Ticket arrangements for the eagerly-awaited Premier League season dominated last night's Wolves Fans Parliament session at Molineux.
The club's Head of Ticketing and Membership Lynne O'Reardon was present to inform members that 19,677 season tickets had been sold and that the club were confident of going through the 20,000 barrier before the campaign kicked off.
"When we went up in 2003, we capped the figure at 21,000 and reached it and I'm still hopeful we'll get to that mark this time," she said.
She disagreed with Laurence Westwood that it was proving a struggle to reach 20,000, saying it hadn't been easy to get to 21,000 six years ago. "We still have three and a half weeks to go and prices are higher now," she added. "We have an awareness campaign running soon, with advertising boards, radio commercials and banners on buses, especially around pay-day near the end of the month."
Parliament Chairman Matt Grayson said the fact the team were now playing games in England would further increase anticipation.
In answer to a query from Kulbinder Kular about how many new customers had been attracted, Lynne said: "We had 17,400 season ticket holders at the end of last season and some of those haven't renewed for whatever reason. Those who renewed through the early bird amounted to 14,700, so there are a lot of new customers on top of that."
She told Laurence Westwood that the club understood the figures compared well with those of Birmingham and Stoke and he replied by saying Wolves should seek to have as many season ticket holders as possible.
With the temporary stand between the Billy Wright and Jack Harris Stands set to provide another 846 seats, the capacity would be close to 29,500. Only when visiting fans were in the Jack Harris Stand would Wolves fans be able to occupy the front two rows of the Steve Bull Stand Upper - and this would be rare as most visiting clubs would see their fans in the Steve Bull Lower. Matt Grayson told John Meaney the avoidance of having Wolves fans overlooking away supporters from the Steve Bull Upper was a safety advisory group matter.
Georgina Savage praised the club for showing flexibility with home season tickets but not with away ones. She cited the difficulties a London-based teacher, for example, would have getting to a midweek match in Manchester and said an away season ticket holder was paying a pound more a game anyway. Lynne said away season ticket holders were guaranteed a ticket and there was an assumption that fans uncertain about getting to every game would not buy an away season ticket.
Chris Cox was told the club had 511 new away season ticket holders, plus 339 existing ones, and didn't want to sell many more because that would restrict what could be done match by match. Lynne said there would be occasions when Wolves have only 1,500 tickets for away games - and others when they are given an additional 1,500 on condition that they are firm-sale rather than sale or return.
She told Roger Fellows there was a big risk in taking 3,000 tickets at £40, given that the club might not sell them all. "I like to think we can take 2-2,500 to all away games but I remember being stuck last time with tickets for Blackburn, Spurs and Arsenal," she said.
Jon Maslen-Jones pointed out that the admin fee for an away season ticket was four times that of a home one - something Lynne deemed necessary because the home ticket was administered only once while the away one required the hand-over of 19 tickets. She said this charge should not be confused with the booking fee, which was a bank transactional issue. When asked by Jon Maslen-Jones why away season ticket holders couldn't go to Molineux and pay cash, Lynne said existing ones could. "I accept it's less flexible for new ones," she said.
Gerry Collins was concerned that fans buying away season tickets for the first time might have greater priority than fans who had been travelling away for years without being able to commit to the season ticket. He was told that the 2,800 seats for the early-season trip to Manchester City would be distributed by looking at fans' final loyalty points totals from last season. Gerry predicted that, if only 600-700 tickets were up for grabs for some trips to non away season ticket holders, there would be big followings to less attractive away games where more seats were available.
Kulbinder Kular asked how some ticket agencies were able to offer tickets for away games and was told by Lynne that clubs did enter into deals but Wolves hadn't. "I'm not saying we won't," she added, "but there shouldn't be any of ours (yet) on the secondary market." Matt Grayson said it was an increasing trend for clubs to sell in bulk like this, with tickets often offered for games when plenty were available as part of a weekend break in initiatives involving tourism authorities. Dave Bezzina said he would be happier if the club didn't deal with agencies as that reduced the possibility of fans being ripped off. Lynne agreed with Dave Bissell that it should be publicised if Wolves struck any such deals.
Rod Palmer remarked that Albion and Birmingham fans living near him had already received their season tickets and enquired why Wolves were later. Lynne said it was because of the complexity of having a traditional book, with a hologram (for security) - a process made more complicated this time as Wolves have changed divisions and main sponsor in the last few months. She said, though, that around 15,000 season tickets were being despatched tomorrow (Friday), ready for signed-for receipt by fans on Saturday - a decision based on the fact more supporters might see their postmen at the weekend. She reiterated that Wolves always aim to have season tickets to fans by the end of July.
Chris Cox asked how many games at Molineux would be Category B (with lower prices) and how many Category A, and was told that it depended on factors such as live TV coverage and how big a game was deemed to be nearer the time. A decision would always be announced at least a month in advance. The West Ham fixture, for example, was Category A and the Hull one was Category B, with a £10 differential.
To a question from Robert Anslow about where the unsold season ticket places were, Lynne said it was mainly in the wings of the Billy Wright and Steve Bull Upper Stands.
Gerry Collins was told that season tickets were again being offered for car parks near the ground and they would work out at £5 per match but £7 for those who used Car Park A off Waterloo Road. Car Park A will only be seasonal, not a match-by-match facility. Lynne said season tickets for that facility would be available from August 10 and that car parking information would be despatched with season tickets. She said applications should be made through the ticket office. Gerry said his car park season ticket behind the Steve Bull Stand was 'fantastic, worth every penny.' "I don't leave home in Stourbridge until 2pm on a Saturday," he said.
Georgina Savage said some fans had questioned why Car Park A was going up £2 per match and was told it was because of its proximity to the stadium's main entrance. Muriel Bates was informed the petition regarding parking restrictions in streets round the ground was an on-going, very complicated matter.
PLAYING ISSUES
Matt Grayson reminded members that Wolves had made six signings so far this summer, with Bobo Balde on trial and Darren Potter having gone to Sheffield Wednesday. "The message is that we're still looking to strengthen but won't say with how many more new players," he said. He said the club were 'really hopeful' Kevin Doyle would be fit for the first game of the season after his 'standard hernia' and subsequent operation in Germany.
" Jez (Moxey) and the management team worked very hard to get the signings in before the trip to Australia, which was a big success on and off the pitch," he added. Matt said he could offer no light on media suggestions that George Friend might go on a season-long loan to Bristol City.
Jon Maslen-Jones described himself as very happy with the signings made but felt an older player who knew the Premier League better would be on his wish-list. Matt said keeper Marcus Hahnemann brought huge experience and Nenad Milijas had played many games at high club and international level and was an old head on young shoulders - something that also applied to Kevin Doyle.
Richard Harries said there had been talk of an Austrian centre-back on trial. Matt said he would have to report back later on that and reminded the meeting that Wolves had had several trialists this pre-season.
Kulbinder Kular was assured that no shock sales were being planned. He said the four-year contract awarded last season to Neill Collins now looked a surprise, given the defender had recently been made available. Matt said longer contracts were sometimes a good way of securing bigger fees if players left - something Peter Bagley agreed with.
On the injury front, Matt said Matt Murray's recovery was going well and Christmas was a possible return target time while David Jones should be fit in a week or so. Chris Iwelumo's operation on a broken metatarsal had been successful, although slightly complicated by the fact he had a screw in his foot from previous surgery. Carl Ikeme was back in training and had some game time in Australia, with no ill-effects apparent.
Peter Bagley observed that Michael Kightly was not playing much, to which Matt said he was being eased back in gradually.
Massive congratulations were due, Matt added, to Kevin Thelwell and the club's youngsters who had excelled in a summer tournament in Sweden, sometimes playing in front of 15,000-20,000. He said the club were still hoping to access footage of the games, so it could be shown on Wolves World. Peter Bagley suggested the lads might make an appearance in front of the crowd at an early-season home game.
Kulbinder Kular proposed on-field interviews with non-playing team members as part of the future match-day entertainment. Matt said the idea would be considered, although some fans would rather chat or be elsewhere other than their seats - and that it might be daunting for young players to talk in front of a busy stadium.
OTHER ISSUES
Matt Grayson reported that Wolves had done a deal with Sky to send footage back from the tour of Australia - further welcome exposure for new sponsors sportingbet.com, who had sponsored the trip. A 'Postcard from Australia' film, featuring unseen footage, was also being produced.
There was nothing to say yet about stadium redevelopment plans, nor about an electronic scoreboard, although the club would have an 82ft long L.E.D. advertising board beneath the Steve Bull Stand - one that would show changing adverts and graphics. Roger Fellows' question about the Molineux sound system was met with an admission that it needed replacing but that much service work had been done over the summer. Fans shouldn't expect revolutionary changes, though, as it would be folly to commit large sums of money in advance of stadium redevelopment.
Richard Harries said he had helped organise a survey about whether fans liked music played to celebrate Wolves goals at Molineux. He said 161 people were questioned, 76 per cent saying it was horrible and 14 per cent suggesting it should be left as it was. Matt said that if enough people said they didn't like it, the club would stop it.
He also told Gerry Collins in response to the view that Birmingham's announcer created a better atmosphere than his Molineux counterpart that some fans preferred a passionate fan approach and some didn't like a 'manufactured' revving-up of the crowd. He also told members that one of the subtle changes they would notice in the coming season was the theme music played before all Premier League games as the lines of opposing players shook hands.
Darren Cash asked whether Wolves had suffered from the demise of Setanta TV and was reassured that that wasn't the case, a deal with ESPN having been done on similar terms. "Competition is good for the clubs and the consumer," Matt said. "It's healthy that Sky don't have it all to themselves." Furthermore, Wolves have to set aside 18 seats at games for broadcasters from abroad, with 211 countries having a licence to show Premier League matches. Roger Fellows was told Wolves did not receive a bigger fee if more countries showed their games but was assured the credit crunch hadn't had a big effect on corporate business. "I think we're faring better than most and are weathering the storm quite well," Matt added.
The subject of business dinners was raised by Richard Harries, with Matt pointing out that Wolves hosted the Black Country Diners Club. "Paul Lakin from here was a recent speaker and it's a good networking event," he said.
Kulbinder Kular asked how the club were treating the threat of swine flu, especially on match-days, and was told that public health advice was being followed. Muriel Bates said talk had started about games being played behind closed doors if the spread worsened but Matt said there was no current suggestion people would be advised to stay away from organised events. In response to Dave Bezzina's remark that special gel dispensers might be installed, he said it was an idea worth considering despite the danger they could be ripped off walls.
Matt told John Meaney that security remained high at Molineux but that fans would notice no major changes in the wake of the bomb scare outside the ground a few days ago. Matt said the process of getting visiting teams in and out of the stadium safely was even more important now games were higher-profile.
Martyn Edwards said he had this summer attended Wimbledon and The Open and thought the lack of litter there was due to the provision of so many bins - something he considered lacking at Molineux, where some people dropped rubbish and others followed. Matt agreed that the clean-up after games was a big operation but nothing the club weren't used to. He also said supplying more bins created an obvious security issue.
