Yorkshire Announce New Membership Details

Headingley
By JMB
October 12 2006

Yorkshire chief executive Stewart Regan has unveiled plans for a five tiered membership structure for the 2007 season. Regan said "It is about simplicity and value for money. People can now pay for what they want to watch."

Regan added "Some people are not necessarily turned on by four-day cricket, or they can't get to games, so we have devised a low-cost one-day membership. Like last season, traditionalists will not have to pay for Twenty20 matches they don't want to watch, but we now have a category that covers all types of cricket."

Yorkshire are hoping that this new membership structure will increase its membership base from the current number of 6,500.

The new membership categories are as follows: -

- One-day members will pay £80 a year and will gain admittance to scheduled matches in the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy, the Pro40 League and the Twenty20, but not matches in the County Championship.

- Regular membership, which includes all scheduled fixtures except those in the Twenty20, costs £130, a rise of £5 on 2006.

- A new membership category costing £150 that provides entry to all of Yorkshire's published fixtures including Twenty20 matches (but not including a possible Twenty20 home quarter-final).

- The international package costing £275, which includes all scheduled county fixtures and addmittance to all Headingley international games. All other membership categories will be offered priority booking for international matches as before. Yorkshire are exploring the possibility of offering refunds or exchanges for those who cannot attend, say, a particular day of a Test.

- A new membership category called Associate Member will cost £60 and is designed for infrequent vistors to Yorkshire matches, usually those Yorkshire fans living out of the county. These members will not gain free entry in to the ground but once inside they have paid for entry they will be able to use the members' facilities. This package also includes priority booking for international matches, a 'supporter pack' of a cap and car sticker, and a subscription to the club magazine.

All membership categories provide discounts for students and OAPs and the club will be desptaching details to existing members next week with the membership renewal forms.

Yorkshire are phasing out the complimentary second membership cards that had been available to anyone who joined the club before 1999. The county is introducing an 'associate partner' membership, costing approximately 75% of the full price in each category. The 'associate partner' must be a spouse or a life partner living at the same address. Regan admiited "There will be reaction to this. This will be the most emotional change, but it is a key change. It had been open to abuse. People would give their seconds cards to friends and colleagues. There was no way of checking people's addresses, to make sure they were partners. It was effectively a 50 per cent discount – I know of people who would buy one full membership and split the cost. There were 3,500 'second members' this year, and I'm hoping this change will give us a significant revenue uplift."

An excellent new initiative introduced means that the club will allow free admission at Championship matches to primary-school children, if accompanied by a responsible adult. Regan said "We are trying to attract a younger audience. We want kids to come here after school or on Saturdays."

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