The Cost of Football today

[Dunfermline Don]

I saw this article on the BBC website today. 
Personally once the walk up price goes over £20 it puts me off going along. 
I used to have a season ticket for my local team when my kids were younger but a change of shifts to working more weekends made that uneconomical added to the fact they now go with their pals to the games. 
I also found that during Covid, once you get out of the habit of going it can sometimes be difficult to get the enthusiasm back again.

Do other fans feel the same? 

[BFTD]

It can possibly be a good thing to have some time away from the game, if it's just becoming routine. I missed the entirety of last season for financial reasons; money's still tight, and I wasn't sure if I was still as keen a couple of months ago, but stumped up the cash anyway and, yes, apparently I have really missed it!  

It's bound to come up at some point, so here it is: we're still charging £18 a head for League One football. The reasoning up to now has been that the extra money will help to fund a push for/maintenance of a place in the Championship, but I don't think anyone really thinks we'll be going up this season, so I guess that's just what we charge now regardless. We can expect to be excoriated by Dunfermline/QoS/Kelty/FC Edinburgh fans after their first visit, and probably everyone else who's forgotten over the summer too.

[Homer Thompson]

5 hours ago, BFTD said:

It can possibly be a good thing to have some time away from the game, if it's just becoming routine. I missed the entirety of last season for financial reasons; money's still tight, and I wasn't sure if I was still as keen a couple of months ago, but stumped up the cash anyway and, yes, apparently I have really missed it!  

It's bound to come up at some point, so here it is: we're still charging £18 a head for League One football. The reasoning up to now has been that the extra money will help to fund a push for/maintenance of a place in the Championship, but I don't think anyone really thinks we'll be going up this season, so I guess that's just what we charge now regardless. We can expect to be excoriated by Dunfermline/QoS/Kelty/FC Edinburgh fans after their first visit, and probably everyone else who's forgotten over the summer too.

Not by Queens fans, we're still charging £18 too

[DA Baracus]

Dundee are charging £24 for Championship games.

Too many clubs, including my own (£20 for League 1), chucked up prices too often and are now at a tipping point. Put them up again and you will probably pass a threshold where too many fans see it as too expensive and won't be back, yet clubs have nowhere to go when they need to get more funds in. Greed, as always, is short term and doesn't take the long term in to account.

[BFTD]

If clubs really need this much money to keep ticking over, what's the biggest cost for clubs under the top division? Player wages?

Is there a possibility that clubs may eventually have to start moving back to an amateur model to keep ticket prices down?

[vikingTON]

Between rising overheads, an imminent recession and cost of living crisis driving away customers and an oversaturation of so-called 'professional' full-time clubs, Scottish football is heading for a crash in the next couple of years. 

I'd be surprised if at least a couple of the 42 SPFL clubs don't disappear, and not because they got relegated to tier 5. 

[Hampden Diehard]

We're a bit of a nightmare this year, asking fans to travel to Ochilview for home games, but there does seem to be this thinking from clubs that inconvenience to fans re buying tickets (see Dundee v Thistle as a great example) isn't that important.  Rather than making it easier to get into a game, clubs do what is easier for them. The days of spur-of-the-moment fans turning up and paying in are gone. All but two sides should be doing everything they can to make it easy to get in, not making it more difficult. No other business behaves like this.

[BFTD]

I don't know if it's the same for other clubs - I suspect it is - but outside of the presence of people wearing colours, on match days in Alloa you'd never know there was a game on. I appreciate the answer is, "what do you want us to do? We've no money," but I can't help feel that it would help to draw casual attention to the fact that the local team's playing and people could take a wander down.

Admittedly they might run when they see the entry fee, but that's another matter.

[DA Baracus]

3 hours ago, Hampden Diehard said:

We're a bit of a nightmare this year, asking fans to travel to Ochilview for home games, but there does seem to be this thinking from clubs that inconvenience to fans re buying tickets (see Dundee v Thistle as a great example) isn't that important.  Rather than making it easier to get into a game, clubs do what is easier for them. The days of spur-of-the-moment fans turning up and paying in are gone. All but two sides should be doing everything they can to make it easy to get in, not making it more difficult. No other business behaves like this.

Most clubs let you buy tickets any time you want, anywhere you want, given they are sold online. Is that not making it easier for fans?

[invergowrie arab]

12 hours ago, virginton said:

Between rising overheads, an imminent recession and cost of living crisis driving away customers and an oversaturation of so-called 'professional' full-time clubs, Scottish football is heading for a crash in the next couple of years. 

I'd be surprised if at least a couple of the 42 SPFL clubs don't disappear, and not because they got relegated to tier 5. 

As long as its FC Edinburgh and Queens Park then no harm done. 

[vikingTON]

49 minutes ago, invergowrie arab said:

As long as its FC Edinburgh and Queens Park then no harm done. 

Sadly, like cockroaches in a nuclear winter, the souped-up nothing clubs will be best placed to prosper from the coming economic crash in Scottish football.

Unless their Lucozade-guzzling Walter Mitty keels over like Brooks Mileson at Gretna, which was of course a tragedy and in no way hilarious.

[Scorge]

Most likely change this season if rising costs bite IMO will be fans sacking off the away days and prioritising home games if they haven't already bought a season ticket. Would predict this will get more noticeable when winter bites and the projected inflation/etc gets worse. Most smaller clubs in tier 3/4 are already down to the hardcore (and have been for a while), and even if an afternoon in the cinema is cheaper, that won't drag them away from the habit and will just cut corners elsewhere.

[parsforlife]

6 minutes ago, Scorge said:

Most likely change this season if rising costs bite IMO will be fans sacking off the away days and prioritising home games if they haven't already bought a season ticket. Would predict this will get more noticeable when winter bites and the projected inflation/etc gets worse. Most smaller clubs in tier 3/4 are already down to the hardcore (and have been for a while), and even if an afternoon in the cinema is cheaper, that won't drag them away from the habit and will just cut corners elsewhere.

I think it needs remembered that those who go to away games are normally the biggest spenders already in football,   the majority will be season ticket holders for example.

Also clubs aren't that bothered by away attendances, they are often a tiny percentage,  Maybe more shown at my club who will already be expecting a big drop in away fans, alloa who are 20 minutes along the road brought a crowd similar to inverness for example.

[effeffsee_the2nd]

Falkirk have, on a few occasions over the last 10 years done the following; lowered admission prices to £10 pounds for adults on a very uninteresting league game in the depths of winter,  witnessed an insignificant increase in crowds for said shitey game, reported that they lost money,  went back to the fans reps and said " see! we lowered the price but nae extra folk came! we cannae afford it, we'll have tae keep fleecin you muppets that keep paying 20 quid to watch shite"

[Dunfermline Don]

I remember when The Pars were last in the seaside league, Stenhousemuir had a deal that visiting season ticket holders got in for a reduced amount (it may have been £10)and juniors got in free. 
Why more clubs don’t do this I don’t know. The visiting fans are still likely to spend at the pie stall or buy a programme and I know it certainly encouraged me to go along. 

[jamamafegan]

Utterly ridiculous prices.

[DA Baracus]

On 01/08/2022 at 14:38, effeffsee_the2nd said:

Falkirk have, on a few occasions over the last 10 years done the following; lowered admission prices to £10 pounds for adults on a very uninteresting league game in the depths of winter,  witnessed an insignificant increase in crowds for said shitey game, reported that they lost money,  went back to the fans reps and said " see! we lowered the price but nae extra folk came! we cannae afford it, we'll have tae keep fleecin you muppets that keep paying 20 quid to watch shite"

Aye, we've done similar in years past when we were in the SPL with the same result.

Last season we reduced the prices to a couple of games and saw a significant increase in attendances. 

I think a good starting point for clubs would be to have at least a couple of games each season with reduced prices. Let season ticket holders get something in these games (free food and/or programme?).

Sadly I think prices are just going to keep increasing. Clubs budget so poorly in that so many think they have to absolutely max it out.

[effeffsee_the2nd]

3 hours ago, DA Baracus said:

Aye, we've done similar in years past when we were in the SPL with the same result.

Last season we reduced the prices to a couple of games and saw a significant increase in attendances. 

I think a good starting point for clubs would be to have at least a couple of games each season with reduced prices. Let season ticket holders get something in these games (free food and/or programme?).

Sadly I think prices are just going to keep increasing. Clubs budget so poorly in that so many think they have to absolutely max it out.

Aye i know how it is for them, basically they say that lowering prices won't bring in any new people so they have to keep fleecing those loyal enough to keep paying over the odds. 

Thing is i've often slagged off old firm fans and EPL fanboys for being glory hunters as if there's something morally superior about supporting your local team, but why? just becuase we come from the town where they play their home games doesn't mean anything now, they players are mostly just on a mery go round of provincial clubs, alot of the rural clubs are based elsewhere for training so the club isn't even in the town. it's not as if players or managers have any great affinity for their current place on the mery go round.  so again the question is why keep paying?

These clubs have to give themselves something that gives people a reason to want to turn out and pay

[peternapper]

Heard an interesting idea yesterday that someone thought had maybe been suggested by Morton. With the dramatic rises coming in energy prices how about moving kick off times an hour or so earlier during the winter which would avoid the need for floodlights at the game. Costs for that and travel will hit many clubs that are already struggling. As mentioned not sure where the idea was brought up but it does make sense. 

[BFTD]

On 04/08/2022 at 08:30, DA Baracus said:

Aye, we've done similar in years past when we were in the SPL with the same result.

Last season we reduced the prices to a couple of games and saw a significant increase in attendances. 

I think a good starting point for clubs would be to have at least a couple of games each season with reduced prices. Let season ticket holders get something in these games (free food and/or programme?).

Sadly I think prices are just going to keep increasing. Clubs budget so poorly in that so many think they have to absolutely max it out.

That's good to read. There was a time when clubs were experimenting with that and said they'd lost money as a result.

Outside of the top division - for obvious reasons - could clubs in each league agree to a sensible maximum budget for playing staff to bring down costs? Would that be construed as an attempt to bring back a maximum wage? I can think of plenty of reasons why everybody wouldn't agree to it, or would only agree if it was pointlessly high, but would it be legal? Are players even earning enough to make it worthwhile in the lower divisions?