Following the success of the promotion’s creation in October where under-16’s tickets were £1, which lead to 1,656 kids in attendance for four matches, Cheltenham Town reignited ‘Kids for a Quid’ and brought it back into effect for three more home matches across February and March.
Families looking to entertain their children on Saturdays found no better solution to cure weekend boredom than a bargain option to have an afternoon out at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium. Virgin eyes witnessed battles on the turf which saw Cheltenham beat Fleetwood Town 2-0 and Doncaster Rovers 4-0, but the Robins did lose 2-1 to Crewe Alexandra.
There is nothing superior when introducing your child into football, than bringing them to your local club, to feast on the flavours of emotion that engulf them at a match-it’s exactly what Cheltenham Town Associate Director Murry Toms wants to get from such offers.
“The club wanted to invite hundreds of kids and allow them to get a taste of League One football,” said Toms.
“That’s the main ambition of the schemes, we want to give kids and families the oppourtunity to be a part of an historic season.”
Hundreds certainly did. Around 1,900 ‘Kids for a Quid’ tickets were sold across the three matches in 2022, and I can assure you the experience will make them want to revisit, even if they have to pay the current minimum £9 fee for a ticket at normal home matches.
Such promotional offers are so valuable to get new, young blood interested and attatched to the club. Furthermore, the experience the club have gained from having seven matches across the 2021/22 season has helped shape the way Cheltenham will approach their season ticket and general ticketting plans for the near future.
“Some of the thinking behind the four games before Christmas and the three after, has rolled into the season ticket thinking that will be released this month,” added Toms.
“The insight from the ‘Kids for a Quid’ scheme has helped to shape the conversation around the pricing strategy and thinking for next season.”
‘Kids for a Quid’ has been a real success getting around 4,000 supporters inside the stadium across the season, but to find out the scheme has been very knowledgable for the heirarchy at the club is fantastic to hear. The club will of understood the importance of increasing the younger demogrpahic of fans into the stadium-after all they’re the future of the club.
The continuation of ‘Kids for a Quid’ or similar promotions is the key to attracting the next generation of fans. But, there will be financial concerns on how to build on from the success, due to the ongoing economic problems within the United Kingdom.
“There’s a cost of living crisis, and the club have to react to that. But it’s not as simple as just dropping the prices, so there needs to be a balance struck. It’s not an easy exercise,” said Toms.
As much as Cheltenham Town is a football club, it’s a business too. The upcoming period will be tricky for the over achieveing team who currently have the second smallest budget in League One, but they should aim for 10 matches next season to fall under the ‘Kids for a Quid’ banner. I’ll explain why.
It will be a tough time ahead for families. For 22 million households, their energy bills will rise by a stagggering 54% and the UK’s inflation rate hit an all time 30-year high reaching 6.2% in February.
The list of economic rises is currently endless at the moment, but that’s why it’s so important for Cheltenham Town to continue ‘Kids for a Quid.’ Getting your child out of the house and
