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Lower ticket prices called for
England - 27 February, 2007
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Two Premier League chairmen, Blackburn's John Williams and Bolton's Phil Gartside, said they believe there will be price cuts for all clubs next season and that English Premier League chairmen will be forced into cutting outrageous ticket prices because fans are tired of being ripped off.
"It is a serious issue that has reached saturation point across the country," Gartside. "We feel duty bound to make a stance by reducing the cost for our season ticket holders, and I'm sure other clubs will follow suit next season and listen to public opinion."
The big clubs are feeling the pressure, too. When Manchester United fans protested about being charged GBP 45 to watch the match against Fulham at Craven Cottage, a senior executive from another of the Premier League's clubs told Observer Sport that prices could not go any higher.
"'Officially we are monitoring the situation," he said. "But privately we have realised that ticket prices have reached their maximum, at least in the immediate future."
Even though Arsenal and Manchester United have increased its seating capacity, the average attendance in the Premier League keeps dropping. The big four continue to sell out its matches but the overall Premier League average drops by more than 1,000 year after year.
The attendance average was 32,775, but with this weekend attendance included, it did rise to 33,875.
The reasons fans are not attending the matches are high prices, kick-off times being changed, coverage of football on television, and the lack of competitiveness in the Premier League.
The Observer noted all these reasons in its story, "The Game That Ate Itself," more than two years ago, but little has changed since then and other newspapers have now picked up the pricing issue.
On Saturday, Manchester United fans organised a boycott of Fulham's refreshment stands and programme sellers to protest the GBP 45 ticket price, which is at least GBP 10 more than other clubs charge.
Fulham inflates its prices for clubs that have a large travelling entourage, such as Portsmouth, Newcastle and the top four clubs. The club has had seven different price bands for matches this season that even affects home fans.
"It's obscene for clubs like Fulham to exploit successful away teams and is a sad reflection on the way football has gone," said Mike Hancock, Portsmouth Member of Parliament, who is campaigning on behalf of fans.
"It is the loyal genuine fans, those who turn up in the rain and freezing cold, and make football the greatest spectator sport in the world, who are being disregarded. Not many who sit in the fancy boxes at Old Trafford will have been at the Cottage.
"Fans are being ripped off. It's a scandal if they don't do anything about it. With the new overseas money, there is no excuse."
In January, the Premier League negotiated a new GBP 600 million, three-year deal for overseas TV rights to the Premier League.
Sky and Setanta will pay GBP 1.7 billion to show matches in Britain, along with paying GBP 400 million for Internet and mobile phone rights. This means that starting in August, Premier League clubs will share GBP 900 million per season for at least three seasons.
The club in last place will get approximately GBP 30 million, which is as much as Chelsea earned for winning the title last May.
Blackburn Rovers were the first to use the TV bonus to cut ticket prices.
Blackburn, Bolton, Wigan and Middlesbrough have all reduced ticket prices for some matches this season, but Blackburn gave free admission to season-ticket holders, and charged under-16s GBP 1, for its televised UEFA Cup. That match which ended in a tie against Leverkusen was moved to a 5:30 p.m. kick-off for TV money.
"We recognise that the issue of cost is a major factor in whether supporters attend Premiership matches or not, and we have been looking at different ways of addressing the problem for several months now," Williams told Observer Sport when he announced that more TV money would mean lower match-day prices.
"We recognise that fans' loyalty cannot be taken for granted."
Blackburn priced adult tickets at GBP 15 for the match against Bolton in October. That led to a crowd of 27,662, more than 6,000 above this season's average attendance, and a 50 percent increase of the 18,180 who watched the same clubs play last season.
Both of those matches were televised, which proves fans do not want to pay high prices for matches they can watch at home.
"The income that the Premier League has generated from the new TV deal should definitely be used [to introduce] cheaper ticket prices for matches live on television," said Alan Bloore, vice-chairman of the 160,000-member Football Supporters' Federation.
The group is seeking a freeze on ticket prices for the length of the new deal.
"The Premiership is embarrassed about the new TV deal," said Bloore.
The FSF also wants a fixed price for all travelling supporters.
"Away fans in England are unique. You would not get 5,000 Milan supporters travelling to Juventus," Bloore said.
"If prices were to stay in line with the Taylor Report's recommendation, then GBP15 would be a fair price for those who travel to watch their team."
The report, published in January 1990 after the Hillsborough disaster stated, "it should be possible for seating to be GBP 6."
Accounting for inflation, fans should be paying GBP 9.60 now, rather than the average of about GBP 30.
The money deal between the Premier League and Sky TV has changed the quality of top-flight football and most of the stadia.
Ticket prices have gone up 500 percent compared to rail prices for away fans that have increased annually since 1990 by 1 percent more than inflation.
"Why anyone should be paying more than GBP 20 is beyond me,' said Pete Boyle, who organised the boycott at Fulham for the Independent Manchester United Supporters Association.
"Yesterday it was far too much. It was even GBP 40 for an obstructed view. Ridiculous."
The game was sold out anyway, with 3,900 Manchester United fans filling its end of the stadium, but many refused to buy anything else.
"We made sure we ate beforehand and I would say that over half did the same," said Leigh Gammon, a Manchester United fan.
"Some of those who I saw eating and drinking inside looked like tourists or from the boxes at Old Trafford - they were taking photographs - those kinds of people."
Prices are affecting attendance all across Europe.
In Italy, the average attendance in Serie A was down to an embarrassing 19,361 even before the recent hooligan trouble that led to some matches being played in an empty stadium.
That is a 15 percent drop in the past year, and the lowest in 40 seasons, despite Italy having won the World Cup last summer. Every Serie A game is televised live.
Last year Germany's Bundesliga, which is known for its competitiveness, averaged over 40,000 fans in attendance, roughly 25 percent more than the Premier League, and sells its tickets for as little as GBP 10 or 15.
"It is a serious issue that has reached saturation point across the country," Gartside. "We feel duty bound to make a stance by reducing the cost for our season ticket holders, and I'm sure other clubs will follow suit next season and listen to public opinion."
The big clubs are feeling the pressure, too. When Manchester United fans protested about being charged GBP 45 to watch the match against Fulham at Craven Cottage, a senior executive from another of the Premier League's clubs told Observer Sport that prices could not go any higher.
"'Officially we are monitoring the situation," he said. "But privately we have realised that ticket prices have reached their maximum, at least in the immediate future."
Even though Arsenal and Manchester United have increased its seating capacity, the average attendance in the Premier League keeps dropping. The big four continue to sell out its matches but the overall Premier League average drops by more than 1,000 year after year.
The attendance average was 32,775, but with this weekend attendance included, it did rise to 33,875.
The reasons fans are not attending the matches are high prices, kick-off times being changed, coverage of football on television, and the lack of competitiveness in the Premier League.
The Observer noted all these reasons in its story, "The Game That Ate Itself," more than two years ago, but little has changed since then and other newspapers have now picked up the pricing issue.
On Saturday, Manchester United fans organised a boycott of Fulham's refreshment stands and programme sellers to protest the GBP 45 ticket price, which is at least GBP 10 more than other clubs charge.
Fulham inflates its prices for clubs that have a large travelling entourage, such as Portsmouth, Newcastle and the top four clubs. The club has had seven different price bands for matches this season that even affects home fans.
"It's obscene for clubs like Fulham to exploit successful away teams and is a sad reflection on the way football has gone," said Mike Hancock, Portsmouth Member of Parliament, who is campaigning on behalf of fans.
"It is the loyal genuine fans, those who turn up in the rain and freezing cold, and make football the greatest spectator sport in the world, who are being disregarded. Not many who sit in the fancy boxes at Old Trafford will have been at the Cottage.
"Fans are being ripped off. It's a scandal if they don't do anything about it. With the new overseas money, there is no excuse."
In January, the Premier League negotiated a new GBP 600 million, three-year deal for overseas TV rights to the Premier League.
Sky and Setanta will pay GBP 1.7 billion to show matches in Britain, along with paying GBP 400 million for Internet and mobile phone rights. This means that starting in August, Premier League clubs will share GBP 900 million per season for at least three seasons.
The club in last place will get approximately GBP 30 million, which is as much as Chelsea earned for winning the title last May.
Blackburn Rovers were the first to use the TV bonus to cut ticket prices.
Blackburn, Bolton, Wigan and Middlesbrough have all reduced ticket prices for some matches this season, but Blackburn gave free admission to season-ticket holders, and charged under-16s GBP 1, for its televised UEFA Cup. That match which ended in a tie against Leverkusen was moved to a 5:30 p.m. kick-off for TV money.
"We recognise that the issue of cost is a major factor in whether supporters attend Premiership matches or not, and we have been looking at different ways of addressing the problem for several months now," Williams told Observer Sport when he announced that more TV money would mean lower match-day prices.
"We recognise that fans' loyalty cannot be taken for granted."
Blackburn priced adult tickets at GBP 15 for the match against Bolton in October. That led to a crowd of 27,662, more than 6,000 above this season's average attendance, and a 50 percent increase of the 18,180 who watched the same clubs play last season.
Both of those matches were televised, which proves fans do not want to pay high prices for matches they can watch at home.
"The income that the Premier League has generated from the new TV deal should definitely be used [to introduce] cheaper ticket prices for matches live on television," said Alan Bloore, vice-chairman of the 160,000-member Football Supporters' Federation.
The group is seeking a freeze on ticket prices for the length of the new deal.
"The Premiership is embarrassed about the new TV deal," said Bloore.
The FSF also wants a fixed price for all travelling supporters.
"Away fans in England are unique. You would not get 5,000 Milan supporters travelling to Juventus," Bloore said.
"If prices were to stay in line with the Taylor Report's recommendation, then GBP15 would be a fair price for those who travel to watch their team."
The report, published in January 1990 after the Hillsborough disaster stated, "it should be possible for seating to be GBP 6."
Accounting for inflation, fans should be paying GBP 9.60 now, rather than the average of about GBP 30.
The money deal between the Premier League and Sky TV has changed the quality of top-flight football and most of the stadia.
Ticket prices have gone up 500 percent compared to rail prices for away fans that have increased annually since 1990 by 1 percent more than inflation.
"Why anyone should be paying more than GBP 20 is beyond me,' said Pete Boyle, who organised the boycott at Fulham for the Independent Manchester United Supporters Association.
"Yesterday it was far too much. It was even GBP 40 for an obstructed view. Ridiculous."
The game was sold out anyway, with 3,900 Manchester United fans filling its end of the stadium, but many refused to buy anything else.
"We made sure we ate beforehand and I would say that over half did the same," said Leigh Gammon, a Manchester United fan.
"Some of those who I saw eating and drinking inside looked like tourists or from the boxes at Old Trafford - they were taking photographs - those kinds of people."
Prices are affecting attendance all across Europe.
In Italy, the average attendance in Serie A was down to an embarrassing 19,361 even before the recent hooligan trouble that led to some matches being played in an empty stadium.
That is a 15 percent drop in the past year, and the lowest in 40 seasons, despite Italy having won the World Cup last summer. Every Serie A game is televised live.
Last year Germany's Bundesliga, which is known for its competitiveness, averaged over 40,000 fans in attendance, roughly 25 percent more than the Premier League, and sells its tickets for as little as GBP 10 or 15.
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