I know that mate. They’ve had aggressive ticket pricing for over 20 years - I should know as I had a season ticket there for two seasons alongside my Reds one. I wasn’t referencing their sales numbers though, just that the fan base were far from happy. Fuming with the manager and owners pre-Hughes appointment and insisting the club was in ruin. Wouldn’t have had 18,000 if they’d have kept Adams on is my point.
Not sure. The right managerial appointment this Summer and we’ll be facing in the right direction at least.
Agree with your opinion about well run club. But if I may offer my thoughts. Our population is just below half that of Bradford. When you look at the figures for the boroughs. 540k compared to 250k approximately. Can't find a stat for the population of the city of bradford on it's own. With barnsley being circa 80k. Season ticket early bird at below £200 for Adults all areas (increased by £100+ after) until june 16th. When you look at season ticket prices for York. 2021/22 national league north. 6th tier. At £299 adults all areas I think the answer is definitely prices in the main. Our owners have to sell up if there is a willing buyer. I think that is well now imprinted in their minds. Just hope someone with the club at heart can step in, if they have enough funds and interest.
Out of interest what can you tell us about how theyre doing it? Is it purely dirt cheap season tickets, cheap pay on the gate tickets? Is it the matchday experience? Just interested because I'd rather balance cheaper tickets with a couple of thousand extra on the gate. Bums on seats is crucial for guaranteeing future generations of fans. Barnsley have punched above their weight in attendance for a long time but the 60s and 70s proved that when apathy sets in we can be down to 3 to 5000.
Others might know more but they’re a big club for League Two so it’s the combination of hope alongside the really positive ticket pricing. Their managerial appointments are always ones the fans get excited about. They thought getting Adams in the Summer was going to guarantee them promotion, they thought the same with Gary Bowyer when he did well with Blackpool and was harshly treated, McCall coming back a couple of times, Phil Parkinson, and now Mark Hughes. The run to the League Cup Final was crazy. Beating Chelsea in that FA Cup comeback game as well. Plus they sign players who on paper should perform better so expectations are always high. The pricing strategy started the season they got promoted to the Premier League. It was £19 that season for a child ticket (I got one and went with a mate’s family whenever we were miles away from home). They were second in the table in March and you could renew for £50. I rolled the dice and then sold individual matches for £10 at school for the games that clashed with us. From memory the Adult tickets were far cheaper than Barnsley at the time as well.
Admirable crowds, in theory, but did they pull the same trick that many others do? Tickets sold, including STs, all counted in the “gate” whether you are there or not.
They may or may not be in the ground but they've been selling the same number of tickets for years now so people keep buying them. As I've said I doubt think Bradford ever had big crowds before they got to the Prem. They've done a phenomenal job in keeping them given the alarming slump they've had since.
Disagree Dreamboy,lots of schemes have been going on for a few years,lots of women and children going too. Representatives of the Sikh,Hindu and Islamic community all attend. The club for a decade has been reaching out to the whole community of Bradford. Wages tend to be low in Bradford, like Barnsley, which is why they try to keep ticket prices low.
I am not sure, the standard of football & even worse the standard of officials gets worse the lower down the food chain you go , having said that our football has been dire this year & the ref yesterday should face demotion after easily one of the worst penalty decisions I have ever seen but at the end of the day football at Bradford city is very affordable & has been for a long time but they are not progressing , no doubt one day they will & lets hope the fans stick with them , their club deserve the support, whilst I believe football is pretty cheap at Oakwell & I will always support the players but the owners deserve nothing & I havn"t got the time of day for them.
The football under Hughes has been "a joy", according to one of my mates who's a season-ticket holder at VP.
If the fans are happy thats what matters ,but I do think in general the lower the league the poorer the football & whilst Bradford City fans & the fans of promoted/ play off teams will also be happy I doubt very much the fans of Scunthorpe & a few more will be claiming the football was a joy to watch but hey we ended up 5th last year & the football did not suit everyone , it is all about opinions
Park Avenue is the place to go for Bradford footy £140 for an ST next year. £200 for an ST with parking space. £500 for an ST with parking space and become associate director. Getting my head around 6th tier footy is the only thing stopping me from trying That and the vague hope on this "better times around the corner" vibe from some BBSers. Time ticking.
I think a lot of Asian fans don’t bother with their local teams & if they do go to football it tends to be a day trip to a big club like Man Utd or Arsenal. I’ve been to Arsenal, Man United, Liverpool & Man City games & there’s always been plenty of Asian’s watching but you don’t get many of them at places like Bradford & Oldham with large Asian populations. I think a lot of it stems from their dads or grandads coming over & not been football fans so they don’t get brought up going to watch their local team like a lot of us will have done.
You need to read up on the Bangla Bantams. Not a massive representation, granted, but there is a bigger Asian following than when I was a nipper.
it isn’t though, Barnsley met has a population of 245 thousand. Also Bradfords attendances we’re around 9 thousand up until 2012 when they introduced their ticket scheme.
I fancy the £50 package if you're up for it, Andy. Two of us in, hospitality, signed match ball and we get to pick the MOTM! Oh and our lovely mugs in the next home programme....