Cash fears as fans desert United

HASTINGS United's majority shareholder Dave Walters has admitted the club "would be in trouble" as a result of declining gates, if it wasn't for alternative revenue sources.

The drop in attendances came to a head on Tuesday night when the 165 paying customers at the 1-1 draw with Molesey constituted the lowest 'crowd', if that's the appropriate term, for a league match that the club has attracted since entering the Southern League as Hastings Town in 1985-86, according to secretary Tony Cosens.

"We've budgeted for around about 250-300," Walters said. "Three-hundred to be on the safe side. For a town the size of Hastings (comparable in population to Coca-Cola Championship leaders Wigan Athletic) it's not great.

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"I couldn't say how much we've lost but we're a good 600 under the gate budget alone. And that's only money through the turnstile: it has a knock-on effect on the tea bar, burger bar and the bar itself. In one breath we're talking about paying money for a player - (they have received no reply to their four-figure offer for Steve Harper) - and that's the response we're getting.

"I dropped the ticket prices last year and it didn't work. I don't think that makes much difference. What I'm trying to do is bring in as much money from elsewhere as I can, and if it wasn't for these things we would be in trouble."

But Hastings are most certainly not alone in their suffering. Excluding clubs who have entertained AFC Wimbledon, United actually possessed the second highest average attendance (266) in the division behind the Dons prior to Tuesday's match, leading Walters to wonder "how on earth do the others survive"? And he added that attendances have "gone down, if anything" following the close season non-league restructuring.

Walters also feels that "the powers that be obviously don't care" because games continue to be scheduled on nights when live Champions League football is being broadcast on terrestrial television. He did, however, confirm that there are no plans "at this stage" to reduce the playing budget as a consequence.

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Walters, meanwhile, has blasted an "offer of sorts" from Wimbledon for leading scorer Carl Rook as "pathetic" and says he "feels sorry" for the subject of the enquiry. The runaway leaders of Ryman Division One haven't offered any money up-front, rather a pre-season friendly prior to the start of next term from which both clubs would receive half of the gate receipts.