132 seats at 1800 a piece is only worth 237600 a season to the club but it is the equivalent of 594 seats at 400 quid a pop. 184K more than if they left the seats as they are minus the cost of the food and drink. They'd need to do the same "upgrade" on 1857 seats to pay one player 50k a week. It's not a move that's going to add millions to our summer transfer budget.

From a business persons point of view, if you're VAT registered and you can put the hospitality against your tax you're talking 70 odd quid a match (after the tax benefit) for a ticket a meal and some free drinks. If you're in the habit of entertaining clients and a Burnley fan too I guess it's not such a bad deal.

Leisure wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 27, 2021 3:05 pm

I understand that the new outside seating is in blocks 5 and 6, so right on the halfway line. Not sure just how that affects the open space layout inside and just what effect if will have on holding functions in there?

Only half of the room can be used for functions but they are making other changes to make that room deeper from pitch side to the back by moving the kitchens and bars.

dibraidio wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 27, 2021 3:52 pm

132 seats at 1800 a piece is only worth 237600 a season to the club but it is the equivalent of 594 seats at 400 quid a pop. 184K more than if they left the seats as they are minus the cost of the food and drink. They'd need to do the same "upgrade" on 1857 seats to pay one player 50k a week. It's not a move that's going to add millions to our summer transfer budget.

From a business persons point of view, if you're VAT registered and you can put the hospitality against your tax you're talking 70 odd quid a match (after the tax benefit) for a ticket a meal and some free drinks. If you're in the habit of entertaining clients and a Burnley fan too I guess it's not such a bad deal.

I am taking that to be 132 additional seats to what was there originally for that offering (anyone know how many that was) - the key is the price point can they get enough to spend (at the business cost you suggest and long told stories of a waiting list for such hospitality spaces I would say yes). No doubt the club will be looking to increase the bar spend too.

The other question is are these customers existing customers from other parts of the ground or are they entirely new - revenue wise you have to hope they are new, or the gain is even less, as the revenue from their old seats needs to be deducted, either that or assume that those seats can all sold on. If the seats are available in the better viewing areas of the ground then it it could be that those being uprooted from the JHL are effectively being seat swapped, for punters willing to pay more for their seats.

I've just had an email from the club about this. Bizarrely, I am JHU so I am assuming this is a mistake. Have written for clarification.

For clarification, the seats affected are blocks 6 and 7, rows P, R and S = 132 seats.

Important information about your season ticket seats

Dear xxxx


I could not be more grateful for your years of support for the Club. It is a great honour for me to be Chairman and custodian of such a great football club, one with deep history and the best supporters in the world. On behalf of the Club, I thank you for supporting us during this challenging season when you could not be present. We have missed you.


I recognize how difficult this past season has been and I look forward to having you back in the stands in full force once more. Since I have had the privilege of becoming Chairman, I have had the best interest of our supporters in mind - from speaking out against the Super League to improving the experience within the stadium. Consequently, we have undertaken a meaningful improvement project to upgrade the hospitality experience in the James Hargreaves stand. This project will significantly enhance the experience within this stand. Unfortunately, this project will result in your current seats being displaced. I understand that many of you have been in those same seats for a number of years and that this displacement will be an inconvenience. I apologise and ask for your understanding and support once more as we take the Club into a new chapter.

I assure you that you will have a seat in Turf Moor with no change in price for this upcoming season. I invite you to come to Turf Moor and select your new seat(s) on or before May 10. We will be contacting you over the next week to set an appointment to come to the grounds to see and select your new seat. This great Club is founded on its supporters and I am eager to give you first option on the best possible solution within the stadium.

If you would like to discuss this with a member of staff please email Chris Gibson on c.gibson@burnleyfc.com.

Thank you for your support and understanding.

With kind regards,

Alan Pace, Chairman

********************

Unfortunate for those affected but the same as when people had to move from the rear of the JML. I moved into the JHU for no extra price for the following season and have never looked back.

I'll look forward to getting my email from Mr Pace. Seems odd that a mesaage board can get this info before people impacted. Again, another really shoddy piece of comms from the club.
Inconvenience. Hmmm

'Inconvenience' isn't the word I'll be using in my reply.

It's a really poorly thought out email. Inconvenience is completely the wrong word. It almost seem like he thinks he's doing us a favour by "ensuring you will have a seat" .

Rombald wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 28, 2021 7:01 pm

It's a really poorly thought out email. Inconvenience is completely the wrong word. It almost seem like he thinks he's doing us a favour by "ensuring you will have a seat" .

That's exactly what we said. We're gutted like everyone else it affects, we've had fantastic seats since inception of the stand. The trouble is at the end of the day it's a business and whilst they need customers they'll have already accepted that if they lose some so be it. They're doing it to make money when all said and done.

Exactly same here beddie. Same seats for 25 years. Agreed its just a business, it would have been better if he'd just put that in the email.

Turf Moor 'super box' promises five star luxury from next season
If you're feeling flush and want to watch the Clarets in action in five-star luxury next season then a Turf Moor 'Super Box' could be yours for £45,000 plus VAT for the campaign.

The 12-seater facility, has to be booked for a minimum of five years and comes with a host of luxury offerings including a sumptuous four-course meal, a complimentary, full-stocked fridge bar with beers, wines and soft drinks, a designated matchday host and corporate gifts.

The private box is described in the club's new commercial hospitality brochure as offering an 'intimate, but stylish private setting' with the ability to watch the game inside or out.

Burnley Football Club has also announced that the James Hargreaves Suite has been fully refurbished. Hospitality seats are available at a seasonal price of from £1,800 plus VAT. A one-off seat in the suite at a Category A game with an additional seat at a Category B game is being marketed at £400 plus VAT.

*****

Has anyone actually seen one of these new commercial hospitality brochures? Can't see anything on the club website.

Leisure wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 28, 2021 11:05 pm

Turf Moor 'super box' promises five star luxury from next season
If you're feeling flush and want to watch the Clarets in action in five-star luxury next season then a Turf Moor 'Super Box' could be yours for £45,000 plus VAT for the campaign.

The 12-seater facility, has to be booked for a minimum of five years and comes with a host of luxury offerings including a sumptuous four-course meal, a complimentary, full-stocked fridge bar with beers, wines and soft drinks, a designated matchday host and corporate gifts.

The private box is described in the club's new commercial hospitality brochure as offering an 'intimate, but stylish private setting' with the ability to watch the game inside or out.

Burnley Football Club has also announced that the James Hargreaves Suite has been fully refurbished. Hospitality seats are available at a seasonal price of from £1,800 plus VAT. A one-off seat in the suite at a Category A game with an additional seat at a Category B game is being marketed at £400 plus VAT.

+ VAT

tim_noone wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 28, 2021 11:15 pm

+ VAT

Put that way it makes it look cheaper than it actually is! But if you can afford £45,000 a year for 5 years I don't suppose the vat cost is a big deal!

Leisure wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 28, 2021 11:05 pm

Turf Moor 'super box' promises five star luxury from next season
If you're feeling flush and want to watch the Clarets in action in five-star luxury next season then a Turf Moor 'Super Box' could be yours for £45,000 plus VAT for the campaign.

The 12-seater facility, has to be booked for a minimum of five years and comes with a host of luxury offerings including a sumptuous four-course meal, a complimentary, full-stocked fridge bar with beers, wines and soft drinks, a designated matchday host and corporate gifts.

The private box is described in the club's new commercial hospitality brochure as offering an 'intimate, but stylish private setting' with the ability to watch the game inside or out.

Burnley Football Club has also announced that the James Hargreaves Suite has been fully refurbished. Hospitality seats are available at a seasonal price of from £1,800 plus VAT. A one-off seat in the suite at a Category A game with an additional seat at a Category B game is being marketed at £400 plus VAT.

*****

Has anyone actually seen one of these new commercial hospitality brochures? Can't see anything on the club website.

Ambition is all fine and well in business, but best of luck to the club hoping to get firms to agree to a £225,000 +vat price for 5 years of football. Is there a relegation clause in the terms ?

Wonder how a glossy brochure looks when marketing a home game with Luton on a Tuesday night in January

claretonthecoast1882 wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 29, 2021 8:32 am

Ambition is all fine and well in business, but best of luck to the club hoping to get firms to agree to a £225,000 +vat price for 5 years of football. Is there a relegation clause in the terms ?

Wonder how a glossy brochure looks when marketing a home game with Luton on a Tuesday night in January

Would expect that the agreement will be a bit like players contracts, where they have a wage reduction if we get relegated. btw there are 8 of these boxes and it'll be interesting to know just how many have been taken? Asking for a 5 year commitment on top of a seasonal charge of £54,000 is a big ask in our area.

Just had it confirmed that my seat is affected and I'm upper tier. All discussions on here are centred around lower tier currently.

xxmunkyennuixx wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 29, 2021 7:42 pm

Just had it confirmed that my seat is affected and I'm upper tier. All discussions on here are centred around lower tier currently.

Who has confirmed it and where are you in the upper tier?

Edited

xxmunkyennuixx wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 29, 2021 7:54 pm

Chris Gibson.

So why did he say that your seat was being affected? What block, row and seat are you?

Hang on, he's changed his mind. Wtf! I would post an image but it probably isn't fair. I have asked for clarification a few times and instead of a straight forward answer I didn't get one. I think it was a misunderstanding of my email.

Apologies for any stress caused to other board members. The thought of losing my seat ****** me off. Returning to the ground has kept me going through lockdown.

xxmunkyennuixx wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 29, 2021 7:58 pm

Hang on, he's changed his mind. Wtf! I would post an image but it probably isn't fair. I have asked for clarification a few times and instead of a straight forward answer I didn't get one. I think it was a misunderstanding of my email.

Apologies for any stress caused to other board members. The thought of losing my seat ****** me off. Returning to the ground has kept me going through lockdown.

You taking the p***!

Pop an email address up and I will post it to you.

xxmunkyennuixx wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 29, 2021 8:09 pm

Pop an email address up and I will post it to you.

Copy/scan it and post it on here. I'll be interested to see it seeing as Chris as actually been phoning those affected.

Part of the conversation

It also affects those in the front of those in rows P,Q,and S

They will now have the prawn sandwich brigrade behind them instead of true fans

Clarification

xxmunkyennuixx wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 29, 2021 8:37 pm

Untitled Project.png

Thanks. What did you receive before your email of the 27th at 17:27?

There's quite a few emails in between. I did get the message from the Chairman as well.

My word.

Chairman message

It was the above that prompted my initial email.

xxmunkyennuixx wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 29, 2021 8:41 pm

Untitled Project.jpg

So was the first contact from the club a call from Chris or an email from Chris / Chairman??? This is getting very confusing!

When people say we are non league away from the football...

The email from the Chairman. I just wanted a straight answer and didn't get one. There must have been a snafu in the system for me to recieve the original message.

Isnt Chris Gibson the catering manager ?

randomclaret2 wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 29, 2021 8:49 pm

Isnt Chris Gibson the catering manager ?

Hospitality Manager.

paulatky wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 29, 2021 8:38 pm

It also affects those in the front of those in rows P,Q,and S

They will now have the prawn sandwich brigrade behind them instead of true fans

Last comment on this because I have sort of derailed the thread. I appreciate the need for the club to expand revenue streams but I'm pretty surprised at the prices being expressed. I'm not convinced that the proposition is well conceived, it does not feel very Burnley. I'm also gutted for the committed supporters being affected by the changes.

xxmunkyennuixx wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 29, 2021 8:48 pm

The email from the Chairman. I just wanted a straight answer and didn't get one. There must have been a snafu in the system for me to recieve the original message.

My apologies, I really thought that you were taking the p*** but obviously not! Hard to understand just how one of those emails has gone out to a JHU ST holder!

Not a problem. I'm a bit of a lurker on both forums I frequent online but I'm sincere in my posts when I make them and engage with people respectfully. I might take the images down if you don't mind.

I've asked the club if this is just a one-off or have others in the JHU received the email from the Chairman.

xxmunkyennuixx wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 29, 2021 9:04 pm

Not a problem. I'm a bit of a lurker on both forums I frequent online but I'm sincere in my posts when I make them and engage with people respectfully. I might take the images down if you don't mind.

Personally I would leave them, otherwise the thread probably won't make sense to people.

The way the club has dealt with this issue is unprofessional, lacking in any degree of empathy with those affectedand and is quite frankly toe curling.

Despite front of house being Premier League our back office operations remains firmly stuck in League 1 or 2. We are so amateurish in the way we deal with supporters. That communication from the Chairman is at best poorly worded and at worst patronising. And why is the hospitality manager dealing with such a sensitive and emotive issue, as dealing with supporters who are having to be moved from seats they have sat in for the last 25 years, simply because of commercial considerations. Those texts messages are very poor and embarrassing.

It is also not fair on those who have renewed already in the rows immediately in front of those rows affected.

The atmosphere in those blocks 6 and 7 near the back is going to be totally different now and those people will not have a chance to swap seats I guess without having to pay more.

I realise change has to happen but to announce the changes after people have paid to renew stinks.

The club knew about the changes before accepting renewals. I have spoken with a family who have 4 tickets on row N and to say they are not happy is an understatement

The Hung Juror wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 29, 2021 11:23 pm

The way the club has dealt with this issue is unprofessional, lacking in any degree of empathy with those affectedand and is quite frankly toe curling.

Despite front of house being Premier League our back office operations remains firmly stuck in League 1 or 2. We are so amateurish in the way we deal with supporters. That communication from the Chairman is at best poorly worded and at worst patronising. And why is the hospitality manager dealing with such a sensitive and emotive issue, as dealing with supporters who are having to be moved from seats they have sat in for the last 25 years, simply because of commercial considerations. Those texts messages are very poor and embarrassing.

Very difficult not to agree with a single word of that. Now even sending out the info to the wrong people as well.

Not that it effects me as we sit in the JMU, but from experience, some larger groups, rather than sit along rows, sit over multiple rows together

I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a few groups like this effected.

I am one of those that has to move. No email from the chairman received. I've obviously seen on here..I have been contacted by the club, but this was only after multiple emails and numerous phone calls.
As mentioned above, many family and friends impacted. It may not seem like huge numbers, but when you've had season tickets since the opening of the stand then you would hope that the chairman, who has indicated that communication is a key point, would be able to do this in a more caring, understanding and professional manner.

Genuine question. Why is it more than an inconvenience, and what were those who sit in the affected area expecting to see written instead?

I'd expect to see a more considered honest message. I'd actually like to receive it in the first instance.
Inconvenience isn't the correct term..it lacks all understanding of what it means to sit with family and friends built up over years.
Losing really good seats, with a very strong possibility of not sitting together with family and friends is more than an inconvenience.

superdimitri wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 30, 2021 7:32 am

Genuine question. Why is it more than an inconvenience, and what were those who sit in the affected area expecting to see written instead?

I understand you're point to a degree but can I assume the impact of this doesn't affect you?