Attendances

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CountryRoyal
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Re: Attendances

by CountryRoyal » 20 Apr 2017 12:32

Stranded Our average over all 22 games this year is 17,429, which is slightly up on the last 2 seasons.

Looking back over the past few years, we seem to go up to about 19k either side of time in the PL but it always falls back to around 17.5k. That is our fan base at this level.

Huddersfields average attendance has jumped 8k this year compared to last which I think you can just put down to a team doing better than it has done in a very long time.

For Reading, this is actually a fairly "normal" season at this level i.e. in or near the play-off places, so hardly surprising the gates haven't jumped too much. If we'd been closer to the top 2 since the new year, then I think we would have seen larger crowds but as it is, whilst it has been a great season, there hasn't been much in the way of tension to pull in fans who are the more casual attendees.


Good post.

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Re: Attendances

by Hound » 20 Apr 2017 12:38

there's a potentially very big fan base with all the Berkshire towns like Slough and Newbury. I reckon if we were to establish in the Prem, you'd start getting more people from these places coming along

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Re: Attendances

by Top Flight » 20 Apr 2017 12:56

Hound there's a potentially very big fan base with all the Berkshire towns like Slough and Newbury. I reckon if we were to establish in the Prem, you'd start getting more people from these places coming along


It needs to be easier, cheaper, and more fun then the crowds might rise.

Safe Standing is definitely needed. That could totally revitalise Reading FC and it could appeal greatly to the millenials who are being priced out of football. We need a big safe standing terrace. Pay on the gate, £10 entry, kid for a quid. Keep the seats for the Richer, old duffer, baby boomer generation who are retiring on good incomes and just want to sit quietly and observe.

The millenials have been crushed by high rents and mortgage payments, the cost of living, low pay and insecure jobs. If RFC don't find a way to appeal to the impoverished kids of the middle classes then I think attendances will be in long term structural decline.

This is why you only see old duffers and young kids at the mad stad these days.

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Re: Attendances

by Stranded » 20 Apr 2017 12:58

Hound there's a potentially very big fan base with all the Berkshire towns like Slough and Newbury. I reckon if we were to establish in the Prem, you'd start getting more people from these places coming along


Absolutely, the key for Reading as a club is getting up to the PL and staying there. 1 or 2 seasons as we have had in the past doesn't do much to grow a fanbase (except on a temporary basis). If we can stay up for 3 or 4 years, then we will get 23k+ every week. At which point we can look to expand the stadium and get more people in from the surrounding areas.

Reading's biggest problem, has and always will be, that it is a largely transient town. A lot of people who live in Reading, don't come from Reading but moved for work/uni. As a result, for a town of Reading's size there is likely a larger percentage of football fans who support another club either as that is there home town, or simply one of the bigger clubs. You also have the issue that for years we were a small lower division club and lots of people travelled up to London of a Saturday to see a higher standard. Those people are lost, bar the odd game, as are their children who may well follow in Dad's footsteps and go up to London to watch Chelsea/West Ham every other Saturday.

So whilst we do have a great potential catchement area, we have a number of challenges in attracting new fans that may be fairly unique given the geography of Reading and the make up of it's residents.

The same issue will apply to surrounding towns - Slough again a transient town with quick links to London. Reading could sustain 28-30k crowds in the PL, but this will always drop back to mid-teens in the Championship simply due to the demographic of the town.

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Re: Attendances

by Nameless » 20 Apr 2017 13:01

And of course we have London Irish giving local sports fans an option for their money. I suspect without Irish we would attract several dozen more fans to the big games.


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Re: Attendances

by Hound » 20 Apr 2017 13:07

I think safe standing would be a nice, agree on that. Its a shame they can't make the walk from Reading to the Stadium a little bit more enticing as well - I've no idea on how they could do that, but I suspect the hassle of having to drive/get a bus turn a few off as well.

The millennial thing - I don't think the fanbase down here is badly off in general to be honest. We must be vying for near top spot in the middle-class club table, maybe only beaten by Arsenal, Brighton and Fulham. I'm not sure lack of affordability is that high on the reasons for low attendances.

I'd expect the attendances in northern places where there are no jobs to be well down if that was solely the case. But then I suppose there is nothing else to do there bar watching the football.

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Re: Attendances

by bobby1413 » 20 Apr 2017 13:16

Hound Its a shame they can't make the walk from Reading to the Stadium a little bit more enticing as well

I suspect the hassle of having to drive/get a bus turn a few off as well.



Yea definitely - on both points.

I did ask someone with more knowledge about the massive amount of land next to the A33 (Oppositte Kennet Island) and why it had never been bought up. Seems such a big bit of land. As I was informed at the time it's a massive swampy flood plain.

Maybe REP will help encourage more to come for more than just a football match next to B&Q.

I can't wait for Green Park to fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinally open and be active whenever that is - probably in 4-5 years unfortunately.

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Re: Attendances

by Silver Fox » 20 Apr 2017 13:37

I hate to look like I'm always picking on TF's nonsense but anyone who thinks any adult ticket will regularly be a tenner, standing or not, is living in cloud cuckoo land. In fact, if I'm not mistaken the argument for safe standing has never been "it'll be cheaper" considering each standing space will be a seat's worth of room.

Besides that, claiming price is a factor in our attendances totally ignores all the deals the club has put together to reduce those costs and that as mentioned Northern clubs with higher ticket prices seem to get loads in despite them having far less disposable than us.

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Re: Attendances

by mheholt » 20 Apr 2017 13:51

The first time we got promoted to the Premiership (2006) the excitement and anticipation was incredible because we had a genuinely good team (which lived up to the expectation in the first season). Even the second time we got promoted (2012) there was a sense of real anticipation because we (mistakenly) believed we were going to invest enough to give ourselves a chance (as Southampton did). This time, I reckon we all realise that promotion, whilst exciting at the time, really only brings the inevitability of a horrible struggle, most likely resulting in relegation. I think that realisation is a major factor in the fans staying away. It is possible to break out of the cycle but you have to invest a lot (again, I mention Southampton but you can also think about clubs like Stoke). And it is no good the club saying that spending money is no guarantee of success; we know that. But NOT spending money if a guarantee of failure.


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Re: Attendances

by bobby1413 » 20 Apr 2017 14:00

I think it's ridiculous to blame pricing at times.

With next years ST the cost per game is £13.

Pay on the day as an adult for £20 - that's peanuts considering the cost of everything else these days

A family ticket (2+2brats) = £42

We're meant to be living in an affluent area. People round here regularly spunk £100 on a night out, or £30+ for dinner.

I think almost all can afford a £20 match ticket but they just don't want to come

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Re: Attendances

by Top Flight » 20 Apr 2017 14:09

Silver Fox I hate to look like I'm always picking on TF's nonsense but anyone who thinks any adult ticket will regularly be a tenner, standing or not, is living in cloud cuckoo land. In fact, if I'm not mistaken the argument for safe standing has never been "it'll be cheaper" considering each standing space will be a seat's worth of room.

Besides that, claiming price is a factor in our attendances totally ignores all the deals the club has put together to reduce those costs and that as mentioned Northern clubs with higher ticket prices seem to get loads in despite them having far less disposable than us.


Feel free! It is a debate after all. I can take it.

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Re: Attendances

by Nameless » 20 Apr 2017 14:12

Interesting that on the one hand tickets for a tenner is cloud cuckoo land yet most of us actually pay only a bit more than that and for several games this season that was the cost of a one off ticket !
Would be a brave owner who decided they could make it work by offering an across the board price of £10. I think the general view at the club is that despite a whole load of offer giving cheap tickets it's made little difference to attendances. SO it seems it's not a price thing, it's not a results thing and performances have generally been way better than the last couple of years.
I suspect, as others have suggested, it's a habit thing. We attracted lots of new fans in the good years but a couple of comparatively poor years means people stop coming and it takes a while to get them back.

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Re: Attendances

by Elm Park Kid » 20 Apr 2017 14:14

I just don't think that the experience of watching Reading is particularly good for a causal fan.

Say you meet you mate at midday on a saturday in the town centre. You've got nothing to do so decide to go up and watch Reading.

You walk up to Reading station to catch the bus, that's £4 each. Bus takes a while because of the traffic. You get the ticket office and there's a big queue. You pay £23 each to sit behind the goal.

There's nowhere to have a drink beforehand other than the busy jazz cafe or hanging around outside. The choice of drink is limited and all expensive.

You watch the game and there's pretty much no atmosphere where you're sat in the stadium. No singing, sporadic cheering. You actually hear booing now and again. You struggle to recognize any of the Reading team and their football is pretty boring. Maybe Reading win by a single goal but no one around you looks that bothered.

So now the game finishes and you're heading to the bus to see the long, long queue. You finally get back into town and the Prem game has already kicked off and you missed an early goal. You're £40 down after the bus, tickets and having two pints and a pie.

You say to your mate "Never doing that again."
Last edited by Elm Park Kid on 20 Apr 2017 14:17, edited 1 time in total.


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Re: Attendances

by Top Flight » 20 Apr 2017 14:17

bobby1413 I think it's ridiculous to blame pricing at times.

With next years ST the cost per game is £13.

Pay on the day as an adult for £20 - that's peanuts considering the cost of everything else these days

A family ticket (2+2brats) = £42

We're meant to be living in an affluent area. People round here regularly spunk £100 on a night out, or £30+ for dinner.

I think almost all can afford a £20 match ticket but they just don't want to come


Of course our fans can afford it and are willing to pay it. But if we are to grow our fan base, we need to entice people who are not currently our fans. I wouldn't pay £20 to go and watch QPR. I feel no emotion towards them. In my opinion and it is just my opinion, I think if we want to grow the fan base we have to make football a laugh again, a harmless, painless, enjoyable thing to do on a Saturday afternoon. Once we have 10,000 new fans who have been going for a few seasons then whack the prices up on all of us.

It just has to be easy. When it comes to football, you have to be part of the club in order to go. If I was thinking about going to watch a QPR game, I would be put off by the fact that I probably need to be a member to buy tickets. I have to sign up to the database and become a super hoop and join their little club then I might have access to tickets. I probably can't be ars*d for all of that. A non fan should just think, let's just go and watch Reading today. There is F all else to do and I have a spare tenner burning a hole in my pocket. I don't need to plan ahead. I don't need to join the membership list. I can just rock up and watch. That's how it needs to be to get new fans in. Do that for a few years to build up the fan base again.

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Re: Attendances

by bobby1413 » 20 Apr 2017 14:17

£10 a ticket would have a tiny almost unnoticeable result.

If the club did a day where it was free entry for anyone I still don't think it would make tons more people come.

People come because they want to. It's a good time, they enjoy it, it's a nice way to spend a day off or evening etc...

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Re: Attendances

by Top Flight » 20 Apr 2017 14:21

Elm Park Kid I just don't think that the experience of watching Reading is particularly good for a causal fan.

Say you meet you mate at midday on a saturday in the town centre. You've got nothing to do so decide to go up and watch Reading.

You walk up to Reading station to catch the bus, that's £4 each. Bus takes a while because of the traffic. You get the ticket office and there's a big queue. You pay £23 each to sit behind the goal.

There's nowhere to have a drink beforehand other than the busy jazz cafe or hanging around outside. The choice of drink is limited and all expensive.

You watch the game and there's pretty much no atmosphere where you're sat in the stadium. No singing, sporadic cheering. You actually hear booing now and again. You struggle to recognize any of the Reading team and their football is pretty boring. Maybe Reading win by a single goal but no one around you looks that bothered.

So now the game finishes and you're heading to the bus to see the long, long queue. You finally get back into town and the Prem game has already kicked off and you missed an early goal. You're £40 down after the bus, tickets and having two pints and a pie.

You say to your mate "Never doing that again."


I think you have nailed it there pretty well. This is the general gist of the problem. I agree.

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Re: Attendances

by Top Flight » 20 Apr 2017 14:24

bobby1413 £10 a ticket would have a tiny almost unnoticeable result.

If the club did a day where it was free entry for anyone I still don't think it would make tons more people come.

People come because they want to. It's a good time, they enjoy it, it's a nice way to spend a day off or evening etc...


We all come regardless out of habit. Existing fans are not price sensitive. But new fans will be extremely price sensitive. The money I pay to watch Reading, I would not pay to watch any other club.

And as Elm Park Kid rightly pointed out, the whole experience is awful. There is not enough passion at RFC.

A Safe Standing terrace, cheap entry, no member card requirements, pay on the gate a couple of extra pubs around and alot of the problems will be solved. Then RFC could start to grow again.

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Re: Attendances

by bobby1413 » 20 Apr 2017 14:25

Some good points. I wasn't even considering attracting non fans and day trippers.

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Re: Attendances

by Winston Smith » 20 Apr 2017 14:26

Hound I'd expect the attendances in northern places where there are no jobs to be well down if that was solely the case. But then I suppose there is nothing else to do there bar watching the football.


drinking in run down looking working mens clubs
beating their wives
being racist
talking about old times a lot

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Re: Attendances

by bobby1413 » 20 Apr 2017 14:28

Winston Smith
Hound I'd expect the attendances in northern places where there are no jobs to be well down if that was solely the case. But then I suppose there is nothing else to do there bar watching the football.


drinking in run down looking working mens clubs
beating their wives
being racist
talking about old times a lot


Sounds grim.

But I have heard they've all now got broadband up there. Still can't get a 4G signal though.

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