New Stadium Think Tank

namron · Post by **namron** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 11:58 am

With Ravenhill being developed to 18000 capacity how are we going to get the increased attendances that a development and investment of this size warrants ? Given we have an 8000 hard core support how will we double the gate ? Gentlemen marketing executives the floor is open lets have some positive input

OneMore · Post by **OneMore** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 12:04 pm

I heard of an English soccer team recently who gave away 8000 tickets to boost attendance. The commentator also said that there were many season ticket holders very unhappy about it (they'd already paid for their ticket etc.), I think they went to school kids and whatnot.

I personally think this would be a good idea, and I'd like to think Ulster fans, ST holders or otherwise, would support it. Hard logistically though, and you wouldn't want it to get to a point where people don't buy tickets on the chance they may get them free closer to the game, thus negatively impacting ticket sales.

I think our support will organically grow next year. A combination of this season being relatively successful, and the TV coverage mean the awareness will have been raised.

OM

namron · Post by **namron** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 12:08 pm

Giving tickets away would definitely Irk some regulars but I heard a certain Irish league football club who play in blue give free tickets to the children of season ticket holders for league games .Get them young and build on the future is a good long term strategy methinks.

mikerob · Post by **mikerob** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 12:25 pm

Good discussion topic! While UR's total attendance will be up this year because of the 2 extra home games, the averages are down. However the Italian teams aren't the biggest draws so this isn't surprising. I think the "like for like" attendances excluding the Italians are down very slightly. Greater success on the pitch may have attracted people, but perhaps the games on free-to-air has persuaded more to stay at home.

Probably most importantly, the team needs to be successful on the pitch. It will be really, really tough to attract new or casual support if the team is getting stuffed most weeks.

In the ML & HEC, I think you've got to accept that some games will be a lot more popular than others - basically the interpros and HEC games against big name English and French teams. Ulster aren't going to move from current attendances to selling out every game with 18k, so initial focus should be on selling out the high profile games, then move on from there.

An open question is - where is the new support going to come from? I get the impression there is a large pool of "casual" fans who would have had some background in rugby, probably at school, but it doesn't play a big part in their life, certainly compared to the obsessives like us who post on uafc.

These people would be on the hunt for tickets if Ulster was in a SF or final, but couldn't be bothered during the rest of the season (call them "the glory hunters")

Then there will be people who have had very little or no background and knowledge in rugby and indeed, may have somewhat negative preconceptions. Maybe they would have seen some Ireland 6N games on the TV but nothing more. The challenge would be to get these people to come, then they might find they really enjoy it (call them, the "ach the rugby's not for my sort")

I'm sure people will have other ideas of groups of people who could become regular fans, but what attracts one group may not be the same with another.

WIth any product, one of the most effective ways of attracting customer is personal recommendation. Maybe UR could introduce an "introduce a new fan" scheme for existing ST holders with some reward in terms of ST discounts or prizes.

HwoodMike2umate · Post by **HwoodMike2umate** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 12:45 pm

Cheerleaders.

Joony-k · Post by **Joony-k** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 1:04 pm

As a Student who admittedly has not been to as many games as he should have, I would like to put forward the idea of student discount tickets. Students who stay up in Belfast could be poached and persuaded to stay up at the weekends for getting to watch games cheeper. One of the biggest problems at Queen's is the amount of students going home at the weekend. It would be great if they could be encouraged to support Ulster on a Friday night as it is not far probably from where they are staying.

Just an idea which i would say be be disagreed with by a good few lol.

OneMore · Post by **OneMore** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 1:10 pm

mikerob wrote:...An open question is - where is the new support going to come from? I get the impression there is a large pool of "casual" fans who would have had some background in rugby, probably at school, but it doesn't play a big part in their life, certainly compared to the obsessives like us who post on uafc. These people would be on the hunt for tickets if Ulster was in a SF or final, but couldn't be bothered during the rest of the season (call them "the glory hunters")

Then there will be people who have had very little or no background and knowledge in rugby and indeed, may have somewhat negative preconceptions. Maybe they would have seen some Ireland 6N games on the TV but nothing more. The challenge would be to get these people to come, then they might find they really enjoy it (call them, the "ach the rugby's not for my sort")

I think this is the most interesting aspect. And I think it's fair to say we could do with seeing more people from varied backgrounds attending. I think it would be fair to say the majority (or at least a fair whack) of regular attenders are middle-class white protestants. Partly location will be a contributing factor - the ground is in the leafy suburbs of east Belfast, but surely there is a wealth of working class protestants who could be reached better, not to mention the fact that I believe those from nationalist backgrounds are very under-represented at Ravers.

A big part of the issue will almost certainly be schooling background - being that rugby is still viewed by many as a grammar school's game, whilst football is the sport of choice for non-grammar school children - in terms of long-term strategy it'd probably be a good idea to look into promoting rugby amongst non-grammar schools. This may well be an existing strategy, I don't know.

It's a complex issue, but I definitely don't think we've reached all that we can.

mikerob wrote:WIth any product, one of the most effective ways of attracting customer is personal recommendation. Maybe UR could introduce an "introduce a new fan" scheme for existing ST holders with some reward in terms of ST discounts or prizes.

I'm well on for this, given two friends are currently considering ST uptake for next year!

OM

notj · Post by **notj** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 1:21 pm

Joony-k wrote:As a Student who admittedly has not been to as many games as he should have, I would like to put forward the idea of student discount tickets. Students who stay up in Belfast could be poached and persuaded to stay up at the weekends for getting to watch games cheeper. One of the biggest problems at Queen's is the amount of students going home at the weekend. It would be great if they could be encouraged to support Ulster on a Friday night as it is not far probably from where they are staying.

Just an idea which i would say be be disagreed with by a good few lol.

I think this is a good idea (as a Queens student and current season ticket holder). Special student offers could really fill the ground. I think a lot of students are likely to buy a few beers and get behind the team, but might be put off going every week by the cost.

I've marketing for one-off games directed towards students, but there's more that could be done

damianmcr · Post by **damianmcr** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 1:23 pm

The coverage on BBC this year and then a brand new stadium will raise the profile of Ulster Rugby.

This is my first year watching Ulster and I have become a real fan due to the ease of watching the games.

HammerTime · Post by **HammerTime** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 1:26 pm

-Attendances will automatically increase a bit when the new ground is done....With all the hype and buzz around it. Build the stadium and they will come. Look at Ravenhill at the minute. Its a dump TBH. Better facilities to eat and drink, better toilets (remember the Leinster game?!!

) will draw people back. If armchair fans see a brand spanking new stadium on BBC on a Fri night there gona be easier persuaded to actually attend than the shape Ravers is in now.

-Drop the ticket prices. Fair enough 20 squid for a European game but £18 for connaught match? A bit steep. Increased atten would help to offset this anyway.

-7:05 kick-offs. How do they expect people to get home from work, showered/fed and up to belfast for the game?! Ive missed a few purely because of this. Even 7:45 would be a lot better. Possible issues with residents due to later finish I know??

-Don't know much about this but a turbocharged marketing campaign....tv, billboards, radio etc.

-Top class players. Obv need as many of our local players playing for Ireland and our NIQ to be of a high calibre rather than the (mostly) dung we've signed in the past. Thankfully this seems to be happening anyway. Would rather go see Ferris and Pienaar play than Kieran Campbell and Campbell Feather!

-Probably the most important of all. Our team needs to be successful on the pitch. We need to be winning the league and challenging in the latter stages of the Heiny......year after year....even winning it. IMO we are a bit of a sleeping giant, always looking up to Munster/Leinster. A Euro Cup final and interest in the team would go through the roof.

Just a few thoughts...

BR · Post by BR » Wed Apr 27, 2011 1:34 pm

I was in the local play park with BR@2 last sunday (I know ... parks open on Sunday - I must live in Sodom or Gomorrah). I counted 3 rugby balls being kicked about versus 1 soccer ball. BBC coverage has been a masive boost to non-attending public interest in the game, and far outweighs any loss in attendance 'coz it's on the box'. The key is to get these punters even more interested so they'll come along and watch. FIRST - we need to sort out the access for kids. I've tried to raise this subject with UR through the good offices of URSC, but unfortunately must report that I have failed. They seem to be making the right noises, but we don't seem to see any improvement on the ground. This will only get worse with the disruption due to be casued by the next lot of building work.

It would be tempting for UR to wait until any temporary decreases in capacity are over before really going on the offensive marketing-wise, but IMHO they need to strike while the iron is hot and have something in place for the beginning of next season. RWC will raise the profile of rugby in general and UR should be riding on that. Get a couple of players out to primary schools with a handfull of discount vouchers. Don't depend on the schools organising a bus trip (they can't afford it) give them straight to the kids so they can badger their parents. BUT for god sake have somewhere for them to watch the game when they get there.

notj · Post by **notj** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 1:48 pm

damianmcr wrote:The coverage on BBC this year and then a brand new stadium will raise the profile of Ulster Rugby.

This is my first year watching Ulster and I have become a real fan due to the ease of watching the games.

That's fantastic.

The question is; do people who get into Ulster via the much improved TV coverage get encouraged to come down and see a game in person?

mikerob · Post by **mikerob** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 1:58 pm

AFAIK the 19:05 ko time comes from the broadcaster.

damianmcr · Post by **damianmcr** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 2:28 pm

notj wrote:
damianmcr wrote:The coverage on BBC this year and then a brand new stadium will raise the profile of Ulster Rugby.

This is my first year watching Ulster and I have become a real fan due to the ease of watching the games.
That's fantastic.

The question is; do people who get into Ulster via the much improved TV coverage get encouraged to come down and see a game in person?

Definitely, I have been too 3 games this season. Its getting my friend to go with me thats the real problem.

All victories I have been to Ospreys, Cardiff and Aironi

Windeos · Post by **Windeos** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 3:01 pm

I think the problem lies in the schools. All my old school friends from the grammar regularly go to games but any friend from the high school don't tend to go mostly because none of their close friends go.

Once I have room in the car or a spare ticket and bring a non grammar friend they genuinely love the experience. They all show interest in going to the games but it just seems to be actually getting them to make the effort with a few friends to go.

The tv coverage is definitely showcasing Ulster rugby for the better. My friends on facebook were going mad about Pienaars last min heroics so for me it just shows there is growing interest. Just have to give it more time and let the rugby bug take hold further next season.

A major problem I'm just thinking of that people told me was problem with ticketing online. The online ticket service is a joke & friends of mine gave up trying because the website & ticket sales online are awful.

Improve the online aspect &accessibility for the rugby with billboards in towns around ulster &Belfast. Then with the better facilities coming soon it should bring in more crowds.

There is a lot that needs to be addressed but there is definite progress being made with high interest levels from non rugby people.

The UAFC