The BBC has brought out its latest price of football study and reports that the cost of the cheapest ticket in all four divisions has increased at twice the rate of inflation since 2011. Of course, the rate of inflation is an average figure and some goods and services go up at a higher rate and others at a lower rate, but that’s not much consolation for football fans.
The BBC has brought out its latest price of football study and reports that the cost of the cheapest ticket in all four divisions has increased at twice the rate of inflation since 2011. Of course, the rate of inflation is an average figure and some goods and services go up at a higher rate and others at a lower rate, but that’s not much consolation for football fans.
71p in each pound of income goes on player wages, the first time this figure has broken through the 70p barrier. However, as a fans’ representative admitted on Radio 5, there is a tension between fans’ wish to have the best players in their team and demands for cheaper tickets.
Arsenal has the most expensive match day tickets and Manchester City the cheapest season ticket in the Premier League. Charlton has the cheapest season ticket in all four divisions at £150. The Football League argues that there is a trade off between restrained season ticket prices and match day tickets with those buying on the day relatively worse off.
The Premier League’s response to complaints about prices is that grounds have been full to 95 per cent of capacity since the beginning of the season. In the language of economics, demand for tickets at football matches is inelastic, i.e., not very responsive to price. Such is the identification of core fans with their club that they are prepared to pay whatever it takes, although this means that some less well off fans are excluded altogether.