BBC Sport Price of Football survey 2012 [merged]

[hans kraay fan club]

I don't think other fans will be particularly impressed by our prices (looks like our 'cheapest' price is the most expensive such mark in the league), although weirdly most people here seem to be happy.

I don't think our season ticket prices are outrageous if you are regularly benefiting from the travel element. But I certainly think some of the matchday prices are very steep, £39, £34 is just too much for a Championship match.

I think everybody recognises all that - the % of people voting 'good value' on the other thread, probably simply reflects the high % that ARE season ticket holders.

I am uncomfortable with the prices we are charging away fans.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

I don't think other fans will be particularly impressed by our prices (looks like our 'cheapest' price is the most expensive such mark in the league), although weirdly most people here seem to be happy.

Probably what this proves is that Brighton is currently no real barometer of what is going on out there with regard to pricing and attendance. We have a special set of circumstances driving demand with the rebirth of the club, and our experience and attendance surge is not typical. Plus it is a relatively affluent part of the country, though there are plenty of fans who aren't earning £40k a year plus, and they need to be remembered and not cast aside in some bid for football yuppie-dom.

I don't think our season ticket prices are outrageous if you are regularly benefiting from the travel element. But I certainly think some of the matchday prices are very steep, £39, £34 is just too much for a Championship match.

Matchday prices do seem ridiculous.

A season ticket at £425 for 23 games works out at about £18.50 per game, and that includes travel. And my son's is half that.

The discrepancy between that and paying game by game seems huge.

 

[The Large One]

I think everybody recognises all that - the % of people voting 'good value' on the other thread, probably simply reflects the high % that ARE season ticket holders.

The Albion's line reflecting what the VAST MAJORITY pay ought to read more like...

Cheapest ST £425.00#
Most expensive ST £625.00#

Cheapest ticket £18.50#
Most expensive ticket £27.20#

Cheapest day out (Ticket+pie+tea) £26.60

Programme £3.50*
Pie £3.90*
Tea £2.00*


# Price includes free travel
* Subject to 10% discount

I am uncomfortable with the prices we are charging away fans.

Fully agree.

 

[Sussex Nomad]

I do not think it is a rip off, it can certainly be put down to the price of success, aswell as the price of year sin administrative limbo.

However I think we do get good value. The Amex offers me the best in stadium experience that I have had on a regular basis. Good seats, good facilities, a decent pint and a decent pie, as well as open bars and 'free' travel. I would not swap this current matchday experience for anything. I'd be interested to hear if anyone who travels to away games regularly thinks that other stadia offer a comparable experience.

The interest free direct debit scheme for season tickets represents great value as does the 10per cent discount with the use of e-cash on the smart card which brings the price of refreshment down to a reasonable level.

The only similar matchday experiences I have had that come remotely near the Amex one are at Wembley and The Emirates.

 

[reigate]

I can't believe so many people think that £18.50 for a football ticket is good value.

As I fully utilise the travel element it is more like £14.50......and compared £24 for cheapest seat at Withdean I consider to be good value. Going to Gillingaham 15 years ago worked out more expense to see the 2nd worst team in the league

 

[Pogue Mahone]

I can't believe so many people think that £18.50 for a football ticket is good value.

It's all relative.

It used to cost much more at Withdean. In comparison to prices in this country, for football and for other entertainment, £18.50 is excellent value.

It would be great to have German prices, and terraces etc. The culture in this country has shifted too far for this to happen any time soon.

 

[Storer 68]

I don't think other fans will be particularly impressed by our prices (looks like our 'cheapest' price is the most expensive such mark in the league), although weirdly most people here seem to be happy.
.

As to the subject of our pies being too expensive............ this from the Piglets blog Would indicate that pricing is not too much of an issue for this level of quality

"Wow we are overwhelmed by the support from BHA fans, they quite literally ate all the pies on Saturday’s match game. Well done to the Brighton team for the win we all hoped for and thank you for the lovely messages on our pies we are proud as punch.
Best get baking, as you ate 10,900 on Saturday’s game… anyone up for making pies?
We would also like to thank the teams behind the production, they have worked flat out to get the pies made to the standard and quality we expect and gone beyond expectations well done Piglets

 

[Storer 68]

The only similar matchday experiences I have had that come remotely near the Amex one are at Wembley and The Emirates.

Wembley prices are NOWHERE NEAR what we pay at the Amex. Wembley is FAR MORE EXPENSIVE

This from a Chelsea fan, whom one would assume is well used tpo being ripped off.

4. What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of the ground?

The first impression I honestly had of the new Wembley was, is this it? I just didn't feel that there was anything special about it, don't get me wrong, the stadia itself is impressive in terms of sheer size and height , but apart from that, I felt it is over-rated. Onto the prices inside. Well I expected it to be expensive, but even so you can't help but think how do they get away with it? I paid £4.50 for a normal bottle of Budweiser only to discover a bit further down the concourse was you could get a full pint for £4.70. Cheers Wembley!

7. Summary of overall thoughts of the day out:

Wonderful day in terms of football , 5-1 at Wembley , what more do I need !! In terms of prices , well , next time I will either come well prepared .... Or rob a bank!!.

 

[Sussex Nomad]

Wembley prices are NOWHERE NEAR what we pay at the Amex. Wembley is FAR MORE EXPENSIVE

This from a Chelsea fan, whom one would assume is well used tpo being ripped off.

4. What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of the ground?

The first impression I honestly had of the new Wembley was, is this it? I just didn't feel that there was anything special about it, don't get me wrong, the stadia itself is impressive in terms of sheer size and height , but apart from that, I felt it is over-rated. Onto the prices inside. Well I expected it to be expensive, but even so you can't help but think how do they get away with it? I paid £4.50 for a normal bottle of Budweiser only to discover a bit further down the concourse was you could get a full pint for £4.70. Cheers Wembley!

7. Summary of overall thoughts of the day out:

Wonderful day in terms of football , 5-1 at Wembley , what more do I need !! In terms of prices , well , next time I will either come well prepared .... Or rob a bank!!.

You really are a bit of a knob... jump on someones post to hopefully get a bit of backing from similarly low intelligence posters.

The facilities, the overall experience I am talking about... you know the thing? Wembley and Emirates offer a very similar experience to the Amex, which was supposed to be a heads up for what we have. Some right twats on here.

 

[Brovion]

It's all relative.

It used to cost much more at Withdean. In comparison to prices in this country, for football and for other entertainment, £18.50 is excellent value.

It would be great to have German prices, and terraces etc. The culture in this country has shifted too far for this to happen any time soon.

Correct. And at the end of the day if people find it's too expensive then they don't go. Football costs aren't essential expenditure like light, heat or travel. Nobody holds a gun to our heads and says you HAVE to go to football and you HAVE to buy food, drink or programmes. If you think the prices are too expensive - don't pay them and spend your money one something else instead.

 

[Tooting Gull]

Correct. And at the end of the day if people find it's too expensive then they don't go. Football costs aren't essential expenditure like light, heat or travel. Nobody holds a gun to our heads and says you HAVE to go to football and you HAVE to buy food, drink or programmes. If you think the prices are too expensive - don't pay them and spend your money one something else instead.

Very surprised by that comment and attitude.

So you can get a seat for as little as £18-50 today (although of course it isn't £18-50 for one match, it's £425 for a season, and you in all likelihood won't get to all matches. It's between £28 and £39 for A match).

But then it might be £25. Then £30. Then £40. Then £50. Then £100.

So at what point does your view that 'If you can't afford it, tough' become highly questionable, and the spotlight turn on the club's pricing? It's supposed to be a community club, don't you think there is ANY responsibility to enable people to get in?

I am not some football communist and accept the need for higher price ticket areas and hospitality. I believe these help 'subsidise' a lowest price-point to some extent. But you have to have that low price-point, even if it isn't very many on offer.

 

[Storer 68]

You really are a bit of a knob... jump on someones post to hopefully get a bit of backing from similarly low intelligence posters.

The facilities, the overall experience I am talking about... you know the thing? Wembley and Emirates offer a very similar experience to the Amex, which was supposed to be a heads up for what we have. Some right twats on here.

A knob replies:

Cheapest season ticket at the Emirates £885, Most epensive matchday ticket £126, Most expensive season ticket at the Emirates £1,955.

Oh and the overall experience at Wembley is now awful. And you'll pay nearly £50 to attend an international nowadays,

 

[HawkTheSeagull]

I can't believe so many people think that £18.50 for a football ticket is good value.

Considering Eastbourne Borough for example charge £12 and they are in Blue Square South - its good value if you have a ST.

Its incredibly expensive if you dont though, most expensive match-by-match tickets being nearly £40, thats Premier League pricing and we arent there yet !!!

 

[Brovion]

Very surprised by that comment and attitude.

So you can get a seat for as little as £18-50 today (although of course it isn't £18-50 for one match, it's £425 for a season, and you in all likelihood won't get to all matches. It's between £28 and £39 for A match).

But then it might be £25. Then £30. Then £40. Then £50. Then £100.

So at what point does your view that 'If you can't afford it, tough' become highly questionable, and the spotlight turn on the club's pricing? It's supposed to be a community club, don't you think there is ANY responsibility to enable people to get in?

I am not some football communist and accept the need for higher price ticket areas and hospitality. I believe these help 'subsidise' a lowest price-point to some extent. But you have to have that low price-point, even if it isn't very many on offer.

I think the point was it's all relative. I was one of the biggest moaners about ticket prices at Withdean as I thought it was massively over-priced for what was on offer. Now I think the prices are 'fair' ('top end of reasonable' I said on the other thread). If you're saying 'is football to expensive' I'd agree with you. You can go to the cinema for £7 (or £12!) so why the hell is a comparable form of entertainment so much more expensive? The answer is of course because the club has to compete with other clubs for the best players and thus needs all the cash it can get (not helped by clubs like Portsmouth and Palace inflating the market by offering money they didn't have), and it has to sell the tickets for as much as the market will bear. Yes, that might mean £100 a seat (in 2012 prices), but frankly I doubt it will get that high.

So to answer your question, no, going to football isn't a basic human right and so I don't think the club has to have any responsibility to price tickets so that everybody can get in. It already caters for children (witness the number of people with kids who think it's excellent value) so it can't be accused of being totally unfeeling and trying to maximise the profit on every seat. If you're a football fan you have to accept that, in the current culture, a football ticket is relatively expensive. If (when) the Albion struggle then prices will fall (look at Blackburn's).

 

[Publius Ovidius]

Does anybody order just a pie without a pint? It's like ordering fish without chips.

One of the joys of taking warfarin.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Driving.

 

[crodonilson]

If you ever get the chance to go to Mr Egg in Birmingham try the Egg Pie, out of this world.

 

[Sussex Nomad]

A knob replies:

Cheapest season ticket at the Emirates £885, Most epensive matchday ticket £126, Most expensive season ticket at the Emirates £1,955.

Oh and the overall experience at Wembley is now awful. And you'll pay nearly £50 to attend an international nowadays,

Go type to someone with a similar low-level intelligence as yourself, I'll resume reading from posters that actually have something interesting to add.

 

[Bozza]

The £4 pies at Kidderminster are ENORMOUS - BBC News - Kidderminster Harriers pies the most expensive in the UK