Was reading an article in an industry mag recently about ticket prices for live entertainment and how, post-covid, they have risen at multiple times the rate of inflation. In some cases up to ten times the price immediately prior to covid.
There's an expectation that football tickets are an exception and should be immune to this. Seems to be based around the idea its a working class sport but I'm not sure that really applies anymore.
Even with PL level TV money coming in club owners will be looking to maximise revenues, I can see it getting far far worse. I can easily see for 'big' clubs ticket prices in the hundreds being the norm. As long as there's enough day trippers and tourists that will be the direction we go in. Already seeing those clubs trying to find ways to take season tickets off people so they can be sold as individual matchday tickets.
Fear that people are pissing in the wind with this. Swansea is A+ and that's virtually sold out. How can we turn round to King and say his pricing is wrong when its sold out?
Sounds like an interesting article, but were these prices via the clubs directly or 3rd party sellers? My own experience of post-COVID football was when I went to Milan for the Derby and because the Italian Government introduce new measures, the capacity was capped and meant that the price I paid for a ticket was comfortably x2 what it would've went for if the capacity was 100% rather than 50-60% (whatever it was).
It's 'working man's game' is a religious mantra at this point, it doesn't change the fact that prices across the board have gone up due to inflation but also demand.
On that point, football fans have only got themselves to blame because it's open secret that 3rd party resellers regularly see tickets go for several times over their value (Prem mostly). Why should the clubs stand by and let it happen? It's their product to sell rather than Joe Bloggs. Last summer, I seen a table of England fans pay £600-700 for the game v Denmark which was a minimum of 3x market value (more like 6x). I don't like it, but can see why FIFA and clubs look at that and look to get a slice of the action.
Pricing is the ultimate feedback loops in a market economy. If prices are too high, you won't sell the tickets and in our case, despite the outrage from people who are mostly not impacted, the pricing is entirely justified.
If its all about revenue maximisation then King needs to pick the right fixtures. I think its terrible to charge kids £35 for tier 2 football match but as you say Swansea has sold out 6 weeks in advance so revenue maximised.
West Brom on the other hand was clearly the wrong call for a Saturday lunchtime TV game. Charlton will sell-out, the ticket exchange will inevitably open leading to extra footfall for F&B/Merch. There's no way we don't generate more income from that game than we did v West Brom.
The Bristol City attendance will be an interesting one to watch as Cat A prices are still steep compare to a lot of grounds (Does ANYWHERE else charge £27 for kids?....) and its 3 weeks before Christmas. There are already rumblings of discontent amongst the Bristol C fans.
Bristol City charged us £37 last season, they can’t be serious? Ultimately, if they don’t like it, don’t go and that’s the best way to protest. The best way to normalise these prices is to keep paying it, week on week.
