Ticket Prices in English Football are Criminal.
Lets be Rafa Benitez for a Minute, Lets Talk About the Facts.
Lets take a look at season ticket prices and have they have changed from the year 2000 to 2010 to this season. First we'll look at the 'big 6' teams in the Premier League: Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspurs and Manchester United.
Manchester City: 2000/01 season £170-£220, 2010/11 season £425-£745, 2024/25 season £675-£915.
Liverpool: 2000/01season £190-£410, 2010/11 season £615-£780, 2024/25 season £685-£890.
Arsenal:2000/01 season £400-880, 2010/11 season £985-£1955, 2024/25 season £875-£1900.
Chelsea: 2000/01 season £240-£575, 2010/11 season £595-£1250, 2024/25 season £675-£1150.
Tottenham Hotspurs: 2000/01 £420-£850, 2010/11 season £880-£1170, 2024/25 season £960-2150.
Manchester United: 2000/01 £175-£540, 2010/11 season £530-£950, 2024/25 season £775-£990.
Just reading some of these numbers makes me feel sick. Forget how good or bad these football teams have been over the past few years. Paying these prices to watch any football is outrageous and to me it is nothing short of exploitation. This is a ticket for 19 home games a season. Some fans will have done this for years and some for even decades. It is the heart and sole of their week to go and watch their team play. I've heard in some conversations that a few people aren't able to go and watch their team play any more. They had been going for years and years but now enough is enough. The prices of tickets have just gotten too high and they can't afford it any more.
When you look at how much prices have gone up on average from the average season ticket price at a club it is around 200%-300% in 25 years. In 25 has the average salary gone up 200%-300%? So how are people going to afford their tickets? they're only able to go if they skimp and change how they spend their money in other aspects of their lives. These fans are showing great loyalty to their clubs and what are they getting back? "Oh your season ticket is going up another 10%-20% for next season. Cheers!"
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Are These Prices Only For The Top 6 Teams?
Yeah Right... Listen to This.
In the 2023/24 season, Aston Villa qualified for the Champions League for the first time in a long time. It was a long time. For over a decade, Villa hadn't played in Europe since those Martin O'Neil days. Their fans hadn't seen them play against the European giants such as Real Madrid or AC Milan. Some fans weren't even born the last time their team played in a European competition. On their first time back in the big league how does the club celebrate with the fans? They list their ticket prices at £85-£97 for adults. That's per game by the way.
How can this be allowed?
Say for example you're a family of 4. Mum, Dad, son, daughter. The average you're going to pay in 'Zone 2' at Villa Park is £30 each for under-18's and £94 each for Mum and Dad. That's a total of £248 and that's before you've done anything. Not including that travel, food & drink or any merchandise to remember the big game.
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How often are teams like Newcastle United and Aston Villa going to get into the Champions League these days? This season Nottingham Forest look like they have a good chance of qualifying for the Champions League next season. When was the last time they faced any of the European giants in competition? The Brian Clough days? Then parents are being forced to pay around £250 on tickets for their family.
What is Creating These Sky Rocketed Prices?
To me this is down to the owners of football clubs now. Our football clubs in this country and no longer owned by rich men from the area of that football club who have ties with the area or the club. It's no longer and family owned business by one of the fans. In todays game, our clubs are owned by international wealthy businessmen and women. To them, our pride and joy are a business and that's how they run them. At the end of the day it's all about the cash and the bottom line. Is the club turning a profit at the end of the financial year.
Owners like Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, Fenway Sports Group, The Glazers, even the owners of the teams further down the league. How many of them do you think have a close affiliation with the club? The club is a business and if it was good for business to sell and leave I don't think they would hesitate.
Most of the teams in the Premier League are owned or part owned by Americans. When we look at American sports and the prices of the tickets there, maybe we can see why tickets in England are becoming so expensive too. For example, in the NFL regular season in 2024 the average adult ticket price was $130 (£104). The average price for a single NBA adult ticket in the regular season is $94 (£76). If you wanted to go to a baseball game last year in the MLB it would cost around $85 (£68). This is for one regular game. If you wanted to go to a play-off game or a finals game the prices sky rocket to $2500+.
I feel this is the way football is going. These clubs; especially the top 6; are being made into franchises. They have poster boys and girls and they are advertised on a global stage to create the highest amount of revenue and the fan doesn't come first.
Isn't This The Way All Football Ticket Prices Are?
Germany is one of the countries where fans can stand and watch football unlike many other countries. This makes ticket prices lower as they can fit more people in. Another thing the German football association and clubs believe in is that sport; including football; needs its fans and it doesn't need to squeeze every last penny out of them.
Looking at the top two teams in the Bundesliga; Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund; their season ticket prices are the equivalent of £200. You may have heard of "Fortuna for all" when hearing about Germany football this season. Fortuna Dusseldorf are a Bundesliga 2 team who are planning to have free tickets for all fans in 3 of their home games this season. They are trying to arrange a sponsorship deal that will cover the cost of fans tickets for the next 5 years.
This could work out to be a brilliant concept and bring great atmospheres to the stadium. If it was to be taken up in England's top flight, would it be a negative, cause security issues and more tickets would be given to sponsor executives and corporate suits or would it be a positive giving the opportunity to people who wouldn't normally be able to attend a football match at the top level. In my mind this should definitely being trialled before it is brought to a top league even though I see a lot more positives than negatives. If anything, a price cap needs to be brought in.
The 3pm Blackout.
The Premier League TV deal is worth £6.7 billion and is showing more games than ever. We're decades away from only being able to watch the FA Cups final on TV. Now you can watch some time 6-7 Premier League games per weekend. On top of that there is usually on average 5-6 Football League games on TV a week. Most popularly on Sky Sports or TNT 270 games a season are shown. However, since the 1960's no football game has been shown between 14:30 and 17:15 on a Saturday afternoon. This was brought in to protect the attendance numbers at lower league stadiums.
For the lower league teams around the big Premier League teams, their attendances can be affected depending on if the games overlap each other. For example, in Leeds, fans of Leeds United may go to watch Harrogate Town when Leeds are not playing. If the two West Yorkshire teams have a game at the same time, more fans will choose to attend Elland Road. Even more so, if Leeds United are on TV at the same time as a Town game, the attendance at The Exercise Stadium. I think this could have an effect on ticket prices across England.
If TV companies came together to show all Premier League games at a reasonable price, I think ticket prices would come down too, and then attendances wouldn't be as effected.
All in all, the ticket prices for football games in this country is scandalous. I don't understand how any owner of any football club can feel comfortable charging the average fan so much to go and watch his or her team play. Fans can show immense loyalty to their football club and what is repaid to them after showing decades of support? Ticket prices that are unaffordable in the long run. Things need to change. How come fans can come together and stop the Super League from being created within 48 hours of it being announced? I really think if fans came together again to protest this, the owners would quickly realise that the game is nothing without the fans.
And long live Billy Connolly!
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