This is the telling thing I think. 3,000 memberships for example, does not mean 3,000 season tickets. It could equally mean 500 season tickets and 2,500 taking that "any 3 games" option.

(I don't know it's 3,000 by the way, just an easy figure to work with)

They said at the game yesterday that it was 3500. But the point still holds, we'd need to see the split between season tickets and flex tickets (or whatever they're called)

I don't need to see anything. I fully expect that the total is bound to be a mix of the various categories under the umbrella of "membership". I doubt whether the proportion of any subcategory is much different to whatever it was last year, because why would it be? And as we aren't likely to be ever given a detailed breakdown, I am leaving my hair shirt in the drawer and stifling my cries of "We're doomed" for the moment.

Good work by the club who have clearly worked hard on a tough sell considering how openly everyone refers to the opening 23 rounds as merely a longer preseason.

So much for the 'fan moral is at an all time low'... This seems to fly in the face of that no matter how the breakdown of memberships works out.

There were a lot of Featherstone fans there yesterday who naturally were noisier than us - combination of rowdy away support and us generally being quiet at home. I thought their fans were a disgrace at times to be truthful, but I wouldn't blame that on Featherstone. Anyway my point is that if you took away that generous away support, we're looking a bit light this year in terms of fan numbers. I think the weather will have had a big bearing on that.

Absolutely. To clarify my point, I wasn't saying 3,500 membership means nothing, it's rubbish. You're correct, we don't know what proportion it is.

It could equally be 3,499 full memberships and 1 child that goes to 3 games, as much as it could be 100 full memberships and the others "flexi".

As far as I can see, we've got 3,500 people wanting to be members of a Championship club. That's not a bad thing regardless of the proportions. If only they had the club shop sorted, those 3,500 members might all buy some merchandise....

Absolutely. If you don't count everyone, then the total would be smaller than if you did.

I'm not even going down the "Fev brought 2000... no there can't have been more than 100" route. But obviously our game was sufficiently attractive to non-Bulls fans (i.e. Fev fans) to boost our coffers by paying their hard-earned at the gate.

So, the less Bulls fans there were, the better it is, because members who didn't show nevertheless already paid, and so the greater the numbers paying on the gate in cash, the bigger our Brucie Bonus.

I think it's important to obtain and maintain the c3,500 interested people while we are in the championship

Longer term hopefully that will grow as the club grows (if we manage to get promoted and stay up)

I think there's a solid core of Bradford fans that is around the 3500/4k mark. The club does need to work hard to keep them on side, however and I feel a 2nd failed promotion bid coupled with continued high price tickets might start to chip away at that remaining loyal foundation

The ticket prices are going to be the problem I think. The hardcore support will pay it, but only for so long. The longer the club are in the championship, the less people will be willing to pay Super League prices, regardless of their loyalty. The prices will have to drop eventually, and as soon as they do, it becomes even harder to get that promotion.

Not a nice situation to be in, but it's an inevitable one. Which is another reason (as well as losing your better players) that every year you fail to get promotion, the less likely you are to get it next year.

If the prices drop then we can say goodbye to being a fully pro club and, on the back of that, descending into the general mix of second tier clubs. I think it's called a "spiral", and it's definitely something we don't want to see.

I think the whole system of the cheap tickets that we had previously could work under the current management system at Odsal as I've a little more faith in their ability to properly work it in the club's favour.

If the club dropped the price of a terrace season ticket to £160 but only if they had a minimum of 5000 sign ups then we'd still get round the same money from the season tickets as we've got this year, but we'd have a base line of 5k before we even get away supporters coming in. Which means an increase in income from the concession stands. Especially if we kept the on gate prices the same, then it's an even better deal as the average terrace fan would save around £120 buying a season ticket than just paying on the gate

It's a bit early to start this debate - don't we usually do this just after the end of the season?



I'll be honest, I seriously debated not getting a season ticket this year - in the end, I did. But it was last minute, and without a whole bundle of enthusiasm. Hopefully that will grow as the season goes on and I'm not freezing my nuts off like I was on Sunday!

The point being, I hope Marc Green isn't assuming that I (and many others I think) will continue to pay top dollar for Championship Rugby forever. And, yes, I know all the arguments about downward spirals. But I can't keep on forking out money just on the basis that I'm helping to stop the club going into a downward spiral. I need more of a reason - hopefully this season will give me one!

Exactly right. This is the second year we are paying top of the top dollar, because it is funding a major promotion bid. If it doesn't work then inevitably there will be a rate of attrition, and when even stalwarts who post on here are having wobbles, you can see how precarious the situation actually is.

But then, I've said many times that I don't believe there is a realistic chance of promotion, barring some other SL club's major misfortune (and even then, of course it's not bound to be us that replaces them) and I don't see the club surviving in any recognizable form if the spiral continues, the shortfall from income will always be at a rate greater than the savings made on wages etc. and so I sadly do fear we are very near the last chance saloon. With the proverbial two chances.

That's a very reasonable assessment, FA.

Without a proper full-time pro league, with a reasonable set of competitive matches to look forward to, along with genuine chances of going back up, for teams which fall out of SL, the spiral is inevitable, imo. When Marc decides, 'enough is enough', and pulls the plug then the downward spin begins.

A minor point, but for those of us who took out 5yr memberships (£500 for 5yrs) , this is the final year. It is amazing that all incarnations of the club since then have honoured them. I don't know numbers, but there should be an increase in income due to that as well.

Is the cost thing that much of an issue?

I think you go and watch your team regardless of division and season ticket prices staying flat isn't really a problem.
It certainly hasn't crossed my mind that prices should be slashed because we are now in the championship

Or maybe it's just me.....

I think the stadium situation will hurt us more.

And no noise on that front is as much a concern for me

You're behind the times then. I suggest you go look at the #askgreen video on the Bulls website regarding the stadium

It's not to some people. And it's not to the hardcore that like you say, just want to watch their team regardless of what league they're in and who they're playing, as long as they can afford it.

But when people are struggling for disposable income, the less hardcore fans are going to look at their team playing some one like Oldham and question if they want to spend that sort of money, when they used to get a game against Leeds or Wigan for that price. Hence why our attendances are half what they used to be.

Are you being serious?

Obviously at least half the people who came to watch Bulls in SL no longer come to watch in the Championship, and the combination of division and price is precisely why.


I think it is! If we weren't big-spending (in Championship terms) in a desperate effort to get back in to SL then it makes no sense at all to pay the sort of prices on offer to watch a largely inconsequential season and some TBA playoff fixtures.

I (again) shelled out £380 for the privilege of watching a second pop at promotion. If I asked myself to justify that then I'd struggle. I can't see me doing that a third year, any more than I can see the club continuing on the same level of expenditure, and I found myself sitting in a large expanse of mostly empty seats against Fev, so clearly it has crossed the mind of several dozen of previous occupants of those expensive seats and the transactions were declined.

Saw it after I hit submit!

I would say the level of rugby and not being as successful as we were are pretty big factors too.

Maybe I have become numbed to pricing after forking out for football matches in the capital...

Has anyone actually looked around at the costs of other teams season tickets?

Just in the spirit of enquiry I had a look:

Halifax Adult Season Ticket: East Stand £261, South Stand £222
Leigh Adult Season Ticket: North Stand £206, West Stand £220
Sheffield Adult Season Ticket: £220 Seating, £200 Standing

So, we're not that much more expensive than the rest of last years top 4 clubs.

Wow, that has surprised me. We are barely any more expensive at all!