There are big savings to be made by purchasing a Season Ticket for Town’s new adventure in the Southern League South in 2018-19. With increasing costs inevitable at the higher level, admission prices are unfortunately having to rise for next season, with adult admission being set at £10, Concessions £8 and Under 18’s £5, with Under 14’s continuing to be admitted for free. To put the price increases in context , it is only the second occasion since 2007 (when an adult ticket increased to £7) that admission prices have risen but these increases can be more than offset by becoming a Season Ticket holder, with prices set as £156 for Adults, £120 for Concessions and £75 for Under 18’s.
Chairman Kevin Sturmey has provided the following insight for tauntontown.com:
”As we plan for the new season inevitably finance will be high on the agenda. We have assembled a very good squad who made huge sacrifices to achieve what they have in the last 10 months. We have a great rapport on and off the pitch but the simple fact will be each season we will need to raise more money to be competitive at what ever level we reach. No one at the Viridor Stadium, especially me, wants us to be an ok team in an ok league. We want to be competing in the top part but we must also continue to be sustainable.
We need the Taunton community, and local and County Councils to support us so we can grow in to a football hub entrenched in the community. To achieve this will mean lots of sacrifices, lots of long days and late nights, and a passion to deliver results on and off the pitch. Everything is achievable and I have no fear about challenging people to help us achieve our goals. But a new league will mean more cost with longer travel times and therefore we will need to budget carefully but also invest in our players and the Viridor Stadium. The last two seasons have been an incredible ride but £3000 for winning the West Division won’t go very far.
We have decided admission must go up as everyone needs to understand we do not receive the full amount of money that is paid at the gate; HMRC get 20% VAT on every admission ticket sold so for each £8 paid last season, we actually benefitted by £6.67. We really need to clear £8 after VAT so it was agreed that the VAT inclusive admission for 2018/19 will be £10 (TTFC get £8.33), £8 (£6.67) and £5 (£4.17) with under 14’s still able to gain free admission to encourage them to be a long term Peacocks supporter. What we really need is everyone to spend money once they are in the stadium as it all goes in to the pot so we need you all to buy a programme, a drink in the bar, a burger, tea etc. Also the Club Shop is a great way of spending some money to help the club and also show your support with the Claret & Blue.
We have absorbed two price increases in the bar but again there is now the sugar tax to consider so some products are a lot more expensive to buy. We will always try to keep our prices competitive but we set targets for each area of the club and we have to hit certain levels of profit otherwise we will be in trouble.
For the fans who have been a round a long time the cost of watching a match has risen by only a pound during the last eleven years when sometimes the football was poor. Now the standard is very high, the players fitter than ever plus in my opinion they can all take us much higher! We will continue to offer discounted days for various organisations and also subject to fixtures, we hope to offer a 4 4 3 deal after Christmas. We will never rest on our laurels and continue to improve the Viridor Stadium over the next 5-10 years so whatever level we play at our facilities will not hold us back. The simple fact is the higher we go, the more money we will need, and hope everyone understands we never make decisions lightly and look at all factors.
The great thing about this is if you buy a Season Ticket and they will go on sale on 1st June, you will get a massive FIVE games free, so I urge Peacock fans to get in early and buy your season ticket which will get you a huge 24% discount. You help yourself but you also help the club front load our finances. The season ticket cost shows a discount of £54 for Adults, £48 for Concessions and £30 for Under 18’s.”
Due to the new GDPR regulations, the Club will be contacting all existing Season Ticket holders by post early in June. This contact will include a Privacy policy, GDPR consent forms, application forms for new Season Tickets, details of how to pay for Season Tickets and information regarding the AGM in July. For further information or for supporters who wish to purchase a 2018-19 Season Ticket but were not holders last season, please email finance@tauntontown.com.