Are You Officially Priced Out Yet, Or Almost?

[mrtwiceaseason]

And I can almost guarantee the club weren't too bothered about trying to keep your business either?
They'll make more money off your seat, selling it for every home match to individuals rather than keeping it reserved for yourself.

They've got the airline, Expansion on it's way. all the business is missing now is the hotel. Once this is built near the stadium, they can start to throw the loyal blues out.

The guy did say I'd receive a call...but not heard anything as yet, nor do I expect to!

It's a sad story and one that I'm sure a lot of us are going to have to face if the prices keep going up. I'm sure you will get plenty of unsympathetic responses on here anyway; the usual "price of success" bollocks that people spout. Aside from the fantastic stuff that we play and the success, I've never been more disillusioned with football as I am now. Season on season it feels like it's slowly being wrestled away from me. The tipping point will come sooner or later and I'll find something else to do with my life.

I think the agureo moment has a lot to answer for it just feels like we are chasing the ultimate high .even this time felt flat compared to that.just wander if that being the end of that story was the time for a clean break having gone full cycle ?

 

[chris85mcfc]

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".

Fair play to you for hanging on this long, im not sure id be driving up here every two weeks as im sure the fuel costs are ridiculous.

You do sit in the east stand level 2 tho and that must be pretty expensive, have you not thought about moving behind the net where it would be a bit cheaper?

I don't believe they want all 'normal' fans out who don't spend money on souvenirs and beer, but I do think they play to percentages.

 

[YaYa]

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".

I don't mind admitting that this thread is bloody upsetting to me. So many stories similar to yours CB and I can't help but feel really really gutted at how much our game has changed over the past 15-20 years. I am with you all the way on your comments regarding player power, we as fans know that the inflated wage demands are the real reason for the cost of football nowadays. Has the standard of football improved in those years? Of course it has but it's not enough to warrant the mad prices we are expected to pay.

I've been going to City since I was 10 years old my first game being Stoke at Main Road in 1989. I've had a season ticket off and on since then and like you say "it's in your blood". After a lot of thought and budgeting I have actually renewed this season but I did think very long and very hard about it. I go with my dad and would hate to miss out on the time I spend with him at the game I really would but I seriously think this will be my last season.

Like I say, it's bloody upsetting when you think about it.

It's not just a game is it?!

 

[Why Always Ste]

This is my last season in the seat I'm in. Next year I'll be looking for a move to a cheaper seat, if I can.

Probably only a few more years left altogether.

Been going since 1989, used to be home and away a lot in the 90s, then religiously from around 2003-2007 when I was a young adult and it was still fairly affordable. In the last seven years it's become a joke. It went from every home and away, to one away each month, and last season I went to five away games altogether.

The thing is, when I do give it up, City won't give a shit that they're losing the custom of a fairly long standing fan. They'll probably be happy as they can replace me with a middle class bloke who'd probably spend more at the ground than I do.

City are probably rubbing their hands every time someone like me gives up their ticket. "Nice one, that's another bit of deadwood out of the way, fuck him, let's fleece someone who can afford more!"
Typical English club attitude.

I don't think we have the fan base for the club to adapt that attitude, as much as they need to maximize gate receipts especially with FFP hurting us, they can't afford to neglect our loyal fans.
If they do it is at their peril.

I disagree. I'm seeing it more and more, obvious tourist types coming to the stadium, at Wembley last week I came across quite a few tourists in our section of the stadium.
It is completely their choice - I don't have an issue with tourists/jcl's or whatever you want to call them.

My issue is with the club, and how as a business it makes more sense to have this kind of crowd than a stadium packed full of regulars.
Individual Ticket prices are higher.
More revenue from Food/Drink
More revenue from Merchandise
more revenue from Flights (well Etihad get more revenue)
More revenue from Hotel stays (they will have one built near the stadium soon)


Manchester City Football Club is more of a tourist attraction than a local sports club as we knew it.
it has more in common with Alton Towers.

The locals who have some connection with City will continue to go, until eventually they are priced out and I'll be honest - I don't particularly want to pay to sit in a stadium full of Non-English speaking randomers who don't sing and would rather sit there taking photos on their Tablet devices.

The more and more it turns into this tourist attraction - the less I'll be going there, and as much as I don't like saying this - I'll probably have to be choosing another local club for my live football in years to come.

Corporates just don't get this about human nature. They want to continue milking us like cows on this consumer farm we call Earth, when we still have our instinctive nature about us and don't like being on a farm.

 

[steveb15]

Like Chichester Blue I have a long journey but for me the gap between watching City at the stadium and watching on TV remains huge.
Do agree about the negative effect of greed in the game though.
Not everything is perfect but the pleasure I get from watching City , particularly David Silva, in full flow is immeasurable and I hope I can afford it for a while yet.

 

[Marvin]

From reading this thread, and others, and looking at the Cummunity Shield attendance it looks like fans will b picking and choosing their games, and that games like the League Cup are going to suffer as fans conserve their money.

That will be disappointing. Our crowds in the Cups have gone up massively in rcent seasons, and I think that has contributed to the success. If the team runs out to an empty stand the message is this doesn't matter.

 

[YaYa]

From reading this thread, and others, and looking at the Cummunity Shield attendance it looks like fans will b picking and choosing their games, and that games like the League Cup are going to suffer as fans conserve their money.

That will be disappointing. Our crowds in the Cups have gone up massively in rcent seasons, and I think that has contributed to the success. If the team runs out to an empty stand the message is this doesn't matter.

When in reality the message is "we can't fucking afford it!"

 

[dubblue]

After 17 years as SC holder along with my dad this will be our last season. It's absolutely shocking that the club are bleeding their core support for an extra million or two,which means sweet nothing in the grand scheme of things. How can you have the same affinity with something that couldn't care less about you. The success has been brilliant but at the cost of being priced out of seeing City? Anybody who says yes are kidding themselves. None of us ever based our loyalty on how many games we won or lost.

 

[chris85mcfc]

From reading this thread, and others, and looking at the Cummunity Shield attendance it looks like fans will b picking and choosing their games, and that games like the League Cup are going to suffer as fans conserve their money.

That will be disappointing. Our crowds in the Cups have gone up massively in rcent seasons, and I think that has contributed to the success. If the team runs out to an empty stand the message is this doesn't matter.

And if its in the clubs best interest for us to be in the running for any trophy then they will want a full stadium surely?

That won't happen for LC and FA cup games unless they practically give them away

 

[M18CTID]

This is my last season in the seat I'm in. Next year I'll be looking for a move to a cheaper seat, if I can.

Probably only a few more years left altogether.

Been going since 1989, used to be home and away a lot in the 90s, then religiously from around 2003-2007 when I was a young adult and it was still fairly affordable. In the last seven years it's become a joke. It went from every home and away, to one away each month, and last season I went to five away games altogether.

The thing is, when I do give it up, City won't give a shit that they're losing the custom of a fairly long standing fan. They'll probably be happy as they can replace me with a middle class bloke who'd probably spend more at the ground than I do.

City are probably rubbing their hands every time someone like me gives up their ticket. "Nice one, that's another bit of deadwood out of the way, fuck him, let's fleece someone who can afford more!"
Typical English club attitude.

I don't think we have the fan base for the club to adapt that attitude, as much as they need to maximize gate receipts especially with FFP hurting us, they can't afford to neglect our loyal fans.
If they do it is at their peril.

I disagree. I'm seeing it more and more, obvious tourist types coming to the stadium, at Wembley last week I came across quite a few tourists in our section of the stadium.
It is completely their choice - I don't have an issue with tourists/jcl's or whatever you want to call them.

My issue is with the club, and how as a business it makes more sense to have this kind of crowd than a stadium packed full of regulars.
Individual Ticket prices are higher.
More revenue from Food/Drink
More revenue from Merchandise
more revenue from Flights (well Etihad get more revenue)
More revenue from Hotel stays (they will have one built near the stadium soon)


Manchester City Football Club is more of a tourist attraction than a local sports club as we knew it.
it has more in common with Alton Towers.

The locals who have some connection with City will continue to go, until eventually they are priced out and I'll be honest - I don't particularly want to pay to sit in a stadium full of Non-English speaking randomers who don't sing and would rather sit there taking photos on their Tablet devices.

The more and more it turns into this tourist attraction - the less I'll be going there, and as much as I don't like saying this - I'll probably have to be choosing another local club for my live football in years to come.

Corporates just don't get this about human nature. They want to continue milking us like cows on this consumer farm we call Earth, when we still have our instinctive nature about us and don't like being on a farm.

That isn't in doubt but I think what Shirley was getting at is that while the club can afford to "lose" a small number of long-standing fans (as sad as that may be), they certainly cannot afford to alienate tens of thousands of regular match-goers because there's nowhere near enough tourists/JCL's to take up the slack. Seeing "quite a few tourists" at Wembley isn't anywhere near on the scale of what goes on down the road at Old Trafford where they're far better placed to freeze out large chunks of long-standing United fans and replace them with the type of fan that wouldn't blink at spending £200 in the souvenir shop. Personally, I doubt we'll ever get to seeing those numbers of tourists at City matches regardless of how well we do on the pitch and as such the club really does need to think carefully about how many fans they're prepared to price out.