Fan Power & The Spiraling Price of Match Tickets
Today Chelsea released news that they will again be raising the prices of some tickets for next season. On their own the price hikes aren’t too intriguing, but it’s reflective of an industry that seems to have no problems in relentlessly boosting ticket prices in order to balance the books, because of outrageous spending from the clubs.
Price Hikes for Chelsea Fans
The tickets that have gained the most publicity are for non members sitting in the upper tier of the West Stand attending Chelsea’s biggest games of the season (Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham). These prices have gone up from £75 to £87. However regular attendees will also have to suffer, with season tickets will also be more expensive, with prices in the upper tier of the West Stand increasing from £1,210 to £1,250.
The easy obvservation to make when considering big spending at Stamford Bridge and price hikes is over a certain Fernando Torres. Chelsea fans obviously haven’t suffered enough for his David Blaine-esque ability when inside a box. They will now start paying back that £50 million themselves if they want to watch him try to improve next season…
UEFA Regulations
With looming UEFA regulations on clubs’ spending aiming to minimise the effect of Sugar Daddy owners like Roman Abramovich, Premier League football fans have every right to be worried about future price hikes. Football clubs will be forced to break even over three year periods, and ticket prices are one source of revenue which football clubs could easily look upon to balance books. With such huge regular demand for tickets at clubs including Spurs, Man Utd & Arsenal, these clubs could easily whack ticket prices up by large percentages.
The Borussia Dortmund Boycott
So can fans do anything to avoid being treated as no more than ‘consumers’ for a business that doesn’t treat them with respect? Perhaps it would be best to have a look at what’s happened in Germany, specifically Borussia Dortmund. 1500 fans made international news by staging a boycott over rising ticket prices at their away derby against Schalke 04 in September 2010, Dortmund fans were being charged more than €22 (£19 – a figure which might baffle some regular Premier League attendees) to watch the game. The season before, the ticket price was €13.50, a 63% increase in one year. The boycott got fans of other teams thinking about their own club’s pricing system, Werder Bremen fans went on to boycott their home Champions League matches due to an increase in prices.
The result of such protests will become clear towards the start of the 2011/12 season, and we’ll see if Bundesliga clubs are able to address fans’ concerns. If they do respond positively, it might be time for Premier League fans to start considering action. In the meantime, it’s up to you whether you think it’s worth the money for a day out, if you don’t think it is – you might just have the ability to change things in the coming years.
(Image courtesy of enzoinanaudi)
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