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Cost Of Football Review


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The prices released by the footballing authorities make for some interesting reading, especially when we hear how dear football is in England. Granted some of these figures maybe due to the money being thrown into English football but has to beg the question, are we still trying to keep up with our neighbours down South.

 

According to the figures:

 

Motherwell and St Johnstone sit 4th Equal on the price of the cheapest season ticket at £310 with only Dundee, Celtic & Aberdeen (in that order sitting higher) above us

 

Motherwell also sit as 4th Highest on the dearest season ticket at £410 with only Rangers, Celtic & Hearts (in that order sitting higher) above us

 

Looking at the prices for the top two divisions and obviously not including travel, I have selected teams that season tickets fall between our cheapest and dearest and surprisingly found that we could get season tickets for 13 clubs in the EPL and all bar two in the Championship

 

Cheapest season ticket Dearest season ticket Lowest single ticket Highest single ticket Motherwell £310 £420 £19 £27 Burnley £329 £580 £30 £40 Crystal Palace £420 £680 £23 £45 Everton £420 £680 £35 £49 Hull City £252 £612 £9 £33 Leicester £365 £730 £26 £50 Man City £299 £900 £35 £58 Middlesbrough £397 £646 £30 £39 Stoke £294 £609 £25 £50 Sunderland £350 £505 £25 £35 Swansea £419 £489 £35 £45 Watford £385 £650 £36 £42 West Brom £399 £509 £25 £39 West Ham £289 £1,100 £25 £80

 

In the Championship only Brighton and Norwich have tickets priced higher than highest priced season ticket

 

So the question isn't are the English fans getting value for money, it's are we?

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We don't get value for money, haven't for years and years.

 

Sad truth is English clubs in Premiership and Championship can charge lower than expected for season tickets as they get an absolute bucket load of TV cash and we don't. Our ticket prices are needed to ensure the clubs survive.

 

Championship clubs get £7million each in TV money per year (plus the £59million parachute payments over four years for anyone unlucky enough to be relegated!) We get £15m total between all leagues and that is horrifically skewed with the Old Firm taking the large chunk of it.

For me, the English Premiership have absolutely ruined football for everyone else. They have had a more detrimental impact than Bosman, Sky TV, Champions League, BT Sports, etc. I used to think Sky having to put their subscription up to £70-80 per month would cause folk to leave in their droves causing an implosion of administration and liquidation in the EPL. Now, with BT on the scene I don't imagine it will. As Openreach owns virtually all phone lines in the UK, they can ramp prices of line rental up to help them outbid Sky - have already seen a 40% jump in cost since 2010 - and must folk will have to pay it to access their sub-standard broadband. Definitely the worst act of Thatcher's nationwide privatisation!

 

And if somehow they go tits up, there would be plenty of offers from Arab Emirates, America and China. They are now as big a brand as the World Cup in terms of finances, putting the Champions League to shame. No doubt in my mind that come renewal time in 2019, they will be getting another massive hike on the over £8billion three year deal they already enjoy and ultimately ensure that we are very unlikely to see value for money in the game ever again.

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In terms of season ticket prices I guess we'd be somewhere around the level of an English League 1 club. Prices for beverages and grub tend to be considerably higher in the English leagues. Don't forget that these clubs, including those in the English lower leagues, are benefitting from very lucrative TV deals.

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In terms of season ticket prices I guess we'd be somewhere around the level of an English League 1 club. Prices for beverages and grub tend to be considerably higher in the English leagues. Don't forget that these clubs, including those in the English lower leagues, are benefitting from very lucrative TV deals.

 

The full table of results is available via the link below and you're completely correct season ticket/match day tickets are, on the whole, comparable with Leagues 1 & 2 in England indeed the £19 lowest matchday ticket at Fir Park isn't that far off National League prices (Aldershot £17, Dagenham & Redbridge £18, Lincoln City £18, Tranmere £19).

 

Given that the English Premier League and Championship are among the most lucrative sports leagues in the world (as Well Up For It! points out) it's hardly a fair comparison especially as Scottish sides will be much more reliant on season tickets and match day income.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/37953195

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This wasn't aimed at a dig at the club and I wasn't trying to compare finances, as I pointed out I am aware of the money going in there.

 

I was more surprised at the season ticket prices of those leagues and the fact that there were 13 clubs in the EPL that offer a better value (on the field) on their cheapest season tickets than our dearest. I was equally surprised at the fact only 2 Championship Clubs season tickets were above our dearest.

 

I think with the amount of complaining that you hear from the English media about price of tickets at an EPL or Championship game as being extortionate. On a game by game basis maybe but there are some good deals to be had, if you are willing to pay for a ST. at West Ham for instance at £289,you are getting some deal, I'd imagine after about 11 home games you'd be quids in and getting entry to the rest for free and that's Premier League games against the likes of Man U, Arsenal, Chelsea etc.

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The table does make interesting reading for comparison purposes but I think it only takes into account Adult prices and therefore does not provide the full picture. It does not appear to bring out all relevant factors. For instance, at MFC us old farts get a sizeable discount on Season Tickets and PATG at aged 60, whereas at most other Clubs the discount does not kick in until age 65. So better value there right off.

 

Excluding kids tickets does not give MFC credit for initiatives such as a free juvenile season ticket with adult season tickets (even the discounted over 60's). So better value for Parent/Grand Parent and Child as well. Also MFC issue juvenile season tickets at £80 up to age 15 whereas Everton (as an example) list juveniles as up to only age 11.

 

Basic adult tickets may not be the cheapest but perhaps the Club in trying to promote the "Family Club" aspect took a decision to concentrate on ways to facilitate the younger fan in attending matches.

 

If the media wants to identify questionable ticket pricing, they need only look at some of our matches away at Dundee United where the full adult price was charged for all visiting fans, irrespective of age. I'm sure there was lots of comment on this site at the time.

 

As to whether any price would provide value for money given the performances this season, well that's a whole different debate.

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I was more surprised at the season ticket prices of those leagues and the fact that there were 13 clubs in the EPL that offer a better value (on the field) on their cheapest season tickets than our dearest. I was equally surprised at the fact only 2 Championship Clubs season tickets were above our dearest.

 

I doubt there are any EPL teams with a full stand priced lower than the East.

 

It's more likely to be restricted view or a limited number of cheap deals for PR purposes.

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Quote! I think with the amount of complaining that you hear from the English media about price of tickets at an EPL or Championship game as being extortionate. On a game by game basis maybe but there are some good deals to be had, if you are willing to pay for a ST. at West Ham for instance at £289,you are getting some deal, I'd imagine after about 11 home games you'd be quids in and getting entry to the rest for free and that's Premier League games against the likes of Man U, Arsenal, Chelsea etc.

 

The £289 ST probably a result of them stealing the stadium.

 

Slightly off topic but for me more revealing was the gap between PL and SPL average wage structures. 150k and 2.5m. and thats including Celtic.

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are we?

For me without question the answer is no. Football is overpriced mainly due to the lack of entertainment on offer. I don't get to as many games as I would like to, however, the ones I have attended have been dire and akin to watching paint dry on the East Stand steps.

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The problem for me is, if we put up season ticket prices, as far as I can see, it will only make some people think twice about buying one, and once they decide to not buy, the chances of them coming back are pretty slim. So this just makes the problem worst. To survive the club have to either put up prices again or offer less salaries for players.

It would be nice to think, that they could reduce prices by 5% and gain 10% more punters, but I won't hold my breath.

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i also gave up my ST a few seasons ago due to family commitments and now only attend games very sparingly

 

it does pain me to pay in, but that's probably down to having a ST for over 20yrs but its just not VFM, especially when I was charged £12 for a 2yr old who ended up sleeping for about an hour

 

I watched the highlights last night of the thistle game and could not believe how sparsely populated the east stand was - our numbers must be going down and down

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i also gave up my ST a few seasons ago due to family commitments and now only attend games very sparingly

 

it does pain me to pay in, but that's probably down to having a ST for over 20yrs but its just not VFM, especially when I was charged £12 for a 2yr old who ended up sleeping for about an hour

 

I watched the highlights last night of the thistle game and could not believe how sparsely populated the east stand was - our numbers must be going down and down

 

Surprisingly the attendance on Saturday wasn't far off the first home fixture against Thistle last season (Craigan's first game in interim charge). 204 down which given the publicity surrounding the road closure, weather, Dundee result etc is less than I was expecting it to be.

 

26th September 2015 - Motherwell 2 - 1 Partick Thistle att: 3,963

19th November 2016 - Motherwell 2 - 0 Partick Thistle att: 3,759

 

Edit: I noticed on Thistle's forum folk moaning about the cost to get in. One guy saying for him and 2 kids it ended up costing £41.

 

I know the club do a family ticket for £29 but it seems fairly ridiculous to have that offer with a juvenile ticket effectively costing £6 then doubling that if you happen to have a 2nd kid with you. I noticed that Thistle have a flat £5 entry for under 16s. Surely that makes much more sense? https://ptfc.co.uk/tickets-matchday/help-for-away-fans/

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Surprisingly the attendance on Saturday wasn't far off the first home fixture against Thistle last season (Craigan's first game in interim charge). 204 down which given the publicity surrounding the road closure, weather, Dundee result etc is less than I was expecting it to be.

 

26th September 2015 - Motherwell 2 - 1 Partick Thistle att: 3,963

19th November 2016 - Motherwell 2 - 0 Partick Thistle att: 3,759

both games were sub 4000 then - compare that to the 2002/3 season, both games against Thistle were over the 6k mark - overall im sure that means less home fans but less away fans will have travelled too

 

going back 5 years before that, I bet the figure would've been around 7/8000 - the east stand used to be packed for "normal" games, you used to have to even queue for a piss!!

 

numbers are dwindling, we are losing fans right left and centre - I don't know what the answer is but we have definitely lost a generation of fans. How do we get them back? Cost is important, very important but it's not the only issue we have

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both games were sub 4000 then - compare that to the 2002/3 season, both games against Thistle were over the 6k mark - overall im sure that means less home fans but less away fans will have travelled too

 

going back 5 years before that, I bet the figure would've been around 7/8000 - the east stand used to be packed for "normal" games, you used to have to even queue for a piss!!

 

numbers are dwindling, we are losing fans right left and centre - I don't know what the answer is but we have definitely lost a generation of fans. How do we get them back? Cost is important, very important but it's not the only issue we have

It's not just us either.

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The less people that go to a game the more they need to put the cost up to balance it. The more they put the cost up the more they price people out of going. It's a cycle that will only end in 1 way, empty stands. The club(s) need to start thinking outside the box and fast. It's easy to loose fans, very difficult to persuade them to come back.

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In Clubs efforts to play the family card, ours in particular, they've totally dismissed what made up the majority of the fan base and that is men aged 16-50 going with their mates. We've maybe gained a few families who go on a regular basis, but have lost hundreds, thousands even, of the core support. A fact that no Club in Scotland seems willing to accept.

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