As part of the new Fan Engagement Framework, the club provide open sessions for supporters to give their views to the club on various topics.
The latest ‘Your 90 minutes’ session about Memberships was held online to give more opportunity for people from outside of Leicester to be involved. It was hosted by Supporter Liaison Officer, Jim Donnelly, supported by Louise Hollingsworth. The Trust’s Co-Chair, Steve Moulds (SM), attended on behalf of the Trust.
It was established that the current membership numbers are:
- 11,066 adult;
- 4,101 junior 7-17;
- 576 junior 0-6;
- 930 international.
Home Tickets for Members
The availability of home tickets on average is around 3,200 per match. These are distributed throughout the stadium with 1,000 tickets regularly available in the family stands P2 and P3, and the other main availability usually being in the Kop (except SK1), and blocks H and K of the East Stand.
All returns from Season Ticket Holders (STH) are put on sale to members first. However, there has not been a significant take-up of the ticket exchange scheme.
Away Tickets for Members
Two percent of the away allocation is reserved for the members’ ballot i.e. 60 tickets for a 3,000 allocation. There is no longer an international ballot.
Other Benefits for Members
Opinions were sought about other benefits membership should include.
All agreed ticket discounts. Tickets to three games in the Championship last season had been offered at discounts to members. The club were considering if this could be offered for certain fixtures this season but no decision as yet.
Other suggestion made were:
- Regular and/or exclusive communications from the club.
- Discounts in the club shop on merchandise are still key.
- Ballots could be better managed so that tickets are more evenly distributed to members.
- Better engagement, with members involved more in the narratives around the club. It is understood that Everton, Man City and Wolves all make more of their relationships with members. Regular contact is important to make members feel they are part of the club.
- Good quality merchandise is important.
- Redeemable vouchers offered in association with other providers e.g. local dining, club merchandise, NCP parking, access to televised matches, rail travel discounts, hotel points.
- Providing a channel for International Members to contact the club to secure tickets if they are making long journeys.
- Involving members in the club’s strategy for membership e.g. does it secure becoming season ticket holders when the stadium is redeveloped, and/or better opportunities for matchday tickets in the future.
Membership Packs: It was agreed that they were probably more important for junior and international members, along with an initial welcome pack for new adult members. Junior pack pricing should be maintained at half the cost of adult packs.
Events for members (and STH): Things that could be considered:
- Family, kids or adult days at Seagrave
- Outreach meetings around the county, away from KP
- Fans Advisory Board open meeting with STHs and members
- Online video conference for troubleshooting digital ticketing issues with regular updates
- Fan Zone at the KP for members and/or STHs
All agreed that the membership was still just about value for money and compared favourably to the costs at other Premier League clubs.
Other matters discussed:
Home Tickets available on General Sale: The next two home fixtures against West Ham and Brighton would go to general sale. By way of example, the following ticket availability for West Ham is: 200 in East; 200 in Kop; 200 in West; 900 in Family; 100 in P&P1.
Travel: The club and others usually arrange around 15 coaches to away matches when a full allocation is taken up. This only represents 15% of traveling fans, so 85% are travelling by other means. It was agreed a national rail card for fans should still be sought after.
Leicester City Women: A lot a work is currently being undertaken on women’s match audiences, new promotions and plans to increase attendances – so watch this space!
Player signing sessions: A charge of £10 is made for people attending these sessions. This covers the cost of a special card with the signatures on.
This approach has been adopted because too many fans were turning up at events, bringing several items to be signed, including shirts, and then selling these on eBay for profit. A combination of the numbers turning up, and people wanting several items signed made it difficult to ensure all supporters had an opportunity to engage with the players. It was hoped that a £10 charge would make it more exclusive and manageable.
Myth Busting and Better Information: The narratives and information that circulate on social media need countering with clearer, more accurate messages from the club.
For example, how tickets can be obtained on general sale without having to pay for membership. How to avoid digital membership card and ticketing issues because too many fans are still having issues with user errors on smartphones.
If you have any further thoughts on how the LCFC Membership scheme could be improved, we want to hear your ideas. Please contact steve.moulds@foxestrust.com
If you want to attend a ‘Your 90 Minutes’ session watch out for announcements on the Official LCFC website like this one for the Membership discussion. Although only three supporters joined this meeting it was still a worthwhile exercise providing a range of information and views.
More information:
See an example of Everton’s ‘Members Exclusive’ pages – Members Exclusive: Pickford’s Goalkeeping Masterclass – Everton Football Club
Wolverhampton Wanderers and their Membership Schemes – Wolves Memberships
Manchester City and their Membership Schemes – Manchester City F.C. Official Memberships | Buy Memberships – scroll down to ‘Compare Man City Memberships’ Leicester City Membership Schemes – 2024/25 Fox Memberships & Match Ticket Prices