Here's a thought: what if you could buy one person in each A-League city a ticket to a match? Would you do it? Would you even consider buying a ticket for a team you couldn't see? How about giving away said ticket so that others who might not normally go might actually give the league and game a chance? Well, here's a proposition that I think might be worth a try: why not create a charity ticket pool from which a city's underprivileged kids might get the chance to go see a match?
Here's the way my theory would work. Any fan(s) that purchase a ticket would be more than welcome, and hopefully encouraged, to buy an extra youth ticket which would go into a pot that would be distributed amongst area schools. In this manner, A-League fans could very easily send a kid to a game. Now, I know a lot of you are like me and can't really afford to throw money around like this but if we can afford a season ticket ranging from $50-$250 why can't we afford to plunk down $5 or $7 more to put a ticket into the hands of a neighborhood kid?
The one thing teams might want to do in return in this kind of situation is offer a lower price for these already discounted youth tickets. I know it may be asking a lot from these teams who find money hard enough to come by but there are questions an organization has to ask itself before declining to participate in something like this. Questions such as "can a team afford to slash a ticket price by a couple of extra dollars one time if only for possibility of obtaining a fan for life?" come to mind.
The reasons I think this could be worked out is because charity does equal good publicity. I mean, let's be honest, random acts of kindness and not so random acts of charity will almost always earn some extra publicity from media channels. This goodwill also shows that the clubs care about their local communities, which in turn should result in some sort of increased loyalty from their fan base. Theoretically, in the long run this would create a cycle of goodwill between the fans, the community, and the club that bring all parties together.
Now, I know this all sounds a bit idyllic and "pie in the sky" to most of you out there especially considering what I am about to talk about next. That is the current state of regular ticket prices for your average adult fan. Some places have got it right with prices ranging from $6-12 but others seem to have it all wrong with a price range of $11-19 for an average ticket. Currently, the average high end ticket will cost a single adult $12 but what that doesn't take into account is that places like El Paso, Charlotte, Richmond, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, and Indiana all have their ticket prices set under $10. Meanwhile, great seats can still be had in Charleston, Portland, Hampton Roads, Seattle, and Pittsburgh for right around the $10 mark. With current exchange rates a ticket to a Lynx match should run you no more than $10 USD with Calgary costing no more than $7 USD. As of this time I was unable to obtain the specific numbers for Montreal.
Either way, there are a scant few clubs whose prices seem to really be a slight bit too high for their fans' tastes. All it should take is one quick glance through the above list to figure out whose prices are a tad too high so I won't name any names. I also realize that if you're able to pack your stadium then you should be able to name your price but we have to keep in mind that some potential fans see this league as "minor" and refuse to pay "major league" prices to get into our games.
All in all, these issues tend to go hand in hand. Aggressive, community-oriented programs to get tickets into the hands of possible fans and fair, equitable prices will easily help bring people in to the games. The one key issue to keep them coming back is to make the experience at the ballpark one to remember. A fan like myself will be content with a few noisy fans and metal bleachers but the occasional fan wants more for their dollar it would seem. This, though, is an issue for another time. The item at hand concerns finding a way to get the fans into the park in the first place and reasonable ticket prices combined with reasonable advertising and community involvement. If this happens it is almost safe to assume that stability for a franchise won't be too far away.
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