Club Finances

Mansfield Town are bringing forward KO of a forthcoming fixture from 3pm to 1 pm in order to save on power cost.  I presume this is mainly regarding floodlighting.
Is this something that more clubs should be doing?
Around a decade ago I asked a club official whether the cost of powering floodlights had a financial impact.  The answer was that the cost was not significant.
Presumably, that situation has now changed dramatically. I wonder whether the increased power costs in the darker days ahead (in more ways than one) should lead to some re-scheduling of fixtures?

Trouble is the earlier you start the earlier the away team has to set out. Ok perhaps for the likes of Dulwich and Hampton with their low mileages over the season, not for Taunton, ourselves, Chippenham, Dover. Midday kick offs in Kent and Essex would probably require us to travel on a Friday - money saved in electricity will be offset by hotel bills and increased transport charges.

Good point!

Rather than have lots of businesses and institutions agonising over the impact of individual decisions on whether to alter timings to save on energy etc etc, it would genuinely be easier and more sensible for the country to just abandon the idea of switching the clocks back an hour in October - if only just for one year.

Obviously it won't happen, as the country is too wedded to tradition (and it would mean those in the far north going to school in the dark). But it's disappointing that there hasn't been more genuine consideration of the idea. So instead it's back to the potential disruptioon caused by all sorts of groups, businesses, institutions etc all making individual decisions around changing the tims at which they do things - and a probable lack of consistency as a result.

I have never understood the children going to school in the dark justification. We went to school in the dark because it was a long way on the bus. We thought nothing of it.

In terms of the environment I suppose you could say that if earlier KOs lead to less away fans travelling, that could be deemed a good thing. Also, with the cost of living crisis the non travelling away fans would save their pennies.

BenE wrote:I have never understood the children going to school in the dark justification. We went to school in the dark because it was a long way on the bus. We thought nothing of it.

I suspect it's to do with the fact that the level of road danger kids face has increased significantly in recent decades.

So rather than make it easier and safer for kids to walk or cycle to school, we instead just tell everyone its too dangerous - and continue to do and allow the very things that make it so dangerous You have to despair sometimes. Though we digress

I understand the cost of lighting is not significant but there is sometimes pressure on us to tidy the pitch quickly after the game so the lights can go off

Discussed by the EFL today. Decided against widespread changes to ko times as not much appetite for it. Reasons were similar to those given in this thread.
Exceptions though during World Cup to avoid clashes with England games.