Can the club really afford not to extend the ‘early bird deadline and discount’ still further? This is the question that Dave_S139 asks.
The club have recently extended the deadline for Season Ticket renewals until the end of June. After this, the expectation is that all seats will be available for general sale. However, given the fact that the most likely attendees at Fratton Park for matches during this coming season will be drawn from within the 2009/10 season ticket community, can the club really afford not to extend the ‘early bird deadline and discount’ still further.
The impact of the recent extension was always going to be minimal, being a matter of an extra nine days smack bang in the middle of the World Cup. In my opinion, most fans won’t start thinking ‘Pompey’ until the very latter stages or certainly until after England are knocked out. And Portsmouth Football Club run a real danger of switching more fans off if suddenly the prices to previous season ticket holders are suddenly hiked as and when the deadline passes.
It would be easy to argue that “a deadline is a deadline” and “you’ve had plenty of time to get yourself organised” but these are extraordinary times at our club. The ownership issue is far from resolved and, at the time of writing, no absolutely final decision has been made on the CVA or indeed the prospect of a further point’s deduction. It is therefore not surprising that the fans are holding off before parting with their money and it would be unfair to penalise them for doing so. The suggestion that any monies paid in respect of Season Tickets will be ‘ring fenced’ is all well and good but at the moment the trust just isn’t there and that in itself will take some considerable time to rebuild. And the club need to understand that.
I for one have my money ready to pay as and when the time feels right. At the moment it doesn’t and June 30th isn’t too far away. Without having a Season Ticket tucked safely away in my wallet and without the availability of a cash only turnstile I feel it highly unlikely that I would be bothered to obtain a ticket either in advance or by having to queue up at the office on the day. And I say this after 45 years of attendance.
In conclusion, my message to the club is, think carefully on June 30th about what you do. The fans are here and waiting to return but the circumstances need to be right. £300 is still a lot of money to most of us and if that £300 suddenly became £350 at the end of the month then I feel it could understandably tip the balance with many supporters. After all, what exactly would we be paying extra for?
Written by Dave_S139.
The views within this article are the views of the individual who wrote and submitted this piece, sometimes solely theirs. They are not necessarily shared by the Vital Pompey Site Journalists.
For more information about the Vital England predictions league game – click here.
For more information about the Vital England fantasy football game – click here.
