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Wakefield Trinity chief executive Michael Carter provides financial, revenue and stadium update

Wakefield Trinity chief executive Michael Carter has answered the club’s fans questions.

The club opened up a question and answer session to supporters regarding how Wakefield could best raise revenue, with ideas given by fans on Facebook with his answers being published on the club’s website this morning,

Carter – who has been well-known for high interaction with fans since taking the position at Trinity – answered them openly and honestly.

The names of supporters asking the questions have been removed.

BRING A FRIEND FOR A FIVER – possible option to entice ‘stay-away’ fans for home games v Catalans and Toulouse.

​I like the idea and we will look to introduce this if it fits in with other ticketing initiatives for these games this coming season.

MINI/FLEXI SEASON TICKETS – this has been mentioned quite a bit due to fans work commitments and the fact that they can’t get to every game.

​I have never been keen on part-season tickets because I think it erodes what your hardcore season ticket holder is buying from you. For all those who purchase a half season ticket, I would predict that you would have more full-season ticket holders transferring to this, so it would not only effect cashflow but also diminish your overall yield. We have done batches of tickets before (eg. for 3 home games) and we will continue to use this method where appropriate.

PURCHASE THE PITCH – if the new pitch is to be installed, sell the Belle Vue turf to be a part of history.

​Absolutely we plan to do this. The pitch is 118m by 74m, which at £5 per square meter, could raise nearly £44000.

Reduced drink/beer prices for two hours before kick-off in the Rollin’ Shack – same price or undercut the Conservative Club.

​This has been tried before back in 2014, including providing entertainment pre-match in the Rollin Shack. What happened was that NOBODY from the Conservative Club were enticed by it, and that everyone who would use the Rollin Shack got their drinks for half of what they were previously prepared to pay, so we cut the revenue yield in half. We will continue to have drinks promotions as and where we see fit.

BUY A BRICK – chance for a fan to be part of history on the ground redevelopment – buy a brick.

​This will be part of the proposed development and is a good idea.

MATCH DAY TICKET – buy a match day ticket, then get a % discount off club merchandise on a select few products the following week.

​Again, I like this idea, and we will look at discounts for those who retain their ticket stubs.

FREE KIDS TICKETS AT SCHOOLS – An example here – a child received a free ticket at school, persuaded their Dad to go and Dad then paid for an adult ticket, whilst also buying a few drinks/food in the ground.  From that one free ticket, this kid has spent thousands on season tickets and shirts.

​This is already part of our strategy regarding our Ambassador Clubs, and through our Schools Sports Partnerships, we will be introducing this next season. You are correct that bringing Dad or Mum to a game increases ticket revenue and also the secondary spend within the ground, whilst making the fan of the future!

​We have moved away from match programs to Monthly magazine as program sales were negligible. We will look to see if we can make this electronic.

SEASON TICKETS – discount for buying a full season in advance.

Everyone has the option of getting the next seasons season ticket free by subscribing to Commit 6 which is also payable monthly. Giving discounts for future seasons leads to cashflow and revenue holes further down the line.

TRY/PIE & PEAS DEAL – special discount for season ticket holders.

​We do look to do better deals for Season Ticket holders, and this is certainly one we can take on board.

FOOD/BEER TENTS – worked at Toronto & Hull KR, why not in the new car park when completed?

​A fan zone with food/beer/entertainment is within our plans for the new facility.

MARKETING IDEAS – when selling merchandise and season tickets, capture email addresses for future campaigns (keep this up-to-date.)  The club could then review the data and target areas that were lower than others.

​When I first took over, all systems were a complete mess. For the last four years this data has been stored and used to communicate and analysed and reviewed.

HOME & AWAY SEASONS TICKETS.

​The issue with including away games is that the time they are on sale, other clubs may not have set their admission prices but happy to take a look at this next year.

SOCIAL MEDIA – better social media content, more engagement.  I realise that that limited stuff on Twitter and Facebook is necessary to push sales of Trinity TV but even at the low cost, people still can’t afford it.

​We are continually striving to produce more and more content, and within Super League our Club stands up well with the competition. However, Trinity TV produces a vital income stream and if we make everything free, we lose a vital chunk of income. We aim to try and get the balance right between free, and behind a payroll. I accept you may feel we don’t have that balance right.

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