Ticket Prices

Lavinda Past said:
When I first moved down to that London in the early 80s, I used to decide whether or not to go to an away game on the morning of the game, based on the weather and/or if I was fit to drive there.

Get up, get in car, drive to (say) Sunderland, pay on the gate, find mates, watch match, go home.

Never got locked out, rarely had to buy a ticket, went in the home section if the City end was full. Never had any bother.

Probably got to more aways than home games over the 80s, early 90s. Then Sky and the scousers ruined it.

Younger fans will never get to experience the game like that.
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Spot on mate, great days they were.
 
paulchapo said:
I may be wrong but I feel the days of staunch loyalty to one club no matter what division they are in and how well they are doing successfully may be over.

When many of us older fans grew up football was the main affordable...an important word, pastetime. There was no internet, mass coverage of live games available, your TV football was one game on MOTD and two games on Sunday afternoon, none live. The only live games were the FA cup final and the odd international. No tickets were required except for big games. You decided on the day, hopped on a bus or train, queued up, paid cash and you were in, no questions asked. That spontaneity has now gone.

If we lose a generation of new young fans and stop winning trophies again we're going to be in the shit. Us older fans are sadly dying or becoming too frail to attend every game. I think somebody mentioned £34 for a kids ticket, that's insane. Personally for me £35 was the top whack I was willing to pay except for cup finals. Luckily due to having a season ticket I never had to pay more. I certainly wouldn't pay £68 for a league game, not a chance in hell.
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It's so shortsighted. I think we will always have a local following in Manchester and within 50 miles of the city. But whether it will be a proper matchgoing following like the older generation is the big question - it's not difficult to imagine a club with an even bigger armchair following who consume it through shirts, FIFA, FPL and telly but wouldn't dream of setting foot in the ground because a YouTube plastic will do it for them. And be in Napoli the next week and Dortmund the week after.

Which still represents income for the club - but makes for a worse spectacle that won't be exciting to the international audience the club is trying to engage. As we saw during lockdown when fans weren't allowed in - it was a crap season to watch, because fans are part of the action.

After lockdown I think a lot of people realised they were taking things on their doorstep for granted and wanted to get out and live. And this has been to the advantage of City, with empty seats now a rarity and lots of armchair fans and lapsed matchgoers converted into going to games. Which is really healthy. But now that could be jeopardised by the club getting silly with pricing. It's not just tickets - a pie on it's own should not cost over £5.

The one thing I have to say the club got right was making tickets available at fairer prices earlier in the season. It helped me personally although it doesn't work for everyone.

But it still doesn't mean £70 is reasonable for 90 minutes - today's £70 is 2025's £100, and we've had five games in the last two weeks.
 
paulchapo said:
I think somebody mentioned £34 for a kids ticket, that's insane. Personally for me £35 was the top whack I was willing to pay except for cup finals.
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as far as I can see,the cheapest ticket for an under 18 tonight is £45,for a kid,jesus wept.
 
paulchapo said:
I may be wrong but I feel the days of staunch loyalty to one club no matter what division they are in and how well they are doing successfully may be over.

When many of us older fans grew up football was the main affordable...an important word, pastetime. There was no internet, mass coverage of live games available, your TV football was one game on MOTD and two games on Sunday afternoon, none live. The only live games were the FA cup final and the odd international. No tickets were required except for big games. You decided on the day, hopped on a bus or train, queued up, paid cash and you were in, no questions asked. That spontaneity has now gone.

If we lose a generation of new young fans and stop winning trophies again we're going to be in the shit. Us older fans are sadly dying or becoming too frail to attend every game. I think somebody mentioned £34 for a kids ticket, that's insane. Personally for me £35 was the top whack I was willing to pay except for cup finals. Luckily due to having a season ticket I never had to pay more. I certainly wouldn't pay £68 for a league game, not a chance in hell.
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You make an interesting point about loyalty. I live in Nottingham but Forest have a situation where only members can get tickets and there were limited memberships available and you needed a previous purchase history to buy a membership. Effectively they locked out new fans via their membership policy. So, to take my kids to watch top flight football, the easiest option was to buy Citizens membership and take them to watch City. At least anyone can buy a membership. Having said that, I am looking for value for money and wouldn't pay £68/£40 for tickets. Demand for tickets has risen (Haaland, after lockdown etc) and City are pushing the price discovery to see what they can charge and still sell out. Not great for the local fans. Like Forest, it's short sighted.
 
Etihad said:
You make an interesting point about loyalty. I live in Nottingham but Forest have a situation where only members can get tickets and there were limited memberships available and you needed a previous purchase history to buy a membership. Effectively they locked out new fans via their membership policy. So, to take my kids to watch top flight football, the easiest option was to buy Citizens membership and take them to watch City. At least anyone can buy a membership. Having said that, I am looking for value for money and wouldn't pay £68/£40 for tickets. Demand for tickets has risen (Haaland, after lockdown etc) and City are pushing the price discovery to see what they can charge and still sell out. Not great for the local fans. Like Forest, it's short sighted.
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That's crazy from Forest but with a smaller ground they may be at capacity?

For the floating new fan the new found excitement can soon fade. A couple more defeats and all we'll be playing for is a top four place. Interest will soon drop them, no one is paying £68 for a nothing game.
 
cleavers said:
Mine has now been sold, which came as a surprise, but it is one of the "cheapest" available.
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Email about 5.15? If so i reckon that's sold to the club. Ours were available at 5 and then sold as they took all exchange seats off sale. Expecting seats to be empty.
 
paulchapo said:
That's crazy from Forest but with a smaller ground they may be at capacity?

For the floating new fan the new found excitement can soon fade. A couple more defeats and all we'll be playing for is a top four place. Interest will soon drop them, no one is paying £68 for a nothing game.
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City ground capacity is around 30k. There are plans to expand but it's not moving quickly. I guess they will want to be confident of an extended stay in the prem. They weren't selling out Championship games until the end of last season. They didn't have to lock out new fans, seems a crazy decision to me too. They've missed an opportunity to capture the next generation of fans. I think Leicester only sell PL games to members but again anyone can buy a membership, then it goes to points for high demand fixtures. Agree, day trippers like us won't travel for an average side. Part of the appeal is watching one the best club sides in the world. Low category game tickets were a bargain at the beginning of the season.
 
paulchapo said:
That's crazy from Forest but with a smaller ground they may be at capacity?

For the floating new fan the new found excitement can soon fade. A couple more defeats and all we'll be playing for is a top four place. Interest will soon drop them, no one is paying £68 for a nothing game.
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Bizarre to hear from Forest…. Why would any club make it so difficult/expensive for new fans, especially kids….
 
i gave up my season ticket in 2017 for family reasons. now paying for a game is too illogical frankly. id also like to take my kids to a cup game but this year its been £25 for kids for the fa cup and just not feasible for me.

going to a premier league game for me and my two kids would be about £150
 
Stephen230 said:
I’ll try and be careful how I word this as I don’t want to be accused of generalising again. But do working class people in America watch professional sports live, in any sort of the numbers as they do here?

I look at a team like the Brooklyn Nets on TV and the crowd is very white, in an area where white people are in a minority. I’m well aware not all white people are rich and not all black people are poor. But the demographic of the crowd certainly nowhere near matches that of the area. And this is in a sport where black players are hugely over represented on the court. So it’s not like baseball which perhaps traditionally doesn’t appeal to the black community as much, generally speaking.
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I’ve seen a lot of “working class” sport talk being thrown around. I’ve also seen people saying it’s not comparable. It’s a 100 percent comparable. You don’t need to be rich to go to a sporting event in the states. But hearing people complain about 400 for a season ticket is laughable. Enjoy the fact that you get such cheap season tickets.

People here save up to take their family to a few games a year. I really hate how some people on here generalize Americans like we are so beneath you. It’s disgusting actually
 
barry gould said:
I am 80 years old and have been a supporter for over sixty years, but can no longer afford a season ticket, so I usually go to the games not On tv, but now I have to pay £35 a year if I want to buy a ticket for these games, seems very unfair considering how wealthy the club is, very disappointed in City.
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Welcome to the forum fellow blue. It would be good if the club made it easier and more affordable for senior folks such as yourself. I hope someone at the club reads and takes note of such posts on this forum.
 
I would be happy to partake in a fans protest, or at least public display of discontent (!), at tickets prices. Inside or outside of the ground.

Maybe iny being naive , maybe the genie is never going back in the bottle. But can't we at least arrest the price hikes? Or cap match day tickets?
 
Membership fees to advance buy tickets? Scrap it. Use loyalty points and a track record.

Seasoncard price rises. Stop, stop, stop. Sponsorship, TV money etc is on the rise.

The PL capped away tickets. Now start looking at home games. X% must be available at £30. Sort it out.

Fans who release their seasoncard shouldn't be penalised or profited on by edging prices upwards. It's sneaky and it smells of big price rises to come.

Loyalty and marginal gains have a better basis than Lihong from Sichuan or Boris from New York visiting once a season. Set aside a block for tourism. Everyone is welcome but keep Manchester for Manchester too.
 
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