Getting punters through the gates

[graeme]

So the mantra is supposed to be "get spectators through the gates", is it? I've been onto some of the local Caterham owners groups to try and get them along to races; obviously one of their queries is "can we get them discounted tickets?". So I phone Croft and ask - "no, not unless there's 30+; but its only £12 anyway...". So much much for temping more people through the gates (may be it would have been different at a JP circuit...?).

[ActiveMS]

I still think that the 10 quid bench mark is way over the odds these days. You will not get familes in based on those prices. I wouldnt pay to watch myself race, let alone anyone else.

How about £5 per adult of £15 for a family ticket (kids under 16). This is then reasonable, more likely to stop people turning around at the gates, and still have money for an over priced burger.

[Slowcoach]

I thought kids under 16 were free ?

[nitromaster]

Kids under 16 usually do go free. 10-12 pounds per adult is not a lot of money for a family day out these days.

[ActiveMS]

I agree that 10-12 pounds per adult is not expensive for a family day out these days, but in comparison with what you actually get for the money it is expensive as most of the tracks are very run down and NOT family friendly. The grandstands are pants (some even dangerous), the food is pants, the cars parks are pants and to be fair some of the driving is pants. For some club events I wouldnt even bother selling tickets as it probably costs more to man the gates and print the tickets than it does return in revenue.

There are others ways of generating income other than pure spectator revenue. Look at using the circuits for other things and if this can be done in conjunction with a race event then fantastic.

But we all know, us drivers/teams will never see any gain from spectators/gate revenue..... so why bother trying to do the circuits job for them?

[graeme]

Originally posted by ActiveMS
.... so why bother trying to do the circuits job for them?

Good question - 'cos I feel its the type of thing that's good for club motorsport. But shouldn't the circuit be doing it?

[ActiveMS]

Yup they should. Apart from the real big crowd pullers (Superbikes, BTCC etc), clubs do not see any return from gate revenue.

Spectators are good for club motorsport, its just the under investment by circuits over the years is now proving a big problem by putting people off going to watch, and people are generally more demanding these days, like the kid in the radio advert says to his mum .....'Be more demanding'

[Slowcoach]

There is a children's swing at Mallory.......

[graeme]

Pembrey have just put a kiddies playpark in - right next to the run-off area at Paddock Bend

[Rod Birley]

With the typical wet weather we often get, it still amazes me how few circuits have got covered grandstands. Not surprisingly this puts many people off, not everyone is mad enough to stand around in the rain.

[BigFella]

the price I don't think is an issue, £12 for a full day is not steep when compared to football, museums, outdoor shows.facilities, yes could be improved upon but would the cost be recouped by increased numbers? I domn't think so, people who spectate know what to expect and arrive prepared. I think that what you have to do is give the spectators a spectacle, let them watch close racing,exotic machinery and make them want to come back and see more, even if they are stood in a wet field, there are some classes i've watched that you would have to pay me to watch again, and I did fall asleep during one race at Croft on Sat.!!

[Metroman]

And I bet that was a Radical race!! Question - why pay a team to park the Paddock up nice and neatly then give the one group of cars that were only racing on Day one the best paddock?

One point regarding getting the punters in. Circuits need to realise that the next generation of competitors and marshals come from the spectator banks. It is very short sighted to not encourage spectator attendance at Clubbies. The so-called Promoted Events mainly attract the once a year visitor. It's the regulars who need to be catered for.

[Chris Y]

This may be a radical idea (although it doesn't involve Radicals):

For most clubbie meets, the circuit are almost resigned to not getting much gate money from spectators. They get most of their money from the club, who in turn get the money from the competitors..

So, how about the circuits lower the cost of the tickets as an incentive to the public, and pass the gate money, or at least a high percentage, to the competitor?

That way, the competitor stands to get some money back from the meeting if enough people come to watch. It's an incentive for the competitors to promote the meeting, and their own racing...

Just a thought..

[Tim Falce]

Originally posted by Chris Y
This may be a radical idea (although it doesn't involve Radicals):

For most clubbie meets, the circuit are almost resigned to not getting much gate money from spectators. They get most of their money from the club, who in turn get the money from the competitors..

So, how about the circuits lower the cost of the tickets as an incentive to the public, and pass the gate money, or at least a high percentage, to the competitor?

That way, the competitor stands to get some money back from the meeting if enough people come to watch. It's an incentive for the competitors to promote the meeting, and their own racing...

Just a thought..

Yeah, like that's realy gonna happen

[R59]

Apart from having more chance of catching leperosy....

Yes, it's a radical idea. Self promotion. Judging by the way that we are all great at pulling in sponsors, I'm sure that we'll all do so well at getting punters in.

I suggest early morning squads with double decker buses, rounding up as many people as possible to drag them along kicking and screaming to watch 8 cars start a race (and probably six or less finish).

Before we can look forward to healthy gates, we have to cure the disease in the sport. Too many championships, too much choice, to much to spread around to too few viewers.

But competitors getting a share of the gate money (purse!) OH YES PLEASE. What will you do with your 73pence?

Rob

My wife suggests a creche so there's something for the little ones to do, so more wives would go, bringing the family, making it a family day out.

[johnw]

Chris Y
Not so radical. See this thread from March.
http://tentenths.com/forum/showthrea...d+ideas+thread

Agree totally that we need to improve the show.

[mountainstar]

The powers that be in the UK have never seemed to get it when it comes to bringing in the crowds all the way up to formula 1. In order to bring in more money to drivers, teams and tracks, you've got to get the crowds. I'd follow the american model of local short track oval racing which is hugely popular here in the US. Keep the ticket prices reasonable($7 a head where i live), give people a good place to sit and have some good food for sale. Good racing action helps a bit too!

Who wants to pay the equivilant of $20 a head to sit in mud and eat garbage food?

[R59]

Mountainstar, I agree with you. My engine builder is in TN, and most of his customers are dirt racers. They don't do championships, but each race has a prize fund, attracts big crowds, and is very well supported. His main charge recently won a $2500 race in Alabama.

Our UK short oval scene is quite well supported too. Fewer categories, more cars, more entertainment.....

Rob.

[andy97]

Entrance fees are almost certainly not an issue but cr*p facilities and a lack of promotion almost certainly are. Motorsport is competing with far more high quality "experiences" now than it did 20-30 years ago but has failed to keep up - even Div 1 and 2 Football clubs have now got decent stands and loos etc.

As for the lack of promotion, I live one mile from Donington Park but unless you are a "petrol head" (like me) who reads the weeklies you would not know that anything is on (apart from the sunday market). Donington has an excellent catchment area - From Birmingham to Sheffield - but there never seems to be any advertising in the local press or on local radio. Pathetic.

[Hamness]

I guess that as we are talking here of value for money combined with extortionate ticket prices, you might like to exclude Castle Combe from this discusion as none of the above has any relevance to "The best club circuit in Britain" (Autosport quote)

[redshoes]

Lack of promotion doesn't seem to be much of a problem to the short ovals. I recently went to a V8 Stocks/MiniStox/Banger meeting at a track 15-20 miles away from my that I barely knew existed. Never seen anything in the local papers about about, yet I get there and they had to delay thge start for 20 mins due to the number of people queueing to get in. Probably a couple of thousand people there, which must have been twice the number at Donington for the F3/GTs a couple of weeks previous. One thing very noticeably was the number of family groups there, far more than you'd expect at a circuit meeting.

Don't have any obvious answers, other than what's already been said in so many previous threads, mainly that the number of surplus or redundant series needed to be looked at urgently. However good the loos, grandstands and burgers are, people will not pay to see single digit grids.

[Ian Fisher]

How about circuits selling season tickets? If its £10-12 on the day per adult, why not sell a season ticket for all club meetings at say £25 per adult, perhap with the offer of a 10 / 20% discount on BTCC / BSB / F3 / GT / tickets and circuit shops / merchadise?

Might find you get more spectators over a season? Also, circuits should have a sensible maximum price for food & drink sold in the circuits (£4 for a burger at Silverstone!!). They used to have this policy, if the max was £2, that would be better and entice more families through the door.

[johnw]

Given there are virtually no spectators, why not start at £10 a vehicle including all passengers?

[Woolley]

Good suggestion, John. Of course it helps if potential spectators know there's anything to take the car to. Nothing promotes racing like seeing a car, so why not get out to the shopping centres, show off the cars (and promote the sponsors) and flog off the tickets at a cheaper advance price?

[KennyG]

At least when you go to Croft you can get to see something for your £12 without peering through miles of wire fencing.

One issue I have is the lack of advertising of events by the circuits. Just listen to Tees FM (or similar) when there is a club event on. They will tell you about everything happening locally, from knitting groups meeting in park to wellie throwing contests and never once mention that there is an event at Croft. The conspiracy theorists say they are worried about doing this due to the on-going problems with certain individuals in the village. However, the public won't come to any event if they don't know it exists.

I do a lot of photography at club events as the drivers appreciate it and I enjoy doing it. It is a bit sad when you look at a shot and where there would be a big crowd in the background for the BTCC meeting, you will be lucky to see two people watching a club event.

To pinch and adapt a line from a well known movie "Tell them and they will come".