Nottingham Forest: Stefan Borson claims fans don’t have the money to attend games – ‘It’s a big issue’
Nottingham Forest are facing a “big issue” selling out the City Ground following their recent ticket price cuts.
That is according to former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider Forest are reliant on local fans turning up for every game.
It comes after the Reds were forced to slash their ticket prices twice for last week’s Europa League last-16 tie against FC Midtjylland.
Prices for adult members and season ticket holders initially started at between £50-70, but they later fell to between £15-30.
Forest lost the game 1-0 following Cho Gue-sung’s late strike, leaving Vitor Pereira’s side with an uphill task ahead of the second leg on Thursday (19 March).
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Forest are fighting for their Premier League survival alongside their ambitions of progressing in Europe.
The Reds’ struggles to fill the City Ground don’t bode well for their plans of expanding the stadium’s capacity from 30,000 to more than 50,000.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson discussed Forest’s issues selling tickets for the clash against FC Midtjylland, where the attendance was recorded at 29,502 following the price cuts.
“There’s a big issue with oversupply of matchdays with a product that’s okay,” said Borson.
“A lot of the time it’s not brilliant, and there’s a limit. People just simply haven’t got the money, especially in Nottingham where the vast majority of the stadium is local fans and not tourists.
“You don’t have the ability to be able to sell 5,000 tourist seats. Not that the core fans want that anyway, but from a business perspective, you would want that. You did have it at Spurs when they had Son. You do have it right now at Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City.
“They do have big tourist contingents right now. You’re not going to get it in Nottingham, I’m afraid, generally.”
Why Nottingham Forest fans are losing interest
Borson insisted it’s no surprise fans are losing interest due to the amount of games and disappointing performances on the field this season.
“You have to have a core fanbase that’s going to turn up every week and are going to buy those tickets,” said Borson.
“It’s not a surprise that people are just out of money and they’re out of interest.
“They don’t need to be in the stadium for every single game, where you’ve got 60 games a season now if you’re in these European competitions.
“A lot of the games are not that attractive, so I don’t think it’s a surprise.”
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