Ticket prices won't do that. The on-pitch performances will (increased TV, ad money) . The one thing that a home crowd does for the above is the "12th man" effect. You want a crowd who are thinking about lifting the team for 90 mins first, about the ticket costs second. You see only too well at the Library what happens when the converse happens. People who can afford to go but treat the club like a consumer product and not a passion, and toxicity once on-pitch performances drop causing spectators to question what they are paying for.
It doesn't make for comfortable viewing. But the point about City is ridiculous. They received the Etihad as a free gift up there with the HMRC Arena for its corruption and corner-cutting. And they are funded almost totally illegally by a sovereign state. If Boris Johnson and Seb Coe had given us our new stadium for free I doubt tickets would be so expensive.
An average increase of £200 across the stadium nets an extra £12m per year. You're right - that isn't a huge amount but it is enough to cover interest on the hefty loans we've taken out and prevent them from spiralling out of control. Is also enough to sanction a modest raise of the wage ceiling. I've seen it mentioned elsewhere that the 21,000 reasonably priced tickets already exceed the number of equivalently priced bracket at WHL. Isn't that a good thing? It seems that much of the moaning is about new waiting lists and distribution of prawn cocktailers in the South stand.
Would be interesting to know how much the final costs really went up from the 400m figure (I doubt that was a finger in the air measure) at the earliest construction start date, over the period that the Peoples republic of Haringey / Boris et al were effing about on everything that pushed out the start date proper.
1. As a % of capacity, what is the figure for "reasonably priced" at new WHL vs that of old WHL ?? 2. The "prawn cocktail" stuff angst (numbers, distribution) for the south stand is fair comment.
And feel the gooners pain, the Tottenham train, drive maureen insane, lone may we reign, chavski are slain, wengers a stain to name but a few.
Looking at the new stadium again!........was it just yesterday that me and a couple of other kids in my class got fed up with metalwork and slid out of school to watch Spurs training.Well we reached the ground.....and a bloody school board man caught us and walked us back......and me a prefect too! We got put under the clock and had to stand there until going home time.......and I kept my badge! OOOHHHH! Spurs! What had you done to us......?
That was the point I tried to make above - your version was clearer!! I fully appreciate that any increase is unwelcome - and the multiple affect for families is going to have a bigger impact. But if attending Spurs games is your priority and you're otherwise able to attend (geography / work commitments etc), I'd be surprised if finding an extra £300 per year would stop me - not in order to have access to the best stadium in Europe watching one of the best Spurs sides in living memory. As a kid I was at every home game from 69 to 75 and the majority of away games. From 75-85 I was a season ticket holder (Park Lane ). After that, life, wives and travels intervened....... Living in Ireland now, I cannot afford to commute over for every game. £/€ exchange rate changes post-Brexit saw those expenses alone rise by 30%. So I'm just grateful that with the increased capacity then hopefully there will be more seats available for occasional visiting fans like myself. Maybe there are financial/business ethics questions raised by this price hike, but if I was living closer I would certainly give up the equivalent of a Starbucks Chocacino Latte every week to pay the increase. Shouting at the telly just ain't the same Love to y'all, mind
Standing "under the clock"???!!!!! Was that a punishment in your school as well, Smithy????? I thought it was only in the harsh regime of the school that had the privilege of my attendance!!!!!!!!! [In our case, it was just a few steps from the Headmaster's office, and if he came out and saw you there, he was quite likely to take you in and give you the cane if he was in a bad mood. He was almost always in a bad mood. Consequently the pools of (mostly) sweat under the clock must have given the cleaners extra work at the end of the day!]
Talking of rhymes, at the moment I'm struggling to find one or two for "Stamford Bridge": any ideas, anyone?!
