Are You Officially Priced Out Yet, Or Almost?

[FanchesterCity]

For me, each year I start wondering if I can really afford season tickets for me and my lad, and of course, it's not just the ticket prices, it's the added costs - parking, petrol, food and drink etc. We don't spend a fortune at the ground, but a pie and a coffee at half time shouldn't be costing the earth.


I think a season ticket is about the right price, I can't say it's extortionate, it's simply that the overall costs are mounting. CL games are on top, and we might get to the odd away game as well. League Cup and FA Cup games have had to be knocked on the head (usually).

The mere fact that we're now trading off some games against others suggests its close to the limit (for us).
Of course it's a matter of choice... I could spend less on the car, or on Sky and pay more to City, but I think we're a typical middle class family and we're feeling the pinch. I'm sure others are too.

 

[paulchapo]

A forgotten fact when discussing ticket prices is nowadays due to Sky and the internet etcetera you can usually catch every game live in some format if you don't go,where as years ago there was ONE match on MOTD and one or two match highlights on a Sunday afternoon.

I have mates who were fanatical Blues years ago who stopped going for one reason or another and don't miss it now.As one said the first few times were hard,he kept on thinking about the match and what he would be doing but that faded and now although he likes us to win he really doesn't miss actually going live.

 

[St Helens Blue (Exiled)]

Is it the price of season tickets or single matchday tickets that are getting peoples backs up?

My season ticket works out at £34 a game which im happy with, but if i wasn't a season ticket kholder im not sure id pay £57 for the Liverpool game

My take is that they are making season tickets look better value and trying to encourage non s/t holders to get themselves on the waiting list

I'm not priced out at the moment, but i guess if it starts getting silly over the next 5 years then i might have to have a re-think

I would say its match day tickets mate .as an example 3 seasons ago myself and 2 kids were paying £30 a match in the family stand that's what tempted us in and got the kids trained into going the matches.this time it would be £117 for us 3 against the dippers .we wouldn't have started going to games at these prices and my two would of been lost to city

Like i said, personally i wouldn't pay £57 to go and watch the Liverpool game if i didnt have a s/t

I'm in the CL scheme, but after last season where I paid £99 for the CL bundle I couldn't help but think id have rather just gone to the Bayern game and paid £45 and watched the other two games at home and saved myself about £50

Thats what im thinking of doing this year, come out the CL and just go to the game against the more attractive team in our group

Luckily for me i don't drink or eat at the ground its a case of 'get in and get out'

That's exactly the same for me mate. I have lost 100 loyalty points for pulling out of the CL scheme-Im really not that bothered about it.
I am going to go to the game at home against the Group 1 team and then watch the other 2 at home.
I have stayed in the domestic cup schemes.

On the ticket pricing issue it is definitely the individual pricing that is wrong.
my lad paid £195 for his season card which equates to £10.26 per home game-Amazing value.
I paid £600 for mine which equates to £31.57 per game-Again amazing value.
So why should an adult pay an extra £26 minimum (£55) to watch the same game just because they cannort afford or cannot commit to a season card. I appreciate there should maybe a slight premium but not to these levels.

 

[Citizen of Legoland]

Is it the price of season tickets or single matchday tickets that are getting peoples backs up?

My season ticket works out at £34 a game which im happy with, but if i wasn't a season ticket holder im not sure id pay £57 for the Liverpool game

My take is that they are making season tickets look better value and trying to encourage non s/t holders to get themselves on the waiting list

I'm not priced out at the moment, but i guess if it starts getting silly over the next 5 years then i might have to have a re-think

For me it's more match tickets than season tickets - the cost per game just looks so disproportionate, now, especially when you factor in dependants, a day out is way too much for most - but then again I haven't looked at how we compare with our rivals. The problem at the moment is that City are in a bit of unknown territory and are trying to balance keeping the ground full, increase regular match-going support in the immediate area and continue to improve profitability (regardless of whether you think FFP plays a part or not, this is how modern business works). It does appear (and make sense) that they are keen on having a low season ticket price when the expansions are finished, and this will be applauded if it is true - but I would expect eventually they'll ramp these up as well. Whilst I am working I can justify the odd luxury, which I now categorize my season ticket as, but even I have a limit.

The thing is, there is a limit. We'll eventually hit a ceiling of prices where people start to cancel STs or buying less games - we're probably close to it now. Despite getting a whopping 2% pay rise, I have ended up spending less with the club than last year by going gold and dropping the City(zen) card for my daughter, I'll just grab the occasional open sale as and when, or she can share my son's ST. I guess many others are doing the same. This behaviour is indicative of hitting a ceiling and it will be more widespread once interest rates start to rise as there are many people living with mortgages which could become difficult to handle beyond 5%.

 

[blueparrot]

I would say its match day tickets mate .as an example 3 seasons ago myself and 2 kids were paying £30 a match in the family stand that's what tempted us in and got the kids trained into going the matches.this time it would be £117 for us 3 against the dippers .we wouldn't have started going to games at these prices and my two would of been lost to city

Like i said, personally i wouldn't pay £57 to go and watch the Liverpool game if i didnt have a s/t

I'm in the CL scheme, but after last season where I paid £99 for the CL bundle I couldn't help but think id have rather just gone to the Bayern game and paid £45 and watched the other two games at home and saved myself about £50

Thats what im thinking of doing this year, come out the CL and just go to the game against the more attractive team in our group

Luckily for me i don't drink or eat at the ground its a case of 'get in and get out'

That's exactly the same for me mate. I have lost 100 loyalty points for pulling out of the CL scheme-Im really not that bothered about it.
I am going to go to the game at home against the Group 1 team and then watch the other 2 at home.
I have stayed in the domestic cup schemes.

On the ticket pricing issue it is definitely the individual pricing that is wrong.
my lad paid £195 for his season card which equates to £10.26 per home game-Amazing value.
I paid £600 for mine which equates to £31.57 per game-Again amazing value.
So why should an adult pay an extra £26 minimum (£55) to watch the same game just because they cannort afford or cannot commit to a season card. I appreciate there should maybe a slight premium but not to these levels.

Can anybody remember the difference in price between season tickets and match day prices back in the past. I can't but do remember always thinking when I got mine in the mid 70s that after about 12 games I was getting in for free.

 

[Pablo ZZZ Peroni]

Like i said, personally i wouldn't pay £57 to go and watch the Liverpool game if i didnt have a s/t

I'm in the CL scheme, but after last season where I paid £99 for the CL bundle I couldn't help but think id have rather just gone to the Bayern game and paid £45 and watched the other two games at home and saved myself about £50

Thats what im thinking of doing this year, come out the CL and just go to the game against the more attractive team in our group

Luckily for me i don't drink or eat at the ground its a case of 'get in and get out'

That's exactly the same for me mate. I have lost 100 loyalty points for pulling out of the CL scheme-Im really not that bothered about it.
I am going to go to the game at home against the Group 1 team and then watch the other 2 at home.
I have stayed in the domestic cup schemes.

On the ticket pricing issue it is definitely the individual pricing that is wrong.
my lad paid £195 for his season card which equates to £10.26 per home game-Amazing value.
I paid £600 for mine which equates to £31.57 per game-Again amazing value.
So why should an adult pay an extra £26 minimum (£55) to watch the same game just because they cannort afford or cannot commit to a season card. I appreciate there should maybe a slight premium but not to these levels.

Can anybody remember the difference in price between season tickets and match day prices back in the past. I can't but do remember always thinking when I got mine in the mid 70s that after about 12 games I was getting in for free.

Spot on. I got my 1st ST in 1976. Cant remmember how much it was but it sticks in my mind that it was effectively free entry after 12 or 13 games. There were 21 home league games then as well.

 

[LoveCity]

If it hasn't already been mentioned, new City Voice survey thing allows you to move topics (ticket prices, where away fans site, away tickets, etc.) into priority categories... and one of them is ticket prices. I recommend people move that into high priority then select it as the issue to be discussed first.

 

[Bluwhit]

but I think we're a typical middle class family and we're feeling the pinch. I'm sure others are too.

Blimey.. you're feeling the pinch? Spare a thought for us Working Class lot then..

 

[Doncaster Blues]

I havent been able to afford a season card and I've stopped going to the big games a while ago, I take my son which adds a considerable extra amount on top of my ticket and travel costs, not that this bothers me as he loves going to games and is a proper blue already by the age of 8!

I tend to pick and chose the games we go to, generally Stoke, Fulham, Swansea etc etc (FA cup and league cup are good cheap ones to pick too) by doing this for the same money tend to be able to do an extra 2 or 3 games per season.

I have never had sky neither, the money saved on this tends to fund a game a month!

One thing I don't think people have noticed this season that the club have removed the 'cheaper' family stand tickets. They were always a bit cheaper for adults but loads cheaper for kids, looking at the liverpool and stoke tickets on the online ticketing site the 3rd tier is now cheaper for kids than the family stand which surely isnt right.

Its annoying for me as I always tried to get family stand tickets as its better for my lad as he's around kids of his own age but also to save a few quid to boot.

But on a greater level its a bit worrying that familys might get priced out of going, so if a dad has a few kids he might not take them all and unfortunately the club could end up missing out on the next generation of fans and the 'on the day' income they generate through the club shop.

 

[ChichesterBlue]

Well after going since 1982, all but 4 of those years (in the 90s when i moved South but still went) as a season ticket holder I've finally given up.
Been brewing in the mind for a while but yesterday I phoned the club and asked to cancel my ticket in block 204. Just awaiting a refund now.
Reasoning - well quite a few:
- consistent price hikes year on year. Tv revenue has gone through the roof, yet the fans still get stung by another 5-10% rise each year
- no end in sight for these rises so might as well quit now before I'm truly priced out
- player power. The incident with yaya pre-world cup being a prime example. Greed greed greed. We're the richest league in the world with the most debt. A massive reality check is needed by way of a wage cap or something else fairly major/ radical
- Saturday afternoon football? What's that? I travel a round trip of 520 miles for each game. First home game...8pm on a Monday after a 3 day weekend. 2am bed at the start of a week is shit.
- Because of the above factors (and I could say more), every year there is an ever reducing gap between my enjoyment of watching City on the tv and actually going to the game.

My partner can't believe it...40 years old and haven't even told my season ticket holding parents yet either.. But that's the difficult part. When you're brought up into a blue household City is in my blood and it's hard to say no, but there just comes a time (for me now) when enough is enough and I can think of other ways of spending a massive part of my disposable income than on ever increasing tickets/parking/food/beer costs etc etc.

Obviously I now take a deep breathe and keep asking "have I made the right decision?". I think sadly that time will say "yes".