Post by Wicked Cricket on Dec 1, 2016 15:16:55 GMT
Public Forum on Membership Costs: December 1st: 11am-12.15pm: Jim Parks Bar
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Around 50 people attended the Public Forum this morning on the 2017 Membership costs - an event held in the Jim Parks bar.
After a humorous introduction from Zac Toumazi who came up with such one-liners as: "Sorry for not wearing a tie but I've just
been fired.." and: "A pity the new CEO doesn't have such a big profile as me..." the meeting's hapless baton was passed over
to club marketing manager, Tom Rose, who led proceedings with a slick presentation that attempted to appease Members with
the recent price hikes followed by the club's reasons behind them.
The exact pricing details can be accrued elsewhere but after all the ins and outs, justifications, complaints from the floor, and general
gripes, a full Membership cost of around £270 to cover every potential day and hour of three different formats of home cricket is, in
my book, still good value for money, if you regularly attend. And while the club are pushing every sinew of loyalty from supporters,
their default view and always will be, is that all the extra revenues charged will be ploughed back into the club.
While listening to Tom Rose one felt some sympathy. How can anyone sell the 50 over tournament to a public that has little interest in
it and where Sussex have been awarded the wooden spoon two years running. Flogging a dead horse comes to mind. The Championship
is little different except for a dying band of traditionalists who see it as their right to watch this format as a cheap privilege.
So Sussex, like many other clubs, are trying to increase their coffers from three different formats where only one is proven to be a money-
spinner; And why the T20 match costs have increased and why an allocated seat is now viewed as a revenue asset to squeeze.
Then, in an attempt to appease Members because research shows, "They don't feel loved enough by the Club," more and more "add-ons"
come into play. New stakeholders have joined including 'Boundless' who have 250,000 members worldwide and are known as "The largest
club people have not heard of." Join them and discounts galore come into play.
Future "Add-ons" to Membership may include a loyalty points scheme, live-streaming of matches, further local discounts, more Membership
social events, and online classes via the Sussex Cricket Foundation Learning Centre.
The expected but necessary grumpy questions came from the floor where one stood out. A gentleman asked, "I retired last year and am on a
tight fixed budget. Why can't I pay my Membership in monthly instalments as I do for The Amex?" The answer was a little surprising. "Because
we are a small operation and don't have the structure to carry this out." Really?!? Although, if this 'one-hit' is carried out via direct debit, at
least, there is a small discount.
Ground capacity was briefly discussed. It has now increased to 5,800 from the 5,750 figure mentioned by Ian Waring in the Summer; and the
digital era at Hove will continue to thrive. When an elderly man said he didn't have a computer and how could he find out the club news away
from the website or email, his query sounded all rather nostalgic.
Afterwards, I had brief chats with Zac Toumazi... yet another final farewell, where he has already been allocated a 'legacy' dining room seat
at the Eastbourne Saffrons RLC match on May 14th; followed by Richard Barrow, who is still alive and not been attacked by a marauding cricket
bat from "Sir Ian", after his derogatory comments about the former Durham CCC management in the present edition of The Cricketer Magazine.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Around 50 people attended the Public Forum this morning on the 2017 Membership costs - an event held in the Jim Parks bar.
After a humorous introduction from Zac Toumazi who came up with such one-liners as: "Sorry for not wearing a tie but I've just
been fired.." and: "A pity the new CEO doesn't have such a big profile as me..." the meeting's hapless baton was passed over
to club marketing manager, Tom Rose, who led proceedings with a slick presentation that attempted to appease Members with
the recent price hikes followed by the club's reasons behind them.
The exact pricing details can be accrued elsewhere but after all the ins and outs, justifications, complaints from the floor, and general
gripes, a full Membership cost of around £270 to cover every potential day and hour of three different formats of home cricket is, in
my book, still good value for money, if you regularly attend. And while the club are pushing every sinew of loyalty from supporters,
their default view and always will be, is that all the extra revenues charged will be ploughed back into the club.
While listening to Tom Rose one felt some sympathy. How can anyone sell the 50 over tournament to a public that has little interest in
it and where Sussex have been awarded the wooden spoon two years running. Flogging a dead horse comes to mind. The Championship
is little different except for a dying band of traditionalists who see it as their right to watch this format as a cheap privilege.
So Sussex, like many other clubs, are trying to increase their coffers from three different formats where only one is proven to be a money-
spinner; And why the T20 match costs have increased and why an allocated seat is now viewed as a revenue asset to squeeze.
Then, in an attempt to appease Members because research shows, "They don't feel loved enough by the Club," more and more "add-ons"
come into play. New stakeholders have joined including 'Boundless' who have 250,000 members worldwide and are known as "The largest
club people have not heard of." Join them and discounts galore come into play.
Future "Add-ons" to Membership may include a loyalty points scheme, live-streaming of matches, further local discounts, more Membership
social events, and online classes via the Sussex Cricket Foundation Learning Centre.
The expected but necessary grumpy questions came from the floor where one stood out. A gentleman asked, "I retired last year and am on a
tight fixed budget. Why can't I pay my Membership in monthly instalments as I do for The Amex?" The answer was a little surprising. "Because
we are a small operation and don't have the structure to carry this out." Really?!? Although, if this 'one-hit' is carried out via direct debit, at
least, there is a small discount.
Ground capacity was briefly discussed. It has now increased to 5,800 from the 5,750 figure mentioned by Ian Waring in the Summer; and the
digital era at Hove will continue to thrive. When an elderly man said he didn't have a computer and how could he find out the club news away
from the website or email, his query sounded all rather nostalgic.
Afterwards, I had brief chats with Zac Toumazi... yet another final farewell, where he has already been allocated a 'legacy' dining room seat
at the Eastbourne Saffrons RLC match on May 14th; followed by Richard Barrow, who is still alive and not been attacked by a marauding cricket
bat from "Sir Ian", after his derogatory comments about the former Durham CCC management in the present edition of The Cricketer Magazine.
