Tinkler: Come to the game for 5 bucks

[Jeba]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011 ... 171933.htm

Knights fans promised cheap tickets
Posted 1 hour 11 minutes ago

MAP: Newcastle 2300
The Tinkler Sports Group (TSG) has revealed its strategy to win over Knights supporters in the Hunter - "the best value" sports tickets in the country.

Wednesday's announcement was intended to influence any unconvinced Knights members regarding TSG's takeover bid.

TSG, led by mining magnate Nathan Tinkler, said it would allow families to purchase tickets to Newcastle's NRL home games from $5 per person for reserved seating and $3.75 per person for general admission.

The initiative, announced just eight days before members will vote on the future of their club, will only come into effect should the bid receive a 75 per cent majority on March 31.

"It makes it the best value ticket of any professional sporting organisation in the country," TSG executive chairman Ken Edwards said.

"One of the core promises that we're going to deliver on is making sure that as many families, and as many children as possible, can get along to support the Knights.

"We want to make this a family-friendly club, an affordable club, so that we can have 30,000 people there every game.

"It's something that we've done with the Jets (A-League club), it's not something that's new and it demonstrates again our commitment to the community."

The ticketing deal would potentially become available to the general public from the match against the New Zealand Warriors on May 13 at the newly developed Ausgrid Stadium.

In a bold plan, TSG also revealed it intends to boost the club's membership base from its current 6,000 to over 20,000 in 2012, should it acquire the Knights' NRL licence.

But Edwards denied claims of overconfidence surrounding the announcement, instead seeing it as an opportunity to reveal TSG's philosophy to the public, particularly the voting members.

"I don't think it's presumptuous," he said.

"It's about being open, honest and transparent to members about what we intend to do.

"We certainly don't think this is over the line. We have a lot more to do, a lot more people to talk to.

"We're concerned that some members might think that it is such a good deal that they don't intend to vote because they think it will get over the line."

"We need members to think about what we're doing, we need them to vote."

-AAP

Surely the members can't turn that down. Plus the injection of $10m a year that Tinkler originally said his takeover would inject. Seems a no-brainer to me, though admittedly I don't exactly know the wheelings and dealings of the Knights.

 

[Aeetee]

Whats the bet they **** it, then when they do, we'll know where Joey got his drugs from.

 

[m1c]

You're a fan of the horses, Jeb. You know what Tinkler's reputation is.

I'm not sure if I'd want him around TBH. I would definitely be looking for alternate sources first.

 

[ningnangnong]

Not sure what his reputation is like in the racing industry, but I know for a fact that he's made massive improvements at the Newcastle Jets after buying them late last year.

He has a vision to unite the two major sports teams in Newcastle, and I think that will have huge benefits for both clubs.

 

[Jeba]

You're a fan of the horses, Jeb. You know what Tinkler's reputation is.

I'm not sure if I'd want him around TBH. I would definitely be looking for alternate sources first.

Yes mate for sure, but like ning said, his influence on another club in the same city has done a lot more good than bad. I'm sure he can get the same results at the Knights.

 

[Twiztid]

Will he generate any revenue from $5 tickets though? They get pretty good crowds already, so how much money would they lose if they did drop the prices?

I think a team that plays out of a bigger stadium (in Sydney) needs to look at cheaper tickets after season ticket packages, you pay a premium to get the good seats and same seat each week.

After that they could use this as an example. Say $10 a ticket (an adult) instead of $30 a ticket. It would be better to get 30,000 in at the cheaper price than to get 10,000 in at $30. You will still get the same base amount of $300,000 revenue but the extra revenue made from food, beer and merchandise sales, it could be an extra $100,00 revenue. It would look better on TV and be better for the overall marketing of the NRL for increased crowd figures and other sales.

 

[ningnangnong]

Will he generate any revenue from $5 tickets though? They get pretty good crowds already, so how much money would they lose if they did drop the prices?

Short term pain for long term gain. icon_thumbs_u

 

[Twiztid]

Will he generate any revenue from $5 tickets though? They get pretty good crowds already, so how much money would they lose if they did drop the prices?

Short term pain for long term gain. icon_thumbs_u

Care to explain? Is he just saying it to get the people to vote for him and then he will increase the prices?

We know he is bringing in a shit load of money. It just doesn't make sense if he drops the prices that low, because all he will be doing is eating into the money he puts into the club each year.

 

[ningnangnong]

Will he generate any revenue from $5 tickets though? They get pretty good crowds already, so how much money would they lose if they did drop the prices?

Short term pain for long term gain. icon_thumbs_u

Care to explain? Is he just saying it to get the people to vote for him and then he will increase the prices?

We know he is bringing in a shit load of money. It just doesn't make sense if he drops the prices that low, because all he will be doing is eating into the money he puts into the club each year.

He drops prices to attract a different type of supporter, in the hope that they will consider membership in the future.

Some people might not go to games now because they only have a passing interest in the Knights, or they consider ticket prices to be too high. Through dropping prices, he makes attending matches a lot more appealing. Then in theory, next season there'll be more people looking to purchase memberships, etc. They just need to get that initial point of contact with the supporter in order to give themselves the chance of gaining members/selling more tickets down the line.

He's done the same thing with the Jets (even offered free entry to matches) and it's worked wonders.

 

[Jeba]

Will he generate any revenue from $5 tickets though? They get pretty good crowds already, so how much money would they lose if they did drop the prices?

Short term pain for long term gain. icon_thumbs_u

Care to explain? Is he just saying it to get the people to vote for him and then he will increase the prices?

We know he is bringing in a shit load of money. It just doesn't make sense if he drops the prices that low, because all he will be doing is eating into the money he puts into the club each year.

Yeh but what goes around comes around. More fans to the games means more people interested in the game, buying more memorabilia, more club members, and sponsors have a lot more people to expose their brand to.

 

[Twiztid]

I still think it is only a big grabber to win the vote.

I just don't think there is enough value in the Newcastle region for such low figures to work, but hey I am not a successful businessman with a lot of money to waste. Good luck to him and if it works I'll be the first to admit it.

 

[Nashy]

He's not looking at making money out of this exercise. He's doing exactly what's said above. Attracting new people into the stadium to plant the rugby league seed. Most people won't ever come back, but plenty will no doubt continue once they gain an interest in the sport.

From what I hear, Newcastle is sport stupid, so there is a decent sized market to try and grab.

 

[ningnangnong]

Wow, $5 a ticket. Now everoyone from Windale can afford to go. [icon_lol1.

Fucking hell, Windale. [icon_non

Worst place ever.

 

[ningnangnong]

[quote="The Rock":19mhtacv]Wow, $5 a ticket. Now everoyone from Windale can afford to go. [icon_lol1.

**** hell, Windale. [icon_non

Worst place ever.

Really? Have you ever been to Mt Druitt? [icon_lol1.[/quote:19mhtacv]

I think I went to the shopping centre there once. Dire stuff. [icon_lol1.

 

[Flutterby]

You're a fan of the horses, Jeb. You know what Tinkler's reputation is.

I'm not sure if I'd want him around TBH. I would definitely be looking for alternate sources first.

I'm not interested in the horse racing so don't know his reputation there. But in the "sports business" world he is pretty highly regarded and as others have pointed out he has done absolute wonders with the Jets. He doesn't see the Knights as a money-making venture for his company but rather he is in this because of his love for the Newcastle region and the club - he is in the fortunate position through the other successes of his business that he can indulge himself in this for a number of years (and IMO I think he actually will end up making money out of it eventually).

The other point to make is that the Knights have exhausted every other possible alternate funding source and if this deal doesn't get up they are in a very real danger of folding due to lack of finances.

 

[ningnangnong]

he is in this because of his love for the Newcastle region and the club

Yep, that's it in a nutshell.

When he took over the Jets, he pretty much had no idea about them, he'd never been to a game or anything. Yet he still came in and saved the club from losing its A-League licence. He completely changed all their commercial/marketing operations and now the future looks very bright. He's even signed one of the best players in the A-League in Jason Culina.

I can't see him making much money from his ownership of the Jets, and that to me says a lot about his passion for the Newcastle area.

The bloke cares. If for some reason this takeover of the Knights doesn't go through, then they're going to be in a world of strife.

 

[Browny]

Mt Druitt Westfields should be shut down and rebuilt somewhere else. It's a disgrace.

How about Christmas island

IMO the board would be cutting their nose off if they continue to fight this

 

[Coxy]

I really don't understand the logic of $5 tickets, except maybe for games where the opposition is a poor drawcard anyway (Souths, Roosters, Penrith, Warriors, Cowboys, Storm...)