Bees v Dorking 23rd March

[wearebees]

Personally, I think it's a bit too soon to be doing offers based on Back to Barnet. For now we still need to attract fans from the local area, but this could put them off? Why would you bother if you think the club is leaving anyway. We need to be careful not to forget about current local fans/people. Moving to Barnet is a long way off, and could easily not happen. I've noticed more and more local fans in recent years who still need to feel valued.

We really should do an offer through.

[PBBee]

We've missed the boat on this one once again frustratingly. Would like the SA to get a response from the club as to why we just don't seem bothered on Non-League Day to get a large crowd in, wouldn't be surprised if they're happy enough with a slightly bloated crowd naturally unfortunately.

You'd hope any extra fans might be tempted by a huge play off game (and hopefully only 1) 1 month later if they enjoyed the day.

[Tuesds]

Saturday was another reminder of what we’re up against - 4,675 home fans at mid-table Hartlepool, who are not even among the biggest clubs in the division.

If we want to compete in the longer term at this level and above we have to find a way of increasing our attendances. Promotional days/events etc are only one small possible means of doing so of course, and I know we’re doing other things such as engagement with schools etc., but it would be nice if we tried this as well.

[beew]

Hartlepool gave away tickets to girls clubs as part of their matchday support for, Her Game Too. But they still average 4000 a game in a one club town so decent I suppose.

[hoppy]

Whenever there is next a meeting between TK and BFCSA could one of our Committee ask our Chairman why the Club does not come up with a promotion to support Non League Day?
Such a lost opportunity to attract fans of other Clubs and get the consequential extra finances.
I just cannot fathom TK’s logic on this.

[Anthony]

Whenever there is next a meeting between TK and BFCSA could one of our Committee ask our Chairman why the Club does not come up with a promotion to support Non League Day?
Such a lost opportunity to attract fans of other Clubs and get the consequential extra finances.
I just cannot fathom TK’s logic on this.

I believe there was a meeting recently, as per an email from the BFCSA last week promising an update. Unless I’ve missed it in my inbox, it hasn’t arrived yet.

[CrawleyBee]

Good offer from Halifax, simple and effective and the free scarf is a nice touch.

Come on TK why the reluctancy? Maybe he’s using poor crowds as leverage in the back 2 Barnet campaign?

[Anthony]

I’m not sure that’s such a great offer. Adults for 20 quid is a £2 discount.

Ultimately, there is no point offering deals when the experience at the Hive is so poor. If the goal is to get long term increases in attendance then you need to ensure people have a good experience in the ground, regardless of what happens on the pitch. If you can’t get a pint at half time because there are only two people on the bar, or if you have to pay £8 for a dry hotdog in a stale bun (missing 20 mins of the game to do so) then people will be permanently turned off. They won’t come back even it was for free (in fact I have struggled to get people to take up free tickets when they have been offered. One of the reasons being - they have been to the hive before)

If you aren’t tied to Barnet as a fan then can have much better experiences for less money at other non league grounds.

[CrawleyBee]

I’m not sure that’s such a great offer. Adults for 20 quid is a £2 discount.

Ultimately, there is no point offering deals when the experience at the Hive is so poor. If the goal is to get long term increases in attendance then you need to ensure people have a good experience in the ground, regardless of what happens on the pitch. If you can’t get a pint at half time because there are only two people on the bar, or if you have to pay £8 for a dry hotdog in a stale bun (missing 20 mins of the game to do so) then people will be permanently turned off. They won’t come back even it was for free (in fact I have struggled to get people to take up free tickets when they have been offered. One of the reasons being - they have been to the hive before)

If you aren’t tied to Barnet as a fan then can have much better experiences for less money at other non league grounds.

Maybe not the best example, but the fact they are doing something on non league day. We haven’t even acknowledged it.

[b4life]

We have asked the question about promotions several times. The answer we get is 'Being 2nd in the table, should be enough to bring supporters in'. While being 2nd in the league should mean we should be getting larger crowds, we don't agree that general promotions are not worth it. Affiliate schools do have regular promotions/incentives though.

[PBBee]

We have asked the question about promotions several times. The answer we get is 'Being 2nd in the table, should be enough to bring supporters in'. While being 2nd in the league should mean we should be getting larger crowds, we don't agree that general promotions are not worth it. Affiliate schools do have regular promotions/incentives though.

Why do I feel the SA is getting fobbed off by the club again nowadays, thought you had a closer relationship in recent times but don’t remember much mention of a lot of dialogue with them this season.

[11bee717]

We have asked the question about promotions several times. The answer we get is 'Being 2nd in the table, should be enough to bring supporters in'. While being 2nd in the league should mean we should be getting larger crowds, we don't agree that general promotions are not worth it. Affiliate schools do have regular promotions/incentives though.

Why do I feel the SA is getting fobbed off by the club again nowadays, thought you had a closer relationship in recent times but don’t remember much mention of a lot of dialogue with them this season.

I also see the clubs perspective, Barnet fans seem to have every reason under the sun not to come to weekday fixtures that other clubs don’t face

[Anthony]

I’m not sure that’s such a great offer. Adults for 20 quid is a £2 discount.

Ultimately, there is no point offering deals when the experience at the Hive is so poor. If the goal is to get long term increases in attendance then you need to ensure people have a good experience in the ground, regardless of what happens on the pitch. If you can’t get a pint at half time because there are only two people on the bar, or if you have to pay £8 for a dry hotdog in a stale bun (missing 20 mins of the game to do so) then people will be permanently turned off. They won’t come back even it was for free (in fact I have struggled to get people to take up free tickets when they have been offered. One of the reasons being - they have been to the hive before)

If you aren’t tied to Barnet as a fan then can have much better experiences for less money at other non league grounds.

Maybe not the best example, but the fact they are doing something on non league day. We haven’t even acknowledged it.

Even if there are better examples - we simply shouldn't be offering discounted tickets whilst the experience is so poor at the Hive. Its a bit like going to a restaurant - you can be given a discounted dinner, but if the food and service is awful you would never ever go back.

A cheap ticket may get a few people in the door for one game, but it would turn the majority off coming back for life. And actually the club have done a number of offers over the years. I remember one season where season ticket holders got given six free tickets to give to friends. When I think about the people I brought along - none of them would come back, even if were for free - the reason - their experience at the Hive.

[Anthony]

We have asked the question about promotions several times. The answer we get is 'Being 2nd in the table, should be enough to bring supporters in'. While being 2nd in the league should mean we should be getting larger crowds, we don't agree that general promotions are not worth it. Affiliate schools do have regular promotions/incentives though.

Why do I feel the SA is getting fobbed off by the club again nowadays, thought you had a closer relationship in recent times but don’t remember much mention of a lot of dialogue with them this season.

I also see the clubs perspective, Barnet fans seem to have every reason under the sun not to come to weekday fixtures that other clubs don’t face

This is a very good point.

Regarding whether or not the SA are being fobbed off or not - it is hard to know for sure when the SA do not report the frequency or the content of their meetings with the club. But I would certainly not regard a lack of desire to offer ticket promos as an example of the SA being fobbed off - we have done many over the years, with no noticeable impact on attendances.

[EastBarnetFan]

It's a tricky one.

The club could, and should, be doing more on big days like Non-league day but as many have stated, the experience at The Hive is poor. You can only polish a...so much and people ain't likely to return. I look out from my seat on a wet Tuesday night to a virtually empty stadium and I think 'this place is actually quite depressing'.

God only knows how low crowds would be right now if we weren't actually doing well on the pitch. All this really leads us down to is the dream of returning back home, where I'm certain we'd be getting anywhere from 25%-40% more crowds on your average game.

Good point on the locals, which I too notice in larger numbers. We need to keep them onside and not alienate them.