1. Log in now to remove adverts - no adverts at all to registered members!

The cost of supporting your team

Discussion in 'Newcastle United' started by Albert's Chip Shop, Oct 18, 2012.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Albert's Chip Shop

    Albert's Chip Shop Top Grafter
    Forum Moderator

    Joined:
    Jun 27, 2011
    Messages:
    72,363
    Likes Received:
    37,729
    A new report out today which shows Mike Ashley in a good light given his season ticket price freeze programme and also the fact that a bairns season ticket in the family section is only £100 (which includes membership to the junior magpie and adults around £355.
    My daughter got her junior magpies pack this week and it had a free watch and a DVD of all of the Demba's goals last year in so I really see our club making an effort to look after the fans of the future..



    http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19984968

    Price of Football: Survey of 166 British clubs revealed
    The average cost of the cheapest adult ticket in the top four divisions of English football has risen by 11.7% - more than five times the rate of inflation.

    The BBC Sport Price of Football survey found that the average price of the most affordable ticket in league football has gone from £19.01 to £21.24 in the past 12 months.

    The survey looked at 166 clubs in 10 divisions across British football, including the Conference Premier and Women's Super League.

    We have recorded the most expensive, and cheapest, season tickets and adult matchday tickets as well as the cost of a cup of tea, a pie and a programme, to calculate the cheapest day out at a football match.


    Read comprehensive division-by-division tables here to find out what it costs to follow your team
    The figures show:

    •Only three out of 92 English league clubs offer a day out for less than £20 this season. Last year it was 12.
    •In Scotland, 21 of the 42 teams across four divisions offer a day out for less than £20.
    •The most expensive adult matchday ticket is Arsenal at £126 and the cheapest £6 at Montrose.
    •Arsenal also have the most expensive season ticket at £1,955, while Montrose's was the lowest at £90.
    •In the Women's Super League, matchday adult tickets range from £4-£6, with season ticket prices between £22-£40.
    •The most expensive tea in British football can be found in Manchester, where both City and United charge £2.50. The cheapest costs 50p at Alloa and Brechin in Scottish Division Two.
    •Kidderminster, in the Conference Premier, charge the most for a pie at £4, while the cheapest is in Scotland, where Alloa, Albion and Forfar charge just £1.
    •Leeds United sell the most expensive programme in Britain at £4, while Inverness CT's is the cheapest at 50p.
    "Despite the difficult economic times we live in, prices at some clubs and at some levels of the game are still exceedingly high," Malcolm Clarke, chairman of the Football Supporters' Federation, said.

    "It is quite shocking that at Arsenal, for example, the cheapest season ticket is only £15 short of £1,000.

    "We would like to see a much greater effort to reduce ticket prices and in particular give the benefit of the massive amounts of media income that comes in at the top of the game to the match-going fan."

    The highest price of a day out at a football match in England, Wales and Scotland has gone from £109 to £134.30 in just 12 months, with Arsenal the most expensive club to visit for a second successive year.

    A trip to the Emirates Stadium can cost as much as £134.40 with top-price tickets going for £126, a £26 rise on last year's figure and a programme (£3), pie (£3.30) and cup of tea (£2) adding to the cost.

    Play mediaReduce ticket prices, says Football Supporters' Federation chair Malcolm Clarke
    Arsenal's cheapest day out (£34.30) comes in exactly £100 cheaper but it is Newcastle who offer the Premier League's best value day out, with a ticket, programme, pie and cup of tea coming in at £23.

    Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis told BBC Sport the club was doing its best to offer value to fans with the club's cheapest league ticket (£26) among the most affordable in the division. This ticket is £9 cheaper than last season.

    "We've seen ticket prices rise across the game," Gazidis said. "This isn't just a football issue.

    "If you look at the prices of entertainment across the board they have gone up significantly in recent years and clearly we now have an environment where people are economically challenged.

    "What we have done is try to hold those prices down, for example our Capital One Cup prices have been £10 for adults and £5 for children.

    "What we know, because of the tremendous take up, is that there are people who want to watch top class football but for whom price is a factor. That is something we have to be continually conscious of."

    Year-on-year average cheapest ticket price (2011 first)
    •Premier League: £24.87 - £28.30
    •Championship: £20.37 - £21.07
    •League One: £15.52 - £18.54
    •League Two: £15.29 - £17.06
    •Overall: £19.01 - £21.24 - an overall rise of 11.7%
    Former FA chairman Lord Triesman told BBC Sport he was "very disappointed prices keep going up". The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure of inflation stood at 2.2% last month, down from 2.5% in August, but our survey found the average cost of the cheapest ticket had gone up 11.7 per cent.

    "I think it will prevent the next generation from really seeing live football other than on very unusual occasions every so often when clubs will give the tickets away," he said. "Most of the causes of the increases are driven by the salaries paid to players.

    "As it is, it will become a sport in which relatively well-off people will be able to go and watch it live and nobody else. That seems to me to be a tragic historic reverse."

    Arsenal once again come out on top with their cheapest season ticket (£985) costing more than all but three of their Premier League rivals' most expensive equivalent.

    Wigan offer the Premier League's cheapest season ticket (£255) with Manchester City (£275) close behind. Scottish third division side Montrose offer the cheapest season ticket at £90.

    The price of a day out at a Scottish Premier League match remains more affordable with only Celtic (£36.30) costing more than £35. Celtic's most expensive season ticket comes in at £609, however, some £409 more than Inverness Caledonian Thistle's cheapest offer.

    Did you know?
    •Only three out of 92 English league clubs offer a day out for less than £20. Last year it was 12.
    •In Scotland, 21 of the 42 teams across four divisions offer a day out for less than £20.
    •Out of 166 clubs in England and Scotland only 38 offer a day out for less than £20.
    "I certainly think that our clubs in Scotland make a real effort to ensure that football is accessible," Scottish Premier League chief executive Neil Doncaster told BBC Sport.

    "I think our clubs are fully aware of the importance of price in terms of people's decisions to come to a game of football. We've got just over half of our clubs that offer free season tickets, without any charge, to under 12s.

    "The cheapest match day ticket, in terms of a season ticket, works out at £11 a game at a club that has a family ticket - that's two adults and two children at £20 a game, so that's real value against any comparable activity that families can carry out."

    Kidderminster Harriers, of the Conference Premier, sell the most expensive pie in British football at £4, although the club says the product is a large, homemade cottage pie.
     
    #1
  2. Deleted #

    Deleted # Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 27, 2011
    Messages:
    20,587
    Likes Received:
    9,884
    Good news! Sounds like the club are making a good effort at giving the fans value for money.

    We have been laughed at for years, for selling discounted tickets through the schools but I think it's a great idea and shows the club in a really good light.
     
    #2
  3. Albert's Chip Shop

    Albert's Chip Shop Top Grafter
    Forum Moderator

    Joined:
    Jun 27, 2011
    Messages:
    72,363
    Likes Received:
    37,729
    agree totally mate.
    The one thing I've always said about SAFC is that they have engaged with the schools much better than we have over the years.
    Although when my daughter came home with free SOL tickets one night I did ask the teachers to stop trying to brainwash her as she is a mag and pointing out that it is like handing a voucher for a free pack of bacon to a muslim girl (all said in a jovial manner of course...).
     
    #3
  4. Sports Direct Username

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2011
    Messages:
    790
    Likes Received:
    6
    Nice to see that our cheapest day out is the same as a few clubs in league two.

    Clearly keeps people coming back and a full stadium at a cheaper price is better than a half empty one at twice the price.
     
    #4
  5. I Sit Next To A Badger-Leazes Corner

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2011
    Messages:
    6,573
    Likes Received:
    29
    Football is still ridiculously expensive in this country, and whilst its good to see we're among the cheapest in this over-inflated world we call English Football, I see NUFC are trying to come out of this shining brighter than the sun.

    Does this report include the ticket touting £1 administration fee on EACH away ticket? This £5 bus to Sunderland? The total disregard for fans with more loyalty points in order to make a quick buck with Thomas Cook for Brugge?

    A lot of people's ST's equate to £27 per game, some even £30, so to shove this £15 per game lark in our faces is ridiculous. A student ST equates to £22, and the fact we are one of the cheapest in England shows how expensive football is elsewhere, but to call it 'cheap' shows how out of touch they are.
     
    #5
  6. Warmir Pouchov

    Warmir Pouchov Better than JPF

    Joined:
    Jun 1, 2011
    Messages:
    37,088
    Likes Received:
    12,616
    Another thing that the club should rightly be proud of. We are showing ourselves to be ahead of our direct competitors in so many departments.
     
    #6
  7. Albert's Chip Shop

    Albert's Chip Shop Top Grafter
    Forum Moderator

    Joined:
    Jun 27, 2011
    Messages:
    72,363
    Likes Received:
    37,729
    beyond any realisation of the FFP rules we have a good solid foundation now to build for the future, on and off the pitch.
     
    #7
  8. Rafa's Championship Party

    Rafa's Championship Party Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2011
    Messages:
    15,256
    Likes Received:
    1,343
    Got to say I agree with this post. I have got to say on top of this that I don't go to Newcastle home matches and think it's a cheap day out, if we are the cheapest in the Premier League and cheaper than clubs in League 2, it reallys people in powerful position to try and sort it out and make tickets cheaper and more accessible for fans. This is why football fans would rather go to the pub to watch a 3pm kick off.
     
    #8
  9. Warmir Pouchov

    Warmir Pouchov Better than JPF

    Joined:
    Jun 1, 2011
    Messages:
    37,088
    Likes Received:
    12,616
    No doubt that football in this country is expensive and way over the top. But we can only judge the club by the standards of others. We match up quite well by the looks of this.
     
    #9
  10. TheJudeanPeoplesFront

    TheJudeanPeoplesFront Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2011
    Messages:
    12,940
    Likes Received:
    2,812
    Economics is relative, and cost analysis subjective, so whatever the price there will be for and against. From my perspective, being a Newcastle United ST holder is value for money when compared with several fields which would produce more damning data. Anyone been to the local cinema lately? £10 per person to watch something that will be on DVD for the same price or lower in a few months... Theatre trips and nights out are all expensive as well.

    Football is a game supported by fans, "fanatics", so financial prudence and semblances of intelligence aren't always going to find association with us. I'm not paying around £600 to sit around reciting Shakespeare and accommodating viewpoints on the themes and symbolism of the most recent Khaled Hosseini offering, but to ugh and argh like an ousted Austrolapithicus Afarensis leader, and occasionally fling my faeces at the ref or marauding Mackem... To that end it's no wonder the suits can raise prices and "test" our feelings and attachment to the club (and it is a test) with businessman-like disregard. The fact we find ourselves cheaper than many is a big plus, but the examinations will continue with intensity until it is no longer sustainable. At this break point there'll either be a cessation or relenting, or even capitulation. It will all depend on individuals and what we can pay.

    To me at present, £600 is just about worth the experience, but if Newcastle started losing every match, at what point do the ST holders turn around and say that the experience isn't worth it? Even if that voice rang out and you essentially admitted your lack of "loyalty" and subsequent failure of the "test", it would have very little affect at or to the top. Capitalism benefits the emotionless, the exact opposite of club fanship. Theoretically and morally it's a mindfuck.

    No matter what your choice of financial poison(/entertainment), it's all a pointless way of filling up those awkward silences at the pub, collective trip to the girl's bathroom, we've invented for ourselves when those ancestors learnt to orally communicate in ways other than pointing, barking or calling the ref a ****er... So you might as well pick something you enjoy and are comfortable paying for...


    I've been paying (emotionally) for following this bloody team since I was a lad, so hopefully they earn my £600 by winning something for once <whistle>
     
    #10

  11. Obi Wan

    Obi Wan keeper of the peace

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2011
    Messages:
    36,751
    Likes Received:
    21,916
    JPF it's symbolic of our struggle against oppression. ;)



    I agree with comments that football is simply too expensive for fans to have to accept. I guess Ar least NUFC are trying to make it affordable whilst still ensuring the club can make enough money to compete. Goes against the cries of Ashley being a money grabber. Fair play.
     
    #11
  12. TheJudeanPeoplesFront

    TheJudeanPeoplesFront Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2011
    Messages:
    12,940
    Likes Received:
    2,812
    <laugh>Iseewhatyoudidthere<laugh>
     
    #12
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page