The Price of Football

[glorygloryeze]

Great argument in the Times..

Firstly said the scouse fans bullied people to leave and abused those that did not

Also said if you reduce ticket costs you dont solve any problem, you create more and create an even greater divide as people will be stuck on lists

I think that's b0llo0cks...as is this 'premium product, you have to pay for it' thing.
There are enough corporate seats in some of the premier grounds to keep many sections tickets much more 'affordable' than they are.

After all, what stops any of us going to The Emirates to watch The Arsenal if they start charging 50% of our prices? After all, with their CL matches against Bayern, Barca etc they currently offer a more 'premium' product don't they so why would we stay and watch us?
Why? Because of that intruicate innate 'loyalty' we feel to continue to watch and support Spurs.

Owners will ignore that (and instead take the 'you pays your money you takes your choice' route) at their peril...

 

[Baleforce]

That's probably the case, but the act by those Liverpool fans has shown that owners cannot just take things for granted. If they are going to still strip fans dry they are going to either a) show greater justification b) do it much less blatantly.

The loyal-fan-cash-cow will run dry eventually

personally I'd rather this be done openly than via stealth tactics

but then i'm in the minority (possibly of 1) who reacts to our annual ticket price freeze news by complaining

 

[glorygloryeze]

personally I'd rather this be done openly than via stealth tactics

but then i'm in the minority (possibly of 1) who reacts to our annual ticket price freeze news by complaining

Lol - can i ask you why the hell you do that?

 

[Baleforce]

Lol - can i ask you why the hell you do that?

look at the size of our season ticket waiting list and our average attendance, the tickets are clearly underpriced, we are leaving GHod knows how much money on the table, money that could be spent on making us more competitive on the pitch

 

[glorygloryeze]

look at the size of our season ticket waiting list and our average attendance, the tickets are clearly underpriced, we are leaving GHod knows how much money on the table, money that could be spent on making us more competitive on the pitch

Haha...perhaps you should apply to Levy's marketing and finance department for a role....

To be fair, i think they (and other owners) walk a tightope in terms of season ticket pricing and the type of fan that might stop turning up vs the more 'new'/'daytripper' fans that might replace them.
After all, they might also be keen to foster the "he's one of our own" chants...chants that may stop if certain groups of fans stop going imo...

 

[jts1882]

yep, instead of the 250 seats that were going up by £18 for Cat A games in one stand now 30,000 seats for Cat C games have gone up £2

I was surprised to read that it was only 200 seats in the new stand for six games a season. It makes it seem more equivalent to our season tickets at around £1900 and arsenal's at £2000. A few premium seats.

I too doubt FSG have given up. They have announced a freeze on seats in existing stands, but exempted the new stand. They have capped general admission seats at £59, but presumably they can recategorize the new stand seats. Rather than expensive GA seats they can have cheap corporate seats. And as you say they can increase the Cat C games now they have abandoned categorisation.

 

[Baleforce]

Haha...perhaps you should apply to Levy's marketing and finance department for a role....

To be fair, i think they (and other owners) walk a tightope in terms of season ticket pricing and the type of fan that might stop turning up vs the more 'new'/'daytripper' fans that might replace them.
After all, they might also be keen to foster the "he's one of our own" chants...chants that may stop if certain groups of fans stop going imo...

I was offered the job but it was too much money so I turned it down in disgust at Levy's profligacy.

I don't think its a black and white issue, milk the tourist's for all they worth in the up years then return to the base when the bubble bursts, it's election strategy basically, you can effectively do both.

 

[Baleforce]

I was surprised to read that it was only 200 seats in the new stand for six games a season. It makes it seem more equivalent to our season tickets at around £1900 and arsenal's at £2000. A few premium seats.

I too doubt FSG have given up. They have announced a freeze on seats in existing stands, but exempted the new stand. They have capped general admission seats at £59, but presumably they can recategorize the new stand seats. Rather than expensive GA seats they can have cheap corporate seats. And as you say they can increase the Cat C games now they have abandoned categorisation.

maybe it's been a big understanding, somebody overheard a conversation about the increase, someone joked that for that price "I should get a blowjob as well", the eavesdropper started Chinese whispers and before you know it the forums were up in arms as somebody had mentioned a job

 

[glorygloryeze]

I was offered the job but it was too much money so I turned it down in disgust at Levy's profligacy.

I don't think its a black and white issue, milk the tourist's for all they worth in the up years then return to the base when the bubble bursts, it's election strategy basically, you can effectively do both.

Hmmm, yes possibly. But there only seems at many clubs the strategy to milk everything always as though the 'cow' will be there forever. Perhaps this is because many chairmen and not necessarily steeped in the club or the football landscape as a whole. Maybe that's why Spurs/levy seem a bit different to many others (slow? lol) in that regard..[/QUOTE]

 

[StephenH]

That's probably the case, but the act by those Liverpool fans has shown that owners cannot just take things for granted. If they are going to still strip fans dry they are going to either a) show greater justification b) do it much less blatantly.

The loyal-fan-cash-cow will run dry eventually

We will have to have crucifixes at football grounds for some fans/martyrs to be nailed too at this rate. If you dont like the price walk away.

 

[glorygloryeze]

We will have to have crucifixes at football grounds for some fans "martyrs" to be nailed too at this rate. If you dont like the price walk away.

People will; eventually the traditional fans will simply not be able to afford it...and then the whining of 'lack of atmosphere' or 'the support aint what it used to be' will start again..

 

[jts1882]

I think that's b0llo0cks...as is this 'premium product, you have to pay for it' thing.
There are enough corporate seats in some of the premier grounds to keep many sections tickets much more 'affordable' than they are.

After all, what stops any of us going to The Emirates to watch The Arsenal if they start charging 50% of our prices? After all, with their CL matches against Bayern, Barca etc they currently offer a more 'premium' product don't they so why would we stay and watch us?
Why? Because of that intruicate innate 'loyalty' we feel to continue to watch and support Spurs.

Owners will ignore that (and instead take the 'you pays your money you takes your choice' route) at their peril...

You make a good point about fans being slightly different from customers who can shop for the best deal. This especially applies to clubs that started in schools, churches or workplaces.

With Liverpool, they were founded to provide profit for the owner of Anfield. He fell out with Everton, who were using the ground, something about rent and his insistence they use his pub, or some such. So he created a new club, recruiting a complete team from Scotland, for the specific purpose of charging people to watch games at Anfield. Liverpool FC was a profit generating enterprise from the start.

 

[glorygloryeze]

You make a good point about fans being slightly different from customers who can shop for the best deal. This especially applies to clubs that started in schools, churches or workplaces.

With Liverpool, they were founded to provide profit for the owner of Anfield. He fell out with Everton, who were using the ground, something about rent and his insistence they use his pub, or some such. So he created a new club, recruiting a complete team from Scotland, for the specific purpose of charging people to watch games at Anfield. Liverpool FC was a profit generating enterprise from the start.

Interesting...i bet a similar history exists with Arsenal...

But as i say, if clubs all simultaneously turn 'fans' into 'customers' then real market forces will mean many Spurs 'fans' start watching rivals who offer better 'premium products' at cheaper rates..

 

[StephenH]

People will; eventually the traditional fans will simply not be able to afford it...and then the whining of 'lack of atmosphere' or 'the support aint what it used to be' will start again..

Maybe but who really gives a toss?
We may have full stadiums but with hoards of middle aged moaners!
I doubt they would be missed!

 

[glorygloryeze]

Maybe but who really gives a toss?
We may have full stadiums but with hoards of middle aged moaners!
I doubt they would be missed!

...or we have simply mostly empty stadiums with middle-aged watching who haven't the energy to jump, scream and shout...

Who would be missed if they didn't attend games? And how can anyone know if they would stop going or not?

And also, how do you get the next generation of fans?

 

[Baleforce]

Interesting...i bet a similar history exists with Arsenal...

But as i say, if clubs all simultaneously turn 'fans' into 'customers' then real market forces will mean many Spurs 'fans' start watching rivals who offer better 'premium products' at cheaper rates..

its noted in commerce that people feel more comfortable paying more for a perceived premium product than less, they are unable to conflate the two

 

[Baleforce]

...or we have simply mostly empty stadiums with middle-aged watching who haven't the energy to jump, scream and shout...

Who would be missed if they didn't attend games? And how can anyone know if they would stop going or not?

And also, how do you get the next generation of fans?

advertising, promotions, deals, same way any other business does

 

[scaramanga]

That's probably the case, but the act by those Liverpool fans has shown that owners cannot just take things for granted. If they are going to still strip fans dry they are going to either a) show greater justification b) do it much less blatantly.

The loyal-fan-cash-cow will run dry eventually

All it's taught anyone is that the owners can't be up front about fleecing the fans - they have to do it in an underhand way.

 

[Baleforce]

there are plenty of people that lament the old days, each to their own, what amuses me most is that people want to blame the current owners, the PL, Sky

the current situation was made inevitable by professionalism, these wheels started turning a long long time ago

 

[jts1882]

Interesting...i bet a similar history exists with Arsenal...

But as i say, if clubs all simultaneously turn 'fans' into 'customers' then real market forces will mean many Spurs 'fans' start watching rivals who offer better 'premium products' at cheaper rates..

Well, Arsenal were a workforce club for the Royal Arsenal, so they had legitimate clubs origins, They rather ruined it my moving away, though.

Chelsea had a similar origin to Liverpool. An owner with the ground who wanted a football club to provide profit. He wanted Fulham to move there - the ground is in Fulham, after all - but in the end he had to create his own club. Liverpool fans get very upset when their shared history with Chelsea is pointed out.