Season ticket holders won’t renew due to cost

One in every eight football fans (12%) is considering not renewing their season ticket because they have been priced out of the game – up five per cent on the same time last year, according to new research from Virgin Money.

Fans of Premiership clubs are least likely to return next season, with around 16 per cent believing they cannot afford to attend every home match.

Virgin Money estimates that around a quarter of all season tickets won’t be renewed across the country this summer, with reasons varying from family commitments to the overall cost and even disillusionment at the poor quality of the football on display.

But research shows that almost half of those who are not renewing say following their team is just too expensive. And Virgin Money’s Football Fans Price Index shows the cost of going to games has risen by 17.8 per cent since January 2006.

And the poll showed West Ham will feel the backlash most keenly, with some 38 per cent of season ticket holders saying they wouldn’t be renewing next year. Almost three quarters of those claim Upton Park is just too expensive, suggesting that the club’s recent Great Escape at Old Trafford may not be enough to keep the fans happy.

Other Premiership clubs pricing their fans away from the game include championship challengers Manchester United, who recently announced a 14 per cent rise in ticket prices for next season, Middlesbrough and Liverpool. Portsmouth and Bolton fans are among the least likely to complain about costs vindicating the clubs’ decisions to either freeze or lower season ticket prices for next season.

The findings of the survey for the Virgin Money Football Fans Price Index highlight the threat rising costs of being a fan pose to the future of the game, illustrating the potential impact of high ticket prices on everyday fans.

Malcolm Clarke, chairman of the Football Supporters’ Federation said: “Virgin Money’s Football Fans’ Price Index shows that in the past year the cost of attending games has risen by 17.84 per cent. The index is aimed at helping supporters keep track of the rises and falls in the costs of supporting their team. The company identified the match-day essentials fans buy and keeps tabs on increases and decreases".

At the launch of the index last year the matchday basket of goods cost £77.95 and now it’s £91.87 – a rise of £13.92. An increase in the cost of match tickets and replica shirts are the main reasons behind the increase.

Virgin Money spokesman John Franklin said: “Football clubs have to understand that fans can only take so much. High ticket prices, pricey merchandise and matchday programmes are all contributing to an ordinary fan’s regular costs. Loyalty should be rewarded, not exploited.

“There is evidence that some clubs are listening to their fans – price freezes and even price reductions are being introduced in the Premiership – but sadly at the moment these are exceptions to the rule. If we want to continue to fill our stadia and attract future generations to the beautiful game, football has to be affordable to all.”

Virgin Money’s Football Fans’ Prices Index runs every three months and looks at the cost of a typical basket of goods monitoring the ups and downs of prices.

The firm’s research team examines the cost of items such as a gallon of petrol; match tickets; food; alcohol; train tickets and replica shirts.