Tickets - Yellow GA, member discounts, "Super Six" pricing

[rbakersmith]

So this announcement came out today...

NEWS: Mariners launch exciting new ticket strategy
WE'RE BACK! Tickets for Hyundai A-League Round 1 are ON SALE NOW

With tickets to Hyundai A-League round one ON SALE NOW The Central Coast Mariners launched an innovative range of ticket prices in a new strategy that appeals to families IN the Central Coast.
CLICK HERE to purchase tickets to our Hyundai A-League opener on October 10 v Perth Glory at Central Coast Stadium.

The Central Coast Mariners are proud to announce that tickets to home matches will start from $15 for adults and $35 for family tickets. The range of new ticketing initiatives include the introduction of:

• A Yellow General Admission Category
• “Super Six” discounted match pricing for rounds 1, 5, 9, 11, 19 and 22
• 10% ticket discounts for ALL Mariners Members
• 10% ticket discounts for away team Members
• Sunday Fundays with fans on the field

The “Yellow” General Admission Category is a new initiative that allows supporters to purchase tickets seated behind the goals at the northern end of the ground for a very affordable price. This new initiative is not only geared towards growing the passionate Yellow Army Active support but will also allow new supporters and families the chance to be a part of the action at Central Coast Stadium for the best possible price.

“Super Six” pricing for rounds 1, 5, 9, 11, 19 and 22 will see some unbelievable savings with tickets starting from as little as $15 for adults and $35 for families. These six matches include the blockbuster season opener against Perth Glory on October 10 as well as the round 5 “Pink Day" that will see elite women’s football return to the coast as the Westfield W-League Champions, Canberra United take on Melbourne City’s W-Leauge outfit as a curtain raiser.

The 10% Mariners Member discount is yet another member benefit that adds to the growing list of Member inclusions. Mariners Members have the ability to purchase additional tickets for their friends and family at the discounted rate that will help our valued members expose new faces to the action at Central Coast Stadium.

"Sunday Fundays" will also give members another reason to bring their friends and families along to Hyundai A-league matches where after EVERY Sunday match at Central Coast Stadium all Mariners supporters will be granted access to the hallowed turf of Central Coast Stadium. After the full time whistle, a second siren will sound that will be the signal to come onto the field for a kick!

Mielekamp said “these new initiatives are a key part of our goal to become the most innovative, entertaining and community minded sports brand in Australia. The members have given us great feedback on what we can do to improve our match day experience and one of the key finding was how important it was to have a family friendly match day experience which didn’t break the bank financially” Mielekamp continued “We are confident following on from the great crowd we saw turn up to the FFA Cup match that these new initiatives will attract a great turnout and we highly recommend that all supporters avoid the late queues and line up at the gates by pre-purchasing online or by becoming a member”.

Match details
Saturday 10 October 2015
Match: Central Coast Mariners vs. Perth Glory
Venue: Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
Kick-off: 5:15pm (AEST)
Twitter: Join the match conversation using #CCMvPER

I had a look at the draw, and the "Super Six" games are just about every game against non-NSW teams (with the exception of the NYE game against Wellington). Hopefully it gets extra bums on seats...

 

[Gratis]

credit to them, they've put in a decent effort to point the club back in the right direction

I like the attitude and purpose of the way things are going

 

[dibo]

Lots to like, especially the Sunday Funday bit!

 

[Wombat]

I like the direction Shaun is taking our club.
If we produce on the field it should be a great year.
COME ON YOU YELLOWS!!!

 

[Big Al]

Now to get it out there to non members

 

[dibo]

Central Coast Mariners use the Moneyball theory to survive the A-League
October 9, 2015 - 6:00PM

Michael Cockerill
Football Writer

Mr Moneyball: Mike Charlesworth Photo: rhomer@fairfaxmedia.com.au

The Mariners are bringing Moneyball to the A-League, although we won't see the full fruits just yet. Whatever you think of Mike Charlesworth - and we've had our differences - there's no doubt he's always willing to try something different.

Last season's embrace of North Sydney was an unmitigated disaster, and the club is paying the price. Memberships this season will be at least 25 per cent down as the Central Coast community reacts warily to the olive branch extended by a new management team. It's going to take time to heal the wound.

Yet Charlesworth is nothing if not irrepressible. North Sydney didn't deliver the revenue, or the reaction, he was hoping would help balance the books. It was never going to. So now he's turned to algorithms, or more specifically Moneyball, to build the business plan. The Mariners may have made more money from overseas transfers than any other A-League club, but clearly Charlesworth believes they've only scratched the surface. Let's see if he's right.

From now on, recruitment and retention at Gosford will be based on the method road-tested by the Oakland A's baseball team in 2002, made famous by the Hollywood blockbuster four years ago, and since adopted by English businessman Matthew Benham, who made his millions as a professional gambler. In a sense Charlesworth - a fellow Englishman who now resides in London - is also a gambler. Anyone who owns a football club has to be. But, like Benham, he sees Moneyball as the best bet to minimise the risks.

Three years ago Benham assumed outright ownership of west London minnows Brentford, and last year he bought unfashionable Danish side Midtjylland. Both clubs have since risen to great heights - Brentford were almost promoted to the EPL this season, Midjytlland won the Danish title for the first time.

Despite Brentford's current tribulations, the evidence in favour of the Moneyball approach remains persuasive. "When there's a question, I trust the numbers. The numbers don't lie," says Benham.

The data has become known as sabermetrics, a system designed to remove subjectivity from perhaps the most subjective of all human endeavours. Sport. It doesn't simply challenge traditional models of recruiting, trading, and coaching. It tears them down. No wonder there's a whole body of sceptics willing it to fail.

Fundamentally the idea is to recruit players based on data, not opinions, use a game plan which suits the strength of those players again based on imperical evidence, and all the time having a squad which - based on age and the purchase price - has the potential to deliver a handsome profit in the transfer market. In simple terms, it's about polishing the rough diamonds because you know where to look.

Charlesworth has never disguised his intention that his club will remain a lean, mean, operation. This season they will spend only 90 per cent of the salary cap, and that's only because the rules force them to. The Mariners are about to take the field in what is theoretically an equalised competition against teams who will have spent twice the amount on players as they do. The question is whether they can remain competitive in the process.

This season's squad doesn't yet reflect the brave new world at Gosford. "We're only just starting on that journey," says coach Tony Walmsley, who's completely in sync with his owner. "It's a work in progress, we're at a very embryonic stage."

Over the next three months - as the Mariners work their way into a season which kicks off with a home game against Perth Glory on Saturday afternoon - behind the scenes there will be an 'audit' of the playing group. The process will be at least partly managed by a sponsorship deal with a US-based IT company who will provide the software for the sabermetrics. Will those players angling for a new deal have to talk to a human, or a computer?

In the meantime, it's no co-incidence the Mariners recently signed two 21-year-olds, Jake McGing and Harry Ascroft, to three year deals. They arrived cheap, have already had reasonable professional experience without fully realising their potential, and - crucially - both have the European passports which could make them valuable commodities if they can deliver on the park. They represent the prototype of the player Charlesworth will be banking on, literally, to underpin a business plan which won't require him to dig so deep into his pocket. Commercial rent from new developments at the club's Tuggerah HQ are another key component.

Either way, you can't blame Charlesworth for thinking outside the square. In truth, his greater challenge is to regain the trust of the fans, however he chooses to fund the Mariners. Only they can decide whether he deserves the benefit of the doubt. Moneyball or not, unless the locals fall back in love with the club again the Mariners have no sustainable future. None at all.

 

[dibo]

We're starting to see things moving in a fan-friendly direction, and a coast-friendly direction too.

I like that we're getting a view of the plan. I like that we're getting taken into the club's trust. It's now up to us to back it to the hilt.

That includes understanding that a dud season or two isn't the end of the world.

 

[rbakersmith]

Memberships this season will be at least 25 per cent down

Between how North Sydney was handled and the poor performance last season, it wouldn't surprise me if memberships were lower this season. But this statement is already wrong - as of this afternoon there's 5,073 members (apparently 800 in the last 24 hours). For reference, a day out from the start of the last season there were 5,140 members. I reckon that by the end of the season there will be 5,500-6,000 members.

 

[dibo]

On facebook this morning:

The bit I really like is the third-last point. They're going to drop a little bit of money on that (the value of a ticket is greater than the value per game of a membership) but it cements a relationship.

 

[tim...]

Important to note that "value off a Membership" is for those who bought a ticket to tonight's game but aren't yet members. Don't believe it applies to already renewed members.

 

[adz]

Don't believe it applies to already renewed members.

Wouldn't think so but why would those people be buying a ticket? I've renewed late some years and they have always done it pro rata based on the number of games gone/left.

 

[tim...]

Yep that has been the case - I think this is certainly more appealing financially though!

 

[dibo]

Important to note that "value off a Membership" is for those who bought a ticket to tonight's game but aren't yet members. Don't believe it applies to already renewed members.

I would've thought that that would be kinda obvious - if I have a membership I'm not buying a ticket for me, it'd be for someone else (and they can get a discount if they step up to membership).

 

[tim...]

Yes and no - you never know. Wouldn't surprise me if someone had a friends ticket and tried to get the cost deducted from their own membership lol

 

[Big Al]

Interesting to see recruitment may now include European passport holders. Just need a few more clubbe Brugge to keep coming to the well

 

[FFC Mariner]

Good strategy. Lots of kids go over at 16 and are back at 20. Doesn't mean they are bad players, just not ready yet

 

[true believer]

Central Coast Mariners use the Moneyball theory to survive the A-League
.

I got say , I love that movie . it's a professionalization of the "no dick heads " theory ,
mixed with "he/she gets the job done " . which gives an example in the movie .
now days no team on the planet , would give a start to brazillian legend Garrincha .
(pele was the best , but garrincha was better ) perhaps this may give us something close .
austins performance shows great promise .

 

[Atomic]

More on Moneyball... It's all a little bit exciting to be honest
http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/article/2015/10/13/moneyball-mariners-league-first