The Little Red Book

[Pookie]

Don't forget though that with Montreal in the league there will be an extra home date.

[menefreghista]

Last year? I had the MLS cup included. I don't remember the details, and now I'm kicking myself that I didn't look into the invoice more before it disappeared (i.e. which games were included, etc).

I'm almost positive it was $722 though. Anyway, I guess we'll see.

Hmm. That's an interesting number.

Last year south end tickets ended up being $376 (with the MLS Cup ticket). At the number you saw whey would be $361 (or possibly $355 + the account fee) for next year.

I don't consider that much of a discount. Although its the higher priced tickets that will require much deeper discounting.

Edit:

Just doing some math, and $361 works out perfectly for 19 games at $19 each. That would essentially be a price freeze from last year. Maybe their plan is to make the NCC tickets 'free'.

[Wombat]

I received my package in this morning's post - "this looks interesting" I thought, as I opened the TFC envelope, hope it's something useful like a car sticker, tee shirt or beer / food coupon for the final home game, etc

No - as I looked through the glossy booklet, which was very professional & expensive to print, I got quite angry...

all fluff & rah-rah about "next year we'll be a TEAM, here's our philosophy, we value the fans, you're our 12th man....blah, blah, blah

Actions speak louder than words... this booklet was like giving beads & trinkets to the Indians as they ripped off their gold!

Another waste of club funds and an insult to our intelligence.

Message to TFC front office - forget the glossy mags - give us a winnning team & cheaper beer

[AL-MO]

Got mine in the mail today. I completed the first survey but didn't bother with the last one.

I'll have a read when I get a chance.

[brad]

I want to renew my season tickets but only one thing will have any impact on whether I do or not:

PRICE

I am sick to death of massive annual price increases. And whichever way they sell it with including this and that, what I want, for once, is the smallest number possible when it comes time to pay the renewal fees.

I think they said there will be a price freeze next year, and there was a debate about what that would mean given that this season included the All Star game cost - are they freezing total number you have to pay, price per game, total price for league and CCC games package?

Frankly I think they should go the extra mile and for renewing season ticket holders give a price freeze on the per match cost of league games and chuck in free CCC games to boot.

Time to give something back after all the years of taking.

They should drop the prices - flat out. Prices are set by supply and demand. The prices where inflated when the supply was low and the demand was high.

The demand is now low and the supply is high, and prices should be adjusted to reflect that.

I don't expect that to happen though.

[brad]

If the book is as you say for the casual fans, i am afraid they have lost the plot then.

This book will have zero impact on what someone in 225 will do at renewals.

SSH other than the ones in supporter sections, care about 2 things: Wins & price of product.
This book will be tossed in the garbage just as fast as junk mail with flyers from longos.

I would add a third, they want to be entertained with attacking football. I don't think the masses would appreciate a winning team playing Preki-ball

[brad]

Agreed. I've always theorized that there are 2 markets for TFC tickets.

Season Ticket Market and Secondary Per Game Market

The Season Ticket buyer is essentially looking for value. They will attend all (or most) games and want to save some money by buying in bulk. They also want the assurance of access. This is your loyal group that win or lose will generally stick with the team.

The Secondary Per Game buyer is looking to attend specific games. They aren't as price conscious, willing to pay more to go to big games (ie vs Vancouver or Montreal) or for specific players (like seeing Henry or Beckham.) This group is more concerned about wins, losses, or "atmosphere". It's a night out (or a few nights out) and they'd like to get something exciting from that.

The trouble right now lies in the fact that both markets are connected.

The Secondary Per Game buyer isn't snapping up seats because of performance and lack of exposure. They have heard the team is crappy but haven't been watching because they don't have GolTV (in Standard Definition). Most are casually following the team at best.

Unfortunately, this drives the value for the Season Ticker Buyer down. Remember, they want to see all games and at a discount. Anyone with a calculator will see that you could get to all games, for prices less than season seats. So, why renew?

If they focus on the secondary market by marketing the team, and drive demand up on a per game basis, suddenly my season tickets have value once again. Which is where I think the Red Book signifies a direction change for the FO. They have to market the team now.

Ideally, that means TFC games in HD. More media coverage, more hype, and maybe we can even sell our tickets at cost once again in the near future. Which is why I see the investment in marketing as a positive for Season Ticket Holders.

There is another reason to be a season ticket holder - attachment to the people in your vicinity. I have become good friends with people that I sit with and watching the matches with them is a big part of my game day experience. Give up my seasons and I lose that.

[Klinsmann]

Got mine in the mail today. I completed the first survey but didn't bother with the last one.

I'll have a read when I get a chance.

WTF! I still haven't received mine yet! If it doesn't come tomorrow I'm not renewing............

[CoachGT]

The little red book is a pretty good keepsake. I've had a few players sign mine, and most hadn't seen it before and were genuinely interested and thought it a nice touch.

The back "blank" pages are ideal for players to sign, and this will be a very nice thing to keep. I have a few of these SSH items from the Blue Jays in the 80s and while they may seem cheesy at the time, they are very good little keepsakes.

Who knows, they might be worth something some day!

[London]

so was there ever an explination on the blank pages??

it was half the book and looks like it was strategically done when you see some pages have quotes

[Mark in Ottawa]

Never got the "Red Book" and don't expect I ever will given I am a "partial pack" ticket holder.

I have never got anything from the club except a rise in blood pressure every time I think about the "ransom pack" that I was stupid enough to have purchased in the past.