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Posts Tagged ‘football’

Demand almost always outstrips supply for those looking to buy Manchester United football tickets because the team has a huge following, and tickets are limited in number.

Because the chance of getting a ticket to a single Manchester United game is small, obtaining a season ticket to Old Trafford might be seen as only an impossible dream.

Nothwithstanding the advantage of having a guaranteed seat for home games and priority for away game tickets, there are some issues connected with owning a season ticket that could be seen as negatives.

Including:
A season ticket holder is not guaranteed a seat in his choice of stand, and if allocated one in an area he does not like the only way to get it changed is to prove exceptional medial hardship.

For this reason, there are those who choose not to renew their tickets at the end of the season, choosing instead to take their chances in the search for single tickets that may be in a more preferred stand.

The Manchester United Club policy known as the Automatic Ticket Scheme guarantees that every season ticket holder has a ticket for all Champions League and FA cup home games.

Although this might appear to be a good thing, further examination shows that the season ticket holder is charged for each of these tickets even if he has no intention of attending one or any of those  games.

In  the last two seasons, there were 10 of these extra games played at Old Trafford – and with a single game ticket starting at almost 50 pounds, this extra cost on top of the already season ticket makes a significant difference.

Manchester United fans who spring for a season ticket thinking they can sell their unwanted tickets to games they can’t go to might find that that is not as easy to do these days as it was once.

Manchester United does have an official ticket exchange where season ticket holders can list their unwanted tickets for sale at face-value, but tickets cannot be posted there until the club announces that the game in question has been sold out.

However  tickets put up for sale may not get sold, and the prospective seller then not only loses the ticket he is unable to use, he is out the substantial listing and handling fee it cost him to attempt to sell the unwanted seat.

There is no question that the price of a season’s 16 single tickets is more expensive than a season ticket, but when the other costs – close to 500 extra pounds for the Cup games; the possibility of getting a seat in disliked part of Old Trafford; and there being no guarantee of being able to sell any unwanted game tickets are added up, investing in season Manchester United tickets might not be worth it to even the most fanatical fans.

Demand almost always outstrips supply for those looking to buy Manchester United football tickets because the team has a huge following, and tickets are limited in number.

That means for many supporters, the chance of obtaining a ticket to a single Manchester United game is never easy, and a season ticket to Old Trafford might be seen as the ultimate score.

However, if one looks more closely, the obvious advantages season ticket holders have of being guaranteed a seat for all home games and priority for away games, might be outweighed by the disadvantages.

Such as:
A season ticket holder is not guaranteed a seat in his choice of stand, and if allocated one in an area he does not like the only way to get it changed is to prove exceptional medial hardship.

As a result of this policy, there are those who don’t renew their tickets at the end of the season, preferring to take their chances in the search for single tickets that may be in a better part of Old Trafford.

There is a Manchester United Club policy named the Automatic Ticket Scheme ensuring that every season ticket holder is guaranteed a ticket for all Champions League and FA cup home games.

Even though this might appear to be a good thing, the season ticket holder is charged for each of these tickets even if he does not want to attend any of those games.

In  the last two seasons, there were 10 of these extra games played at Old Trafford – and with a single game ticket starting at almost 50 pounds, this extra cost on top of the already season ticket makes a significant difference.

Any Manchester United fan who purchases a  season ticket thinking they can offload tickets to games they can’t attend might find that that is more difficult than anticipated.

Manchester United has an sanctioned ticket exchange where season ticket holders can put up their unwanted tickets for sale, but tickets cannot be posted there until the club announces that the game in question has been sold out.

However  tickets put up for sale may not get sold, and the prospective seller then not only loses the ticket he is unable to use, he is out the substantial listing and handling fee it cost him to attempt to sell the unwanted seat.

No-one would argue that the price of a season’s 16 single tickets is more expensive than a season ticket, when the other costs – approximately 500 extra pounds for the Cup games; the possibility of being allocated a seat in an undesirable part of Old Trafford; and no guarantee of being able to sell any unwanted game tickets are added up, investing in season Manchester United tickets might not be worth it to even the most ardent fans.

Lets get one thing straight from the start. Half the kids around the world play soccer because it’s fun. The other half are forced to play by their parents. Statistics shows that over 80% of children playing soccer will quit the game before they become a teenager. So why are so many kids quitting the game they supposedly love? Is the world game in trouble?

The world game is not in trouble, far from it. More kids play soccer all over the world than any other sport. Do you know the reason behind the mass exodus?

Kids Soccer and the attraction factor.

Lets be honest here. Kids play soccer because it’s fun. Soccer is a game that only requires two knees that bend, a round ball and the imagination to dream of playing on the big stage. The game is very easy to learn and only requires the kids to kick a ball into a goal that is covered with the old onion bag. Kids can run around like headless chooks in pursuit of the ball and are given the freedom to compete simultaneously. No child while competing has to wait for his turn, instead he is offered a non-stop, high intensity workout that has very little rules or restrictions. Can you think of a better game for a young child?

Kids Soccer and the Parents

When young children start playing soccer it’s all about the fun. The fun seems to stop when the parents start to get involved. Parents with the all the best intentions place far too much pressure on their kids to win. With all this added pressure guess what happens to the fun? That’s right, it disappears. Soccer is no longer fun but a big disappointment. The pressure continues to mount until the child can no longer sustain their parents ambitions. When a child feels the need to satisfy his parents demands and desires you can bet your bottom dollar that the child will inevitably become another statistic.

Never live your dreams and ambitions through your child. Allow your child to make his own mistakes and the freedom to make mistakes. Only then will kids soccer remain fun.

They are all the rage, in football and baseball.  Nearly every team owner wants a new stadium… all the hot stuff… luxury boxes, high-end restaurants, corporate seats, etc.The owners will tell you they have to have a competitive stadium to field a competitive team.  At least, that's the battle cry.

People are tired of it and they're saying so.Fifteen NFL franchises have new, or vastly refurbished, stadiums since 1999.  The "Jones-mahal," as writers have dubbed the new Dallas Cowboys stadium in Arlington, Texas, opens this season at a cost of over a billion dollars.Not milion… billion… with a B.Will it justify the cost?

Mark Oristano, author of A SPORTSCASTER’S GUIDE TO WATCHING FOOTBALL, isn’t so sure.

"Granted, Texas Stadium, the Cowboys home since 1971, was in disrepair, but part of that is the fault of the team, since they knew they were going to move and they just let it run down.  Now, they have the big luxury boxes and the incredibly expensive seats, and they got the city of Arlington to pay a chunk of the cost, so yes, the Cowboys will win, at least financially.”

But Oristano, and others in the sports biz, think the fans, and the cities, tend to be losers.

"One friend of mine," says Oristano, "has had Cowboys season tickets for twenty years. Now they want a personal seat license fee, which is a huge ripoff, and this guy just said the heck with it.  He told me he could send his three kids to expensive colleges for what Cowboys tickets would cost, and it just wasn't worth it.”

Will the Cowboys stadium be full on opening day? Of course.Can the fans be counted on to return?It might, since football only has a handful of schedule dates each season.  But that's part of the problem.The city of Arlington put millions into the new stadium, but it's not a project that is going to create jobs, no matter how full the stadium schedule is.And even in good economic times, the question should be asked whether cities should put tax dollars, paid by all citizens, in projects of private business where only a handful of people will be able to take advantage.

In baseball, check out the new Yankees and Mets parks, where the $2500 dugout seats are going unsold.Loyal fans of the middle class are pretty much priced out of the picture these days.That is, by far, the saddest part of it all.

Global computer animator, EA Sports has announced that they will be providing the branding for a new range of sports equipment created by Toy Island. The high tech “virtual coaching tools”, which will use motion sensors, are being designed for children of the ages of three to twelve which is a very large and broad spectrum.

The numerous sports that the equipment will be built for is Baseball, American Football, Basketball, Hockey and ‘Soccer’ (Football). EA Sports boss Peter Moore said that “Our goal is to take the EA Sports brand much deeper into the fabric of sports, and into new markets that allow more people to unleash their inner spirit of both sports and competition.
Considering that EA Sports are more known for their prominence in the computer game industry this is a very interesting development for them. It will add so much to the already huge brand and is sure to almost double their profits. This new concept will also open the doors for new relationships to be carved with local retailers and will get the EA Sports brand recognised on a much larger scale than ever before. I am not sure that they will be making items like scalextric or model trains but you can be sure to expect things like, footballs, shin pads, football boots, action figures and many more are still to be announced.

It is understandable that EA will be looking to branch out of the norm, especially in such an un-predictable time in terms of our global economy. It is pretty wise of EA to be looking outside of computer animation and into toy making because it is broadening their profit stream. Many companies have been put into liquidation recently because of their lack of knowledge on the current economic market. In order to help keep your business up and standing on its own two feet you will need to diversify the products in your business. This is absolutely imperitive.