Strong ticketing will keep Premier League clubs on top

If English Premier League football clubs follow the advice of Deloitte, ticket sales may not be affected by the economic crisis after all. According to Deloitte, clubs have an opportunity to avoid a decrease in revenue as the result of limited ticket sales, by making modifications to their pricing systems.

A few clubs within the Premier League have already revealed changes to pricing structure, going so far as to freeze or slash the cost of tickets. Fortunately, Deloitte’s Sports Business Group noted that support for live football remains strong, which will help to keep ticket revenue at a respectable level. The group further attributed the possibility of reinforced ticket sales to the “exceptional” loyalty of football fans.

Sports Business Group Director Paul Rawnsley warned that clubs must implement the right pricing strategies in order to maintain ticket revenue. Rawnsley advised that clubs need to take the “price perceptions” of their supporters into account, indentifying discounted child tickets as one of the positive approaches.

Rawnsley went on to note that a strong desire to see live football drives many fans to make budget cuts in other aspects of their lives. He referred to football attendance as “strongly habit forming”, indicating that live matches hold social value and act as a stress reliever.

According to numbers revealed within the Deloitte Football Money League, five of the top six English clubs hold more than 95 percent of capacity utilisation rates, showing the resilience of the sport to economic downturn.