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Town Carrying Out Ticketing Review - Ipswich Town News

Town MD Ian Milne says the club are carrying out a review of ticketing with season ticket numbers and overall attendances having fallen this season.

The Blues lost around 1,000 season ticket holders in the summer, while Saturday’s crowd of 15,042 was the lowest for a league game since the 14,953 recorded at the Blackburn match in December 2013.

Both games will have actually been watched by fewer fans with season ticket holders counted in the attendance figure regardless of whether they are at a match.

"At the moment we’re looking at the whole ticketing fabric as a separate project,” Milne told Saturday’s Life’s a Pitch on BBC Radio Suffolk.

While he accepts Town’s performances have certainly had an impact, he says other factors have also played their part, including pricing with tickets at Portman Road among the division’s most expensive.

"There are other forces that we’ve discussed where people are distracted with other types of sport, where they can see our game about half an hour afterwards and get a replay of the highlights,” Milne added.

"There are various things where we compete with. There are issues on pricing we need to look at and we’re having a thorough review on that.

"That’s where my side of the field can improve things. But I fully appreciate it’s what happens on the pitch that’s the important thing.”

He added: "There are things we can improve on, not just to do with the attractive football or lack of attractive football, and that’s what we’re looking at. And certainly those under 20 or 23 we’re looking at to see how we can improve things for them.”

He says the issue of ticketing will come up in his monthly review with owner Marcus Evans.

"We have a review with him every month where we got through the facts and figures, the attendances, ticketing,” the MD continued.

"And [part of] that conversation will be that attendances will fall off if the football is not attractive, so this is a good time before the transfer window for me and Mark Andrews, the [financial director] here, to talk to Marcus to say, ‘This is where we are, this is where we’re going’.”

He added: "Certainly Marcus is not stupid, he knows what’s going on and we reinforce the message.”

Milne says Town’s up and down season has been frustrating for everyone at Portman Road: "Mick and Marcus are frustrated with the consistency, as Mick has said.

"The players want to improve, we know they give 100 per cent on the field and we’re going into a very busy period of the season, so the pressure is on them and on us to improve and I hope fans will bear with us while we go through these difficult times.”

Regarding January business with a striker to replace Daryl Murphy top of the wish-list, Milne added: "Marcus and Mick have said they’re going to look again when the transfer window opens in January, and that’s what they’ll do.”

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