Dan Roan BBC - 15 October 2014  The Government is "really concerned" about the rising cost of tickets, and has asked for football clubs to review their pricing.

Minister for Sport Helen Grant told the BBC: "I feel clubs really must not take their fans for granted."

The average price of the cheapest tickets across English football has risen at almost twice the rate of the cost of living since 2011.

BBC Sport's Price of Football study analysed prices at 207 clubs.

The average price of the cheapest match-day ticket from the Premier League to League Two in England is now £21.49.

That has increased 13% since 2011, compared to a 6.8% rise in the cost of living. Year-on-year it is up 4.4%, more than treble the 1.2% rate of inflation.

"I can see why fans are cross. I'm cross," said Grant. "Fans are the lifeblood of the game, without the fans we won't have football the way we know it.

"To take a family of four to a Premier League match now you're talking about £130, and that's before petrol, parking, a programme, hot dogs, burgers and a drink.

"That is just not affordable for most families so clubs really do need to look at this."

Arsenal's Supporters' Trust is expected to demand a price freeze when it addresses the club at its annual general meeting on Thursday, after the study found the Gunners have the most expensive match-day ticket in the Premier League.

A statement read: "The ticket price increase this season has created bad feeling amongst the fanbase, made worse when we see the club sitting on such a large unused cash pile.

"Will the board consider the difficulty fans have with keeping up with ever increasing costs of attending football and confirm there will be no increase next year?"

This year's Price of Football study found the cheapest Premier League season ticket is £299 at Manchester City.

Danny Wilson, the club's director of sales, said: "When you scratch down deeper into the work we're doing, it's about creating a better experience for our supporters.

"We want to make sure coming down to the stadium is a far broader and more engaging experience than just the 90 minutes of football.

"Our long-term goal is to keep growing our fanbase and keep filling the stadium week-in, week-out."

The Premier League has pointed to packed-out grounds as a sign it is getting the pricing right.

"The attendances so far this season are very encouraging, with more than 95% of seats sold and average crowds tracking with last season's, which were the highest in English top-flight football since 1949-50," said Cathy Long, the Premier League's head of supporter services.

Football League chief executive Shaun Harvey said the Price of Football study showed clubs are rewarding fans for their loyalty and financial commitment with better-value season tickets, which has led to prices falling in the period since 2005.

Crowds also increased by 136,000 across the Football League last season.

Critics of the price hikes said clubs had lost touch with fans and argued the £5.5bn windfall from the current television rights deal should have resulted in a drop in ticket prices for supporters.

Justin King, former chief executive of British supermarket Sainsbury's, feels clubs could fail if they do not meet the needs of supporters.

"Any business that thinks it can simply rely upon the loyalty of its customers, regardless of how they treat them, in the end will fail," King, a Manchester United supporter, told the BBC.

"I would be asking clubs: 'Are your fans happier today than they were five years ago with the experience that they get, the value for money that they feel they're getting?'"

The BBC's economics editor Robert Peston pointed to factors such as rising players' wages in the Premier League and the fact a majority of clubs operate at a loss.

"Yes, clubs do need to take a commercial decision, they set the ticket price, but there's got to be reasonableness," Grant said.

"I have two lads. They both love football and now and again we went to see a match but it was very, very expensive and it's the affordability.

"Football can be good family entertainment, it's our national game, but you need to be able to get through the gates."

Some clubs are adopting discount initiatives to help cash-strapped supporters.

Manchester City midfielder Frank Lampard illustrated some of those schemes and backed the Price of Football study for unearthing its findings.

"I have been at Chelsea and Manchester City and they are making big strides, they are trying to freeze prices and encourage people to come to games," he said.

"They reduce prices for certain away games as well as other incentives and they need to do more of that."

Grant backed up those schemes, but called on clubs to do more.

"Although I'm concerned about this survey, there's some good practise happening," she added.

"I know, for example, West Ham run their 'kids for a quid' promotion. This is the sort of thing I want to see more of."

Grant revealed the government has set up a panel of senior football administrators to give supporters the opportunity for their concerns to be raised.

"We've set up an Expert Group. You're going to hear more about that soon - we're about to launch it - and this group will look at very important issues such as... pricing, club ownership and debt, seating.

"It will give fans the profile and platform to air their views."

13 Premier League clubs increase ticket prices, with Manchester City cheapest and Arsenal most costly

Premier League transfer spending hit a record £835m during the summer window, up from £630m the previous year, boosted by the bumper television deal, which was 70% higher than the previous package.

This summer financial analysts Deloitte said Premier League clubs now spend 71p on wages for every £1 generated, the first time the 70p mark had been broken. Match-day revenue increased by 6% in the Premier League last season to £585m.

Yet as well as the cheapest match-day ticket rise, the average price of the cheapest Premier League season ticket has increased 8.7% since 2012, from £467.95 to £508.55.

Shadow sports minister Clive Efford MP said the "inflation-busting" increases "just cannot be acceptable", while business leader Justin King, former chief executive of Sainsbury's, believes clubs need to ensure they are providing value for money to fans if they want to be sustainable.

"Any business that thinks it can simply rely upon the loyalty of its customers, regardless of how they treat them, in the end will fail. It's an absolute fact," he said.

"Therefore I would be asking clubs, 'are your fans happier today than they were five years ago with the experience that they get, the value for money that they feel they're getting?'"

The Football Supporters' Federation had called for clubs to use the TV deal to cut ticket prices, saying they could knock about £30 off each ticket and still generate the same revenue.

Malcolm Clarke, chairman of the group, said there was "no excuse at all" for the continuing rises.

"Three times the rate of inflation is completely unacceptable from an industry that's got megabucks going in at the top," he said.

Despite the ticket price rises, Premier League attendances are on the increase. The average last season was 36,695.

In the Football League, the average cost of the cheapest match-day ticket increased 31.7% in League One and 19% in League Two. In the Championship, the average price fell 3.2%.

Crowds in the Football League increased by 136,000 last season. The Championship had a total audience of more than 9.1m fans, at an average of over 16,500 per match. Only the Premier League (13.9m), Germany's Bundesliga (13.1m) and Spain's La Liga (10m) can boast more fans through the turnstiles in Europe.

Football League chief executive Shaun Harvey said: "Season ticket holders are making up an ever greater proportion of the supporter base and account for 10 million of the 15 million admissions to Football League matches each season.

"As the study also suggests, a consequence of providing greater value to the majority of fans at one end of the spectrum is that those fans at the other end of the spectrum, those adults paying on the day for a single match, may now find themselves paying a bit more at some clubs."

BBC Sport contacted clubs in 10 other European countries to find out how prices in Britain compare with those in the Bundesliga, Serie A and La Liga.

Most clubs reward loyalty with cheaper tickets for members, while there are an increasing number of incentives for children to watch matches.

Everton have frozen season-ticket prices for fans aged 11 and under. Kids pay just £5 per game for the third season in a row.

Swansea sell under-16 season tickets from £79 and West Ham will have six 'Kids for a Quid' fixtures this season.

At Southampton, all under-11s are admitted free for all Category B and C games when accompanied by a paying adult.

Have high prices forced Premier League attendances down?

No, far from it. Match-day attendances are at an all-time high.

The Premier League average last season was 36,600, up 2.1% from the season before, while stadiums were about 96% full.

Last season, match-day revenue increased by 6% last year to £585m.

A top-tier day out

Chelsea top the Premier League table when it comes to the average cost of a day out at £57.50.

The figure, which adds together the price of the cheapest match-day ticket, a programme, a pie and a cup of tea, exceeds that of Liverpool and Manchester City, who both come in at £45.80.

The average cost of a day out in the top tier is £37.44 and Leicester City represent the cheapest option, with a day at the newly-promoted club costing £27.50.

Are clubs offering deals?

A number of clubs have ticket offers for families.

Newcastle, for example, have a zone that can accommodate 8,200 people and claim it is "the largest family enclosure in Europe". Combined adult and child season tickets in that area of the stadium are priced from £417 for supporters on long-term price-freeze deals.

How much does a cup of tea cost?

Liverpool, Manchester United and Southampton sell the Premier League's most expensive cups of tea.

All three charge £2.50, more than any other club in the study.

Burnley and Manchester City sell the cheapest, charging £1.80. You can get a cup of tea at Scottish League Two side Elgin for 60p.

And pies?

Crystal Palace, Manchester City and Southampton all charge £4 for a pie, but that isn't the most expensive of the clubs we covered in our study.

Conference side Kidderminster have a homemade pie that sells for £4.50, though many Harriers fans insist it is worth every penny.

The cheapest pies can be bought at Braintree and Sunderland Ladies. Can anyone rate their £1 offerings for us?

Getting shirty?

Manchester City and Manchester United charge £55 for an adult replica shirt bought from the club shop, the most expensive in the division.

City also charge the most for a junior shirt, at £42.

Hull City sell the cheapest shirts. They charge £39.99 for an adult shirt and £29.99 for a junior one.

Serie A side Roma, at £67.25, charge the most for an adult shirt of the clubs we studied on the continent.

How much do you pay per goal?

Based on the amount clubs charged for their cheapest season ticket last season, Manchester City fans got the best value for money when it came to goals scored at home by their own side.

Each City goal at Etihad Stadium would have set a fan back £4.75. Compare that to Arsenal, where each Gunners goal at the Emirates cost £27.36.

The best value in Britain? That was at Scottish League Two side Albion Rovers, where each goal would have cost you just £3.04.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/29629460

Tweet

Tweetle                      Paylaş                        Paylaş