Gold Coast cap crowds to 5,000

[marinermick]

Surely palmer would save the 800k by simply putting the team on a normal plane, rather than flying them in his personal jet?

I think you would be surprised, for one he already owns the plane so it is only fuel and a crews salary and those will be absorbed by the rest of his business interests anyway. secondly you are flying thirty five or so people around most weekends, add in next to no time spent in airports it isn't such a bad option plus direct flights to where ever they are playing.

does not make business sense when qantas pays for 18 flights as part of their sponsorship of the FFA

 

[dru]

Surely palmer would save the 800k by simply putting the team on a normal plane, rather than flying them in his personal jet?

I think you would be surprised, for one he already owns the plane so it is only fuel and a crews salary and those will be absorbed by the rest of his business interests anyway. secondly you are flying thirty five or so people around most weekends, add in next to no time spent in airports it isn't such a bad option plus direct flights to where ever they are playing.

does not make business sense when qantas pays for 18 flights as part of their sponsorship of the FFA

Wouldn't that be provide 18 flights? but yes makes a lot less sense when we know that little fact. Still i doubt that it would save him $800k a season

Say the long flight away games were all done twice in a season and nsw and brisbane teams were done once (assuming more away games than home) you would be looking at about 60 hours flying time x say $7700 (about twice the 2007 estimated per hour cost of an MD 80 of which Mineralogy has an MD 82 plane) your still only hitting $462k  - whatever the youth teams flights cost.

He may as well set up a supporters travel club and use the other 100 seats on his plane to get a traveling support presence at ever game, could just about cover his costs. selling seats at a similar price to virgin/death star

 

[Jesus]

Surely palmer would save the 800k by simply putting the team on a normal plane, rather than flying them in his personal jet?

I think you would be surprised, for one he already owns the plane so it is only fuel and a crews salary and those will be absorbed by the rest of his business interests anyway. secondly you are flying thirty five or so people around most weekends, add in next to no time spent in airports it isn't such a bad option plus direct flights to where ever they are playing.

does not make business sense when qantas pays for 18 flights as part of their sponsorship of the FFA

Wouldn't that be provide 18 flights? but yes makes a lot less sense when we know that little fact. Still i doubt that it would save him $800k a season

Say the long flight away games were all done twice in a season and nsw and brisbane teams were done once (assuming more away games than home) you would be looking at about 60 hours flying time x say $7700 (about twice the 2007 estimated per hour cost of an MD 80 of which Mineralogy has an MD 82 plane) your still only hitting $462k  - whatever the youth teams flights cost.

He may as well set up a supporters travel club and use the other 100 seats on his plane to get a traveling support presence at ever game, could just about cover his costs. selling seats at a similar price to virgin/de

Even at 462k still makes this whole episode unnecessary. Would mean he was losing like350k to keep the whole thing open. Hell they might even increase in crowds if they didnt constantly seem like jackasses in the media, since they doing well enough on the table

 

[marinermick]

Surely palmer would save the 800k by simply putting the team on a normal plane, rather than flying them in his personal jet?

I think you would be surprised, for one he already owns the plane so it is only fuel and a crews salary and those will be absorbed by the rest of his business interests anyway. secondly you are flying thirty five or so people around most weekends, add in next to no time spent in airports it isn't such a bad option plus direct flights to where ever they are playing.

does not make business sense when qantas pays for 18 flights as part of their sponsorship of the FFA

Wouldn't that be provide 18 flights?

no, pay for - whether that be on their airline (dollar figure still cost shifted and paid for from sponsorship division to flight division) or virgin when qanats flights don't match or suit the team

 

[dru]

no, pay for - whether that be on their airline (dollar figure still cost shifted and paid for from sponsorship division to flight division) or virgin when qanats flights don't match or suit the team

Ouch Imagine getting stuck on virgin flight to Perth because the qantas schedule didn't suit the team 

Jesus capping the attendance for 5 games is going to cover that.

 

[Jesus]

no, pay for - whether that be on their airline (dollar figure still cost shifted and paid for from sponsorship division to flight division) or virgin when qanats flights don't match or suit the team

Ouch Imagine getting stuck on virgin flight to Perth because the qantas schedule didn't suit the team 

Jesus capping the attendance for 5 games is going to cover that.

Assuming they get 4k people to the games, and 3k dont say f**k it, leaving them with shit all fans, and no one but members going to games, assuming members dont want their cash back for paying lots higher prices, and not getting the free transport that was in the advertising of their ticket.

 

[Jesus]

To be honest the biggest problem here is the poor business plan and market research. Gold coast were convinced they were going to get 10k average off the bat. I think the FFA believed that too.

When the a-league averaged just over that in season 1 due to bumped crowds initially, but decent crowds from the big cities.

Why did they think, in an area with less registered players than the central coast or newcastle, and little football exposure, that they would get better crowds than those 2 areas?

I think it is fair to say that the GC prices are significantly more than the start up prices for either us or the scum, by some margin too

 

[TerrigalUtd]

Gold Coast face record low over broken promises

Gold Coast United are facing the lowest crowd in A-League history this weekend as angry fans boycott the game over the new ticketing arrangements and broken club promises.

Season ticket members of the club were sold their passes with guaranteed seats and guaranteed free transport to and from every home game.

The official club website still proudly boasts under Membership Benefits: "Free transport to each home game. Same seat at each home game."

The ticketing page on the website also still promises: "Gold Coast United home games at Skilled Park are great entertainment, great value, and a sporting experience like no other.

"Pre-purchased tickets entitle you to free public transport to and from the game with Translink."

But this week's decision to close three quarters of the stadium has meant all fans will be moved out of the home end behind the goals to sit in the west grandstand.

And the latest seat allocations being sent out have confused members with The Beach supporters club now being squeezed into the corners, while regular family members have also been put in the middle of the standing, singing supporters.

More importantly though, it means public transport is no longer included in the ticket price, no extra trains or buses will run to the stadium - and there's no parking at the stadium.

For fans in Brisbane, the extra cost could be substantial for a family.

The ticketing page on the website also still insists kids tickes are just $5 - cut from $29 just a couple of weeks ago - but the actual price is now $15 for children, with all adult tickets now $30.

The decision to cap the crowd was actually taken two weeks ago but the details were only revealed on Tuesday.

Gold Coast United CEO Clive Mensink yesterday told au.fourfourtwo.com the delay had been caused by ensuring everything was in place and correct by the time the announcement was made.

However within 24 hours of the decision being made public, adult prices were cut from $42 to $30 while kids prices increased from $5 to $15.

The public transport errors on the website are still live 48 hours after the announcement, while a small news story on the website confirms the new ticket pricing and travel arrangements.

Mensink yesterday told au.fourfourtwo.com the club had ruled out any refunds to existing members for withdrawing the promised free public transport, but said no-one had so far asked for their money back.

The current lowest crowd in A-League history was the 1,632 who turned out to see New Zealand Knights take on Central Coast Mariners on September 28, 2006 in Auckland.

Gold Coast have so far averaged 5651 in their five home games this season, but hit a record low of 4209 against Wellington Phoenix, although the following home game against Perth Glory saw a small recovery up to 4509.

The club have now infamously restricted the crowd to a maximum 5,000 for this weekend's game against intrastate rival North Queensland Fury and comes after the glamour club suffered the biggest regular season defeat in A-League history with a 6-0 spanking by Wellington Phoenix last weekend.

Mensink said yesterday that he hoped the game will be a sell-out - but the club's supporters' group warned there was little chance of that happening when walk-up fans will be turned away if they are the 5001st fan.

"Why would people want to go to all the trouble of getting to the game to risk not being let in?" one fan warned on the club's supporter's forum.

Many fans are planning to boycott the game in protest at the board's running of the club, while others plan to display banners criticising the decision - although these will be hidden from TV cameras by the new seating plan.

"They have alienated the whole community," said another fan.

"Last week Clive Mensink was at a loss to explain poor crowds, now he uses the global recession as an excuse. So if they knew people were struggling financially, why set ticket prices so high from the start?

"I will not go to another game unless the board changes its attitude and ticket prices."

Another said: "As far as I'm concerned I already paid for my public transport when I bought my family membership that cost me over $900.

"I'm going to pretend I never read Doak's email and just get on the train as usual. I'd be happy to boycott the game, but it would really disappoint the kids who don't even notice all the controversy & low attendance."

Emotions have been running high on the Gold Coast Supporters fan forums since the new seats were allocated.

"I just got my seat allocation in the mail. Aisle 1, Row 11, Seats 37 & 38. WTF," said one fan. "I couldn't think of a worse seat in the stadium...GCU have royally pissed me off."

Another added: "My wife and I ended up in the Beach. No offence to the beach but I am not up to standing for 9 minutes let alone 90."

Yet another said: "We have deadset been shafted. I've been moved from the best seats in the house behind the goal to the ***ing corner???"

http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/115657,gold-coast-face-record-low-over-broken-promises.aspx


No matter how good your team is going, having crowds of less then 2 thousand, I dont think you can last very long. Sounds like they are completely f**ked.

 

[bjw]

f**king hell... does this mean when we go up in December we wont have an active supporters bay?

p.s- I hope 'the beach' have something planned for the next home game.

 

[dru]

f**king hell... does this mean when we go up in January we wont have an active supporters bay?

p.s- I hope 'the beach' have something planned for the next home game.

Why are you going up in January dude, we play there in December 

Bought my ticket ages ago, have not been informed where it will be moved to. by the looks of it they are only selling tickets to this weeks game on the ticketek site at the moment.

granted by then no one will be going and we can choose

 

[adz]

just jump the fence

 

[Forum Phoenix]

Major major balls up.
Maybe the team aren't as spineless as I thought.
This sort of utter garbage would affect most teams performances.
Miron actually had done a pretty good job with his side of things...
But this side of the business is beyond poor.
Can't believe they ever even tried to open with kids prices at $29?

 

[Jesus]

f**king hell... does this mean when we go up in December we wont have an active supporters bay?

p.s- I hope 'the beach' have something planned for the next home game.

Apparently they are planning to skip past security and go to their usual area, they figure there will be too few paid cops and security to worry about

 

[Forum Phoenix]

lol, surrrrre...
Thats going to make for an even happier support group very soon

 

[dibo]

could be the making of them as a group. if they can get some anti-clive songs going around the entire (*cough*) crowd, it might make the situation a little bit interesting.

 

[curious]

Apparently they are planning to skip past security and go to their usual area, they figure there will be too few paid cops and security to worry about

That's smart of them. It would last till security chased them back or kicked them out if they refused. And now they have advertised their intentions, security will be beefed up if trouble is expected, if it hadn't already been.

 

[bjw]

could be the making of them as a group. if they can get some anti-clive songs going around the entire (*cough*) crowd, it might make the situation a little bit interesting.

flare protest imho  


in all seriousness, this will be the making of them as a supporters group.. they really need to plan something- a message banner, pull-over or _something_ with anti-Palmer shit on it

"CLIVE PALMER IS RUINING FOOTBALL"
or
"CLIVE PALMER IS A FAT f**k"
or
"WE HATE CLIVE PALMER"

 

[FFC Mariner]

He might offer to throw them off a balcony like Con did?

 

[dibo]

could be the making of them as a group. if they can get some anti-clive songs going around the entire (*cough*) crowd, it might make the situation a little bit interesting.

flare protest imho  


in all seriousness, this will be the making of them as a supporters group.. they really need to plan something- a message banner, pull-over or _something_ with anti-Palmer shit on it

"CLIVE PALMER IS RUINING FOOTBALL"
or
"CLIVE PALMER IS A FAT f**k"
or
"WE HATE CLIVE PALMER"

"Football is for fans
Not for gready (sic) hands
Justice for the GCU"

 

[Jesus]

Clive has come out with this? Too little too late, should have been said before the decision. Massive f**k up by CEO to let it run through the press negatively for 2 days

Gold Coast Boss Comes Out Fighting
18 Comments    Email    Print 
Gold Coast Boss Comes Out Fighting
RELATED COVERAGE

    * United Biding Time With Owen
    * Todd Back To Boost Glory
    * Higgins Stirred Not Shaken
    * More Goals Please, Kwas
    * Robbie Wants To Be A Red For Life

Oct 30 2009 13:37
Get more on: clive | palmer | gold | coast | united | aleague
DEFIANT Gold Coast owner Clive Palmer has come out fighting against attacks on his club while performing an 11th-hour U-turn on public transport to prevent an embarrassing no-show of fans.

Palmer has been infuriated by criticism of the club's decision to close down three-quarters of their Skilled Park stadium for this weekend's intrastate derby with North Queensland Fury and its vow to turn away fans if more than 5000 turn up.

But they have reversed a key part of the cost-cutting move by scrapping the decision to axe promised free public transport to the match.

The club this afternoon said they will absorb the cost of laying on the free transport and have also arranged for some extra trains and buses to ship fans away from the stadium at full-time.

The move comes as a fan boycott threatened to give Gold Coast the unwanted place in history books of having the lowest crowd in A-League history, just one week after they recorded the heaviest regular season defeat in A-League history.

But mining magnate Palmer reacted furiously to FFA football operation manager Archie Fraser's attacks on the club for capping the crowd at this weekend's game, and also the following week's game for the match against Sydney FC where a large away fan contingent was expected.

On Tuesday night, Fraser told au.fourfourtwo.com that "...capping ticket sales is not in the best interests of the club, the Hyundai A-League, football or the people of the Gold Coast."

Today Palmer revealed he was infuriated by that verdict and in a lengthy statement today the tycoon said Gold Coast were being made a scapegoat for falling crowds across the A-League.

"Let's be honest here, what is not in the best interests of the club, the Hyundai A-League, football or the people of the Gold Coast, is a club that is operating within a structure that is not viable," he said.

"If you knew the crowd was going to be below 5000, would you pay additional tens of thousands of dollars to hire the stadium so 27000 could attend?

"There is a fundamental issue across the Hyundai A-League with crowd numbers and because Gold Coast United is doing something proactive about it we should not be the scapegoat. Public attacks on Gold Coast United are not solving the problem.

"The club has been working with Skilled Park to enable changes to the cost structure. The club will continue this engagement until a sensible outcome can be reached that will provide a stadium cost structure that reflects the growing nature of the club."

He produced a table that averaged out the crowds for all the A-League clubs and how they relate to the local population - which put Gold Coast in the middle, with a current average of 5651, just 600 or so short of their projected average.

"The reality is that Gold Coast United, for its population size, is on par with expected crowd figures for the Hyundai A-League this season - figures don't lie," he said.

"When we started, all stakeholders had an expectation that crowd numbers would be significantly higher than they have been. That was the basis for the start up structure of the Club, which we now know is not viable."

Clive Palmer's statement in full is:

"GOLD Coast United is a new club that has come to understand the marketplace in which we operate and since our birth we have seen what is working, and what is not working.

"We are not sitting in denial waiting for a miracle to happen - Gold Coast United is taking the battle head-on to ensure the long term viability of the club.

"Enough is enough when it comes to pointing fingers at Gold Coast United for it perceived lack of community involvement and poor crowd figures. It is important, if we are to move forward as a club, that people deal with reality, not perception.

"Gold Coast United is not in crisis, it is dealing with a reality of a saturated marketplace, State Government stadium charges and poor crowds across the Hyundai A-League."

Hyundai A-League crowds
"When we started, all stakeholders had an expectation that crowd numbers would be significantly higher than they have been. That was the basis for the start up structure of the Club, which we now know is not viable.

"The Club has been able to build a solid supporter base averaging 5,651 people per game. We appreciate this support, which provides the platform for building the club into the future. The reality is that Gold Coast United, for its population size, is on par with expected crowd figures for the Hyundai A-League this season - figures don't lie."

"The Gold Coast is one of the biggest growth areas in the country and with the increase in popularity of football this will provide a double growth opportunity for the Club and its supporter groups. Then add the FIFA World Cup Finals in 2010 - the future is bright for football in this country and for the Gold Coast. It is now time to ensure the club has the structure to make the most of the future opportunities.

"People need to realise that is where the game is at. Once people accept that 5,000 is not an unrealistic crowd figure for a Hyundai A-League team on the Gold Coast, the easier it will be to move forward on strategies to increase the crowd figures. The Club is looking in the mirror and does accept a big part of the responsibility, but we cannot move forward on our own. It requires support from all key stakeholders including FFA, Skilled Park, the State Government, Local Government, and of course, the supporters.

"There have been recent public attacks on the club, an example of which is below."

Capping ticket sales is not in the best interests of the club, the Hyundai A-League, football or the people of the Gold Coast.'

"Let's be honest here, what is not in the best interests of the club, the Hyundai A-League, football or the people of the Gold Coast, is a club that is operating within a structure that is not viable. If you knew the crowd was going to be below 5000, would you pay additional tens of thousands of dollars to hire the stadium so 27000 could attend?

"There is a fundamental issue across the Hyundai A-League with crowd numbers and because Gold Coast United is doing something proactive about it we should not be the scapegoat. Public attacks on Gold Coast United are not solving the problem.

"The Club has been working with Skilled Park enable changes to the cost structure. The Club will continue this engagement until a sensible outcome can be reached that will provide a stadium cost structure that reflects the growing nature of the Club."

Community Engagement
"The Club is here because of the support it receives from the community. While Gold Coast United has recently ramped up its school programmes, the grass roots approach by the Club has been underestimated. Gold Coast United played more games against local football teams in the pre-season than any other club; there are more junior teams involved in every match day than any other club.

"There were extensive training sessions with junior clubs during pre-season, school visits, charity events and the list goes on. This is not the fundamental problem. It is however, an area that the Club has acknowledged can be improved and strategies are being implemented to address this."

To our fans
"The Club regrets the short-term impact this decision is having on some fans. But, it is being done for the right reasons, for the better of the club's future and a structure that will, in the long term, attract bigger crowds. I hope Gold Coast United fans support the Club through this process to ensure a better outcome in the future.

"In the meantime, public transport fees to and from Skilled Park are included in the price of your ticket (i.e. there will be no bus or train fare as long as you produce your match ticket or membership card.

"Also, to ensure members and fans are able to get home from the stadium in a timely fashion, there will be some additional bus and train services in operation from full time.

"The club has put together one of the best teams in the Hyundai A-League with international stars including Jason Culina, Shane Smeltz and Joel Porter. In the Club's first year we will be there in the Finals and give the title a shake. The players need your support to bring success home.

"I have been in business long enough to understand that simply throwing endless amounts of money at something does not build a successful venture. It is quite the opposite; endless money builds complacency and does not encourage a challenging environment that drives success. It is time to be realistic and deal with the cause of the problems instead of a short-term, band-aid approach that does not build long-term viability.

"The Club has a solid foundation with a great team and a core supporter base. I am proud of both the team and the Club, and look forward to a successful future. The Club will be moving forward to provide a new structure that ensures a strong future.

"But the club needs support of, the media, FFA, State Government, Local Government, and most importantly, the fans."