TSG's cheap tickets plan for Knights
The Tinkler Sports Group (TSG) has revealed its strategy to win over Knights supporters in the Hunter - "the best value" sports tickets in the country.
Wednesday's announcement was intended to influence any unconvinced Knights members regarding TSG's takeover bid.
TSG, led by mining magnate Nathan Tinkler, said it would allow families to purchase tickets to Newcastle's NRL home games from $5 per person for reserved seating and $3.75 per person for general admission.
The initiative, announced just eight days before members will vote on the future of their club, will only come into effect should the bid receive a 75 per cent majority on March 31.
"It makes it the best value ticket of any professional sporting organisation in the country," TSG executive chairman Ken Edwards said.
"One of the core promises that we're going to deliver on is making sure that as many families, and as many children as possible, can get along to support the Knights."
"We want to make this a family-friendly club, an affordable club, so that we can have 30,000 people there every game."
"It's something that we've done with the Jets (A-League club), it's not something that's new and it demonstrates again our commitment to the community," he said.
The ticketing deal would potentially become available to the general public from the match against the New Zealand Warriors on May 13 at the newly developed Ausgrid Stadium.
In a bold plan, TSG also revealed it intends to boost the club's membership base from its current 6,000 to over 20,000 in 2012, should it acquire the Knights' NRL licence.
But Edwards refuted claims of overconfidence surrounding the announcement, instead seeing it as an opportunity to reveal TSG's philosophy to the public, particularly the voting members.
"I don't think it's presumptuous," he said.
"It's about being open, honest and transparent to members about what we intend to do."
"We certainly don't think this is over the line. We have a lot more to do, a lot more people to talk to.
"We're concerned that some members might think that it is such a good deal that they don't intend to vote because they think it will get over the line."
"We need members to think about what we're doing, we need them to vote."
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