BoxRec

Im not sure if this has been tried before or if it would be work but I was wondering.
Take Matchroom they have a big stable of arguably the best fighters in the country.
If for a reduced upfront fee you had a say a ringside or good seat at all the Matchroom shows.
And members benefits like invitation to media days etc.
With the option of selling or swapping with primarily other season ticket holders or the paying public.
Just a thought maybe im dreaming or maybe each fighter could have one for all their fights through the year.
It would reward fans and give a guaranteed revenue stream upfront for promoters.
Any opinions welcomed .

Sounds good in theory but not something I'd buy.

Punters buying the season ticket would be taking a massive leap of faith. No idea who will be fighting who, where the fights will take place and when. You'd have to be pretty flexible, especially when shows can be called off with only a weeks notice.

I'd be happy to put my name down on some kind of loyalty reserve list. For example at the start of the year I'd commit to taking a ticket to see Ricky Burns if he fights anywhere in Scotland. That way if a fight gets confirmed for Ricky in Glasgow I'd get first chance to buy a ticket, before public sale. If I don't want to see the show then fine, my ticket is offered to someone else on the reserve list. I suppose this way promoters could gauge potential ticket sales, and demand to see fighters in certain parts of the country. Of course this system would also have it's flaws, but it seems to work fairly well for a events like T in the Park etc...

Interesting idea !

It would challenge fans to really consider how much they trust a given promoter.

Fwank's got the TV version by starting up his subscription channel. I'm a critic of his live shows but have been gladly forking out ten quid a month for BN as its a bargain for boxing fans.

No.

Not a chance.

It's not something they would do as the demand would be so little I think. I would consider it, but you wouldn't know how many worthy shows there are.

Fans buying season tickets would be the perfect invitation for promoters to serve up a load of dross knowing that they already have the money.

I think, though I might be.wrong, that if you sign up to the JBC in Japan you get a discount on tickets at the Korakuen Hall. That seems a great idea to me.

expe wrote:Fans buying season tickets would be the perfect invitation for promoters to serve up a load of dross knowing that they already have the money.

This would be my gut feeling.

Though then again Matchroom will need to keep increasing the Sky viewing figures to get that contract renewed, which may temper the decline from the Matchroom POV.

Either way it would be a complete leap of faith.

I'd be more inclined to buy a season ticket to a promotion that puts shows on at the York Hall.

No chance due to :

1. Shows being all over the country.
2. Show dates being unconfirmed.
3. The disclaimer that all promoters have: "All bouts are subject to change".

I think it would be an amazing idea in principle but has way way too many dynamics for it to work, very volatile.

More workable would be a membership scheme. You pay a small, annual fee giving you priority ticket access (ahead of general sale), perhaps a small discount on tickets, access to additional footage and live streaming via a website, exclusive merchandise and competitions. Matchroom already do something similar with the Darts, so it could be something they consider for their boxing coverage.

earsjohn wrote:More workable would be a membership scheme. You pay a small, annual fee giving you priority ticket access (ahead of general sale), perhaps a small discount on tickets, access to additional footage and live streaming via a website, exclusive merchandise and competitions. Matchroom already do something similar with the Darts, so it could be something they consider for their boxing coverage.

Most definitely. I would consider buying something like that.

I'd like to see a discount for Sky Sports subscribers to Matchroom shows.

Likewise. allegedly subscribers should enjoy a discount on FW shows.

Even if it was the £10 sub redeemable once a month.

earsjohn wrote:More workable would be a membership scheme. You pay a small, annual fee giving you priority ticket access (ahead of general sale), perhaps a small discount on tickets, access to additional footage and live streaming via a website, exclusive merchandise and competitions. Matchroom already do something similar with the Darts, so it could be something they consider for their boxing coverage.

This sounds much more attractive. Something like a Loyalty Card, they could offer a small discount off ticket price and priority purchasing on big events.

DavidPayne wrote:I'd like to see a discount for Sky Sports subscribers to Matchroom shows.

Likewise. allegedly subscribers should enjoy a discount on FW shows.

Even if it was the £10 sub redeemable once a month.

So basically a free BN membership to anybody who goes to a show? You really put that in the realm of realistic things?

DMA1987 wrote:

DavidPayne wrote:I'd like to see a discount for Sky Sports subscribers to Matchroom shows.

Likewise. allegedly subscribers should enjoy a discount on FW shows.

Even if it was the £10 sub redeemable once a month.

So basically a free BN membership to anybody who goes to a show? You really put that in the realm of realistic things?

Nope. Other way around.

Buy allegedly or Sky Sports get corresponding discount on ticket to a show. You may argue it amounts to free subscription, I would suggest it encourages arm-chair fans to venture out.....probably crap if I thought about it longer DMA.....but I thought about it for about 4 seconds before I typed....

They need to put a loyalty scheme in of some sorts to let people get tickets for the bigger fights like Froch v Groves. I bet loads of people have been to plenty of matchroom shows, but didn't even get a chance to get tickets which is a joke.

iamasadlittleboy wrote:I think, though I might be.wrong, that if you sign up to the JBC in Japan you get a discount on tickets at the Korakuen Hall. That seems a great idea to me.

You get 5% off the food there (the Korakuen Hanten), entered in to a free lottery for tickets shows, discounts for rooms at the Tokyo Dome and discounts for the spa at the Tokyo Dome. Amazingly a years membership is just 12,000yen (£70). Not too shabby at all on paper.

For that you also get some memorabilia, invitation to some special events and some sort of voting rights.

I would buy a matchroom loyalty card but season ticket is step too far. You pay a annual fee then receive a goody bag and a presale day ensuring you get big fights too, you'd have to buy in January though not just before a big fight happens

jackukmma wrote:I would buy a matchroom loyalty card but season ticket is step too far. You pay a annual fee then receive a goody bag and a presale day ensuring you get big fights too, you'd have to buy in January though not just before a big fight happens

Let's hope it would be different to the UFC Fight Club which fleeced members at the last show in Manchester. None of the cheapest tickets were available during the presale but widely available in the general sale.

mickey1975 wrote:

jackukmma wrote:I would buy a matchroom loyalty card but season ticket is step too far. You pay a annual fee then receive a goody bag and a presale day ensuring you get big fights too, you'd have to buy in January though not just before a big fight happens

Let's hope it would be different to the UFC Fight Club which fleeced members at the last show in Manchester. None of the cheapest tickets were available during the presale but widely available in the general sale.

Yes that kind of scheme if implemented properly is what I'd be happy with, as you say it would have to benefit the buyer though priority seats etc

I don't think this would work for numerous reasons:

1. Travel - It's very rare that any fighter always has his fights in one location so it would be almost certain that you'd have to be willing to fork out for travel and hotel expenses on top of fight tickets;

2. No guarantee of how many fights the fighter will have;

3. No guarantee of the quality of opposition which as someone else mentioned would be hardly likely to increase when a promotor has already pocketed the punter's money; and

4. No guarantee of what dates the fighter will fight which would make planning holidays and time off work difficult.

slapbangwhallop wrote:

earsjohn wrote:More workable would be a membership scheme. You pay a small, annual fee giving you priority ticket access (ahead of general sale), perhaps a small discount on tickets, access to additional footage and live streaming via a website, exclusive merchandise and competitions. Matchroom already do something similar with the Darts, so it could be something they consider for their boxing coverage.

This sounds much more attractive. Something like a Loyalty Card, they could offer a small discount off ticket price and priority purchasing on big events.

I would be likely to buy one of these given that in the last year alone I have missed out on getting tickets for Froch v Groves and Froch v Kessler. This would help potentially to weed out some of the scumbag touts who seem to get on the website and buy up all of the tickets before the genuine fans get a chance. Mind you, that's probably what the promotors want as they are no doubt in on the racket.