Outside90’s Tom Batten discusses the high price of tickets nowadays and urges the clubs to look after their fans.
An adult ticket to sit with Stoke City fans at Villa Park would cost you £41. Fans of all clubs are now being encouraged to engage in a nationwide protest against the cost of Premier League tickets. A demonstration is likely to be held outside Villa Park on game day and should include both sets of fans.
Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness once said: “The difference between £104 and £300 is huge for the fans (but not for us) … Football has got to be for everybody. That’s the biggest difference between us and England.”
Arsenal charge their fans almost £104 for one single game. The Germans showed their class on the pitch when they defeated Arsenal 3-1 on aggregate in the 2013-14 round of 16 of the Champions League.
Arsenal have the most expensive season ticket in the league with the cheapest one costing around £1,000. The Gunners are infamous for having extravagant prices, with a matchday ticket valued at nearly £100. Stoke City actually have one of the cheapest season tickets in the league, with a price of about £600.
However, this protest is focused on coercing the Premier League clubs to reduce the cost of their away tickets. Usually the away team receives a certain amount of seats in the stadium and can set the prices at any reasonable value. The Football Supporters’ Federation, who will be organising the rally, believe that away ticket prices are too high. The campaign is titled ‘Twenty’s Plenty’ and aims to persuade club owners to reduce the cost of tickets for their travelling fans to £20.
After a year of poor crowds, the Australian Football League (AFL) had to think of something to bring the crowds back to the grounds. They decided to base the whole year around the fans and their slogan was ‘You Make the Game’. They also made children’s tickets on Sunday games free and allowed fans to go onto the ground after some matches. This was a good idea as it increased average crowds for the season. If the Premier League clubs do not want to reduce prices, they should think about offering something extra to the fans such as free food vouchers or an opportunity for kids to meet their favourite players.
The TV rights deal is becoming bigger every year and clubs are receiving more money from it. This should translate into cheaper tickets. Despite this, clubs and the league seem to be increasing prices or keeping them the same as last season when they actually should be decreasing it. However, this is unlikely to happen as Premier League considering clubs are also a business for their chairman. While people are still selling out the Emirates or buying tickets to see Liverpool at Anfield, prices will not be changed. Nonetheless, some people cannot afford these expensive season tickets and fans are starting to hate their own club.
If the fans want the chairman to listen, they have to speak up about the expensive prices. In other countries, football connects the fans. Supporters of English football need to put rivalries aside to stand up to the owners of these clubs. Fans should also ask for more out of their season ticket and review whether they are worth the money paid.
So when you stand in the terraces of your favourite stadium, supporting and cheering your favourite club, remember that you are the consumer. Ask not what you can do for your Premier League club, but what your favourite club can do for you.
If you do decide to protest in any way, Outside90 strongly recommends doing so in a legal manner.
What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90 and like us on Facebook.
