Scarlet season ticket holders to gain shares

The Scarlets have just announced on their website that existing season ticket holders will be awarded a share of £100 in the region, while all new adult season ticket holders will be presented with a £50 share.

This seems a pretty bold initiative to me, but great that the Scarlets are looking to put themselves more firmly in place within the local community.

Full article here

What are people's thoughts? A good idea or not?

Also here's a link to some more season ticket news with a hint at what the prices are going to be. From today until the 17th June, all current season ticket holders get a chance to renew before they go on general sale for everyone else on the 18th June. The family ticket looks pretty good to me, and I'm looking forward to seeing what other deals they have!

It is pretty inconsequential in terms of its effect both financially and from an ownership point of view - but a great way to make fans feel like they have a stake in their local club AND give the impression that the yearly payment is better value.

They are giving the appearance of discounting season ticket prices without having to shell out any cash!

Ingenious really by the Scarlets. These marketing gimmicks are brilliant. Munster had one a few years back when they did up Thomond Park. You could "buy" a brick of the new building and put your name on it for a tenner. Stadium was built on time and on budget*

*Unheard of it Ireland.

ML wrote:It is pretty inconsequential in terms of its effect both financially and from an ownership point of view - but a great way to make fans feel like they have a stake in their local club AND give the impression that the yearly payment is better value.

They are giving the appearance of discounting season ticket prices without having to shell out any cash!

That's pretty much exactly what I was thinking. And it is going to make me feel happier with my season ticket anyway so I guess it's a marketing ploy that's working!

Stag - aye, I'm actually quite impressed the Scarlets have come up with this, our marketing department is usually pretty rubbish!

I think you'll find it was Mr Penderyn.

Most probably Glas.

Would that be Dic?

edited the article to add in a link to more season ticket info. Can't wait for it to go on general sale next month now so I can get one!

Dreamer, for me the links just aren't working, well if i could see them that is.

Ospreys could/should do this, but would the Galactico's wear it.

Season tickets have been on sale now for a month and sales are at 33% of last seasons already, so opinions expressed on here are not necessarily those of the majority. Also if you buy early the o's give a 10% discount plus a free shirt.

That's a pretty good deal on the shirts Ospreylian.

I hope the Scarlets actually order enough in of their this season, they were sold out by Christmas and couldn't get any more in!

I think the O's do have a very strong core group of fans that will always re-new their season ticket and support their team, what I find worrying for them is that the support group just doesn't seem to be growing.

Here's the scarlets website which is what the links were from anyway: http://www.scarlets.co.uk, not sure why they aren't working in the main article for you.

It would appear out West that there has been a bit of bother with the launch of the season ticket for next season. Where as last year with a season ticket for the Scarlets you could watch all the Llanelli RFC games for free, you now need to pay an extra £75. A lot are seeing this gift of a share in the club now as a bit of a farce and would rather the free RFC games. Whilst I think Llanelli RFC need to generate more of an income (hence Scarlets fans now having to pay £75 for them) it appears fans are disgruntled with the lack of communication from the Scarlets that they were going to be doing this. Looks like the Scarlets have handled things badly...again

Are they trying to break links with Llanelli RFC and be seen more as a region. Used season ticket holders get free entry to other Premiership clubs?

I honestly don't know Stag. The Season ticket only ever gave free tickets for Llanelli RFC games, not Carmarthen Quins or Llandovery or any other club games in the region as far as I'm aware. I think fans are just annoyed now that they are getting this £100 share certificate, when they see it as a waste. They would much rather just get a free season ticket for the RFC.

They are worried this new cost of a ticket will see a big loss in RFC supporter numbers which in term will mean less money generated at Y Parc as there will be less people going to spend money.

It's just a typical Scarlets mess, or so it appears. Give something with one hand, but take away more with another, talk about not knowing your fan base!

On a positive note, an early bird enclosure season ticket will only be £160, whereas full price would be £240 and it's only an £11 increase on last years prices. Not bad at all.

See this is the big thing for me with scarlets. They don't know if they are a region or just am extension of llanelli rfc.

ospreylian wrote:Would that be Dic?

Rhaff y Sais gei di.

It's difficult Stag, because Llanelli RFC have always been known as the Scarlets and they acted as a region for years and years before the regions were actually formed. They were certainly a region in all but name before I was born. It's very, very difficult to separate the two now, especially as the Scarlets have taken on the RFC's history.

Essentially Llanelli RFC are the Scarlets' second team. They are where most of our players come form and generally where they go to regain fitness and form, although this season I have been pleased to see us use Quins and Llandovery more. I can't see how the Scarlets and Llanelli can ever be separated form each other really, and I don't know if that's a good or bad thing.

They don't have to be separated. They can be a superclub. But this current situation is a nonsense where they say they are a separate entity but are clearly hugely linked to llanelli.

The difference is that unlike the other premiership clubs they play in the same stadium and therefore the overlap deal is no big thing, except that it assumes that a Llandovery or Quins fan would lose out. This is fairer. Llanelli RFC fans can top up and still get their shares of the Scarlets.

As ever, if the boys do it on the pitch, everything else will sort itself out.

Ha of course it is Stag, this is Welsh rugby!

They did better this season though in getting more players from the Quins and Llandovery.

Thing is because Llanelli are based in the same place as the Scarlets, use the same training facilities etc, it's just makes sense for them to be the 2nd team and to be the most linked with the Scarlets.

Superclub is probably right, but then the same thing is happening with the Blues and Dragons too, and with the O's now just using Swansea after their fall out with Neath. None of them are regions really when you come down to it.

Glas a du wrote:The difference is that unlike the other premiership clubs they play in the same stadium and therefore the overlap deal is no big thing, except that it assumes that a Llandovery or Quins fan would lose out. This is fairer. Llanelli RFC fans can top up and still get their shares of the Scarlets.

As ever, if the boys do it on the pitch, everything else will sort itself out.

yes but Glas, you're assuming that these fans have an extra £75 hanging around to top up their ticket. In these times that's a lot of money to be asking for on top of what they were expecting going by last years season ticket deals.

Ok, don't pay it up front, pay as you go.

I would love to go and see Llandeilo, Llandovery, Llandybie and Ammanford play as I played for their teams at some stage and to some level or another. I would also love to see Llanelli RFC and the Scarlets. I would be facing a divorce however and would have to sell the sheep. We all have to make choices.

"pawb a'i fys lle mae'i ddolur"
- everybody has his hand where his complaint lies.

aye I know Glas, if I could ever make it back to watch Llandeilo play then I would too.

I think it's understandable that they are charging for RFC season tickets this season. I just don't think fans who got it free last year are enjoying the fact they are getting a certificate of shares instead.

Rugbydreamer: well said we don't have regions so why have two lots of funding going into the same super clubs e.g. Dragons and Newport etc, etc. The WRU should only fund the super clubs once hence the re-organisation of the premiership the WRU should fund 8 premier clubs excluding the Llanelli rfc, Cardiff rfc, Newport rfc and Swansea rfc so other clubs get funding and development! This will improve the standard of Welsh rugby and spread the game around. As we know the same so called regional supporters get disproportional rugby on offer.

I don't think taking away funding from Llanelli, Cardiff, Newport and Swansea would help Welsh rugby though, there's not enough money in the regions to not have extra funding for them. They provide the basis for the strength of the Scarlets, Blues, Dragon's and O's. Take away from them then Welsh rugby itself will suffer I think.

I do agree that more development is needed in the other clubs though and the game does need to be spread further then those 4 cities/towns. Finding a long term sustainable way of doing that though is the problem.

I find the issuing of £100 shares interesting when the value of the club is almost certainly negative with the Scarlets track record i.e., they owe a lot of money to banks etc. I would check terms and conditions before accepting any gifts or signing anything (you don't want to lose your shirt).

The Scarlets are actually financially more secure then they have been for a while (shocking I know). Was reading up on it at the start of this season. We've still got a long way to go but we've certainly got the ground blocks in place now to grow as a region and to grow sustainably as well. It'll just be quite another few seasons curbing the spending on players, and doing everything they can to grow our fan base to get more money into the region that way.

The problem reducing the premiership to 8 teams is, we will still have the 4 clubs in question and 4 others north of the M4 that is hardly sharing the cake out so we will end out with more clubs excluded from the top rugby. As stated Scarlets and Llanelli is the sme club for one set of supporters, likewise the other super clubs.

Well that's not 100% true alun. Whilst a lot of Scarlets supporters do follow Llanelli, there are still a number of Llanelli fans who don't support the Scarlets. I suspect the same thing happens across all the regions.

There's no denying Welsh rugby is in a bit of a mess at the moment, and I for one have no idea how to sort it. Don't think the WRU do either and I'm not doubting that we'll end up in a bigger mess then we are in now before we get anywhere near to sorting it all out.

Ok, why not embrace or abandon the regional idea.

Embrace

4 representative sides drawing players from
Premiership clubs play in the B & I cup. The premiership clubs don't play in the B & I cup. The premiership is made up of official regional a teams and 2 feeder clubs per region.

Abandon

Call the clubs superclubs. Break the regional basis of the relationship between the Regions and the feeder Premiership clubs. Allow un-contracted Premiership players to play for more than one superclub. The Premiership clubs play in the B & I Cup.

Glas I'm confused by the Embrace part.

You're saying to draw players from permiership clubs that play in the B&I cup, then go on to say the permiership clubs don't play in the B&I cup. I know I'm probably being incredibly twp but please can you explain that bit to me further. Ta

Tier 1 the 4 Regions as now, playing in the ML, LV and HC.

Tier 2 representative sides i.e. not clubs, but true regions Gogledd, De Ddwyrain, De Orllewin, Canolbarth. Their players are selected from the premiership clubs to play in the B&I Cup

Tier 3 the premiership clubs to play premiership and Welsh cup.

ooooh I get you.

Are there the right structures in place though to have big enough representative sides based in the north?

Do you really think that what you suggest (which in the main I agree with) is actually a feasible thing?

Sorry about the delay. Been to cop shop.

Well, the South West is basically Dyfed and Swansea the South East Cardiff and Gwent, mid Wales is Neath to Bridgend, Mach to Builth , and the North is the rest. There are 14 Premiership teams at tge moment. It would need to be a very artificial selection criteria currently i.e.share out the best 8 hookers in the Premiership between the four sides. If there is any sort of link with the actual place then well and good. It would help
If McCusker and Cai Griffiths could play for them as well, get the thing going like. Once the pump is primed then things like where somebody is from can be worried about more.

I was on the phone at 0900 on Saturday morning to renew my season ticket (and my Dads), and have not stopped telling my wife that I am part owner of one of the top sporting teams in the country. However as someone else said earlier it is a gimmick to make people see more value in the season ticket, and I think once we are a month or so into the season most folk would have forgotten all about it.

Oh, with regards to the Llanelli RFC thing, didn't they used to do it where you got entry to a feeder club of your choice? I think it was around the time Narbeth were classed as a feeder club with Llandovery and Llanelli.

Personally I take an interest in all the feeder clubs, and probably will continue to until Crymych (best Pembs side at the moment) or Narbeth make it to the Prem (which will never happen).

Necessity is the mother of invention. Lets hope the awful signings and ignorance of feeder clubs does not reappear if the money situation improves.