Why is English football so expensive and how can it change?

[Josep Dowling]

This week the BBC did their annual cost of football. This found that 90% of fans believe football is too expensive. More 18-24 years old now gamble on the sport than watch live games.

I feel this is a genuine problem for the English clubs. There is a real issue for younger fans and parents affording to go to games. I feel the next generation may lose interest in the game without the ‘real’ experience of going to a game. Where is the next generation of weekly match going fans coming from? Every club needs a core set of local fans who turn up each week.

I believe every team in the Premier League should be forced to sell tickets at a fair price. With the amount of TV money now involved there is no excuse for clubs to be charging more than £20 for a ticket. My local non league club have season tickets that cost more than the lowest priced season ticket for Bayern Munich.

I recently went to Germany. I bought tickets for RB Leipzig vs Borussia Mochengladbach. I was able to buy 3 tickets online direct from the club for 25 euros each. No ‘club member’ nonsense to purchase tickets.

How can we change this problem? That is the big question. Well to a vast degree it is the fans fault because they keep paying the ridiculous prices. I think it’s British culture to moan about something but do nothing about it, and this is the issue.

When Dortmund increased their season tickets one season their entire yellow wall didn’t go into the game until the second half to show what it would be like with no fans at a game. The board listened.

Do others agree or will the next generation pay the inflated prices for the love of their team?

 

[Charles Miller]

In Germany they really want to bring the fans to be part of the game.
If i want to watch my club here(Palmeiras) the cheaper ticket is something like 27 euros.
The clubs here do not want the working class in the new wc arenas.

 

[WackyWengerWorld]

Supply and Demand and free market economics

How can it change? Get Corbyn to nationalise football

 

[Charles Miller]

Supply and Demand and free market economics

How can it change? Get Corbyn to nationalise football

Free market tend to work well everywhere but football and i'll tell you why:
- the ticket prices of your club are not really competing in the market.
If the ticket is cheaper in another club you will compare and get angry, but you can not pick another club to support.
Football is more like a market reserve than free market.

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

United’s cheapest season ticket is 532 quid.

Some people let the German myth blind them, Bayern for example have a huge amount of pricey tickets but like West Ham they have a small number of mega cheap ST’s that distort the price range.

 

[Ecstatic]

In Germany they really want to bring the fans to be part of the game.
If i want to watch my club here(Palmeiras) the cheaper ticket is something like 27 euros.
The clubs here do not want the working class in the new wc arenas.

Wow. It's crazy.

The starting price in Paris (the most expensive city in France) is around 20 euros.

Outside Paris, the starting price is more about 12-15 euros. Children under 12 can have sometimes a ticket for 5 euros.

The cheapest ticket I brought was 5 euros 2 years ago but the view was poor.

The explanation is sample: France isn't a fanatic football coutry

 

[Ecstatic]

This week the BBC did their annual cost of football. This found that 90% of fans believe football is too expensive. More 18-24 years old now gamble on the sport than watch live games.

I feel this is a genuine problem for the English clubs. There is a real issue for younger fans and parents affording to go to games. I feel the next generation may lose interest in the game without the ‘real’ experience of going to a game. Where is the next generation of weekly match going fans coming from? Every club needs a core set of local fans who turn up each week.

I believe every team in the Premier League should be forced to sell tickets at a fair price. With the amount of TV money now involved there is no excuse for clubs to be charging more than £20 for a ticket. My local non league club have season tickets that cost more than the lowest priced season ticket for Bayern Munich.

I recently went to Germany. I bought tickets for RB Leipzig vs Borussia Mochengladbach. I was able to buy 3 tickets online direct from the club for 25 euros each. No ‘club member’ nonsense to purchase tickets.

How can we change this problem? That is the big question. Well to a vast degree it is the fans fault because they keep paying the ridiculous prices. I think it’s British culture to moan about something but do nothing about it, and this is the issue.

When Dortmund increased their season tickets one season their entire yellow wall didn’t go into the game until the second half to show what it would be like with no fans at a game. The board listened.

Do others agree or will the next generation pay the inflated prices for the love of their team?

You need to take account of global cost of life.

Example or Real Estate: the price per square metre in London is much more higher than the price in Berlin

 

[KirkDuyt]

United’s cheapest season ticket is 532 quid.

Some people let the German myth blind them, Bayern for example have a huge amount of pricey tickets but like West Ham they have a small number of mega cheap ST’s that distort the price range.

Bayern's most expensive season ticket is around the same price as United's cheapest though.

English clubs could drop their prices, but why, as long as people pay to come em see play, why drop prices. They're in it for the money after all.

 

[AndyJ1985]

As the cost of living increases I expect the younger generations to lose interest in going to footnall matches. I gave up with it years ago because I refuse to be one of those hypocrites who complain about the cost but still hand over their money.

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

Bayern's most expensive season ticket is around the same price as United's cheapest though.

Nar, it’s about 200 quid cheaper than United’s most expensive.

Hardly a massive difference.

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

I recently went to Germany. I bought tickets for RB Leipzig vs Borussia Mochengladbach. I was able to buy 3 tickets online direct from the club for 25 euros each. No ‘club member’ nonsense to purchase tickets.

Pah, what a strange example.

Watch West Ham v Everton and it’ll cost you 25 quid each, no club member nonsense either.

 

[Charles Miller]

Wow. It's crazy.

The starting price in Paris (the most expensive city in France) is around 20 euros.

Outside Paris, the starting price is more about 12-15 euros. Children under 12 can have sometimes a ticket for 5 euros.

The cheapest ticket I brought was 5 euros 2 years ago but the view was poor.

The explanation is sample: France isn't a fanatic football coutry

They are trying to keep "the average citizen" away of the world cup arenas in Brazil.
In the Allianz Park(Palmeiras), is hard to find a ticket for less than $100 Reais; £26 more or less.
I think only in Brazil/Mexico is that expensive in Latin America.

 

[AshfordLad]

Like London real estate, tts a product with global interest. Foreign fans are willing to fly from far off corners of the world with watching a PL game as the main attraction of their trip. No other league has that sort of customer pull.

 

[Kostur]

The ticket to the CL match we played away against Leverkusen a couple of years ago costed 76 Euros and it's not like it was some amazing view. It's more or less normal.

 

[McGrathsipan]

It's pretty obvious why it's so dear....

Salaries of 100s of grand per player need to be paid.

And more expensive it will get too

 

[McGrathsipan]

Go Google the the cost of American Football tickets and you will feel lucky to be paying what you do to get into Old Trafford.

 

[Jacko21]

Because if tickets were cheaper, clubs would be leaving money on the table.

 

[KirkDuyt]

Nar, it’s about 200 quid cheaper than United’s most expensive.

Hardly a massive difference.

Bayern most expensive is around 560 Uniteds is 950. That's nearly 400 pounds, and Bayern's are by far the most expensive in Germany. If you're a normal person with a normal job you can buy a season ticket in the prem easily, but the difference is silly imo.

 

[M18CTID]

Go Google the the cost of American Football tickets and you will feel lucky to be paying what you do to get into Old Trafford.

Far fewer games in an American Football season though compared to an English football season. Then when you add in CL, FA Cup, and League Cup games you could be looking at attending 30 or more home games a season whereas those watching glorified egg chucking in the States have less than half that number of home games.

 

[2 man midfield]

Supply and demand. United could sell out Old Trafford twice over every weekend. Why would they lower the price?

Until the fans do something, nothing will change.

 

[Catt]

They are trying to keep "the average citizen" away of the world cup arenas in Brazil.
In the Allianz Park(Palmeiras), is hard to find a ticket for less than $100 Reais; £26 more or less.
I think only in Brazil/Mexico is that expensive in Latin America.

Maybe a stupid question but why do they want that?

 

[Charles Miller]

Maybe a stupid question but why do they want that?

They probably assume it will stop violence in the arenas.

 

[M18CTID]

For what it’s worth, fan activism on this issue can work and has been proven to work, even in England. The Football Supporters Federation, along with fan groups up and down the country, campaigned for years for cheaper away tickets through the “TwentysPlenty” campaign. This reached it’s zenith in October 2015 when there was a nationwide weekend of action where fan groups from all 20 Premier League clubs took part. A further weekend of action was planned for March 2016 - it would’ve been the weekend of the Manchester derby and we were already in the process of planning a joint protest with MUST, only to hear to our surprise some days before that the PL clubs had agreed to a £30 cap on away tickets for the next 3 seasons. Not the £20 we were hoping for but still miles better than paying £60+ at some grounds.

It’s a bit trickier to organise a collective protest regarding home ticket prices though and really the only way is for the fans to tackle their respective clubs directly.

 

[Ducklegs]

Its our national sport amd we are a comparatively rich population compared to elsewhere in the world.


Believe me, if other clubs around the world could do it, they would do.

 

[Guy Incognito]

Taylor report, all-seater stadiums, clubs capitalising on commercialism, influx of Sky money, foreign investors...

Can't change because the system won't change.

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

Bayern most expensive is around 560 Uniteds is 950. That's nearly 400 pounds, and Bayern's are by far the most expensive in Germany. If you're a normal person with a normal job you can buy a season ticket in the prem easily, but the difference is silly imo.

Only if you make up the figures.

In reality Bayern’s most expensive is 750 euros @KirkDuyt

https://fcbayern.com/de/news/ticketing/2017/jahreskarten

With that in mind, just think about the amount of Category A+ games included in a United season ticket compared to Bayern’s erm... 1 Category A+ per season.

 

[KirkDuyt]

Only if you make up the figures.

In reality Bayern’s most expensive is 750 euros @KirkDuyt

https://fcbayern.com/de/news/ticketing/2017/jahreskarten

With that in mind, just think about the amount of Category A+ games included in a United season ticket compared to Bayern’s erm... 1 Category A+ per season.

I may have looked up old numbers then, my bad, I stand corrected

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

I may have looked up old numbers then, my bad, I stand corrected

#Fake news

I’d actually argue that United’s 5 Category A+ home games make every class of season ticket except the Bayern lower standing section (impossible here) a better deal.

 

[Cal?]

Only if you make up the figures.

In reality Bayern’s most expensive is 750 euros @KirkDuyt

https://fcbayern.com/de/news/ticketing/2017/jahreskarten

With that in mind, just think about the amount of Category A+ games included in a United season ticket compared to Bayern’s erm... 1 Category A+ per season.

Has anyone pointed out that Bayern play 2 fewer home games than United due to an 18 team league?

 

[VP]

Matchday income is becoming less important for clubs so there's definitely room for prices to be controlled. The problem is accountability - for United, Woodward is more accountable to Wall Street than fans; it's the same for most English clubs.

 

[Needham]

Football fans drive me crazy with their nerdy insistence on never missing a game. Don't go to the match. If the club still doesn't react, don't go to the next one. You complain football is mired in market forces so prove its true. If a sandwich shop started selling plain bread and marge sandwiches (West Brom) for a tenner or even prawn sandwiches (Utd) for 15 quid a pop no one would go and the shop owner would have to react. Stop going and force them to change, the only fan activism that will work.

 

[Sparky10Legend]

Supply and demand. United could sell out Old Trafford twice over every weekend. Why would they lower the price?

Until the fans do something, nothing will change.

That old chestnut, we are not struggling to fill OT per se but we couldn't even do 85k for 7/10 of games.

 

[2 man midfield]

That old chestnut, we are not struggling to fill OT per se but we couldn't even do 85k for 7/10 of games.

Well I'd be going every weekend if I could get tickets. But unless you join a very long season ticket list, or go through Thomas Cook and pay for a match break, you're out of luck. The club sometimes phones me offering tickets, but it's rare. I'd say that demand is surely the reason the prices are so high, we're the most popular team in the world.

 

[Sparky10Legend]

Well I'd be going every weekend if I could get tickets. But unless you join a very long season ticket list, or go through Thomas Cook and pay for a match break, you're out of luck. The club sometimes phones me offering tickets, but it's rare. I'd say that demand is surely the reason the prices are so high, we're the most popular team in the world.

Make a member, apply game by game and you will see what I mean :-)

 

[FCBarca]

Bottom will fall out eventually, even in the US most of the major sporting leagues have seen sharp attendance drops

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

Make a member, apply game by game and you will see what I mean :-)

Well you can’t Sparks, every single game bar Bournemouth has been sold out since a couple of days after the fixtures were released, only chance now is on returns.

United would sell 85,000 to 90% of games. This season has been a nightmare trying to get extra tickets, even for Newcastle last weekend or Brighton this, just look at the ticketing thread if you need more evidence.

 

[Sparky10Legend]

Well you can’t Sparks, every single game bar Bournemouth has been sold out since a couple of days after the fixtures were released, only chance now is on returns.

United would sell 85,000 to 90% of games. This season has been a nightmare trying to get extra tickets, even for Newcastle last weekend or Brighton this, just look at the ticketing thread if you need more evidence.

I take that on board m8 , just in my experience we are truly on the limit attendance wise.

But to be fair what do I know?

 

[Gio]

Free market tend to work well everywhere but football and i'll tell you why:
- the ticket prices of your club are not really competing in the market.
If the ticket is cheaper in another club you will compare and get angry, but you can not pick another club to support.
Football is more like a market reserve than free market.

That's the point a lot of people often miss.

All the clubs care about is the stadium appearing full so that it looks good on TV.

 

[redchamp]

If it's too expensive for you, don't pay and don't go. No-one is forcing you to do so. People have this misconception that they HAVE to go.

If you are that desperate, you need to give up other luxuries / sacrifice in other areas.

 

[andycolegangstainnit]

Prices are set in the free market by supply and demand - everybody knows that. However, as someone pointed pointed out above, because of such fan loyalty the market isn't perfectly competitive - we won't all watch City if they reduce their prices. Therefore, clubs have to take this into account and act with sensitivity.
Overall, I think the prices at OT are fair.

The big issue is in-stadium atmosphere. United have the best away support in the league. I suspect we could take 10,000 noisy reds every week. These guys pay a fortune for their football so ticket prices not the issue for them. What the club needs to do is create a special area for the away Reds - a singing section. Not J stand but the whole lower tier behind the stretty. Make the "away Reds" a priority and subsidise their tickets. everyone else can pay full whack (I'm not an away red just a season ticket holder so not looking for freebies myself)