49 replies to this topic

[Barry Bridges]

Tim W, on 29 July 2010 - 02:05 PM, said:

I'm afraid the figures don't back you up (remember compulsory seating was introduced in 1994)

Attendance averages

Exactly! The stats show we have pretty much hit capacity for the last 7 years, whose to say those figures wouldnt be in the 50ks right now if there was the seating for it? Attendance has nearly doubled in 15 years, our success is sure to make that trend grow as long as we have the capacity!

As mentioned, we've been hitting near capacity for 7 years. The worst attendance in those years, based on a capacity of 42000, was a year with 98.2% of the seats being filled. Its only logical that of those 1.8% that didnt show, many were purchased and just wasted due to last minute issues or what not by the purchaser. Also, if we increase seating by 18,000 or so, they could increase gross revenue while selling cheaper tickets!

Im not advocating a move from Stamford Bridge, Im advocating that it would be in our best long term interests to temporarily relocate while construction is taking place at the Bridge. Only 1 road to access? Contruction can fix that!

Fact remains that we are a growing club and based on those attendance stats provided by Tim W, we dont have space for that growth in our stadium. Do we address the issue now while we have all the pieces in place (success on the pitch, growing fan base, billionaire owner), or do we wait? If we wait we may hit hard times, Roman could leave. Our on field success may be taken over by Man City or Arsenal.

Someone here mentioned they became a Chelsea fan after admitting to their parents they were thinking about becoming an Arsenal/Spurs fan and their parents being Chelsea fans had the dad take the son to a Chelsea game in the Harding stands. Apparently it was that experience who made him a life long Chelsea fan..........how many future Chelsea fans are missing out on because they cant watch a live game? Not enough seats based on those figures, so even if they can afford it, it doesnt appear that theres a lot of extra tickets laying around.....Tickets cost too much? Increase the supply and ticket prices can be lowered while increasing gross revenue.

Fact remains is that to fuel on our pitch success we need to have finiancial strength. Our current finiancial strength is Roman, but we wont even be able to rely on that for the CL soon. What happens when Roman leaves? Unless another billionaire willing to splash cash purchases us, we will decline. We wont be able to afford to keep a world class squad, we will lose sponsor money as our on pitch form drops, and thats hardly going to inspire many new fans? It will turn into a very vicious cycle unless we have the infrastructure already in place to become a self sufficient club.

Yes we had success before Roman came, we also had Champion League football.........but how far away from administration were we? The time to act is now, not after the problem manifests itself and it becomes too late.

[clubhappy]

I'd find it very difficult getting used to us playing anywhere else . To me Stamford Bridge is a huge part of being a Chelsea fan.

[TimW]

Quote

Only 1 road to access? Contruction can fix that!

how?

[Barry Bridges]

gullit4, on 30 July 2010 - 12:37 AM, said:

how?

As previously stated Im not very familiar with the layout of the surrounding area so I hope you arent expecting me to provide specific examples.

However, you could build a new road on surrounding area, you could use a tunnel system, you could use arial walkways/bridges, you could expand current walking paths...in a modern age where we can move/level mountains, create man-made islands/destroy existing natural islands in the ocean and create man-made lakes in the prairies, I really dont think expanding a football stadium or making it more accessible is going to fall under the "impossible" category.

Certainly not all those options will be feasible, but its definately worth exploring the options.

[bluegraham]

Barry Bridges, on 30 July 2010 - 01:24 AM, said:

As previously stated Im not very familiar with the layout of the surrounding area so I hope you arent expecting me to provide specific examples.

However, you could build a new road on surrounding area, you could use a tunnel system, you could use arial walkways/bridges, you could expand current walking paths...in a modern age where we can move/level mountains, create man-made islands/destroy existing natural islands in the ocean and create man-made lakes in the prairies, I really dont think expanding a football stadium or making it more accessible is going to fall under the "impossible" category.

Certainly not all those options will be feasible, but its definately worth exploring the options.

mr bridges your putting up a good fight on this topic i like that, but the above issue have been all thought about and put forward by ken bates he tried to put tube stops by the east stand,we also tryed to put a walkway from the north stand out towards earls court the fact is chelsea is the most central club in london planning permisson is hard to get and expensive also. it aint going to happen real chelsea fans dont want a move away like clubhappy said stamford bridge is all about being a chelsea fan.

[Barry Bridges]

bluegraham, on 30 July 2010 - 01:35 AM, said:

mr bridges your putting up a good fight on this topic i like that, but the above issue have been all thought about and put forward by ken bates he tried to put tube stops by the east stand,we also tryed to put a walkway from the north stand out towards earls court the fact is chelsea is the most central club in london planning permisson is hard to get and expensive also. it aint going to happen real chelsea fans dont want a move away like clubhappy said stamford bridge is all about being a chelsea fan.

Exactly why I propose the way forward would be to renovate our current grounds/stadium. I mean Ive only been their a handful of times yet I would not sponsor relocating either, its part of the community.......moving it would tarnish the history of the club and it just wouldnt be right!

It wont be easy, but I say we keeping trying until victorious! (wonder if the zoning board is made up of rival fans, trying to block our progress!)

Edited by Barry Bridges, 30 July 2010 - 01:58 AM.

[c3blu]

How exactly dont the stats back me up???

Are you looking at the years when the ground was being redevoloped and our capacity was reduced, or do you want to look at our worst ever season when we was in a crumbling stadium in the second division???

The stats are bang on, our all time average is 36,000. Thats over 100 yrs, i like to see a glass half full not empty. Whats the point in saying we did'nt have big crowds in 1982-1983 when people did'nt want to go to games through fear of riots etc. Those are hardly stats to base a future business model off are they?

The games are sold out every week, and many could be sold 2-3 times over. There ARE waiting lists at the bridge like Arsenal and Tottenham because having had a season ticket for many years i've tried to get an etra one for the last few years and am on one, it does'nt take a genius to work out we could do with a bigger stadium, and even if worst case scenario we did'nt sell all the tickets for a few of the games it would still be worth it for the others.
The fact is the club likes a pint in a quart pot situation so they can charge what they like.

Edited by c3blu, 30 July 2010 - 09:45 AM.

[Blue_Swede]

c3blu, on 30 July 2010 - 09:34 AM, said:

How exactly dont the stats back me up???

Are you looking at the years when the ground was being redevoloped and our capacity was reduced, or do you want to look at our worst ever season when we was in a crumbling stadium in the second division???

The stats are bang on, our all time average is 36,000. Thats over 100 yrs, i like to see a glass half full not empty. Whats the point in saying we did'nt have big crowds in 1982-1983 when people did'nt want to go to games through fear of riots etc. Those are hardly stats to base a future business model off are they?

The games are sold out every week, and many could be sold 2-3 times over. There ARE waiting lists at the bridge like Arsenal and Tottenham because having had a season ticket for many years i've tried to get an etra one for the last few years and am on one, it does'nt take a genius to work out we could do with a bigger stadium, and even if worst case scenario we did'nt sell all the tickets for a few of the games it would still be worth it for the others.
The fact is the club likes a pint in a quart pot situation so they can charge what they like.

Not a waiting list as such. All you have to do is earn a certain amount of loyalty points and then you can buy a season ticket for the following season. To get a season tickets this season you needed 67 points from last season (see link below). In other words, if you went to all the home games last season (all competitions) it was possible to buy a season ticket for this season. You don't have to wait for years.

http://www.chelseafc...2066145,00.html

[Tea Bar Boy]

Blue_Swede, on 30 July 2010 - 11:40 AM, said:

Not a waiting list as such. All you have to do is earn a certain amount of loyalty points and then you can buy a season ticket for the following season. To get a season tickets this season you needed 67 points from last season (see link below). In other words, if you went to all the home games last season (all competitions) it was possible to buy a season ticket for this season. You don't have to wait for years.

http://www.chelseafc...2066145,00.html

Well there you go Le Arse and Rottenham have 2/3 year waiting lists for season tickets and we don't have one !

The other point to note is Fans on the day don't make the club money hughe volumes of money the boxes do !

[c3blu]

It must be because i want tickets in a particular part of the stadium,(MHupper) 'cos the club have told me i'm on a waiting list. If you do click on the link you'll see that all season tickets are SOLD OUT anywhere in the stadium, including the massively expensive corperate ones.

So the point about needing a bigger ground is a good one.

Edited by c3blu, 30 July 2010 - 01:50 PM.

[c3blu]

The club has a loyalty point scheme in place on season tickets to stop anybody applying, you need a certain amount of points just to apply,it does'nt mean you'll get one or that any are even available, you can go on a waiting list incase one does become available which is rare. Demand definately exceeds supply and thats just how the club like it so they can charge pretty much what they like, as tear bear boy said gate reciepts these days are a drop in the ocean.

I'm thinking more about the fans when saying we need a bigger ground rather than the increase in revenue.

[bluegraham]

c3blu, on 30 July 2010 - 02:31 PM, said:

The club has a loyalty point scheme in place on season tickets to stop anybody applying, you need a certain amount of points just to apply,it does'nt mean you'll get one or that any are even available, you can go on a waiting list incase one does become available which is rare. Demand definately exceeds supply and thats just how the club like it so they can charge pretty much what they like, as tear bear boy said gate reciepts these days are a drop in the ocean.

I'm thinking more about the fans when saying we need a bigger ground rather than the increase in revenue.

as far as im aware chelsea had season tickets on sale for this season not sure which part of the ground,you have to remember alot of season ticket holder did,t renew there season ticket at the bridge because people just can't afford it anymore. the world is in ression. £3 a burger £3 a match programme and then if you want to have a few pints then your travel. its expensive day out

[geezer]

I say kick Ken Bates out of his penthouse, kit it out with some seats and reserve them for shedenders - problem solved.

[dkw]

geezer, on 30 July 2010 - 04:14 PM, said:

I say kick Ken Bates out of his penthouse, kit it out with some seats and reserve them for shedenders - problem solved.

I seem to remember a few years ago there was a rumour they were gonna knock down Kens legacy and maybe build the stand up there.

[bluegraham]

still only one round geezer lol

[Barry Bridges]

Ive heard media reports saying Chelsea season tickets were sold out when they were mentioning Man U's season tickets dropping due to the "green and yellow" whatever.


Someone mentioned that increasing seating by 10,000 would increase our revenue by 500,000 every 2 weeks. Im assuming thats based off a ticket being 50quid......in that case you are forgetting additional revenue from concession stands etc that could more than double that figure.


Increasing the stadium size would also benefit the city in terms of drawing more business to the area and even tourism. Every european night at Stamford bridge could draw thousand more foriegn fans from the teams Chelsea will face, let along foriegn Chelsea supporters. They will have to spend on accomodations, food, entertainment, souvenirs, etc etc a really big windfall. You would think the city would try and do everything possible to allow an expansion.

[bluegraham]

im not against making the bridge bigger once we dont leave im happy,but it aint going to be easy and i cant seee it being done.

[geezer]

Barry Bridges, on 30 July 2010 - 06:01 PM, said:

Ive heard media reports saying Chelsea season tickets were sold out when they were mentioning Man U's season tickets dropping due to the "green and yellow" whatever.


Someone mentioned that increasing seating by 10,000 would increase our revenue by 500,000 every 2 weeks. Im assuming thats based off a ticket being 50quid......in that case you are forgetting additional revenue from concession stands etc that could more than double that figure.


Increasing the stadium size would also benefit the city in terms of drawing more business to the area and even tourism. Every european night at Stamford bridge could draw thousand more foriegn fans from the teams Chelsea will face, let along foriegn Chelsea supporters. They will have to spend on accomodations, food, entertainment, souvenirs, etc etc a really big windfall. You would think the city would try and do everything possible to allow an expansion.

It's not that Chelsea don't want to expand and it's not that the city can influence the decision too much, it is the local residents who are the stumbling block. It took ages to get planning permission to build the existing MHL stand and all because somebody came up with a cock and bull story about an endangered species being put at risk (I seem to recall it was a weed for f**ks sake). The residents will do all they can to stop any expansion.

[loz]

geezer, on 31 July 2010 - 11:56 AM, said:

because somebody came up with a cock and bull story about an endangered species being put at risk

Are you sure it wasn't Fulham?

[ws6blue]

First of all, we arnt up there with mancu or the arse - sorry but thats a fact, BUT we could fill another 7k seats for most games provided the pricing was re-thought and reduced further for youngsters & families

Second, the ground could be redeveloped at both ends and add maybe 3-4k each end................but the exiting is a real problem and would need new mini-exits developed over the railway for the MH end to 'leak' fans out towards olympia - it could be done and would allow more local/UK fans to attend - sit in west or east upper and you'll see what I mean

Third, there are potential sites within a few miles..................on the Thames & Olympia to name 2

I would rather stay at SB but we need to balance the fanbase to more working class fans................not just the middleclass/foreign/wealthy fans who fill the west/east tiers