Good morning all, today the BBC published their 'Price of Football survey', looking at how expensive it is to watch a game of football throughout 10 divisions of British football. The results are somewhat stark in terms of how much a game of football costs for the average supporter in England. The main fact that emerges from it is that whilst England has such large attendances across all of its divisions, it is also the most expensive, by some distance. So what ramifications will this have for the football league, and for Watford in particular? Its no surprise English fans are feeling priced out. Barnet FC are bottom of League team, with a miserly 3 points from 12 games. Yet for this Friday's fixture against Northampton, an adult ticket in the central terrace at Underhill will cost you £16. Barcelona's next home game is at home to Celta Vigo, where the cheapest adult ticket is 19 euros, slightly less than £16. Thus, it is cheaper to watch Lionel Messi than it is to watch Steve Kabba. Nevertheless, it it an ingrained part of English football culture that we so passionate about watching live football that clubs are merely sensibly adhering to the demand and supply principals? In terms of pure numbers, the 2nd tiers of English football is better attended than Serie A. In the 2011/2012 season Leicester pulled in more fans on average than Juventus, Ipswich more than Udinese. Even with the likes of Sneijder, Ibrahimovic and Pirlo visiting, Watford still pulled in more fans on average than 3 Serie A clubs. Going down a division further, League 1 pulls in more fans on average than the Premier Leagues in Norway, Austria, Sweden and Poland. Yet how long can this carry on for? I am 19 years old, and something of an anomaly in terms of supporting a football league club. I know a fair few football fans, yet only one other regularly attends football league games (he is a Millwall fan). The popularisation of the Premier League, especially via its greater exposure around the world with Sky, has disrupted the traditional idea of supporting local team. Friends of mine support Newcastle after seeing Shearer, Liverpool after seeing Owen, Arsenal after seeing Bergkamp and Henry, Chelsea after seeing Lampard. All on TV, not in the flesh. What impact does this have on football league clubs? From the 2002/3 season (as far back as I could find), attendances at Vicarage Road have dropped from an average of 13,404 to 12,710, a fall of 5%. Through our trials and tribulations of the past 9 years, the fans have kept coming back, with a 5% fall not too bad over 10 years. I looked at a random selection of other clubs, particularly those still in the same division as they were 2002/03. Torquay's have fallen 8%, Burnley's has increased by 0.5%. Yet there are greater falls elsewhere, Oldham by over 50%, Tranmere nearly 35%. The larger picture shows falling attendances in football league clubs around the country. Whilst us at Watford seemed to have not taken too large a blow, clearly other clubs are. The simply fact is too many stadiums aernt filling out anywhere near as much as they should. Falling attendances then must surely mean ticket prices should be slashed? Apparently not according to those in the know. Dangenham and Redbridge's managing director has done the sums, and has calculated that when attendances of away fans make up a large percentage of the crowd, it is more profitable to keep prices up to maximise income So what is the answer, looking 10-20 years ahead? It seems there is no long-term plan in the Football League if prices are still increasing. With Sky having recently signed a £3 billion deal with the Premier League, its going to encroach more and more on the incomes of the football league clubs. Higher priced tickets is not the answer in the Football League, at clubs like Watford, as it will eventually squeeze out more and more fans, unless promotion is attained (average attendances were above 18,000 when we were in the Premier League). Clubs may feel a short-term shortfall, some, like Dagenham, may even go into administration. However, in the long term it is important to keep attendances up. If you get fans through the gate, they will buy merchandise, programmes, food and drink, and will keep coming back as opposed to being turned away due to a lack of funds. More families will become part of the football family, with the breadwinners feeling able to afford more than just themselves. More fans will stay in love with football outside of the Premier League, and in the long-term future the Football League should be financially a more sustainable organisation.
Everyone sould follow the German model of fan friendly clubs run with help from the supporters. When some lower leagues clubs cost more than the Premiership champions to get a season ticket for you have to wonder what the men in suits want from football...just the money or a full stadium of passionate suppoters?
Some good clear thoughts there emiatss, but maybe the issues over costs get clouded when you read about the approach that Brighton are taking. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19977215
I went to see Sporting Lisbon play Man City in the Europa last Season and the ticket cost 26 euros. A good price and notwithstanding the fact City got beat 1-0, we all came away feeling we had value for money. Value is relative but I do think that the tciket price at the Vic could be reduced if only to encourage bigger gates. That's just a time old selling principle. Good article.
Good post emiatts. In this country we often seem to accept higher prices for many things than they do in Europe or the States - electrical goods, DVDs etc spring to mind
If the experience of the Emirates is anything to go by, it is also true that raising prices changes the profile of the majority of the crowd. How many parents with children along the Holloway Road can afford season tickets at £1,000 a go? Yet Arsenal used to have a very local crowd. I went once because Mrs H's son is a fan and the middle tier was still empty 10 minutes into the second half, still supping complimentary drinks and watching on TV no doubt. As far as WFC is concerned, it's anybody's guess. Success on the pitch is a big factor but I doubt if there's much room for manoeuvre over pricing. A significant increase would surely reduce the crowd numbers further. It's interesting to ask yourself the question "Do I have a limit beyond which I'm unwilling to pay?" I probably pay as much in petrol as I do for my season ticket, but I keep renewing it both because I enjoy the football and because of the pub chat before the game. If it was £50 a game I might have second thoughts...but then it's hard to give up a habit of 30 years' standing
Theo, I agree there's not much manoeuvre over pricing at Watford, that is unless you take a risk. Here's a thought, if at a normal home game of say 11000, 5000 supporters have paid £26 for a ticket. The revenue from those 5000 is £130000 which is not inconsiderable. If the ticket price was reduced to £20 the revenue would drop to £100000 so a net loss of £30k. To recover that loss 1500 extra punters would have to buy a ticket at £20. The risk is would they? There is always a probability either way but it could be that the lower price, if advertised and marketed well, could attract more than 1500 thereby increasing profit and attendance. Win win.... WY, don't think we have the cheapest tea, that goes to Accrington Stanley chuck...
Not sure if it is correct, but I did read that the game on Saturday is almost sold out. Cheap prices?
I always keep an eye out for this survey, mainly to compare season ticket prices. For the record our cheapest day out is £17.60 (£22.60 if people really do turn up to an expected home sellout hoping to get a ticket for 50% more than everyone else paid). If the Bedfordshi*e Based Corporation have got the figures right for their favourite club, that makes our cheapest game either £4.90 cheaper or 10p more expensive than "theirs". That's shocking when you think about the level they're playing at.
Your response is top notch, it is a great response to a huge debate. The Prem is out of control on so many levels, I am not sure what future it has or if even has long term sustainability. At least we are trying to have a tighter financial control of things. As for Watford, it is not cheap but it could be a lot worse.
