Group tickets

[abington_cobbler]

Seeing as its quiet on here at the moment I thought I would mention the excellent work the club have done getting more fans into the east stand as part of the group ticket deals. I hope the club keep up the good work. Young kids are potential supporters of the club in the future so to get them into supporting the team rather than them ending up supporting a Premier league team. Does anyone have any ideas how local schools, teams, clubs etc. can be attracted to Sixfields next season? More groups buying tickets equals more money going into the club for squad strengthening or into the youth system.

[guest48]

Agreed , its good that the local schools and clubs now take their kids up to Sixfields , thats the age to get them interested !

[sbedscobb]

It was great to see all those young uns getting to see the Cobblers, one of the biggest successes of last season imo.

Maybe they could sell group save type tickets to Northampton's many small and large company's. With gates plummeting at  pre Christmas games and when we play non leaguish types or especially on Tuesdays when going up against the Champions league, for these games the club could offer local firms the chance to reward their customers and staff or invite local sports clubs to take up the offer of live football, sky sports beer and curry. All it would take is to get a decent screen in Carrs bar, keep it open selling beer and food throughout the game, which gives the visitor an option to stay in the warm and have a beer or watch the match. Tickets could be as cheap as £25 plus vat to include some food and firms or clubs selling 5 or more tickets could get a mention in the programme.  

[Shoemaker]

And taking them to wembley is a sure fire way to get them uninteresed

Seriously though it's a good idea as long as there is a good take up of children who go on to follow the club.
I have no idea if the scheme is successful or whether the stand is full of schools with free tickets whose children never pay to attend again.

I'm sure it must be of some benefit as the club keep persevering with it.

Has anyone on here got children who now support the club due to the scheme?

[phil123]

I would imagine having a higher average attendance makes sponsorship and advertising deals easier to negotiate and even if they aren't paying to get in, anything they spend on food / programmes / club shop is a bonus.

[A view from the east]

The vast majority of the extra parents / kids in the east seem to be involved with the half time penalty competitions.
After half time interest in whats happening on the field seems to wane a little. I have even seen parents and children leaving after the shoot out.
Last season matches with no penalty competitions were notable for the large numbers of empty seats in the east ,
so not sure how many current or future actual supporters the group ticket scheme is really attracting.
A positive Wembley result would probably have done more to increase our fanbase.

[roz]

I agree that the Wembley fiasco won't have done anything to get 'new' fans down to Sixfields, group tickets are not complimentary, discounted yes, but not free, hopefully some of the parents that bring their kids to parties or penalty shoot outs are lapsed supporters who decide to start watching us again, if only a few are added to the ranks it's something and much better to see the east stand occupied rather than great swathes of empty seats, well done to all involved. Good idea to get companies arranging group outings too, not sure I would want my company to do that though, my workmates think I'm mad enough as it is without having them sitting through a cold Tuesday night game too!
Personally I would appreciate the return of STH's being able to bring a friend for a much reduced rate at games where a low attendance is expected, perhaps our enthusiasm [aka insanity] might rub off on them!!

[SteveRiches]

Certainly the Wembley mess will not have helped the scheme along because there were a lot of youngsters at that game - in our party of 22 there were 8 schoolkids decidedly underwhelmed. Having said that, the Cobblers' scheme seemed to run well even through the season where we were nearly relegated, and I've heard only good things about the way the club entertains the youngsters with good pre-match and half-time stuff.

[sbedscobb]

There's not one single youngster who will be regretting going to Wembley but lots who wished they had gone to witnessed the whole day!

[SteveRiches]

There's not one single youngster who will be regretting going to Wembley but lots who wished they had gone to witnessed the whole day!

Not a reality for us.

[Rushdencobbler]

I have used the group tickets and it is a fantastic way or getting new support and money into the club, as the tickets are not free ( which I used to think myself until I bought some through a school offer ).

I am a cobblers fan so when there was a chance to take the kids up there and see a game myself I jumped at the chance, I just wish more people took the offer up, the numbers seem to be going up with community offers so that is only a good thing. I think as Abington cobbler says we need to help the club out with any good ideas to help them keep up the good work and bring the money into the club to help us ultimately strengthen the squad.

I seem to remember when I was a youngster up the county ground there was some sort of family season ticket I know we have free tickets for up to ages 7 or 8 but maybe something like that ( if its already being done apologies for poor research ).

The club do a great job with trying to get new fans and I think that's the one bit of club that deserves the most credit.

[DrillingCobbler]

Wembley will soon be forgotten, although the first few games
Will lack the enthusiasm that a new season usually brings for sure! The team needs
To get off to a good start and that cloud will blow away.

Back to topic. It's an excellent scheme regardless of whether people return in the short term. Selling div4 football in Northampton these days is bloody tough but that shouldnt stop the club reaching out to the wider community. The redevelopment really needs
To kick on now, that in itself will get us moving
Again support wise. Wembley showed that the dormant support is rather more dormant than most of us thought it was, ironically the defeat may in the lon run help us because competing at 3rd tier level with our infrastructure is tougher now than ever. Yeovil aside of course!