The Price of Football

[DonnyBazR0ver]

The BBC have published their annual report.

Sorry, wish I could do a link.

Any general and Rovers related observations?

I think Rovers have made a significant improvement with the cheaper prices for youth and I'm sure we can build on that. Season memberships have increased and, as reported on the other thread, attendances are encouraging.

In general, football is competing with armchair or mobile past-times with gaming and betting. The report features a young occasional Stoke fan. You can see from his experience what football is up against. Given the costs he incurred for the match including travel, it's hardly surprising.

As far as Rovers are concerned I think we on balance have it about right. Unless you think otherwise!?

[big fat yorkshire pudding]

It had a few too many errors for me and must miss out too many benefits etc.

Examples, they had the lowest ST adult price at £299 - mine was £284.

They had the lowest adult shirt at what £39?  Mine was £28 in the end (probably because they class an adult extra small as a childs though).

I don't think we're bad.  Could we be better?  Well yes.  I'd love us to have a Bradford style model for tickets but I get that it can't and wouldn't work given the stadium size etc.  Shame that is.

[silent majority]

The results are here;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41482931

[NickDRFC]

Watched a clip they had where an Oldham fan said he spent a quarter of his income on it. That seems mad but sums it up for me - people will continue to pay it regardless of the cost. Obviously there's a tipping point somewhere but I don't think most clubs are near to that yet.

I think a Rovers are priced alright, never really get the sense I'm overpaying (except with the kiosks, where it could be free and it would be overpriced. But that's a different thread)

[wing commander]

   When you compare us to anybody else in league 1 we cant complain can we,we fair better than most..

   The stand out thing for me though was the cost of UK Football as opposed to Europe where pretty much across the board it's far cheaper to watch than here.

[since-1969]

Most teams out side of the premiership require the board to to be in a position to chip in to keep the club a float , we’re no different and our pricing is fair to the supporters and inline with the League 1 football on offer .

[Lesonthewest]

Ours looks good in comparison to others in league 1, Chesterfield surprised me, considering their relegation & downward spiral in league 2, conference not that clever either some only a pound or two behind our cheapest.

[anne honemous]

There's way too many anomalies and inaccuracies missed out so I always take that report with a very large pinch of salt.

For example, I considered going to Leeds v Middlesbrough this Sunday with a couple of mates. For the three of us, the cheapest tickets that were available were priced at £39 each so the passing thought of going didn't turn into a realistic one and that was purely down to the price of tickets.

I appreciate at Leeds that they're a big club and the cheaper sections did sell out early, but that sort of price didn't entice any of us as it's way too much.

It's the same at other clubs though. Sheff Wednesday is expensive, I've heard talk of £45 tickets for Barnsley v Leeds next weekend which is ridiculous.

The report says ticket prices are generally coming down. I wonder if prices are really coming down or whether the ceiling has been reached with what some clubs feel they can realistically get away with charging without too many questions being asked.

Football is far too expensive and more clubs should take heed of the £20s Plenty campaign - because that's enough for Championship level, let alone lower divisions.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

I'd like to see clubs challenged on their published prices to see whether they stand up.

For example Man U state their cheapest match day ticket is £31 yet, when the lad on the video called them, they quoted him £40.

Far too many clubs are just paying lip service to this and treat loyal fans with contempt.

On another income stream which I feel clubs are failing and that's shirts and merchandise. Majority of clubs changing strip every season. They say they have no choice due to manufacturers/suppliers/sponsors changing designs etc. Really? So, who is the last to be considered with this process? As predicted, fewer fans will keep up with shirt changes and consequently sales will fall. We're already seeing the mish mash of different vintages of shirts being worn in the grounds. Fans will not continue to pay a high premium for shirts that last for such a short period.