stadium so they can afford to lower prices, but Dallas?

The point is TFC had a chance to throw supporters a bone and/or attract new customers... but $88?

Fort York Redcoat
07-14-2011, 12:49 PM
Alright Whoop. I won't fight that it looks like gauging us when looking across the board. I just don't think the board is what I want to base it on.

I am in the minority. I think CCL is bigger than MLS reg season. It won't be priced that way till I'm in the majority. I get it. I don't like it.

Toronto_Bhoy
07-14-2011, 12:55 PM
Reducing ticket prices can be used as a great Marketing tool if done correctly. This not what many want to hear on the Board but it can be used to promote trial…sampling of sorts.

I personally believe the "hardcore soccer" market here is tapped out. We (speaking for myself) see the product as poor value for the dollar. This may well be an opportunity to attract new "fringe" customers and introduce them to something different and fresh in Toronto's sports entertainment. Fill up the stadium, increase the atmosphere and fun.

The less butts in the stands means less beer and hot dogs are being sold. It's not just a loss of ticket revenue when you see all those empty seats, concession sells take a huge hit.

In a quick email to my neighbouring STH to see if anyone wanted our 4 seats, it became apparent very quickly that NONE of them are going to this game…ZERO! Roughly 20 of us.

Whoop
07-14-2011, 12:59 PM
Alright Whoop. I won't fight that it looks like gauging us when looking across the board. I just don't think the board is what I want to base it on.

I am in the minority. I think CCL is bigger than MLS reg season. It won't be priced that way till I'm in the majority. I get it. I don't like it.

You're not alone. I believe that myself. But we're in North America and it will take time to change that way of thinking.

For crying out loud, NYRB threw a very good chance at winning the US Open Cup - and automatic entry into CCL - to rest players for the regular season!?!

eustacchio
07-14-2011, 07:10 PM
There's an abundant supply, but there's only going to be about 6 or 7000 people demanding tickets. That plus whatever they give away, I'm sayin there'll be 9 or 10 000 people at this game. :facepalm:

I'm going to go ahead and guess that you didn't get my Anselmi reference/joke.