A recent survey by the England Football Supporters Federation confirms that the price of football tickets to the big English Premier League clubs continues to escalate with the main causes cited as soaring club wages bills and the commercialisation and foreign ownership of club keen to sweat their assets and maximize their return on investment.
For many fans and followers football is not just a sport; it’s a passion (or in the words of Bill Shankly ‘Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.’). And of course for many people around the world football is a source of entertainment that crosses the social, economic and political divide but year-on-year hikes in ticket prices are making attendance at Premier League football matches a luxury purchase for many in these times of austerity and an increasingly gloomy economic environment. The escalating ticket prices are a source of contention and resentment by many fans and followers of the English Premier League on 3d TV , Champions League and even for Euro 2012 tickets next year. Fans continue to suffer and are seen as a captive market to the greed of clubs and foreign owners here to milk their passion.
Manchester United Tickets soared by a record 10%, whilst Chelsea Tickets, Manchester United Tickets, Liverpool FC Tickets & Arsenal tickets, Euro 2012 tickets all registered an average price increase 9%. For most Champions League games each ticket costs around £326 making it the most expensive Champion league ticket ever.
Last years Champions League final was played at Wembley on 26th May and the least costly tickets for this were only available through club; there are four categories of tickets in total. The cheapest (fourth ticket) was available at £80; the third category costs £150; the second category ticket was around £225 while the first category ticket being the best among the four would cost in excess of £300. The final blow for many fans was the mandatory administration charge of £26 being levied on every category of the ticket. This may seem a brutal act in the eyes of many football fans but UEFA is not to be completely blamed for this. All other major events around the globe have very high prices too for example; cheapest adult general admission ticket for 2011 British Grand Prix cost £129.
But of course for many fans the culmination of following a football team for many years <sometimes fruitlessly> and then to watch your team in the Champion league final is a once-in-a-lifetime moment for the spectators where the two best teams in Europe encounters each other with aggression, passion, and utter ferocity lift the coveted Champions League trophy in the Umbrella Company. For many football fans to witness this moment is a price worth paying for many fans even if the result is short term poverty! Applying simple economics to this situation help non football fans understand why the prices always keep rising; the answer is simple it rises because there is a proportionate increase in demand as well and club owners know this hence the more popular the team the more demand more tickets and hence increased revenue – note the rise of Chelsea Tickets in recent years.
However, despite these challenges football continues to grow as a sport and the proportion of football fans has increased throughout the world, particularly in third World countries so those clubs with instant brand recognition will always be able to charge premium ticket prices. However, the danger is that soon middle income fans find themselves in a position where the opportunity cost of buying the ticket is too high, especially when last year the price of third category ticket was £80 compared to the current £150. The most ironic part of this whole situation is that this price rise in tickets may cause a longer term decline in interest in the game as fewer and fewer young people get the chance to experience the thrill and passion of watching live, top flight Premier League action in person.