Making the BPL better

[Maysun]

Let's list and discuss on how we can make this tournament better. Not that it is going to heard and heeded to by the committee but at least we can know where the pitfalls are.

To give everyone a chance to weigh in with their input, let's have a rule where a member shares only a point. Don't want one single member to come forward and share all the problems in bullets which may make it dull and dreary. We can then extend on that point or work with it, if need be.

Let me start. Every franchise should have a home venue.

Fire away!

[Vepu]

there must not be any payment issue this time or it is end of BPL

[Murad]

We don't have home venue for Rangpur and Barisal. Transportation is another issue. Not enough time to travel to Barisal via Ferry.

Plus Sylhet is under renovation for T20 WC 2014. That's why no games in Sylhet this year.

We can have home venues for CTG, Dhaka, Khulna. Sylhet, and Rajshahi(Rajshahi stadium ta kemon?) only.

[Maysun]

Originally Posted by Vepu
there must not be any payment issue this time or it is end of BPL

I would like to add something to this. If they fail to meet the deadline, a hefty fine should be imposed on the franchise.

[Vepu]

Originally Posted by Murad
We don't have home venue for Rangpur and Barisal. Transportation is another issue. Not enough time to travel to Barisal via Ferry.

Plus Sylhet is under renovation for T20 WC 2014. That's why no games in Sylhet this year.

We can have home venues for CTG, Dhaka, Khulna. Sylhet, and Rajshahi(Rajshahi stadium ta kemon?) only.

we can use bogra stadium for rangpur home matches. and its a shame that we dont have quality stadium at barisal

[Rifat]

uhmmm, here's a start:

Pay your workers their wages before or at least when it's due. Do not make commitments you can't keep. is this rocket science or what?

the rest should follow suit

[Maysun]

Originally Posted by Murad
We don't have home venue for Rangpur and Barisal. Transportation is another issue. Not enough time to travel to Barisal via Ferry.

Plus Sylhet is under renovation for T20 WC 2014. That's why no games in Sylhet this year.

We can have home venues for CTG, Dhaka, Khulna. Sylhet, and Rajshahi(Rajshahi stadium ta kemon?) only.

We can use stadiums of the nearby cities like Vepu said. And regarding transportation, here is my 2cents, we don't need to have a jam packed schedule.

[fuadomar]

Dhaka took, Saqlain Sajib who will not be able to play. Such a waste!
Dhaka took, Soumya Sarkar - who will get little chance.
Chittagong took Rubel Hossain but not playing him.

Is there any way to make the balance?

[ReZ_1]

Bogra can be the common venue for raj and rong, from next year with sylhet coming in.

[crikss]

No high profile coaches even showed up this year...strange!!

Bevan, Jones, Law, Robin Singh was there in last year BPL

[NoName]

Foreign management, cause obviously ours is a fail. At the same time solve most of our problems stated.

[Vepu]

Originally Posted by NoName
Foreign management, cause obviously ours is a fail. At the same time solve most of our problems stated.

what about hiring modi? but again BCB should not mess with BCCI now

[Rinathq]

BPL Ticket Pricing Strategies

Since the start of Bangladesh Premier League last year, the committee has failed to attract the crowd for most of the regular games. T20 tournaments are usually exciting and full of entertainment for the crowd with all the power hitting and clever bowling. The duration of T20 games are short enough for most of the social class to enjoy. Tournaments like Indian Premier League and Big Bash have successfully managed to draw in the crowd and that is the very reason why these leagues are more successful than BPL.
Now, if this was Zimbabwe or Sri Lanka or West Indies, than it would have made sense. However, Its Bangladesh, a country of almost 160 Million people! It is a total marketing and strategic failure when BPL cannot draw 10-20 Thousand spectators for a T20 game. Specially when cricket serves almost like a second religion for a large number of the population. Now, some argue that it is due to the lack of stars which prevents a large number of followers. However, the crowd turnout would be higher if Bangladesh played Ireland or other associates. Because we are a cricket loving nation and we want to see our players in action from the venue. However, as a developing nation, pricing is a big factor and if it does accommodate the lower and middle class of the country than the system simply won’t work.
In terms of BPL pricing strategies, there are flaws and errors. Not only are the ticket prices high, they are locked. That means there is no progressive pricing system. I am going to share some ideas that I think would make BPL more successful in terms of crowd turnout.

Usually, the start of the season is a “slow” start for most tournaments. Specially for BPL because the crowd don’t know what to expect or whether the money they spent is worth the entertainment they receive. So the season openers should be priced lower. BPL needs to bring the crowd in and show them what this tournament has to offer. Once an individual sees the attraction of something, they go out of their way to pursue it. But a glimpse of that attraction needs to shown in order to create that desire and hunger. As a result, a cheap opening week could be an effective way to draw more crowd. As the tournament progresses, the ticket prices can be adjusted according to the demand for it. This is the most basic concept of Pricing and Demand.

Another effective way to draw more crowd is through price rush. When we see a limited availability of a discounted product, we panic. Let’s saw, BPL is setting 10 Thousand tickets for a particular stand and they plan to sell it for 500TK per ticket. Now, an effective marketing and pricing strategy could draw the crowd. Let’s say, the first 3 Thousand tickets are sold at 200TK, the next 3 Thousand at 400TK and the last 4000 Tickets at 600TK. This not only ensures the 6000 Tickets that were sold on sale, but also gives the benefit to those who purchase early. I think BPL Committee would agree that 6000 tickets sold at cheaper price will be better than 2000 tickets sold at regular price.
Another strategy is to lower the ticket prices of the games where the home team is not participating. If there is a game between South Africa and New Zealand at Dhaka, obviously the crowd tournout would be lower a match between South Africa and Bangladesh. So why should that be different for BPL games? It does not make any marketing sense to have the same ticket price for a game between Khulna and Rangpur in Dhaka. Lower the price for these neutral games to attract more crowd and the results will be positive.

Speaking of neutral games, suppose the games are scheduled at Khulna for a certain period of time. If tickets are sold at Dhaka for those games, it should be cheaper to reward them and encourage them to travel the distance to watch the games. It’s not a yearlong tournament. BPL only takes place for a month and with this pricing system, BPL management can expect some die hard cricket fans to travel across to watch some crucial games.

Last but not least, almost every sporting league has the luxury of selling season passes. This crucial concept has been missing in BPL. Out of 150 million people, there are thousands that will watch every single game and if they can obtain a season pass at a lower price, they will happily pay a handsome amount at the start. This ensures an increased crowd turnout for all the games. It is basic consumer nature to go for a large quantity of a product when the benefit of doing so is shown effectively. It also brings better revenue. Imagine selling 10 Thousand season passes. That would boost the revenue even before the tournament begins!

There are other strategies but the ones mentioned above are the basic ones and almost all of them ensures a better crowd turnout and an increased revenue from ticket sales. The current ticket prices are simply too high and the lack of options and discount have kept a lot of spectators away. In order to raise the price of something, you need to show them a trial first. When an individual sees a full house match from TV, that person will have a higher desire to enjoy the match from the stadium. An empty stadium discourages spectators.

Bangladesh is a country of diehard cricket fans. BPL needs to respect that and give them the opportunity to enjoy the tournament at a lower cost. It’s the fans that can make a tournament lighten up and exciting. These tournaments are organized for the fans so they need to accommodate the fans first.

[Rifat H]

Channel 9 has hired some of the most worst commentators for BPL 2. Last year there was Danny morrison and Pat symcox . Please bring some good commentators !!!

[Isnaad]

Decrease the ticket prices. I have been to the stadium yesterday and barely 5000 people are showing up. Lower the price and the number of people flocking in will exponentially increase!

[Hamlafan]

really surprised at people who are calling for home venues. I want to know Dhaka Gladiators home is in DHAKA, if so why are less people coming in to watch them?

[Vepu]

Originally Posted by Hamlafan
really surprised at people who are calling for home venues. I want to know Dhaka Gladiators home is in DHAKA, if so why are less people coming in to watch them?

do you know how many international matches been played in mirpur in last 4 years? more than any other ground all over the world. on the other hand none in bogra/rajshahi or sylhet. only few in khulna. Use your freaking brain god damn it.

[Hamlafan]

Originally Posted by Vepu
do you know how many international matches been played in mirpur in last 4 years? more than any other ground all over the world. on the other hand none in bogra/rajshahi or sylhet. only few in khulna. Use your freaking brain god damn it.

did you not understand my point, if the people of dhaka not willing to see Dhaka Gladiators, u expect people to come and watch for other team's in the home stadium?

Did u know sylhet is not yet ready and if it is, BCB say's its not, to be honest I would be happy becuase Sylheti are crazy for cricket, anyday they will support sylhet. but for other team's I am not sure if they will actually come to the stadium.

[Mauryan]

Rajshahi and rangpur can share stadium and barishal and Khulna can also share one. Also the games need to be promoted in a way where local people will feel pride to go and support their city team instead of just going to watch foreign players play "quality cricket". Personally i feel foreign players should mean little to fans. Living in uk im saying this because of how football has evolved here beacuase even league 2 attracts more crowds every week then this bpl. One last thing jerseys should be sold as merchandise all over the country allowing people to feel part of their team.

[Vepu]

Originally Posted by Hamlafan
did you not understand my point, if the people of dhaka not willing to see Dhaka Gladiators, u expect people to come and watch for other team's in the home stadium?

Did u know sylhet is not yet ready and if it is, BCB say's its not, to be honest I would be happy becuase Sylheti are crazy for cricket, anyday they will support sylhet. but for other team's I am not sure if they will actually come to the stadium.

he khoda dori na thakle tena falao. ami tai baia uitha jamu

[cricheart]

I hate to state this fact that, PCB backed out from BPL, has damaged the league in a big manner regarding crowd pulling. Especially Khulna & Rangpur are literally got boycott, affecting the whole league quality and will continue this till the rest of the matches before knockout stage. These two are likely to deliver a lot of one-sided matches, not worth spend money watching such games even it is 50 taka per ticket. I like the suggestions made by Rinathq, but while top star performers are playing for DG, making 2 consecutive 200+posts, like Hamlafan says even DG not having suporting spectators from locals are just due to not much buzz of compititions among four teams that performs per day. Public needs extra entertainment here, IMO fireworks, band-show, music, lighting, advertise, more media coverage i.e. mobile/internet, hell yeah even some fixed matches are needed here. We still have to witness how other venue gets response yet, so some hope are still there. I'm sure after the league stage, knockout stage will be exciting to watch in full-house appearances.

[MohammedC]

Should have 2 separate auction, one for home grown players and later one for foreign recruit. Every team should have at least 15 Bangladeshi players ready 2 months prior to BPL.

Total squad member should be at least 22 to 24

[PoorFan]

BPL needs good oversease pacers and batsman, we have good spinners, quite a few good batsman but definitely needs good pacers to make the competition attarctive. The crowd will be there if the competitiveness is assured.

[ReZ_1]

Originally Posted by MohammedC
Should have 2 separate auction, one for home grown players and later one for foreign recruit. Every team should have at least 15 Bangladeshi players ready 2 months prior to BPL.

Total squad member should be at least 22 to 24

I completely agree with this. Infact this bpl is for the bangladeshi players. This will also help the franchisers to balance their team with foreigners once they know about the locals.

[BANFAN]

Originally Posted by Murad
We don't have home venue for Rangpur and Barisal. Transportation is another issue. Not enough time to travel to Barisal via Ferry.

Plus Sylhet is under renovation for T20 WC 2014. That's why no games in Sylhet this year.

We can have home venues for CTG, Dhaka, Khulna. Sylhet, and Rajshahi(Rajshahi stadium ta kemon?) only.

They can still Use Barishal Airport ... And a nights journey by steamer would be perfectly enjoyable for the players... Besides, there is a helicopter service available ... Even Road to Narishal doesn't have any ferry after Aricha...if you want to, tere is always a way.