Source: Bournemouth_Echo
Cherries: Sly targets South End for increased revenue
DIRECTOR Steve Sly insists Cherries are keen to break down the barriers that put people off attending matches after coming up with a scheme aimed at boost¬ing attendances.[LNB] Despite a strong start to life back in League One, Cherries have had disappointing crowd fig¬ures during the early part of the season.[LNB] The last match at Dean Court saw a crowd of just 5,501 turn out for Cherries' 3-0 victory over Dagenham and Redbridge, a drop on the attendance when Eddie Howe's men thumped Peterborough United 5-1.[LNB] With the club wanting to bring in more punters, they last week announced a new initiative aimed at key workers and members of the Armed Forces.[LNB] The promotion, open to NHS staff, firefighters, ambulance ser¬vices, coast guards, RNLI, police and Armed Forces personnel, will start when Cherries host Carlisle today and continue for the home clash against Exeter on Tuesday.[LNB] Key workers will be able to attend for £10 in the club's new Seward South Stand, while they can also bring a guest for the same price, and up to two chil¬dren at £2 each. By showing iden¬tification, the key workers can gain admittance by paying on the gate. Sly, who came up with the latest scheme, told the Echo: "I think the targets have got to be in the South Stand. Unfortunately, it's uncovered, but that's why it's cheap.[LNB] "There are a lot of key workers out there, they haven't got a lot of time to book things in advance and they don't know what their day is going to bring.[LNB] "A lot of them are on call, so we want to make it easy and user-friendly for them to turn up at 2.55pm, pay a tenner and walk in the gate.[LNB] "Where football has advanced so much with the ticketing, market¬ing and data capture, it seems to have missed a trick on actually helping people get through the gate."[LNB] For further information on tick¬ets, contact the Dean Court club shop or ticket office on 01202 726338 or visit afcb.co.uk.[LNB]
