Price Cap for away fans

[Lady Whistledown]

As El Presidente has already pointed out elsewhere, this is hardly the deal of the century. Some PL clubs- he referred to Swansea as an example- charge £22 currently for visiting fans of unattractive/small teams like Crystal Palace. So this makes no difference to them.

It all smacks of a PR stunt to me. All PL clubs will be making such an extortionate amount of money out of TV rights next season that reducing match tickets to a (still-dear, IMHO) £30 is so minimal, their accountants will barely notice the change in revenue. They could, in short, easily reduce those ticket prices to £20 (hell, they could probably give them away for free) and still have enough to make profits like never before. This is merely an attempt to generate positive media attention from those who won't peer too closely at the reality.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

As El Presidente has already pointed out elsewhere, this is hardly the deal of the century. Some PL clubs- he referred to Swansea as an example- charge £22 currently for visiting fans of unattractive/small teams like Crystal Palace. So this makes no difference to them.

It all smacks of a PR stunt to me. All PL clubs will be making such an extortionate amount of money out of TV rights next season that reducing match tickets to a (still-dear, IMHO) £30 is so minimal, their accountants will barely notice the change in revenue. They could, in short, easily reduce those ticket prices to £20 (hell, they could probably give them away for free) and still have enough to make profits like never before. This is merely an attempt to generate positive media attention from those who won't peer too closely at the reality.

 

[LlcoolJ]

As El Presidente has already pointed out elsewhere, this is hardly the deal of the century. Some PL clubs- he referred to Swansea as an example- charge £22 currently for visiting fans of unattractive/small teams like Crystal Palace. So this makes no difference to them.

It all smacks of a PR stunt to me. All PL clubs will be making such an extortionate amount of money out of TV rights next season that reducing match tickets to a (still-dear, IMHO) £30 is so minimal, their accountants will barely notice the change in revenue. They could, in short, easily reduce those ticket prices to £20 (hell, they could probably give them away for free) and still have enough to make profits like never before. This is merely an attempt to generate positive media attention from those who won't peer too closely at the reality.

This is exactly what I've been banging on about on the other thread (think this one was fixtures).

If anyone thinks this is any more than a publicity stunt/also a convenient way to further subjugate lower league teams then they have been had.

 

[Marty___Mcfly]

West Ham have charged £85 for away tickets this season. It is a big climb down for some clubs.

 

[Beach Hut]

Does nothing to stop being rogered for £37 for Ipswich away

 

[LlcoolJ]

West Ham have charged £85 for away tickets this season. It is a big climb down for some clubs.

Conveniently timed to coincide with the new tv money which means they could charge NOTHING and still turn a profit.

It's not a climbdown it's a con.

 

[Dorset Seagull]

Making them free would not be an option even if they can afford it. How many people would get a free ticket and then not bother turning up for whatever reason. Also you would then have a bun fight over who got tickets etc. If you reduce prices then there will be a level at which the above is likely to happen as the ticket cost is so cheap.

 

[Hamilton]

No they won't. Player wages will just go up.
Championship clubs could easily reduce ticket prices by reducing player wages. It is that simple.

Absolutely.

 

[Baldseagull]

There is a rule regarding the increase in playing budget permitted from next season also. I forget all the details, but essentially, increase in playing budget can only be made so much from the increased TV money, any further increase has to be met through other income. This will put pressure on clubs to increase ticket prices, if Away fans are getting a discount, it is even greater pressure to put ticket prices up significantly on the home fans.

 

[Giraffe]

As El Presidente has already pointed out elsewhere, this is hardly the deal of the century. Some PL clubs- he referred to Swansea as an example- charge £22 currently for visiting fans of unattractive/small teams like Crystal Palace. So this makes no difference to them.

It all smacks of a PR stunt to me. All PL clubs will be making such an extortionate amount of money out of TV rights next season that reducing match tickets to a (still-dear, IMHO) £30 is so minimal, their accountants will barely notice the change in revenue. They could, in short, easily reduce those ticket prices to £20 (hell, they could probably give them away for free) and still have enough to make profits like never before. This is merely an attempt to generate positive media attention from those who won't peer too closely at the reality.

Agreed, it's a very easy thing to do as
1) it's a small % of their crowd and even smaller % of their income
2) some clubs don't chance that much already for some games
3) can guarantee that the concession price will not proportionately reflect this, they will look to get some back on this
4) any club that was charging less than £30, will now automatically charge £30

The cost of all match tickets is what needs looking at. Get that down to £30 max and then we are getting somewhere.

 

[Knotty]

No they won't. Player wages will just go up.
Championship clubs could easily reduce ticket prices by reducing player wages. It is that simple.

As a principle, it works.

But in practice, it is anything but simple. It would only work if there were an appropriate salary cap across all leagues, all divisions and, at least, all European countries.

Good luck in getting everyone involved to agree to that!

And you'd still have the problem of Premier League gate money being a very small percentage of overall revenue compared with the divisions below.

 

[sparkie]

30 still seems too high.

Would 20, 22, or 25 really hurt that much ?

 

[Hotchilidog]

30 still seems too high.

Would 20, 22, or 25 really hurt that much ?

No it wouldn't, which is why this is really all about PR and not about the fans.

 

[El Presidente]

No they won't. Player wages will just go up.
Championship clubs could easily reduce ticket prices by reducing player wages. It is that simple.

It's simple in theory but not in reality though.

The average wage for a player in the Championship is around £9,500 a week. Some are on much more ( Rhodes and Downing at Middlesbrough for example are on a multiple of that sum)

If those wages were reduced to (say) £2,000 a week there would be the following consequences

1: Many foreign players would not be attracted to the English game. So for the Albion, we might lose Bruno, Knockaert, Kayal, Skilak, Calderon, Hemed etc.
2: English players would be more likely to play overseas.
3: The smart accountants and lawyers would find a way around the rules, just as they have done with FFP (and it's a big hello to the Football League in relation to their dealings with QPRm on that issue, an ongoing dispute still not settled nearly two years after QPR were promoted).
4: Because of (1) and (2) above the standard of the game would decrease (would you pay £35 to watch Billy Painter in the Championship all season long?)
5: When clubs are promoted from the Championship to the PL they would struggle to compete as their squads would be weaker for the above reasons.
6: When clubs are relegated from the PL to the Championship what would they do with players who have signed contracts are and on an average of £33,000 a week?

If footballers are subject to such wage restrictions, should this be extended to other sports, and if so, how? Should it then be extended to bankers (let's face it, we are paying a huge price for their activities), movie stars, musicians, plastic surgeons etc?

If fans don't like the prices, then they need an organised, co-ordinated and articulate program of non-violent direct action. They should also stop paying £600-£1,000 a year to Sky and BT for subscriptions.

It won't happen though, there's not the inclination or the leadership. If our team is shit at the start of the season it's a case of calling for the manager's head or the chairman to get his cheque book out and sign some players, regardless of the cost.

 

[Notters]

I know PNE was £24, £16 concessions (students and OAPs), and £8 for under 16s.

Great to have such a low price for under 16s. And a permanent discount for students (of all ages) which I don't think the Albion do. I would think £16 match day tickets could attract a lot of students from the 2 universities, and £8 for under 16s would draw in lots of kids who are the potential season ticket holders of the future. All sounds a bit more fan-oriented than the Albion who seem keen to rinse as much out of fans as they can get away with, particularly non-season ticket holders..

Those prices are similar to the north stand at the Amex, are they not, once you take into account the travel levy?

 

[Notters]

Presumably it'll be £30 for home fans in equivalent areas too, as they're supposed to be the same?

 

[Marty___Mcfly]

Those prices are similar to the north stand at the Amex, are they not, once you take into account the travel levy?

Not to revisit the whole issue but I suppose what the travel discount is worth to an individual fan depends on how you get to the game. On paper our prices are mostly a bit higher-

PNE full price £24, BHAFC £32 (cat A)
PNE seniors £16, BHAFC £24
PNE U21s £24 (no discount), BHAFC £24
PNE students (21+) £16, BHAFC £32 (no discount)
PNE under 18s £8, BHAFC £18
PNE under 10s £8, BHAFC £10

Good to see the club doing discounts for U21s, U18s, U10s, but we're still quite a bit higher than many championship clubs.

I don't know why the club refuse to offer a student discount, I guess the U21 covers students until they are 21 (which could be right at the start of their 3rd Uni year). I would think a price of say £16 for students could fill quite a few more seats given that many live in walking distance to the stadium.

On the travel issue maybe the club should apply to have the requirement for a subsidy removed. Surely worth a go and nothing to lose other than the professional fees associated and maybe a bit of negative PR.. If it was agreed the savings would be substantial and I'm sure they would pass these on to the fans by dropping ticket prices immediately..

 

[pastafarian]

i would say £15 should be about the correct standard price to watch top flight football
its not my fault clubs agents and players have conceived massive ridiculous pay packages on the back of TV money,yet im the one who gets my wallet sucked dry.

 

[drew]

Not to revisit the whole issue but I suppose what the travel discount is worth to an individual fan depends on how you get to the game. On paper our prices are mostly a bit higher-

PNE full price £24, BHAFC £32 (cat A)
PNE seniors £16, BHAFC £24
PNE U21s £24 (no discount), BHAFC £24
PNE students (21+) £16, BHAFC £32 (no discount)
PNE under 18s £8, BHAFC £18
PNE under 10s £8, BHAFC £10

Good to see the club doing discounts for U21s, U18s, U10s, but we're still quite a bit higher than many championship clubs.

I don't know why the club refuse to offer a student discount, I guess the U21 covers students until they are 21 (which could be right at the start of their 3rd Uni year). I would think a price of say £16 for students could fill quite a few more seats given that many live in walking distance to the stadium.

On the travel issue maybe the club should apply to have the requirement for a subsidy removed. Surely worth a go and nothing to lose other than the professional fees associated and maybe a bit of negative PR.. If it was agreed the savings would be substantial and I'm sure they would pass these on to the fans by dropping ticket prices immediately..

They're not going to remove the travel subsidy because it works.

Also, your table of ticket prices ignores the difference in the cost of living between the two towns which, according to the website below, is about 36% more expensive down here. It ignores the competition in the surrounding area which would help drive down prices and finally, it doesn't take into account the relative success of the two teams. We have had two play-off campaigns out of the last four seasons and one where we came very close. Pretty much certain for a play-off place this year. In those four years, Preston have had two play-off campaigns but in League 1. The other two seasons they finished 14th and 15th. This year they have a possible play-off place but this is their first season back in the championship.

https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/comparison/preston/brighton-and-hove?

 

[drew]

i would say £15 should be about the correct standard price to watch top flight football
its not my fault clubs agents and players have conceived massive ridiculous pay packages on the back of TV money,yet im the one who gets my wallet sucked dry.

Is that an arbitrary figure that you have come up with that suits you or is there science behind it?