Correspondence with Northampton Town Football Club regarding the early deadline for 2012-13 discount Season Tickets in the North Stand
NTFC have kindly given us permission to publish correspondence between NTFC Supporters Ltd and the football club which is shown in it's entirety below.
David Cardoza
Chairman
Northampton Town Football Club
Sixfields Stadium
Northampton
NN5 5QA
21st December 2011
Dear David
2012/13 Season Ticket Renewal
We write with regard to the published season ticket deadline for the £199 offer in the North Stand and to suggest a possible alternative to the ‘Interest Free’ loan offer which may help supporters spread the cost whilst still bringing income to the club during December and January. As representatives of supporters various board members have been contacted both in person and electronically by a significant number of fans and existing north stand season ticket holders who have expressed frustration and personal difficulties with the early deadlines to secure this offer. Existing and potential North Stand season ticket holders are frustrated that the dates of 31st
December 2011 and 14th January 2012 for the £199 is so close to the expensive Christmas and Christmas ‘aftermath’ period. Although people acknowledge the cost can be spread if the instalment loan offer is taken up by 31st December concerns have been expressed this option is not a favourable one. Although ‘Interest Free’ this offer does involve an admin fee and, more importantly, will have an impact on credit rating if indeed individuals are able to secure that credit. We accept that the £199 offer for the North Stand is an exceptionally good deal and we commend the club for this. It certainly appears to have increased numbers and improved atmosphere in the North Stand.
Following your recent conversation with our Supporters’ Rep. Director Dave Linnell we appreciate these dates have been set in response to particular business needs of the club. However, as well as supporting the club it is our role to represent and feedback to you the needs of supporters as above.
We would therefore like to propose and request the following:
1) the final deadline for the £199 offer should be extended to the 31 st January to allow at least one salary month after Christmas. In practice this may not make or break whether an individual can purchase a ticket or not but a favorable response from the club may generate a positive reaction that may convince a few more of those who can to proceed with their purchase where they might otherwise be hesitating.
2) As an alternative to the ‘Loan’ Installment offer the club should consider offering a postdated cheque installment offer. We would recommend not adding an admin fee for this.
However we accept there will be overheads in collection and processing so would not object to a small admin fee provided this does not exceed the £12 as for the loan option. Individuals would not be eligible to collect a season ticket until all cheques had been cleared.
We are concerned these early deadlines could prove counterproductive for the club, not simply in terms of the disappointment of fans/customers but in an actual decline in season ticket sales for the North Stand in particular. It is risky in our opinion to think that if this discount offer is not taken up in time the remaining people would either purchase a full price season or pay match day prices on a regular basis.
We also feel that any possibility of an subsequent extension to the published dates if early sales do not match target, as happened last year, whilst welcomed could create a perception amongst fan in subsequent years of not ‘believing the first deadline as its been extended before’. Thereby also potentially counterproductive for the future, our preference therefore would be to look for a flexible adjustment and alternative to the existing arrangements.
Yours Sincerely
Helen Hickman
On behalf of the Board
NTFC Supporters Ltd
Cc: Gareth Willsher, Head of Media
Response from Northampton Town Football Club Chairman dated 21st December 2011
Dear NTFC SL Board,
Thank you very much for your letter dated December 20th. We always appreciate feedback from supporters and I am grateful to you for taking the time and trouble to write to me.
As you have hinted at in your letter, the season ticket deadlines are set to aid the club's cashflow. The £199 deadline is around 6 weeks earlier than last season. There are times in the year when our cashflow ebbs and flows, and by having the deadline in mid-January it does help the club enormously from a cashflow point of view.
We understand and appreciate that some supporters cannot afford to pay for their season ticket in January, and so there are a number of choices for supporters. We have introduced the instalment option, and we believe the £199 season ticket, which allows supporters to see more than half the season free, even if paying on instalments, is very good value and those supporters who are willing to commit to a season ticket at this early stage deserve to receive such a good offer.
Supporters who can't pay the £199 in one go, can opt to pay on these instalments. They can choose to spread the cost over 10 months, paying just £21.61 a month (that's around the cost of one home game per month), or they can pay over 4 months, interest free, at £49.75 per month. Either way means they do not have to find £199 before the middle of January.
The benefit to us of using the Zebra Finance system is that we as a club get paid the value of the season ticket by Zebra up front, aiding the cashflow.
If we were to accept a series of post dated cheques as suggested in your letter, we would not be helping the club's cashflow. We would only receive a quarter of the income in January, as offered the chance to keep 75% of their money back until a later date, logic says the vast majority of supporters would choose to do just that. Not only that, but as you correctly point out, it would increase our administration and staff costs.
This is also the reason why, in response to point 1) we have set the deadline on January 14th rather than January 31st. January is a key time in the club's cash flow each year, and setting a deadline at the end of that month does not help us with that
The alternative for the club is to set a deadline for the North Stand in accordance with other stands of say £320 by the end of March (rather than £199 in January) but in our opinion that does not offer the same choice or value. Nor does this help our cashflow.
We always do what we can to help, and any supporter is invited to email box.office@ntfc.tv if they are having trouble buying a season ticket. We will always do what we can to be flexible, receptive and understanding and to offer assistance where we can.
I hear and accept your comments about extending the deadlines beyond those publicised and that it may dilute these deadlines in future years. We will always do what is in the best interests of the club, and if it is the view of NTFC Supporters Ltd that these deadlines are not extended at any point then we will take those opinions in to consideration when making any future decision.
As a club we have received minimal correspondence from supporters on the season ticket issue (less than half a dozen) and have been delighted with the early sales, so I would like to take this opportunity to thank those who have and who will purchase a season ticket.
Happy Christmas to all NTFC Supporters.
David Cardoza, Chairman