catcherintherye
Player Valuation: £80m
It's a smart play to be honest. If I was advising, I would say maximise semi premium over boxes.
You get to squeeze at both ends. There are probably layers of the existing fanbase who can and maybe would be willing to fork out extra for fantastic view, spacious seats with comfortable extras. We've never tested the market, and I sense the club to some extent are stuck in the view that all Evertonians are scousers existing in the 80's bubble, but it's moved on a fair bit. Liverpool is a thriving city, with lots of problems with poverty but also a lot of wealth.
You also potentially get to pick off people who might want the added extra's but don't like the box stuffyness. I think for me, as a football fan, I couldn't hack the box at all, wearing a suit, no club colours, no singing or chanting. Give me a half way line seat, that is wider and more comfortable and a bit of decent normal food anyday over that!
I also think companies are going to be pulling back from boxes a fair bit, and the government will increasingly close loopholes that allow them to offset tax against it. Semi premium is the way to go. I know Liverpool got some terrible stick for it, but it was more how it was handled, and the fact that they just tried to magically change a bit of an existing stadium into it, so it was a con. If you set out from day 1, to be very clear about what it is, it becomes a lot easier. (I know some reds who were suddenly told their ST had basically doubled, for almost the same thing, but were just going to get a pie at HT).
Bayern do similar when I went to the Allianze. All the best seats front couple of rows 2nd tier, and in and around the half way line were semi premium. It's the best vantage point and it's a good idea to make it abit special.
