A most interesting survey has appeared on BBC Sport today â these are some of the key elements. Comments, please in the thread! The average cost of the cheapest adult ticket in the top four divisions of English football has risen by 11.7% - more than five times the rate of inflation. The BBC Sport Price of Football survey found that the average price of the most affordable ticket in league football has gone from £19.01 to £21.24 in the past 12 months. The survey looked at 166 clubs in 10 divisions across British football, including the Blue Square Bet Premier and Women's Super League. The figures show: ⢠Only two out of 92 English league clubs offer a day out for less than £20 this season. Last year it was 12. ⢠In Scotland, 21 of the 42 teams across four divisions offer a day out for less than £20. ⢠The most expensive adult matchday ticket is Arsenal at £126 and the cheapest £6 at Montrose. ⢠Arsenal also have the most expensive season ticket at £1,955, while Montrose's was the lowest at £90. ⢠In the Women's Super League, matchday adult tickets range from £4-£6, with season ticket prices between £22-£40. ⢠The most expensive tea in British football can be found in Manchester, where both City and United charge £2.50. The cheapest costs 50p at Alloa and Brechin in Scottish Division Two. ⢠Kidderminster, in the Blue Square Bet Premier, charge the most for a pie at £4, while the cheapest is in Scotland, where Alloa, Albion and Forfar charge just £1. ⢠Leeds United sell the most expensive programme in Britain at £4, while Inverness CT's is the cheapest at 50p. Arsenal's cheapest day out (£34.30) comes in exactly £100 cheaper but it is Newcastle who offer the Premier League's best value day out, with a ticket, programme, pie and cup of tea coming in at £23. Arsenal once again come out on top with their cheapest season ticket (£985) costing more than all but three of their Premier League rivals' most expensive equivalent. Wigan offer the Premier League's cheapest season ticket (£255) with Manchester City (£275) close behind. Scottish third division side Montrose offer the cheapest season ticket at £90. Kidderminster Harriers, of the Blue Square Bet Premier, sell the most expensive pie in British football at £4, although the club says the product is a large, homemade cottage pie. Full report: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19984968
Interesting to note that despite being in (terminal?) decline, 1p5wich still have the audacity to charge up to £42.50 for a match day ticket - the dearest in the Championship by some margin. (Wolves and Sheff Weds are £30) Plus scary that cheapest season tickets at Norwich are only £60 less than Old Trafford - and £150 MORE than Newcastle!! The other thing that grates on me is people whinging about the cost of a frickin' meat pie! Christ, the match only lasts two hours, have something before you go or when you come out, FFS
This tells me I can (theoretically) watch a match at the Emirates for £26 (£4 less than at Carrow Road). Means next to nothing in reality since the answer to the question "What's it going to cost me to watch that particular match on that particular day?" will almost certainly be very different (if I can get a ticket at all that is).
there's a good article on the ipswich board about this. worth a read... http://www.not606.com/showthread.php/174348-There-s-a-f-ing-surprise
Just found this which is even better, an exact price list for EACH premier club on every aspect. Not many people seem to have seen it yet, got a bit covered up! - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19842397
I'm lucky my family pay for my season ticket otherwise I would be stuck with watch Cambridge United every week!
the first thing that stands out to me is the enormous gulf in price between two clubs in the same city - liverpool and everton. how on earth do liverpool justify their prices??? they are farcical.
It's not just how watching football compares from club to club - it's the also comparing how the cost of watching football compares to say ... going to a gig or another event. Depending who you go to watch but a set from a headline act can last say 90 minutes to 2 hours (similar to a football match at 90 minutes) and ticket prices vary enormously according to band, venue, etc. I've got tickets to see Thin Lizzy in Nottingham priced at £34 and tickets for Rush at Birmingham LG Arena priced at £65 (Rush will play for three hours mind) - therefore prices for a game at City sit somewhere between the two for similar time that you are "entertained". Other events which I go to such as Truckfest and the Royal International Air Tattoo offer better value on a "pound per hour" basis as they are all day events with ticket prices around the £20 mark for Truckfest and £40 for RIAT so football has to compete with other areas where we can spend our expendable cash, and post Olympics other spectator sports such as cycling, athletics and swimming will no doubt offer better value in terms of cost so football, despite it being our "national game" and the sport we all love most, can't keep treat it's punters with a nonchalant view and keep stealing fivers out of our wallet indefinitely. See you all tomorrow
The other thing about your point, OCF, is that you know you'll enjoy Thin Lizzy (RIP Phil), so it's a guaranteed good night out. The problem with football - or any sports event really, is that you stand a chance of getting tonked (Craven Cottage, anyone?) but the cost remains the same regardless of the result and any joy/pain that goes with it.
I was a guest at a 21st birthday party the other day. The young man's father stood up to make a speech, and began rhetorically with "What do young people need from their parents in this day and age?" Before he could launch off into pompous remarks about love, understanding, friendship etc., a resigned male voice piped up loudly from the back: "MONEY".
Interesting to see that the cost of a prgramme is pretty much unifrom in the Premier league and championship at between £3 and £3.50. I would have thought some of the bigger clubs would have been more than happy to coin in more actually
They justify it by filling their ground every match. It is a business so why cut prices when your ground is full every week? Prices went up 12% last year - will crowds drop 13% this year? No! So why reduce prices? Football is no longer just a sport - it is big business and like every other business the rule of supply and demand applies. My son is an Arsenal supporter and has been on their waiting list for a season ticket for 4 years. Arsenal are one of the highest priced clubs yet you can't normally get a match ticket and they fill the ground every match in any competition - they even had a full house for the League Cup tie with Coventry. How can you argue that their pricing policy is wrong? Football supporters cannot have it all ways. They want to see better players but that pushes up transfer fees and wages and the cost of that is passed onto the supporters. If clubs cut wages to cut admission prices the players would move on to other clubs that haven't - probably abroad - and if the standard of our leagues dropped then the same supporters who were demanding a price cut would be the first to stop going. I know that one of your pet hates at the minute is the £30 being charged for the Spurs game. You are convinced that they will only get 10k at the game - I think you are wrong and they will get between 15k and 20k but the simple business point is that anything over 13k at £30 per head is financially better than a full house at £15 per head. I'm afraid that it is simple business logic - wages, transfer fees and admission prices will continue to go up until attendances fall by a larger percentage. Don't often disagree with you Supers but I do think that on this issue you are wrong.
Incidentally guys - whenever i look for a thread covering an issue of interest about the game in general rather than related to the club iself there always seems to be one on your board and the discussion's usually pretty good. Nice one
You're right, but ... I'm actually a Royals fan! But true, this is one of the very best Not 606 boards for worthwhile discussion...
I can't really disagree with you there, but thanks for the kind words. After Eddie Howe quit Burnley for Bournemouth last week, I visited the Burnley forum to gauge reaction and .......there wasn't any. 1 new thread and about 3 comments in the last month Ours (NCFC) is as probably as close to the old BBC 606 as it's possible to get - except our Mods are far more draconian than Auntie Beebs were
um, i wasn't having a go at liverpool for doing it because as you say, people pay it. i was just stunned at the difference in price between two teams in the same city who generally have little between them on the pitch these days (i'd argue everton are the better team)!
I hereby pledge to never again abuse our wondrous mods. I hereby pledge to never again abuse our wondrous mods. I hereby pledge to never again abuse our wondrous mods. I hereby pledge to never again abuse our wondrous mods. OK it's a bit Bart Simpson-esque but it always seems to work for him
