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Post by T on Dec 20, 2009 23:34:52 GMT 10
Was reading the other thread and I came across this post. The thread was locked so I thought might as well post the new one
On narangbademon's point about paying money to watch Claxton shield.
I don't mind admitting that I won't be dropping a cent to watch the Rams play this year. Like many others, I am quite happy to sit in the outer eating my own food and saving the cash. I figure like many others I drop nearly a grand per season to play the game, why pay through the nose to come watch as well?
Guys on the team are only young and it is their offseason but when you're considering paying to come watch these guys play, you don't want to hear that half the team has been dropped and a catcher will be playing right field.
Unfortunately that I watch from right field means my attendance isn't recorded officially, and BQ isn't making a cent off me either. I'm not losing sleep over it though, because:
Like it or not, you don't win support by pricing people out.
Very simple business principle. You make more in the long run by making $5 profit off 100 people than $100 profit off 5 people. I would be a lot more inclined to drop money into Qld baseball if I wasn't hit for extra cash at the door, at the canteen and in the toilet line.
Ask your average baseballer who drops close to a grand per season on the sport to keep paying through the nose to come watch, and that's a fan you'll never get a cent out of.
What are the profits/costs from the Claxton, anyway?
I'm very happy to support the game in Brisbane. I do it every week, month and year by paying through the nose to play it in parks across the city. Their canteens don't do too shabbily out of me either
I would also be quite willing to support the sport, BQ and Windsor by buying reasonably-priced food through their canteen (I do it every time we play them), except for being locked out of it by choosing not to pay for the privilege of walking in the gate and get the chance to spend even more money.
You'll always get the diehards willing to pay the cash, but if you keep bumping up the prices they're the only ones you end up ripping off. Everybody else will have long since left.
I may not be making the most popular post here, it's just the view of someone who BQ currently isn't making a cent from.
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Post by snoball on Dec 21, 2009 8:16:52 GMT 10
I agree with T -- after paying thousands over the years, I can't see paying anything to watch clubbies play. Maybe that will change when/if we get a better standard of play happening. I've paid less to watch a MLB game.
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Post by wildpitch23 on Dec 21, 2009 10:29:18 GMT 10
Hey T....how can they make "$100 profit off 5 people" when they only charge $10 per head? And if you are outlaying close to $1000 a year to play baseball in Brisbane, then you are with the wrong club!!!!
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buddy
Little Leaguer
Posts: 16
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Post by buddy on Dec 21, 2009 11:07:15 GMT 10
Getting enjoyment out of watching sport is as much about personalities as it is about the game.
Us parents love watching our kids play at club level - we know everyone on the team and therefore a LL game can be just as exciting (or more) as a Claxton Shield game! We know who hit a HR last week or who has been dropping a few.
There were a lot of kids at Saturdays game (Padres & BNR LL?). Whenever a player they had remotely heard of came up to bat I watched them stop and look with great interest then continue on with whatever they were doing like annoying Ronnie. I found myself doing the same thing (except for the Ronnie bit). As a newbie to watching baseball at a senior level, I find myself never having heard of many of the players, or if I had then I didnt know what club they were from, their history etc etc and I cant keep up with all the team and position changes. Each week my kids say "Can we go - I think ........ is playing"? How many times did I drive all the way in to find they werent or were on the bench!
There was a big group of kids who got a huge kick out of chasing autographs during the rain delay. My 10yo son now has a ball signed by the whole Vic team and it is currently his proudest possession. He got a few Qld signatures after he eventually found their hiding spot! My older son still talks about the time he got to visit the Rams dugout. Has anyone seen the que for autographs at the Training With The Pro's days? How awesome would it have been if a few Rams players went and played yardball with the 30 or so kids mucking around behind the scoreboard?
My point is......... put some personality into the Claxton Shield, tell us more about these players and make us want to cheer for them, get them mixing with the kids and give them some heroes to look up to and aspire to be like. Ive been to an Angels game when Guerrero comes out to bat and the roar is deafening - I didnt hear one cheer on Saturday, even for players I'd heard of. I was sitting with families who had never heard of any of the players, not even those from their own club.
I used to go to every Intl Cricket game I could as a kid when Lillee, Thomo, the Chappels etc were playing. They had personality and heaps of publicity (some bad), since Warnie left I'd be lucky to name 3 players on the Aus team and havent watched it years. Its still the same game just no personality.
Scuse my naivety here but the diehard baseball fans are already hooked, its the masses like us that need to become interested and want a reason to come to the games (like the kids want to get more autographs).
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Post by a rod on Dec 21, 2009 12:26:23 GMT 10
well buddy you have a good point there, maybe next year the brisbane or qld team could have a few player's come and do stuff with juniors, since they are the role models of these younger kids.if you want to know more about the players in the team or the ones from your own club, maybe you could go watch them play on a sunday or a friday nite.
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buddy
Little Leaguer
Posts: 16
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Post by buddy on Dec 21, 2009 13:05:31 GMT 10
Thanks Snake. We have been to a few home senior games, its hard with the kids already at Rep & Club training 4 nights/week, playing weekends.........but same thing there - we dont know who we are watching. There arn't even player profiles on the Rams website let alone at Club level.
Couple of other things.
My 10yo came back from autograph hunting and said "man Dad you should hear them swear" - something to think about.
The announcer said there was a silent auction for autographed Rams caps down beside 1st base dugout. The boys begged me to put in a bid for a couple of big names, I would have paid good money being xmas and all, a few of us went down there but couldnt find where they were doing it? Anyone know if that silent auction is still running?
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Post by narangbademon on Dec 21, 2009 13:48:08 GMT 10
As mush as averagejoe said in the old link, mostly bad, his/her points are the same about price etc so there is alot of people thinking along the same lines
Clubbys or pro's, no matter who is playing its the quality that brings people to the game, snake buddy are on page how bout you guys run the abl
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Post by T on Dec 21, 2009 14:00:14 GMT 10
Hey T....how can they make "$100 profit off 5 people" when they only charge $10 per head? And if you are outlaying close to $1000 a year to play baseball in Brisbane, then you are with the wrong club!!!! 1. That's what they call an 'analogy'. That's like where people compare things 2. That's counting signon, equipment and uniform costs. Stuff needs replacing every year. You could probably even add fuel into that, if you need to make a few long trips a season. If you play the game yourself, add them up over the course of a season. You'll be surprised. Some clubs have hit $500 just for signon alone. I will admit I don't know how much profit BQ is making from each entry and hot dog, for all we know their margins could be razor thin. I'd really like to see what kind of costs they have to outlay to make the shield work. Point is, when you're already donating that much of your paycheque to the game it makes it very hard to justify $10 to watch the same guys you can watch at your club for free. I think the cheapest Broncos ticket is still only around $18. We played against Windsor the day after one series, they still had their 'Claxton Shield' price list up in the canteen. Basically, every food item was $1 more than during the club season. I'll admit they have one of the best dogs in the league but that's still quite insulting, especially when you've already shelled out to get in the door. Is a hot dog suddenly $1 more expensive to produce during claxton time? Who and where is that dollar going to?
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Post by 44 on Dec 21, 2009 14:32:20 GMT 10
For the Rams V Patriots in January "T". How much would you pay to go and watch?
I'm not sure of the profit margins or running costs but I'm thinking if this season Brisbane RAMS gets 400-500 a game and just keeps a nose over break even would be a good start before the main ABL marketing kicks in next season.
Winning more games would keep up sponsor interest of course.
One big positive from the saturday game was even with the horrible weather, a decent sized crowd still rolled up for the delayed double header from 6PM.
Unfortunately technology conspired against everyone to spoil the night.
I'm very positive that next season's Brisbane ABL will be bigger and better including the playing roster.
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Post by david73 on Dec 21, 2009 14:41:41 GMT 10
$5 for the best seat in the house and $2 for the outers please
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Post by wilderness on Dec 21, 2009 14:55:07 GMT 10
Hey Buddy, You raised a whole bunch of good points. It seems to me that you are talking about "what brings people to the game" and this is really different to the issues in the old RAMS threads about "Fixing the team".
I've been saying for a while now, that the cheering side of the rams games is very quiet. I kind of like to get into the games and cheering out for a player once in a while is all part of it. I noticed on Saturday night, I was the only one cheering. My young 10 yr old is usually about as noisy as me when it comes to cheering but even he was reluctant to cheer on anyone, because he said to me "Dad, you're the only one cheering". When Watson got up to bat, I really wanted him to hit one out there, and I'm sure most of the people in the crowd wanted him too, but their voices were silent. I kind of felt funny that I was the only one cheering and I think this is sad for the game.
I think there are two different reasons why children come to a game and why adults come ... kids come to hang out with their friends, have some junk food, try and grab a couple of presents off Santa or Ronnie and generally get into kid's kind of stuff. In other states, they have jumping castles and other kinds of junk to keep the kids amused, and it pulls in the crowds ... big time. The thing is, it's entertainment for the kids.
Adults on the other hand come to watch the game, or talk to the other adults and again, it's entertainment for the adults.
The common thread between kids and adults is that it needs to be entertainment for both, and then both will come.
I'm not one to pay more than I have to, but if it's value for money, I'd still go to the game.
I realise that the old RAMS thread mostly talked about how to fix the team, but from my point of view, I just want to be entertained and so do my kids. Win loose or draw, I'd still go to watch them if I have a good time, and an important part of this is, I can't have a good time if my kids aren't having a good time. I also think that cheering for your team is an important part of getting into the game, and I for one, would really like to see more cheering!!!
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Post by T on Dec 21, 2009 15:00:44 GMT 10
$5 for the best seat in the house and $2 for the outers please ...and park a hot dog van behind centre field.
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buddy
Little Leaguer
Posts: 16
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Post by buddy on Dec 21, 2009 15:07:02 GMT 10
Is it really the cost of a ticket or food that stops people going? Its certainly what we all complain about after we've been but it's not the reason anybody I've asked has given for not going in the first place. I doubt a lot more people would go even if it were free! We all know how much movie tickets and cinema snacks cost but if it's a movie that got rave reviews, is well marketed and has an all star cast - does that stop us? The $100 family pass was excellent value but I dont think we will use all the tickets
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Post by T on Dec 21, 2009 15:08:56 GMT 10
I'm not saying that, it certainly hasn't stopped me going.
It has, however, stopped me paying for the privilege.
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buddy
Little Leaguer
Posts: 16
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Post by buddy on Dec 21, 2009 15:21:15 GMT 10
and how many people paid for cheap seats but sat in the best ones
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