Ticket Pricing, Empty Seats, Box & Club Level Empties

[georgeknows89]

DAN 85 , sorry mate,i think you are not looking at the bigger picture and will be surprised at the outcome.

This pressure has been building for a long time from lots of groups for many reasons.

Financially it would only impact on the big 4-5 games and as per Citeh, we would most probably sell them anyway

Far more importantly, what price or value do you put on stopping the likes of big teams in big games getting strong vocal support behind their team when attacking the "clock end " in the lower tier area

What about the benefit passing to Arsenal fans of having all those extra seats being permanently in the hands of home supporters ?

Its just a matter of time and being able to sort out the health and safety and police issues.

I am sure that the away fans will be moved upstairs before we win a trophy but would love to be wrong !

[MK Gould]

I've said this before, the away fans will never be moved upstairs at AG as the away sector would be empty every week with visiting fans refusing to pay those prices. Fear not though, by keeping the away fans downstairs there are plenty of Arsenal sheep & tourists willing to snap up those £75 upstairs tickets...

Funny thing is that if you went to a concert or the theatre - or even to see a football match at Wembley - then you would pay less the higher up you were rather than more....

[georgeknows89]

MK,

Correct and Arsenal have screwed up all the pricing everywhere and have privately admitted it to many in different situations that have arisen but are struggling to change.

Lower tier is not only the best value ticket but further complicated by having a flat price for the whole tier- crazy.how can block 16 & 17 and 1 & 32 be priced the same as 8-9 and 24-25 behind the goals ?

The along the side lower blocks are cheaper and far superior to the higher rows behind both the goals in 100-103 and 122-125

Club level is even worse- seats behind the goals are about £3600 per season but the corner blocks that actually are on the curve for a large area around to edge of goal are £2800 each !

When the club moved the argument was that we didnt have corner tickets so they didnt know how to price them-what absolute wallies.They are trying to close the gap between corners and behind goal there but it will take years .

[g88ner]

As george and MK said in the previous posts, the pricing doesn't make sense.

Against Barcelona I was on the back row of the upper tier, above the corner flag, and I was paying far MORE than the lucky fans sat on the half way line, lower tier! - how can that make sense? my seat was rubbish.

It annoys me that the media have focused on this £62 so firmly, yet haven't made the shocking connection that they're actually the cheapest seats in the house and rather than the poor Citeh fans, it's the tens of thousands of poor gooners who are paying way more than that that should be focused on.

It's a disgrace and I'm not ashamed to admit that I refuse to pay it. It's just wrong what they're charging, and even though I can afford it, I won't dance to their greedy tune any more. It's outrageous.

[Nos89]

I think it's time that the Premier League need to step in and set a criteria for ticket pricing, after all it is their product. As I've pointed out before how can clubs charge diffrent prices for seeing watching the same teams? At Everton a season ticket costs £500, Arsenal charge double that, yet it is still the same 20 teams you are paying to watch. Retailers have been doing this for years, charging different prices for same product depending on location, yet the premise of watching a football match is not based on the retail model. It is based on the entertainment industry. This is where the EPL need to step in and regulate ticket prices as it is their product which is being diminished by this latest crisis. The criteria needs to be broken down as a basic charge for the match, a charge for the grade of the venue, and the charge for security/ safety. It needs to be visible so supporters can make an informed decision.

[northbank123]

I think it's time that the Premier League need to step in and set a criteria for ticket pricing, after all it is their product. As I've pointed out before how can clubs charge diffrent prices for seeing watching the same teams? At Everton a season ticket costs £500, Arsenal charge double that, yet it is still the same 20 teams you are paying to watch. Retailers have been doing this for years, charging different prices for same product depending on location, yet the premise of watching a football match is not based on the retail model. It is based on the entertainment industry. This is where the EPL need to step in and regulate ticket prices as it is their product which is being diminished by this latest crisis. The criteria needs to be broken down as a basic charge for the match, a charge for the grade of the venue, and the charge for security/ safety. It needs to be visible so supporters can make an informed decision.

As you say it's based on the entertainment industry. Do you think that the government should step in so that a local amateur production of Les Mis costs the same to watch as it does on Shaftesbury Avenue? After all it's the same musical you're seeing.

Why do supporters need to have a detailed breakdown of the clubs' costs to make an 'informed decision'? It's a simple decision: is going to watch your team play worth £X to you?

Just as in every industry, the price is regulated - by consumers. Tickets are extortionate in some cases but if they're selling out then do you really expect clubs to drop their prices?

[MK Gould]

Truth is that the crowd is a massively important component of the Premier League product and arguably more critical to its success than any player.... And yet any increase in revenue is immediately handed over to the players! It just doesn't make sense!

What I think we need (and something that will never happen!) is a boycott - a weekend when supporters of every club simply agree not to turn up. Seeing games played in front of empty, or even half empty stadiums would have a significant impact on the TV audience. And yet if you took out the top 50 highest paid players from the Premier League people would still happily tune in to see Utd v City, Arsenal v Spurs....

Maybe if the Premier League forced the clubs to use the TV money, sponsorship, prize winnings "effectively" then they should be able to afford to let us in for a tenner every week and not just for the League Cup!!

[Nos89]

I think it's time that the Premier League need to step in and set a criteria for ticket pricing, after all it is their product. As I've pointed out before how can clubs charge diffrent prices for seeing watching the same teams? At Everton a season ticket costs £500, Arsenal charge double that, yet it is still the same 20 teams you are paying to watch. Retailers have been doing this for years, charging different prices for same product depending on location, yet the premise of watching a football match is not based on the retail model. It is based on the entertainment industry. This is where the EPL need to step in and regulate ticket prices as it is their product which is being diminished by this latest crisis. The criteria needs to be broken down as a basic charge for the match, a charge for the grade of the venue, and the charge for security/ safety. It needs to be visible so supporters can make an informed decision.

As you say it's based on the entertainment industry. Do you think that the government should step in so that a local amateur production of Les Mis costs the same to watch as it does on Shaftesbury Avenue? After all it's the same musical you're seeing.

Why do supporters need to have a detailed breakdown of the clubs' costs to make an 'informed decision'? It's a simple decision: is going to watch your team play worth £X to you?

Just as in every industry, the price is regulated - by consumers. Tickets are extortionate in some cases but if they're selling out then do you really expect clubs to drop their prices?

What's the government got to do with the entertainment industry? The Premier League brand is being affected by the high prices. That is why they should step in and regulate it. Consumers have little or no say in the cost of products. I certainly can't remember the last time someone from a utility provider asked me how much I think I should pay, or the last time rowntree's asked me how much I want to pay for a packet of fruit pastilles. Seriously, when was the last time you went into a supermarket, filled up your trolley with food and suggested the goods cost £2.57? 30,000 supporters could write to Ivan and tell him £62 is too high. What will happen? Nothing because there will be another 30,000 that will pay and when no one but the high income earners can afford to go, they have sponsorship money to replace the everyday common supporter.
From next season most Premier League clubs will earn more money from sponsorship then they will generate from gate receipts. The cost of looking after supporters will become an unneccessary expense to a business corporation, ...oops I mean football club.

[northbank123]

I think it's time that the Premier League need to step in and set a criteria for ticket pricing, after all it is their product. As I've pointed out before how can clubs charge diffrent prices for seeing watching the same teams? At Everton a season ticket costs £500, Arsenal charge double that, yet it is still the same 20 teams you are paying to watch. Retailers have been doing this for years, charging different prices for same product depending on location, yet the premise of watching a football match is not based on the retail model. It is based on the entertainment industry. This is where the EPL need to step in and regulate ticket prices as it is their product which is being diminished by this latest crisis. The criteria needs to be broken down as a basic charge for the match, a charge for the grade of the venue, and the charge for security/ safety. It needs to be visible so supporters can make an informed decision.

As you say it's based on the entertainment industry. Do you think that the government should step in so that a local amateur production of Les Mis costs the same to watch as it does on Shaftesbury Avenue? After all it's the same musical you're seeing.

Why do supporters need to have a detailed breakdown of the clubs' costs to make an 'informed decision'? It's a simple decision: is going to watch your team play worth £X to you?

Just as in every industry, the price is regulated - by consumers. Tickets are extortionate in some cases but if they're selling out then do you really expect clubs to drop their prices?

What's the government got to do with the entertainment industry? The Premier League brand is being affected by the high prices. That is why they should step in and regulate it. Consumers have little or no say in the cost of products. I certainly can't remember the last time someone from a utility provider asked me how much I think I should pay, or the last time rowntree's asked me how much I want to pay for a packet of fruit pastilles. Seriously, when was the last time you went into a supermarket, filled up your trolley with food and suggested the goods cost £2.57? 30,000 supporters could write to Ivan and tell him £62 is too high. What will happen? Nothing because there will be another 30,000 that will pay and when no one but the high income earners can afford to go, they have sponsorship money to replace the everyday common supporter.
From next season most Premier League clubs will earn more money from sponsorship then they will generate from gate receipts. The cost of looking after supporters will become an unneccessary expense to a business corporation, ...oops I mean football club.

That just isn't true though is it? The consumers (fans) are the ones who determine the prices, albeit by purchasing trends rather than by expressly choosing the price. Take these two examples:

WIGAN: Sandwiched between 4 hugely-supported teams from Manchester and Liverpool and with plenty of other teams who are traditionally bigger clubs (like Blackburn and Bolton). Not an affluent area by any means, they never fill their ground anyway. Tickets are cheap as fuck because if they charged much more their ground would be even emptier and generate less revenue.

ARSENAL: From a relatively affluent borough of London with a huge population, traditionally a massive club and still sell out just about every game. Therefore, tickets are fucking expensive because they can afford to hike up the prices to maximise revenue.

Price is set by supply and demand, just like pretty much every product in this country. You seem to acknowledge that that's the case for supermarket products so why not football tickets? I'm not saying it's right but the way it is.

The PL's reputation isn't being damaged, nobody has been criticising the FA this week, the pressure is all on the clubs themselves. It would be wonderful if the club decided that it wanted to be fair to loyal fans and slashed prices but besides ethics and public relations there's nothing compelling them to do so, and I don't see why there should be. If the club want to increasingly alienate their core fans in favour of wealthier JCLs who will buy a pint before and after the game and a meal deal at half-time then that's their prerogative. They'll be dealing with the consequences if and when it comes back to haunt them.

At the end of the day the club owes a duty to its shareholders, they don't owe any duty at all to certain categories of fans.

[DB10_TH14]

wigan have taken 25 fans down to bournemouth.....maybe they charge extortion prices too

[mcdowell42]

wigan have taken 25 fans down to bournemouth.....maybe they charge extortion prices too

Aw the magic of twitter

[DB10_TH14]

wigan have taken 25 fans down to bournemouth.....maybe they charge extortion prices too

Aw the magic of twitter

we have the same sources

[Nos89]

I think it's time that the Premier League need to step in and set a criteria for ticket pricing, after all it is their product. As I've pointed out before how can clubs charge diffrent prices for seeing watching the same teams? At Everton a season ticket costs £500, Arsenal charge double that, yet it is still the same 20 teams you are paying to watch. Retailers have been doing this for years, charging different prices for same product depending on location, yet the premise of watching a football match is not based on the retail model. It is based on the entertainment industry. This is where the EPL need to step in and regulate ticket prices as it is their product which is being diminished by this latest crisis. The criteria needs to be broken down as a basic charge for the match, a charge for the grade of the venue, and the charge for security/ safety. It needs to be visible so supporters can make an informed decision.

As you say it's based on the entertainment industry. Do you think that the government should step in so that a local amateur production of Les Mis costs the same to watch as it does on Shaftesbury Avenue? After all it's the same musical you're seeing.

Why do supporters need to have a detailed breakdown of the clubs' costs to make an 'informed decision'? It's a simple decision: is going to watch your team play worth £X to you?

Just as in every industry, the price is regulated - by consumers. Tickets are extortionate in some cases but if they're selling out then do you really expect clubs to drop their prices?

What's the government got to do with the entertainment industry? The Premier League brand is being affected by the high prices. That is why they should step in and regulate it. Consumers have little or no say in the cost of products. I certainly can't remember the last time someone from a utility provider asked me how much I think I should pay, or the last time rowntree's asked me how much I want to pay for a packet of fruit pastilles. Seriously, when was the last time you went into a supermarket, filled up your trolley with food and suggested the goods cost £2.57? 30,000 supporters could write to Ivan and tell him £62 is too high. What will happen? Nothing because there will be another 30,000 that will pay and when no one but the high income earners can afford to go, they have sponsorship money to replace the everyday common supporter.
From next season most Premier League clubs will earn more money from sponsorship then they will generate from gate receipts. The cost of looking after supporters will become an unneccessary expense to a business corporation, ...oops I mean football club.

That just isn't true though is it? The consumers (fans) are the ones who determine the prices, albeit by purchasing trends rather than by expressly choosing the price. Take these two examples:

WIGAN: Sandwiched between 4 hugely-supported teams from Manchester and Liverpool and with plenty of other teams who are traditionally bigger clubs (like Blackburn and Bolton). Not an affluent area by any means, they never fill their ground anyway. Tickets are cheap as fuck because if they charged much more their ground would be even emptier and generate less revenue.

ARSENAL: From a relatively affluent borough of London with a huge population, traditionally a massive club and still sell out just about every game. Therefore, tickets are fucking expensive because they can afford to hike up the prices to maximise revenue.

Price is set by supply and demand, just like pretty much every product in this country. You seem to acknowledge that that's the case for supermarket products so why not football tickets? I'm not saying it's right but the way it is.

The PL's reputation isn't being damaged, nobody has been criticising the FA this week, the pressure is all on the clubs themselves. It would be wonderful if the club decided that it wanted to be fair to loyal fans and slashed prices but besides ethics and public relations there's nothing compelling them to do so, and I don't see why there should be. If the club want to increasingly alienate their core fans in favour of wealthier JCLs who will buy a pint before and after the game and a meal deal at half-time then that's their prerogative. They'll be dealing with the consequences if and when it comes back to haunt them.

At the end of the day the club owes a duty to its shareholders, they don't owe any duty at all to certain categories of fans.

Wigan don't fill their ground because no one gives a monkey's about football in Wigan. It's a rugby town. They could give tickets away for free and still not fill their grounds. Nothing to do with the 4 "big" clubs, do you know how far away wigan is from liverpool and manchester? There are more big clubs closer to Arsenal than there is to wigan, 5 of which play in the premier league and are cheaper than us. Surely, with more options the prices should be more competitive with those closer competitors but as far as I'm aware over the last 5 years we've been the most exepensive club to watch in London.
If consumers influenced prices, products would be cheaper, but they aren't meaning consumers still have little or no say in the prices of product. Unfortunately, the club isn't run like an Egyption market, haggling is not an option.

[northbank123]

I think it's time that the Premier League need to step in and set a criteria for ticket pricing, after all it is their product. As I've pointed out before how can clubs charge diffrent prices for seeing watching the same teams? At Everton a season ticket costs £500, Arsenal charge double that, yet it is still the same 20 teams you are paying to watch. Retailers have been doing this for years, charging different prices for same product depending on location, yet the premise of watching a football match is not based on the retail model. It is based on the entertainment industry. This is where the EPL need to step in and regulate ticket prices as it is their product which is being diminished by this latest crisis. The criteria needs to be broken down as a basic charge for the match, a charge for the grade of the venue, and the charge for security/ safety. It needs to be visible so supporters can make an informed decision.

As you say it's based on the entertainment industry. Do you think that the government should step in so that a local amateur production of Les Mis costs the same to watch as it does on Shaftesbury Avenue? After all it's the same musical you're seeing.

Why do supporters need to have a detailed breakdown of the clubs' costs to make an 'informed decision'? It's a simple decision: is going to watch your team play worth £X to you?

Just as in every industry, the price is regulated - by consumers. Tickets are extortionate in some cases but if they're selling out then do you really expect clubs to drop their prices?

What's the government got to do with the entertainment industry? The Premier League brand is being affected by the high prices. That is why they should step in and regulate it. Consumers have little or no say in the cost of products. I certainly can't remember the last time someone from a utility provider asked me how much I think I should pay, or the last time rowntree's asked me how much I want to pay for a packet of fruit pastilles. Seriously, when was the last time you went into a supermarket, filled up your trolley with food and suggested the goods cost £2.57? 30,000 supporters could write to Ivan and tell him £62 is too high. What will happen? Nothing because there will be another 30,000 that will pay and when no one but the high income earners can afford to go, they have sponsorship money to replace the everyday common supporter.
From next season most Premier League clubs will earn more money from sponsorship then they will generate from gate receipts. The cost of looking after supporters will become an unneccessary expense to a business corporation, ...oops I mean football club.

That just isn't true though is it? The consumers (fans) are the ones who determine the prices, albeit by purchasing trends rather than by expressly choosing the price. Take these two examples:

WIGAN: Sandwiched between 4 hugely-supported teams from Manchester and Liverpool and with plenty of other teams who are traditionally bigger clubs (like Blackburn and Bolton). Not an affluent area by any means, they never fill their ground anyway. Tickets are cheap as fuck because if they charged much more their ground would be even emptier and generate less revenue.

ARSENAL: From a relatively affluent borough of London with a huge population, traditionally a massive club and still sell out just about every game. Therefore, tickets are fucking expensive because they can afford to hike up the prices to maximise revenue.

Price is set by supply and demand, just like pretty much every product in this country. You seem to acknowledge that that's the case for supermarket products so why not football tickets? I'm not saying it's right but the way it is.

The PL's reputation isn't being damaged, nobody has been criticising the FA this week, the pressure is all on the clubs themselves. It would be wonderful if the club decided that it wanted to be fair to loyal fans and slashed prices but besides ethics and public relations there's nothing compelling them to do so, and I don't see why there should be. If the club want to increasingly alienate their core fans in favour of wealthier JCLs who will buy a pint before and after the game and a meal deal at half-time then that's their prerogative. They'll be dealing with the consequences if and when it comes back to haunt them.

At the end of the day the club owes a duty to its shareholders, they don't owe any duty at all to certain categories of fans.

Wigan don't fill their ground because no one gives a monkey's about football in Wigan. It's a rugby town. They could give tickets away for free and still not fill their grounds. Nothing to do with the 4 "big" clubs, do you know how far away wigan is from liverpool and manchester? There are more big clubs closer to Arsenal than there is to wigan, 5 of which play in the premier league and are cheaper than us. Surely, with more options the prices should be more competitive with those closer competitors but as far as I'm aware over the last 5 years we've been the most exepensive club to watch in London.
If consumers influenced prices, products would be cheaper, but they aren't meaning consumers still have little or no say in the prices of product. Unfortunately, the club isn't run like an Egyption market, haggling is not an option.

You really don't seem to understand my point. Consumers influence products, as they do in every industry/market, by buying patterns. The fans who have consistently bought tickets at rising prices at the Emirates are the reason that it's so expensive now. If Arsenal weren't selling 60,000 tickets every week, they wouldn't charge such high prices. Just like if Wigan packed their ground out every week, they would undoubtedly raise prices until people refused to pay the high prices.

Arsenal (and other clubs) charge as much as they can whilst filling the ground. They try and generate the most money by selling their product. How is that any different from any other product? Why does that need regulation - it's not like utilities where there's a risk of a price cartel and it's regressive because everybody needs to pay utilities. If people don't like the prices then don't go, it's like telling a theatre they can't charge £89 a ticket to sit in the best seats. Neither a theatre nor a football club are under any sort of obligation to make their tickets affordable.

[Steve_I]

You really don't seem to understand my point. Consumers influence products, as they do in every industry/market, by buying patterns. The fans who have consistently bought tickets at rising prices at the Emirates are the reason that it's so expensive now. If Arsenal weren't selling 60,000 tickets every week, they wouldn't charge such high prices. Just like if Wigan packed their ground out every week, they would undoubtedly raise prices until people refused to pay the high prices.

Arsenal (and other clubs) charge as much as they can whilst filling the ground. They try and generate the most money by selling their product. How is that any different from any other product? Why does that need regulation - it's not like utilities where there's a risk of a price cartel and it's regressive because everybody needs to pay utilities. If people don't like the prices then don't go, it's like telling a theatre they can't charge £89 a ticket to sit in the best seats. Neither a theatre nor a football club are under any sort of obligation to make their tickets affordable.

Yep NB123... day one in economics o-level... supply and demand... simple as