Students- Wolves are missing the bus!

[jonesey85]

I was a season ticket holder from the age of 8- 19, and basically cannot afford it anymore for the past couple of years whilst I've been doing my degree ( at Wolves uni). At the age of 17 i couldnt get concessions, my dad helped me along for a couple of years afterwards but that can only go on for so long! Here is my point:-

To buy a season ticket costs around £420 to go in the South Bank. ( I think thats about right.

To buy 23 individual match tickets with my NUS card at £15 each costs £345.

Which option is a strapped for cash student going to do?

The trouble is, I would love a season ticket again, but there is no student option available for the whole season!! This makes no sense.

Wolves won't absorb the cost of the student Wolves fan, and as a consequence I had to give up a great seat and take what I can get nowadays, or even pray, beg and scrape when the Albion are in town.

The period of being a student is a relatively small period, especially as i envisage myself still watching wolves when i am much older, but this cost cannot be absorbed?

Also consider the residents who practically SURROUND the Molineux. Would it not be good marketing to encourage the students who live around the ground to purchase season tickets? Would that not go some way towards long term planning for our fanbase?

Many students I know are from places such as London, or up north where granted, they already have their team.

But there are masses of students I know who hail from the likes of Shropshire and Wales, where they are either into rugby or dont or have never spectated any sport. Most of them seek long term employment in the Wolverhampton/ Birmingham area too, and I have been to the Molineux on a number of occasions with some of them who have found the prospect of watching Wolves, albeit a Championship club, is an exciting one. For some of them this is a completely new experience, and we should never underestimate the addictiveness of the noise and atmosphere at Molineux. It really does make people want to come back for more.

Its not as if we sell out every week, so come on Wolves, lets secure some long term fans, and at the same time, give fans like myself the opportunity to keep their permanent seat through their short student life. Its not as if you wont be getting enough bleedin money off us over the years now is it!

[jonesey85]

Cue the "Al Murray-like" comments about scroungers :-D

[wanderer24]

$$$$ off, i had more money in my pocket as a student than i do now. You just waste money when your at uni and get a part time job, ffs they chuck grants and student loans at you and you don't pay bugger all until your earning decent money.

[Kenny-11]

I would love a season ticket again, but there is no student option available for the whole season!! This makes no sense.



Wolves have explained there stance on this many times. Problems with people enrolling at Uni/College, getting a cheapo season ticket and quit being a student.
I think one of the WPM threads has a discussion on this from one of the meetings where the club said they woud look into how they could introduce a season ticket for students again.

[Paul76]

Get a job as a steward.

[Netherton Wolf]

I'm with you jonesey to a certain extent, I have a 16yr old who this year paid £150 for his season ticket with me in the SBUpper, even when the early birds come out he's still got to pay adult next season £420ish, he's still at school and only has a paper round earning £7 per wk, so unfortunately this year the Wolves will probably be losing 2 long standing STH's as I don't fancy going on my own!

[djackl]

Why not sit in the family enclosure for 80 quid?

[Netherton Wolf]

Why not sit in the family enclosure for 80 quid?

Once you are 17 you are classed as an adult at Wolves and my son is 17in July so he's an adult where ever he sits!

[Florida Wolfey]

The problem with the argument that wanderer24 puts forward is that not all students are the stereo typical wasters. The problem magnify's when you have genuine fans like this who want to attend games but are priced out.

The club has to address this and one way forward maybe to work more closely with the colleges and universities with such a program that ensures that only genuine students get a discount.

Unfortunately there will always be people who take advantage of the system but that's no excuse for the club to close their eyes and decide it's a problem not worth solving.

One way may be a rebate scheme. For example, if you achieve a certain attendance level or grade point average etc then you automatically get discounted at a later stage... but you have to pay in advance.

I don't think you can have a system any other way as it is open for abuse but one thing is for certain, the club needs to capture this valuable customer base at this age before they find other things to do. Having a good student programme is just as essential as any other programme to ensure the long term viability of the club.

[GoldenHorseshoe]

The problem with the argument that wanderer24 puts forward is that not all students are the stereo typical wasters. The problem magnify's when you have genuine fans like this who want to attend games but are priced out.

The club has to address this and one way forward maybe to work more closely with the colleges and universities with such a program that ensures that only genuine students get a discount.

Unfortunately there will always be people who take advantage of the system but that's no excuse for the club to close their eyes and decide it's a problem not worth solving.

One way may be a rebate scheme. For example, if you achieve a certain attendance level or grade point average etc then you automatically get discounted at a later stage... but you have to pay in advance.

I don't think you can have a system any other way as it is open for abuse but one thing is for certain, the club needs to capture this valuable customer base at this age before they find other things to do. Having a good student programme is just as essential as any other programme to ensure the long term viability of the club.

Good points FW, I like the incentive for rebate tied to better marks.

[Dewsburywolf]

Jonesy85 you need a mate like me. I renewed one of our Supporters Club member's S T and sell it back to him on a game by game basis lending it to other Members on the other occasions.

[jlovatt]

I have raised this issue twice with James Fielden now, and he has at parliament meetings also. I do exactly the same as you Jonesy, and am annoyed West Brom do it, but Wolves can't!

If a student goes to uni, and quits - they still have to pay tutitions fees, which will they worry about more? All it would take is for a letter from the university to confirm student status, maybe twice a year. Or even a "reward" system where if you have been a student for a year and can prove it, get the following season on student prices?

[jonesey85]

I'm with you jonesey to a certain extent, I have a 16yr old who this year paid £150 for his season ticket with me in the SBUpper, even when the early birds come out he's still got to pay adult next season £420ish, he's still at school and only has a paper round earning £7 per wk, so unfortunately this year the Wolves will probably be losing 2 long standing STH's as I don't fancy going on my own!

Yeah, and you'll lose your cherished seat.

[jonesey85]

The problem with the argument that wanderer24 puts forward is that not all students are the stereo typical wasters. The problem magnify's when you have genuine fans like this who want to attend games but are priced out.

The club has to address this and one way forward maybe to work more closely with the colleges and universities with such a program that ensures that only genuine students get a discount.

Unfortunately there will always be people who take advantage of the system but that's no excuse for the club to close their eyes and decide it's a problem not worth solving.

One way may be a rebate scheme. For example, if you achieve a certain attendance level or grade point average etc then you automatically get discounted at a later stage... but you have to pay in advance.

I don't think you can have a system any other way as it is open for abuse but one thing is for certain, the club needs to capture this valuable customer base at this age before they find other things to do. Having a good student programme is just as essential as any other programme to ensure the long term viability of the club.

The trouble is though mate, I dont see how it can be abused if the appropriate documentation is brought from the university, and maybe a computer check system can be run alongside Wolves and the university, to make sure that anybody who applies is indeed genuine.

[jonesey85]

$$$$ off, i had more money in my pocket as a student than i do now. You just waste money when your at uni and get a part time job, ffs they chuck grants and student loans at you and you don't pay bugger all until your earning decent money.

These bloody kids nowadays. Dont know theyre born. Etc, etc.

[cooper_J]

$$$$ off, i had more money in my pocket as a student than i do now. You just waste money when your at uni and get a part time job, ffs they chuck grants and student loans at you and you don't pay bugger all until your earning decent money.

Grants? When were you a student?

I struggled all the way through my degree without a penny to rub together. I don't know why you had such excess of cash but not everyone can be as fortunate as you. All I know is that I did it completely on my own, worked for three years before I went to fund it and never asked for a penny off my parents.

Including the money I had to loan to do my postgraduate teacher training, I'm now nearly £20K in debt. But I'd rather be like that than have leached off my parents.

I agree that Wolves should do something for students but I also think that they should do something for low income families. Of course that is unworkable and the root of the problem isn't really Wolves, its the greed in the game that has driven the cost of ticket prices up.

There should be cheaper tickets for students. And low income families. And high income families. We should all pay less for tickets, simple as that.

[djackl]

Once you are 17 you are classed as an adult at Wolves and my son is 17in July so he's an adult where ever he sits!

I've been 17 since August and I was still sorted for this season.

[goldfish]

As a student, it's often more cost effective to buy tickets to each game individually than get a season ticket. You can get discounted match tickets (provided you buy on the day of purchase), but not a discounted season ticket.

It's an absolute joke. The club must lose so so so many fans who can't afford to go when their parents stop paying for their season tickets. And people get out of the habit of going many don't get back into it.

I struggled to pay for a season ticket through uni, but I have sympathy with young fans who're not students. Something like Derby's 'Young Adult' season ticket would make sense: it's less than £200 (around £120 I think) for anyone who's 21 or under at the start of the season there. And that's in the Premiership.

[RichRalph]

Maybe the club could do 2 half season tickets for student whereby you need to prove you are still a student for each half.

[jonesey85]

As a student, it's often more cost effective to buy tickets to each game individually than get a season ticket. You can get discounted match tickets (provided you buy on the day of purchase), but not a discounted season ticket.

It's an absolute joke. The club must lose so so so many fans who can't afford to go when their parents stop paying for their season tickets. And people get out of the habit of going many don't get back into it.

I struggled to pay for a season ticket through uni, but I have sympathy with young fans who're not students. Something like Derby's 'Young Adult' season ticket would make sense: it's less than £200 (around £120 I think) for anyone who's 21 or under at the start of the season there. And that's in the Premiership.

That is the key point here. Clubs in general just arent thinking in the long term though, its always a case of "whats the maximum money we can get from somebody NOW" rather than "lets build a large fanbase for the future and absorb the loss of a little bit of profit now."

An aggressive attitude towards marketing I think.

[John]

I'm not sure I follow why students should get cheaper tickets than someone out of work and on benefits.

[wanderer24]

The student whinge is dull and boring. Of the debt you have from uni, how much are you paying back? $$$$ all really, if you took out a bank loan you would be paying much more. Student loans are the cheapest, no-stress, easy to pay back loans in existence.
"ooh, i struggled at uni, boo hoo", trying to keep a roof over the head of a young family is much harder in the real world of paying tax and all of your own bills plus credit cards/loans/mortgage/rent/overdraft that is charged at a higher rate and the lenders aren't quite so patient when you're not a student.

[The Vicar]

I'm not sure I follow why students should get cheaper tickets than someone out of work and on benefits.


Good point, one lazy good for nothing is no more deserving than another lazy good for nothing scrounger. Make the all pay full price.

[Ettingshall Wolf]

Wolves have explained there stance on this many times. Problems with people enrolling at Uni/College, getting a cheapo season ticket and quit being a student.

That stance doesnt make much sense to me though. once you have your NUS card for the year, they wouldnt take it off you if you quit uni, so you could still carry on buying individual match tickets with your NUS. so why not an NUS season ticket. Either way if a student quits they are still going to get discounted match tickets

[Ettingshall Wolf]

Good point, one lazy good for nothing is no more deserving than another lazy good for nothing scrounger. Make the all pay full price.

Im not going to bite on this one, but what I will say is that if Wolves do individual match tickets at student prices, then why not season tickets also?

[John]

Im not going to bite on this one, but what I will say is that if Wolves do individual match tickets at student prices, then why not season tickets also?
I'm pretty sure they did concession prices for the unemployed. Do they still do that?

[UNCLE REMUS]

I think it's more important to have cheaper tickets for kids, they are the future.

Make it more attractive for dads to bring their kids down as family.

Unfortunately regarding students you cannot charge them diferrently to other young adults in the same age bracket. It's difficult at that age no matter what you are doing whether in work or not. The alternative would be to have a ticket pricing structure for fans say up to the age of 19, where youngsters up to say 7 pay a price, then 11, then 15 etc. It may not be a bad idea to have special kids enclosures. Put in smaller seats and increase the capacity to help pay for the structure.:rolleyes:

[cooper_J]

"ooh, i struggled at uni, boo hoo", trying to keep a roof over the head of a young family is much harder in the real world of paying tax and all of your own bills plus credit cards/loans/mortgage/rent/overdraft that is charged at a higher rate and the lenders aren't quite so patient when you're not a student.

Should have tried harder when you were leading the charmed life at uni so you could have got a better job (and more money) then.

Boo hoo

[John]

Unfortunately regarding students you cannot charge them diferrently to other young adults in the same age bracket.
They do.

[jonesey85]

Bloody scrounging students, I went to the university of life, and that taught me more than theyll ever teach you at uni blah blah blah zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!

[Gratters]

I'm pretty sure they did concession prices for the unemployed. Do they still do that?

WHAT !!!! I'm not sitting next to a bloody unemployed !!

[bradmore]

A Load of Bull is always looking for sellers. If you sell it outside the ground before the match , the commission will help to pay for your match ticket. That's what I did as a student.

[jonesey85]

A Load of Bull is always looking for sellers. If you sell it outside the ground before the match , the commission will help to pay for your match ticket. That's what I did as a student.

All the students I know work part time.

But what I'm saying is, I WANT a season ticket, but it is more economical for me to buy my tickets individually. This is the bit I don't understand.

I want my favourite seat back, but I can't do that when the price difference between a season ticket and buying seats individually is the cost of about 5 uni books!

And marketing- wise, surely from the clubs point of view it would be best for them to "lock" students in by making a season ticket more appealing, rather than letting them pick and choose! Thats where I think the club are missing out.

I also think it would be wise to reach out to foreign students, many from the far East, the Arab states and Africa, for whom English football is an exciting prospect.

To anybody wondering why students should get discounts, the answer is that any company thinking about their customers in the long term, such as shops, food places etc, find that offering a student discount is a good idea because their point of view (rightly or wrongly) is that somebody who gets a degree at uni will generally earn more, therefore making students the sort of clientelle that they wish to secure and please. Even banks do it, with their interest free overdraft facilities.

Any excuse the club gives about the system being open to abuse doesnt make sense when they contradict themselves by offering individual match tickets. If you have an NUS card, you have that NUS card valid for the whole year, whether you quit after 1 lecture or not. I dont see why Wolves can't work in collaboration with the uni with computer systems to identify genuine students and inform Wolves when a student has left the university.

Wolves are missing out on a MASSIVE advertisement opportunity too by not working with the uni closely enough. They could plaster these offers all over the university, and get students into the ground. Its right on the uni's doorstep ffs and Wolverhampton has one of the largest student populations in the country!