Premier League fans without season tickets will pay as little as $15 and as much as $150 for a ticket to watch their clubs, according to a new survey.
The BBC survey shows Blackburn come out as the top-flight club with the lowest possible outlay for a match-day – the cheapest possible adult ticket, a programme, a pie and a cup of tea costs $26 – at Liverpool by contrast it costs $70.
According to the survey, Arsenal has the highest possible cost of a single ticket at $150, and the most expensive pies at $6, but its cheapest ticket is $52 while Liverpool’s is $58.
The Premier League said that clubs tried to pitch prices at different levels for fans with different budgets.
A statement said, “With Premier League grounds over 92% full on average in each of the last three seasons fans are clearly enjoying the football, and the overall match-day experiences, that are on offer.
“Fans want to watch games featuring top talent in safe stadia\…our clubs have invested more than $3.5 billion in facilities and continue to invest heavily in developing and acquiring the best possible players to make the whole fan experience as good as possible.”
Seven Football League clubs offer tickets as low as £10, including Watford who also have the cheapest day out in the Championship at $26. Leeds have the most expensive programme in all four divisions, priced at $7, while the cheapest cup of tea is just 50pence at Crawley…but I’ve heard that the tea is rotten.
Football League head of communications John Nagle said they sent out families as ‘mystery shoppers’ to every single club to test the matchday experience…and that growing attendances showed the majority of fans were happy.
He said, “When The Football League and Premier League split in 1992 it was widely claimed that this would be the death knell for clubs in our three divisions, however since then our attendances have increased from around the 10 million mark to more than 16 million.
“This clearly shows that clubs are doing something right in terms of the product on offer for supporters and that it provides good value.
“The League is focused on improving the supporter experience at matches and to this end we send ‘mystery shoppers’ to matches. During the course of the season they visit every club to assess the experience for home and away supporters and compile a report on the whole day.
“These reports are discussed with clubs to help them raise the bar and the very best clubs achieve our Family Excellence Award.”
Some 47 clubs have that award at the moment and Cardiff were named the family club of the year.
In the Scottish Premier League, there is much less of a difference between prices at the top and bottom clubs compared to the top-flight in England.
Inverness boast the cheapest possible day out at $35, with Hibernian the most expensive at $42 just above Rangers $40 and Celtic $38.
Football Supporters’ Federation chairman Malcolm Clarke said clubs must work harder to ensure ordinary fans are not priced out of games.
He said, “This is an industry that has more money going into it at the top of the game through media rights than it’s ever had before.
“It’s important that football continues to be attractive to the whole cross-section of society, so it doesn’t just become something only middle-class and upper-class families can afford.”
by Buford Balony
