FC United: far from shaky in the Northern Premier League Premier Division
The non-league club born out of anti-Glazer sentiment, FC United, has decided to mimic Thom Yorke's master scheme in sales, allowing fans to set their own price for season tickets. They're recommending 90 pounds (160 bucks?) as a minimum, and will evaluate the plan after a month's trial.
No word yet if the club is also adopting Karma Police as its team anthem.
It's a bold move for the grassroots club, currently operating in the Lancastrian shadow of two of the sport's biggest spenders. After all, with the world's economy still struggling, sports teams need to compete with more innovation than ever before when it comes to trying to get money from your pocket.
They're not offering season tickets for free (after all, they don't have the accumulated wealth of Yorke and co. following a string of hit albums), but they're setting recommended minimum prices and hoping that enough spend on either side of the 90 pound mark to keep the club running.
Says FC United general manager Andy Walsh:"The Premier League clubs have put up prices regardless of the ability of people to pay. Those that can afford to pay continue to pay and those that can't fall off the end. Ultimately that will undermine the game of football, which has always been about inclusivity, not exclusivity.
Considering that they've managed average attendances of more than 2,500 throughout their four-year existence to date, it's an idea so wild it might just work.
"For many, when prices go up there is no alternative. We've demonstrated there is an alternative model that puts the supporter at the very heart of the football club rather than on the fringes."
For the sake of grassroots soccer's survival, let's hope that it does.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
FC United pull a Radiohead
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6 comments:
If they fill up the ground even more they might be Packt Like Sardines in a Crushed Tin Box.
By the by, "In Rainbows" = the best album of the past 5 years.
My buddy's band (Wonderlick) just did this. They had a pre-sale online where fans could name their own price for the upcoming release. The incentive was that anyone who beat the average got their name listed in the liner notes of the CD. Think the low offer was $5 (which covers costs) and the high was $500, with a mean of about $28.
The $500 figure didn't even skew things that much as the trimmed mean was still about $26.
Also Eladio: Almost Killed Me >> In Rainbows
I really love this idea, and I think it should be used more often. But maybe then it'll get abused by people?
Also, much as I love In Rainbows, Meriweather Post Pavilion now holds the title for best album of the decade.
I gave radiohead eight bucks for the album.
I ended up buying it on vinyl too though. So they definitely are marketing geniuses.
Sorry, but I take Kid A over In Rainbows any day. And Unwound's Leaves Turn Inside You is the bast album of the decade so far.
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