FA Cup 2023-24 FA Cup R1 Draw

[werthersoriginal]

Apart from phoning the club how do you find out if your season ticket seat is sold?

If you look online at the ticket site there’s a map which shows the seats that are available and the ones that are sold. It’s pretty fiddly (moan moan).

 

[OX14]

It will be a lower attended game, why not take the opportunity to try a different area of the ground?

That isn't the point though is it?

With no designated family section how do I know I won't be sat near a fan whos every second word is a swear word. Will the stewards tell them to mind their language if it's in the south stand lower for instance?

Also there is no sensory room in the SSL and that's why the north stand is the family section.

Proper own goal this one from the club.

I also notice the £12 an adult is an early bird price for season ticket holders only that ends tomorrow and then reverts to £15 an adult. Should of offered it at £12 for all adults and £1 for kids and filled the ground.

 

[TailsWeWin]

Five of us who have season tickets in one of the closed areas of the East Stand have had to shift sideways into the centre section. No big deal really, as it’s a one-off, but I do actually feel a little guilty now about taking someone else’s ST seat.
As somebody suggested, the club’s approach to this match makes the while thing seem a little ‘Meh…’

 

[SteMerritt]

How is the club saving money by closing a section of the East Stand? Surely any savings would be probably just 2 or 3 stewards? Seems a minimal cost saving measure for the amount of annoyance it has caused.

 

[werthersoriginal]

How is the club saving money by closing a section of the East Stand? Surely any savings would be probably just 2 or 3 stewards? Seems a minimal cost saving measure for the amount of annoyance it has caused.

I'd rather they filled it with people on cheap tickets

 

[Berliner]

Tickets a tenner each, all STs have first dibs on their places until Wednesday AND can bring a friend for a fiver. Kids a quid in all areas. Olly the Ox will be available pre-game to sign autographs and hand out tat from the club shop.

Not difficult to generate interest if you give it even five minutes thought.

 

[MarkG]

How is the club saving money by closing a section of the East Stand? Surely any savings would be probably just 2 or 3 stewards? Seems a minimal cost saving measure for the amount of annoyance it has caused.

Perhaps the idea is there is a better atmosphere if fans are grouped together rather than spread out?
I often see it on "away fans" pictures that fans are grouped into limited blocks rather than allowed to sit where they want and are dotted around an empty stand.
However, it is a point that needs considering for the Triangle.
I haven't read all of the debate, but some people are saying we should have home fans right next to away fans, which would presumably need a line of 25 or so stewards more than the handful we currently have operating the segregation in the North Stand. Is this an expense the club wants to incur?

 

[LeftSideLarry]

25 stewards x £10 ph x 3 hrs = £750 + NI

A drop in the ocean if the seats we lose are filled with paying punters.

 

[Essexyellows]

The sort of game that is relatively easy to promote - the FA Cup still has its "magic" for many.

ST Holders - £5 a ticket as a thank you for your investment. Seat reserved until this Saturday.
All adult tickets £10.
Kids (Under 16) for a £1.
Ticket stub gives you priority for the next round.

Easy get 7k+ without even thinking about it.

Instead we have conspired to encourage folk to go and do something else, ticked off some ST holders, and shut most of the ground which will lead to a pretty carp experience for those who do go.

 

[GRB]

Kids for a quid at Wigan tonight.

 

[Scotchegg]

will lead to a pretty carp experience for those who do go.

At least Cam will be happy!

 

[MarkG]

The sort of game that is relatively easy to promote - the FA Cup still has its "magic" for many.

ST Holders - £5 a ticket as a thank you for your investment. Seat reserved until this Saturday.
All adult tickets £10.
Kids (Under 16) for a £1.
Ticket stub gives you priority for the next round.

Easy get 7k+ without even thinking about it.

Instead we have conspired to encourage folk to go and do something else, ticked off some ST holders, and shut most of the ground which will lead to a pretty carp experience for those who do go.

Remember the ticket prices have to be agreed with the away team.
I don't think prices of £12 or £15 compared to your suggestion of £5 or £10 will put fans off who are considering whether to go, when compared to match day prices of £25+ on a normal day, when you could choose to sit in the best seats in the house in SSU.

 

[Carpy]

will lead to a pretty carp experience

You called?

 

[Wandering Yellow]

I'd rather they filled it with people on cheap tickets

I believe a club in Germany recently made all tickets free for one game. https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bunde...-fans-free-tickets-at-future-home-games-23327

 

[m]

Well I'm going in the SSU for only the 3rd time ever.

I'll be dragging down the average IQ, and also the social status.

 

[Coffin dodger]

25 stewards x £10 ph x 3 hrs = £750 + NI

A drop in the ocean if the seats we lose are filled with paying punters.

I think you're underestimating the cost of stewards, you're paying them less than minimum wage and I believe they are agency staff and would be double your prices if not more.

 

[tonyw]

The sort of game that is relatively easy to promote - the FA Cup still has its "magic" for many.

I mean you say that, but the data suggests otherwise (at least for the first two rounds)

Looking back at every game we've played since getting back into the football league, the biggest FA Cup 1st or 2nd round crowd we've had at home was a smidge over 5,000 for Rovers a couple of years ago (and we know that they always bring a few). Most have been somewhere in the 3,000s. Hell, even the record-breaking Dorchester game in 95/96 had a crowd in the 3000s so this is not a new phenomenon.

It's certainly fair to argue that the club should bear the costs of keeping the whole ground open in order to offer the best service possible to its most loyal customers.

But we Oxford fans have done very little over the years to suggest to the club that we're going to turn out in numbers for a 1st round Cup tie against Maidenhead!

 

[bashamwonderland]

If the last few days of this thread could be summed up in one image:

 

[NottsYellow]

25 stewards x £10 ph x 3 hrs = £750 + NI

A drop in the ocean if the seats we lose are filled with paying punters.

There are a lot of stewards lining up outside North Stand at 12.30pm "clocking in" and I assume they finish at 5.30pm. So it is 5 hour shift for a lot of them. I guess agency staff would be circa £15+ p/hr.

 

[Scotchegg]

Remember the ticket prices have to be agreed with the away team.
I don't think prices of £12 or £15 compared to your suggestion of £5 or £10 will put fans off who are considering whether to go, when compared to match day prices of £25+ on a normal day, when you could choose to sit in the best seats in the house in SSU.

The "magic" of the FA Cup is not only about pitching smaller teams with bigger teams where shocks can happen, but that these smaller clubs also benefit financially out of it.

It's not long ago that we would have been grateful for any additional income and would have been pissed if the home club incurred unnecessary costs by keeping a full stadium open with 75% empty seats, or selling tickets for £5 for adults and £1 for kids.

I completely understand those who are unable to be accommodated elsewhere, especially wheelchair users and those you use the sensory room. And I agree that the decision to restrict access to some areas was badly communicated and needed the intervention of OUSP to get resolved. This is all far from ideal.

But I honestly don't see it as the shambles that others do or an indication that the club can't be arsed with the FA Cup. But we do all see things differently I guess.