Edinburgh season tickets

First topic message reminder :

Anyone know how they are going? RDW - you seem to have contacts at Murrayfield. This will be the acid test of the interest in Scottish rugby and if the tickets don't sell well, we are in the poop because if anHC semi (that sounds a bit rude actually) doesn't work, I don't know what will

By grizzled veteran I didn't mean "old", merely someone who had say 5-10 years as a coach and was stolen from a club where he was currently coaching - so still up to date with the game.

The way you say it though, I suppose Back would be worth a shout. He was a total as a player though!

Looks like we've been ahead of the game - Edinburgh forwards coach will be announced tomorrow!

Back confirmed as forwards coach

http://www.edinburghrugby.org/news/edinburgh-news/4245-world-cup-winner-named-forwards-coach

Although hated him as a player (partly cause he played for England) he's got an solid coaching background and should bring a lot to the forwards.

I think this is a great move, the guy is a proven winner, and while he might have been on the wrong side for much of his playing career, he's had some good coaching experience. Really hope that he and Bradley can find a way to work together to take this young Embra side to the next level

Gonna start a new thread on this to get other people's opinions other than ours!

RDW_Scotland wrote:Gonna start a new thread on this to get other people's opinions other than ours!

That's dangerous. Cue debate/raging arguments as to how much more "world class" David Wallace and Martyn Williams were than Neil Back....

I'm gonna take a hard line - any Welsh/English/Irish bickering is going to be instantly removed!

So back on topic; anyone know how sales are going? Or do we have to wait for the open night to get some news? Checked the site yesterday and that's showing 500 roaming tickets sold, excludes the fixed seat ones and I don't know if that includes those bought by phone, post, ticket office walk up.

They are saying sales are going well but the lack of numbers males me think it's nothing spectacular. At a very minimum we should be selling more than last year!

Glasgow season ticket sales are up 500% on last year, apparently.

At this time of the year, they've not sold 5 tines as many total as last year! I'm assuming that's what you were meaning??

Yes, a 'same time last year' comparison - this from his Reidness in the Herald:

Early season-ticket sales rise 500% as Glasgow settle in at Scotstoun
Published on 28 June 2012

Alasdair Reid

After a season in which the team reached the play-offs of the RaboDirect PRO12, Glasgow Warriors officials expected a surge in supporter interest, but even they have been taken aback by a 500% increase in season-ticket sales compared to this time last year.

With the new competitive season still more than two months away, the figure represents a remarkable development in a city where fans have been fickle about following the side. Glasgow's most recent home game, against Connacht, drew a crowd of 5374 supporters to Firhill; five years ago, the attendance at the corresponding match was just 1574.

The uptake in season tickets is also a vote of confidence in Scotstoun Stadium as the club's new home. While a number of fans originally expressed concern about the move from Firhill, Warriors' chief executive Nathan Bombrys yesterday revealed that a series of open-door events at the stadium had gone a long way towards allaying any fears.

"We've had close to 1000 people at our open days," said Bombrys. "Generally, there was a very good feeling and I think I only heard two people say they were unhappy about Scotstoun. Firhill served its purpose as our home ground and it had a good atmosphere, but I don't think anyone is very nostalgic about it. It's not as if we were playing there for 25 years."

As of yesterday morning, 1130 supporters had already purchased season tickets. The number is 10 short of the record set during the 2010-11 season – when Glasgow had also reached the PRO12 play-offs in the previous campaign – but that mark is likely to be passed by some distance in the weeks ahead.

However, Bombrys was quick to put the figures into context. "We wanted to double where we were last year and we're on course to do that," he said. "We're really pleased that we've taken a significant step forward in terms of tickets and revenue but we must have perspective too.

"We have to remember that we're competing with Leinster, the top-ranked team in Europe, three times Heineken cup champions. They have 13,000 season-ticket holders and that brings in €3m. We've got a long way to go yet.

"Having a winning team is number one. There's a feeling of hope turning into expectation in terms of next season with the players we have retained and the recruitment. Also, having the sevens here was a great showpiece for the stadium. People know that it won't be like that from day one for the Warriors, but it could be like that in time. Everyone at Glasgow Warriors is motivated by the possibility we have to achieve something that's never been done before – winning a major trophy."

Glasgow have lined up August pre-season fixtures away to Exeter Chiefs and at home to Sale Sharks. However, because of pitch preparation works, the home match will not be at Scotstoun. While the competitive match programme has yet to be finalised – fixtures are typically released in early July – it is also understood that the Warriors will be playing away on the first weekend of the PRO12 campaign in order to give their new playing surface more rest time.

On the playing front, the majority of the squad are now well into their pre-season preparations. Of the club's new signings, only Angus MacDonald, Tim Swinson and Byron McGuigan have clocked on at Scotstoun as the others – Tonga's Viliami Ma'afu, Canada's Taylor Paris and Scotland wing Sean Lamont – have all been tied up on international duty.

The Scotland players who returned from their successful summer tour a few days ago will now enjoy four weeks off before joining up with their Warriors colleagues late next month. However, coach Gregor Townsend confirmed that all are fit and are expected to be available for the start of the new season.

Following the controversial removal of Sean Lineen as head coach, Townsend was the focus of interest at recent supporters' evenings, but he appears to have done a decent job of winning over doubters to date. As he has pointed out previously, though, the real test will be on the park.

Townsend said: "I am very much enjoying the job. Just getting back to coaching has been good as there had been a gap since the Six Nations. It means long days and long evenings because there is so much to review and plan. It certainly feels different when you're head coach.

"But I know there are huge challenges and responsibilities. The job is a really tough one. If you thought hard about the responsibilities of managing 50 people, then it would be pretty daunting, but I've enjoyed being in charge.

"In my first week here we had a meeting with the supporters. We laid out 150 chairs and over 200 turned up. There is a real excitement about the season. The supporter base has grown over the past two years and there's a sense of connection with the players. There's a buzz about seeing the team playing at Scotstoun now."