Season ticket prices

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GodalmingYellow
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Season ticket prices

Post by GodalmingYellow »

Some eye watering increases for next season, having had eye watering increases last season.

My season ticket will have increased from £350 to £475 in 2 seasons.
SWA
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Re: Season ticket prices

Post by SWA »

I am in the same position as you GY - being SSU "Premium". Very hard to stomach to be honest. £475 for League 1 football is a hell of a lot of money to be honest. :|
GodalmingYellow
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Re: Season ticket prices

Post by GodalmingYellow »

And we lost the early bird prices last season so it is really even worse.

Not all that impressed. Given that it will be Eales that benefits financially from an increase in the value of the club if we get promoted, it should really be Eales risking more of his money.

I'm going to have a look at the stats that the club are using for our prices as well, as I suspect they are being very selective about the figures they are publishing.

The excuse of not owning the stadium doesn't wash in this argument, because although we pay £500k per year rent and maintenance, owning the stadium would cost a hell of a lot more than that.
slappy
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Re: Season ticket prices

Post by slappy »

I think you'll find that premium season ticket prices in L1 are around that price range, if not more. You'll even be paying £450 to watch Slumdon in L2, or £525 for Chesterfield.

Also you have to balance out the mental cost of the price increase with the relative cost of your ticket. SSU was £319 early bird in 2006/07, you've had an annualised 3.4% increase to get to £475 and are watching football two divisions higher.
GodalmingYellow
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Re: Season ticket prices

Post by GodalmingYellow »

Anyone can play those sort of games with stats Slappy. Pick and choose a season to show a particular stat. How much was a season ticket in 1948?

And anyone can pick and choose who to compare with. Fulham season ticket prices are from £299 for an adult next year. That's a division higher than us and may well be 2 divisions higher than us if Fulham are successful in the play offs.
slappy
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Re: Season ticket prices

Post by slappy »

That's as far back as my spreadsheet goes (2006/07) for OUFC Season Ticket prices so wasn't deliberately picked to make a point, just to show the absolute increase over 12 seasons.

I don't think we've had a SSU premium before, and it's also been pointed out that the discount for children has been much reduced in these premium seats (presumably on the basis that these could all be sold at full adult price).
GodalmingYellow
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Re: Season ticket prices

Post by GodalmingYellow »

The following are the cheapest full price adult seats at each club for next season (2016/17 where next season not announced):

Sheffield United 2017/18 prices from £283 (phase 1 prices £288 - £5 online booking discount). That will be for a division higher.
Bolton Wanderers 2016/17 prices from £280. That's to finish 2nd in the table and guarantee promotion.

Scunthorpe United 2017/18 prices from £302. That's for the highest play off place with a very good chance of being a division higher.
Fleetwood Town 2016/17 prices from £210. That's for the 2nd highest play off position and a very good chance of playing a division higher.
Bradford City 2017/18 prices from £149. That's for the 3rd play off place and the possibility of Championship football.
Millwall 2017/18 prices from £333. That's for the final play off place, bearing in mind Millwall is a London club, and the possibility of Championship football.
Southend United 2017/18 prices £395 which includes 3 guest tickets so that is the equivalent of £349 for a 23 match ticket, and their is a £25 discount for introducing a family member or friend reducing the price to £324.
Oxford United 2017/18 prices from £330.
Rochdale 2017/18 prices from £110.
Bristol Rovers 2017/18 prices from £260.
Peterborough United 2017/18 prices from £319.
MK Dons 2017/18 prices from £312, which includes a free £40 home shirt, which brings their season ticket cost down to £272.
Charlton Athletic 2017/18 prices from £175, and they are a London club.
Walsall 2017/18 prices from £259.
AFC Wimbledon 2017/18 prices from £275, and they are a London club.
Northampton Town 2017/18 prices from £249.
Oldham Athletic 2017/18 prices from £300.
Shrewsbury Town 2017/18 prices from £285.
Bury 2017/18 prices from £175 (£250 - £75 refund if they sell 3000 tickets).
Gillingham 2017/18 prices from £315 (when buying a 2 year season ticket at £630).

Plymouth Argyle 2017/18 prices from £357.
Doncaster Rovers 2017/18 prices from £299.
Portsmouth 2016/17 prices from £300.

And to be fair, most of the other clubs offer additional benefits that are not available at OUFC.

By my reckoning only Millwall (London) and Plymouth will be more expensive than OUFC next season, of which Millwall may be playing Championship football.
Last edited by GodalmingYellow on Tue May 02, 2017 12:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
slappy
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Re: Season ticket prices

Post by slappy »

GodalmingYellow wrote: Tue May 02, 2017 11:56 am Sheffield United 2017/18 prices from £283 (phase 1 prices £288 - £5 online booking discount). That will be for a division higher.
Anyone can pick and choose different teams to compare... It is very difficult though as you have different seats, views, renewal discounts, early birds, normal prices.

Charlton I think go as low as £175 and obviously Bradford's famous £149 which is the cheapest in L1.
Werthers Original
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Re: Season ticket prices

Post by Werthers Original »

Maybe the most appropriate comparison is of 'home ends'?
GodalmingYellow
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Re: Season ticket prices

Post by GodalmingYellow »

slappy wrote: Tue May 02, 2017 12:05 pm
GodalmingYellow wrote: Tue May 02, 2017 11:56 am Sheffield United 2017/18 prices from £283 (phase 1 prices £288 - £5 online booking discount). That will be for a division higher.
Anyone can pick and choose different teams to compare... It is very difficult though as you have different seats, views, renewal discounts, early birds, normal prices.

Charlton I think go as low as £175 and obviously Bradford's famous £149 which is the cheapest in L1.
See my post above which disproves that theory.
Kairdiff Exile
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Re: Season ticket prices

Post by Kairdiff Exile »

To me, I'm less worried about the cost of premium seats - the issue is the price and availability of the cheapest seats. If people feel they can't justify the outlay of the top seats, can they downgrade to something they can afford, and are there sufficient seats to meet demand? Happy to be corrected by those who've done the research/maths, but my sense is that we still have a good number of cheap seats available and that these are priced relatively competitively with other clubs at our level of football.

If that means that a few of the prawn sandwich brigade have to slum it with the plebs then so be it. *

* - joke
ty cobb
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Re: Season ticket prices

Post by ty cobb »

Given the lack of comments on games of late I wondered if anyone actually attended games anymore. Given the level of upset here it would appear they do!

It's a really tricky one this, DE is clearly putting his hand in his pocket to the tune of millions since taking over. As he says the main way to increase revenue given the stadium issues is ticket prices. I don't think comparing prices to teams based in the North with huge stadiums in the case of Bradford is also that helpful given the different economic conditions - Oxford in terms of living costs is more comparable to the South East, including London.

So on the list helpfully provided by GY, with a bit of extra detail looking at SE clubs

Millwall 2017/18 prices from £333 - the last play off place and where we are aspiring to be
Southend United 2017/18 prices £395 unless you have friends willing to pay you for a ticket
Charlton Athletic 2017/18 prices from £175 for family stand - next price up is £300 with the most expensive at £500, given the boycott going on there and how big the stadium it is perhaps an unfair comparison
AFC Wimbledon 2017/18 prices from £275 - this is for a terrace - standard seats are £385, premium £475 and most expensive is £775. They also have a awful ground where the view is often restricted.
Gillingham 2017/18 prices from £315 (when buying a 2 year season ticket at £630). When not buying a 2 year ticket it is £395.

Most clubs also charge for under 7s. Northampton are pretty close but the price GY quotes is for a terrace, the cost of a seat is £380 rising to £430 without early bird discount.

So actually I don't think we're over priced in comparison. My worry would be that we end up putting off people who have only recently started to become a regular by such a large increase. We have had a good season yet we aren't at capacity although crowds have been impressive. How many of those new regulars will be wanting to pay such a high increase. I don't mind charging a premium price for premium seats, people have the option of moving elsewhere and if people who can afford it are willing to pay more then that will help.

Be interesting to see how much the matchday tickets are. I think the burden of the price increases have been felt by those fans who can't justify a season ticket and I think these are at a level where they can't go up by much more otherwise you risk losing the casual fan, who hopefully turn into a regular. With a season ticket you are paying £15 a match, compared to a match day price of £20 - this is still a decent saving. You can miss 5 matches and still be better off than paying on the day.

All that said I think football is much more overpriced than it should be. If twenty is plenty for the Premier league it is more than plenty for league 1. Having been non league for a while we haven't been exposed to these prices as much so getting up to this level as quickly as we have done will be and is a shock. However, are we over priced in comparison to other teams in our area - I don't think so and if we want to compete to attract players to push for a play off we need to be charging ticket prices that reflect the teams we are up against.
GodalmingYellow
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Re: Season ticket prices

Post by GodalmingYellow »

I don't think you can dismiss price comparisons dependant on whether a 99p plastic seat is in situ or not, especially for behind goal areas where there are large numbers of people standing whether there is a seat or not. The installation of a cheap plastic seat does not justify significant price hikes in my view. It is area for comparable area that matters.

All the stats I quoted are for the cheapest available full price adult ticket excluding concessions. They are pretty much all for behind the goal positions. They are therefore all comparable.
Kairdiff Exile
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Re: Season ticket prices

Post by Kairdiff Exile »

But my point is that if people have the opportunity to downgrade to a cheaper ticket, then they can make that decision according to their budget. The issue comes when the choice is between the cheapest ticket and not going at all - that's when it really hurts the supporter (and the club, ultimately). I'd hate to see Oxford fans priced out of the ground, and I think we've done a pretty good job of avoiding that over the years.
GodalmingYellow
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Re: Season ticket prices

Post by GodalmingYellow »

That problem filters all the way up the chain KE.

If I can't afford my season ticket in its excellent location because of fleecing price hikes, I have to downgrade. But downgrading means accepting not just lower standard seats, but also the worst seats in those downgraded sections, because de facto, the best seats will already have been taken.

It also means potentially social exclusion from fans you've got to know over many years through sitting with them. And what about sitting with friends where one can afford and one cannot?

And why should I forego my seat due to unacceptable fleecing of fans, when I have loyally bought and paid for that seat for many years?

It is grossly unfair to introduce price hikes like these.

And all that without even getting to the price comparisons, standards of service, quality of stadium, and a whole host of other issues.
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