MillersMad: Moving onto tickets. The £2 on the day charge, and also the £2 phone charge people feel it is putting potential customers off.
Peter: Most clubs do what we do I did ask that, what does everybody else do?; the point is there is a match day price it’s not that you are paying £2 extra, the match day price is the match day price. There is 2 ways of looking at it; it seems to be a practice that everybody does it’s to try and get people in earlier; of course there is an element in this of trying to get money in quicker, it almost seems like a deception to the person who has raised this, but a lot of marketing is a bit like that to try and get you in earlier, you are guaranteed your ticket and they think why did I bother? I think these are legitimate marketing things to do that lots of people do, we need to do it like everybody else because we need the money.
MillersMad: As a season ticket holder, where are the little treats for us before the season ends? We can’t benefit from reduced admission prices, and the money paid at the beginning of the season probably kept the club going for a while, how about a free ticket for one of the remaining away games or at least half price?
Peter: The away games we would have to go and buy the tickets in, so it’s not something that we are giving away, there is a newsletter coming out soon that is being worked on that is going to discuss these issues, and a lot of work has been done on season tickets, we are very very conscious of our season ticket holders and try to do as much as we can for them and to reward them, but at the end of the day we are going to be asking a lot of our season ticket holders, because they are the lifeblood of the club, going to see a football match for a supporter isn’t like going to the cinema, you know you don’t like a film so you don’t go, being a supporter is more than that. This is a time when we are saying your club needs you and we need your money; it’s not lining my pockets or anybody else’s.
At this moment this club has virtually no commercial income, so if we lose season ticket income it hurts us, really it throws the budget out, it can be a disproportionate effect at this club of somebody not buying a season ticket or giving away more benefits, we have given some away and we will give more away, particularly to reward loyalty to people who renew season tickets, a lot of work has been done on that, it’s not finalised yet but I assure you there will be offers and stuff.
MillersMad: Will the season ticket prices be cheaper or dearer next season, are they going to be higher to generate more money or lower so more people might buy them?
Peter: If they are cheaper they might buy them but we will get less revenue in, it is as simple as that. I think the decision that has been taken this afternoon is that the season ticket prices will be the same on the basis that they are not being increased. People might say so what, we are going down, if we go down our season tickets at that level will in fact be around the middle I think, they certainly won’t be the most expensive, but there will be a discount for people renewing there tickets and there will be a loyalty scheme built within that and other benefits. Our season ticket income is crucial to us I can’t emphasise that enough, the hardcore fans who are with us and the diehard supporters, I must make that plea to them, yes it’s been miserable for a long time what’s happening on the pitch, we would all love to turn things round, and that’s what we are trying to do if we can, but if you say I have had enough and I am not buying my season ticket you will hurt us and hurt us disproportionately it is as simple as that.
MillersMad: What are we doing to get kids into Millmoor?
Peter: There are lots of schemes being worked on at the moment with the marketing people and so on the junior millers’ thing and lots of family based stuff. I’m not directly involved in it but the more I see of it, the more I see the amount of work that is involved in that, that’s why it’s something I can only waffle to you now, I can’t give you a direct answer, I have heard a debate as to all sorts of different angles to how we can do it, there is certainly going to be a scheme to get into schools, to encourage group bookings, to get the community stand given away to kids on offers to just get kids into the thing is what it’s all about, we are very conscious about that.
MillersMad: Moving onto one of the positive outcomes of the Magna forum we have just had, was the new kit, there was a couple of questions from Magna, if we would be able to use it due to league restrictions?
Peter: We can’t do anything about the kit this year, but the stuff I’ve just seen on the presentation that David Veal did about the progress we made on that, we are down to two people, I think it’s going to be pretty attractive, it’s pretty exciting the stuff that’s gone. The sort of things he talked about are going to be seen through, I think we can’t wait for it to actually be finalised and come out what we are going to do about the kit, but it’s along the lines of what David explained at Magna.
MillersMad: So we will be having a chance of a new kit next season?
Peter: Yeah
MillersMad: What are the chances of putting the club badge on the shorts, rather than the lettering R.U.F.C?
Peter: Well what about changing the badge or the emblem? People have said that, I did raise that question, which has been put among other suggestions; it’s probably not straight away on the agenda, but again if there is a groundswell of movement that people want that and the more we get set up and the more we get organised, the more we see the first batch of things through, and the more that these things can get some momentum, and if people want that the club will respond to them.
MillersMad:: Why does the club operate a closed shop on shirt sales?
Peter: Because they would undercut us, it is about revenue I am afraid.
MillersMad:: The person said surely the extra revenue from sales at Parkgate and Meadowhall would offset the lower margin.
Peter: The answer is it wouldn’t and it doesn’t, it would be nice if it’s cheap but I’m afraid there is an element of this in it for them, but you know there is this shirt offer that we are determined to see through, you know this old shirt for new, and that is being worked on so I hope that will go some way to help it.
MillersMad: Also on the same thing on image, please get rid of Dusty miller he’s dated, uncool, and quite frankly an embarrassment.
Peter: I am happy to tell you, Dusty Miller has been up before the parole board, not the parole board I mean he has been up for sentencing, Dusty is being worked on.
MillersMad:: I think we can have a public execution.
Peter: I don’t want to give too much away again, but there are developments on the Dusty front.
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