Barber and the club have lost me as a customer today

[jamie the seagull]

Whilst you may never stop supporting BHA, go see some local football.
Got my buzz back for the game by going to Eastbourne Boro when they were in the Conference.
Thought about Crawley but they wanted over £20...

 

[The Birdman]

Ticket prices are high, but it isn't just football anymore is it ?

Theatre, Concerts all in excess of £45 a pop.

Like been said, supply and demand

yes but you might only go to a couple of concerts a year the ticket exhange should give the advantage to registered members so they get the same price as season ticket holders.

 

[LamieRobertson]

Agreed, particularly when affordability is further enhanced with the interest free direct debit payment option.

I fully sympathise with those who are wondering how they'll be able to afford watching the Albion now. If I didn't have a season ticket, I'm not sure how many games I'd get to.

Likewise ..Husty has my sympathy ..but I'd urge him to still 'borrow' friends ST's ..while still maintaining his protest

 

[Sarisbury Seagull]

The harsh reality is that some fans are being priced out of football. The cost for a family of four is now prohibitive for many and it's hard to see how this will ever change all the time attendances continue to increase.

In our case the only way prices will come down is if the AMEX is made bigger, which is likely to be several years away.

This. I always imagined and looked forward to taking my kids with me to support the Albion but I just can't see that happening until they're almost adults now.

 

[portlock seagull]

I really feel for you [MENTION=12486]Husty[/MENTION]. It's true, football is stupidly expensive to watch. I'm fortunate to be able to afford still, but it's increasingly hard to justify.

 

[Tooting Gull]

Have to sympathize. For anyone who either can't afford a ST, or is in circumstances where it simply makes no sense if you can only get to 4/5 matches a season through work or other commitments, then getting to see the Albion this season is going to be both very difficult and very expensive as a one-off purchase.

I'm not going to lie, it does grate that having watched the team 30-35 times a season in League Two I now will struggle to get a ticket in the Premier League - but you can't moan or dwell on it, the club has moved on both on and off the pitch, it has been a great few seasons, and this is what success looks like.

For me £45 will always be too much for a single football league match, and I am concerned about fans and families being priced out - but Brighton are not the worst offenders, and I genuinely believe that efforts have been made at board level to keep that figure down. With such a small supply of individual match tickets, they could have charged more and no doubt sold them to some well-off JCLs.

But you do what you have to to see your team. When I am not working I will do my best, have joined the Bronze and YSPlus for my kids, will be on the case when the on-sale dates come around and hope for the best and treasure those 4/5/6 days and occasions when I am lucky enough to get tickets. They will mean a lot.

 

[Husty]

Does this mean you're still going to carry on using autism as an insult?

Probably considering the reaction it got I never said I had a problem with autistic people I said people were displaying autistic behaviour, happy to stand by that comment.

Anyway like I said I wasn't expecting sympathy starting this thread, that's the last thing I'd ever personally expect to receive on NSC.

I do plan to continue trying to borrow season tickets and I will go to as many away as possible but as far as I'm concerned if any of the cheapest home match tickets are unreasonably priced then they all are, I don't go in for this categories nonsense.

 

[dejavuatbtn]

Yep, the old saying of not always getting what you wish for applies. All the years of heartache and support of the club's existence have led to a new era of corporate bollox, JCLs and unaffordability for many of those who fought the bad times - all done under a thin veil of community, which is, of course, more corporate bollox (all the major companies do it). Yeh, times change and I am still concerned about where it will all end up. For what used to be a pleasant fortnightly outing on a Saturday afternoon to watch a bit of sport is now something that intrudes in terms of lifestyle and expense much more than it should.

 

[whitelion]

Do you still get to Hustpierpoint?

 

[GT49er]

True but concerts etc you don't go to every couple of weeks.

The difference being, of course, you can just buy concert tickets when you want to (well, assuming you've got the funds available!) - you don't have to prove you've been regularly going to concerts over the past few months, or submit your loyalty points total to be allowed to even be considered. You can just go on line and say "Can I buy two tickets for the ********** concert at the Albert Hall/O2/NEC or wherever", hand over your money and bingo, you've bought your tickets.

 

[kingcole]

Do I think £45 is too much for the cheapest seat at a football game? Probably, but what gives? TB has an opportunity here to claw back some of his incredible investment, without which, we would have no ground and possibly no club.

Until the day arrives that he has recouped that I don't mind paying extra. Some will be priced out of the market but enough won't be.

Watching Premier League football is about watching the absolute pinnacle of the worlds most popular sport. It's going to cost ya.

 

[kingcole]

Have to sympathize. For anyone who either can't afford a ST, or is in circumstances where it simply makes no sense if you can only get to 4/5 matches a season through work or other commitments, then getting to see the Albion this season is going to be both very difficult and very expensive as a one-off purchase.

I'm not going to lie, it does grate that having watched the team 30-35 times a season in League Two I now will struggle to get a ticket in the Premier League - but you can't moan or dwell on it, the club has moved on both on and off the pitch, it has been a great few seasons, and this is what success looks like.

For me £45 will always be too much for a single football league match, and I am concerned about fans and families being priced out - but Brighton are not the worst offenders, and I genuinely believe that efforts have been made at board level to keep that figure down. With such a small supply of individual match tickets, they could have charged more and no doubt sold them to some well-off JCLs.

But you do what you have to to see your team. When I am not working I will do my best, have joined the Bronze and YSPlus for my kids, will be on the case when the on-sale dates come around and hope for the best and treasure those 4/5/6 days and occasions when I am lucky enough to get tickets. They will mean a lot.

But if you are going to say 4 games a year. Lets assume one is Cat A, two are Cat B and one is Cat C. That person will be paying £23 a year more than they did for the equivalent games last year. Drink half a pint a month less than the person in your example can enjoy their 4 games a year, but enjoy it in the Premier League rather than the Championship

 

[Notters]

Will be interesting to see what happens if we get a big draw in the cup. Think we'd struggle to sell out with most sths having to pay > £50

 

[Frutos]

What I don't understand with this is why Barber is the one getting it in the neck from the OP?

Do people honestly not think that Tony has the final say so on things? It just seems that when there is credit to be handed out it all goes to Tony, but any blame lands at Barber's feet.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

I'll still consider myself a fan of the club, but I won't be taken for a mug.

I'm not expecting sympathy, I'm not angry or even surprised by this announcement; I thought it was inevitable really. I've supported Brighton since I was pretty young, I've never seriously entertained supporting anybody else, I've been going to games home and away for years now. I'm no super-fan, there are many better but I would say I've been pretty dedicated to the cause.

I live in Bristol and have not long graduated from university so I don't have bundles of spare cash lying around, which means getting a season ticket is out of the question. For the last few seasons I have done my best to attend as many games as money and time have allowed me to, purchasing tickets on the day or borrowing season tickets when possible. I had, quite naturally hoped to carry on doing this for the forthcoming season but unfortunately my worst fears have been confirmed.

The bottom line for me is that I refuse to potentially pay a minimum of £45 to watch a football match, ever. I don't care who it is against or when we might next play them again, I don't care whether or not it is 'reasonable' relative to what the London clubs charge. £45 for two hours when it is something that happens on most weekends of the year is not something I will accept. I won't attend the lower category games because I refuse to be implicit in this brazen price-gouging.

Looks as though I will be becoming one of those armchair fans I've derided for so long.

You've not got any less flakey with age then?

 

[GT49er]

Will be interesting to see what happens if we get a big draw in the cup. Think we'd struggle to sell out with most sths having to pay > £50

Maybe the club will have to consider selling a few tickets to those of us who aren't STHs, or haven't got stacks of loyalty points?

 

[AmexRuislip]

I'll still consider myself a fan of the club, but I won't be taken for a mug.

I'm not expecting sympathy, I'm not angry or even surprised by this announcement; I thought it was inevitable really. I've supported Brighton since I was pretty young, I've never seriously entertained supporting anybody else, I've been going to games home and away for years now. I'm no super-fan, there are many better but I would say I've been pretty dedicated to the cause.

I live in Bristol and have not long graduated from university so I don't have bundles of spare cash lying around, which means getting a season ticket is out of the question. For the last few seasons I have done my best to attend as many games as money and time have allowed me to, purchasing tickets on the day or borrowing season tickets when possible. I had, quite naturally hoped to carry on doing this for the forthcoming season but unfortunately my worst fears have been confirmed.

The bottom line for me is that I refuse to potentially pay a minimum of £45 to watch a football match, ever. I don't care who it is against or when we might next play them again, I don't care whether or not it is 'reasonable' relative to what the London clubs charge. £45 for two hours when it is something that happens on most weekends of the year is not something I will accept. I won't attend the lower category games because I refuse to be implicit in this brazen price-gouging.

Looks as though I will be becoming one of those armchair fans I've derided for so long.

I've supported the Albion since 1976, never ever had a season ticket, always took a chance to get tickets, either buying them or scrounging some other way.
Doesn't make you any less a fan than the guy who has a season ticket.
It's all about costs and whether one can afford it.
I signed up long ago to several clubs fanbase, in my locale, in the event I might need to get a ticket to watch the Albion, even if it meant sitting in the away end.
Do what you have to do

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

True but concerts etc you don't go to every couple of weeks.

I go to about 30-40 a year........

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I sympathise with you, it is a disgusting amount of money for 90 minutes of football, to add balance I think the cost of a season ticket is fantastic value.

I agree with this.

 

[Megazone]

I go to about 30-40 a year........

Most people aren't as radical as you.