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Casual Tickets - How much should Premiership football cost for irregular punters ?

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How much do you think they will be next season ?  With QPR topping 50 quid, and with only a few casual seats available for most games, it will be interesting to see where Norwich position themselves.How much do you think they will go for ?  And if you were a member or super-member, how much would you be willing to pay ?

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Interesting thoughts blah but one that has a potential wider impact later on - because any increases in casual tickets this term will almost certainly be reflected in season ticket rises next

 

As a Supermember Im fully expecting to have to pay more to see premiership football. 

Last years prices were just under £30 for Cat A games and Cat B around £25, depending on where you sat. I''d suggest fair increases would be around £5 - which is between 10 and 20 percent - bearing in mind demand will far outstrip supply. Anything more and you risk backlash from supporters. And remember similar rises in season ticket prices would add 50-100 pounds onto the ST cost (again demand will outstrip supply so expect the club to maximise things as far as they can)

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I wouldn''t like to see tickets top more than £40. Whilst I still think this is too much I do understand that the club needs to make money. If we follow QPR and go to £50 then it will just be unaffordable for myself right now and I will end up spening the money on another activity.

 

Davo

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And I think a lot of people are in the same boat Davo

 

I''m more likely to see away games this season than games at CR - but I think it would be a shame if the club started fleecing its fans just because it can....thats something I would expect QPR to do but not Norwich

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[quote user="Davo"]

I wouldn''t like to see tickets top more than £40. Whilst I still think this is too much I do understand that the club needs to make money. If we follow QPR and go to £50 then it will just be unaffordable for myself right now and I will end up spening the money on another activity.

 

Davo

[/quote]

 

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Leaving aside any membership discounts, given what we were charging last season I suspect the top price for the top games will be at least £40.

 

Whether an adult can afford that is a question, but it would be an absurd price for a student. But one we seem likely to be charging. Since there is no pre-adult category for the Real Zaragoza and Parma friendlies it is a fair bet there won''t be a pre-adult casual category for the Premier League games either.

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[quote user="PurpleCanary"][quote user="Davo"]

I wouldn''t like to see tickets top more than £40. Whilst I still think this is too much I do understand that the club needs to make money. If we follow QPR and go to £50 then it will just be unaffordable for myself right now and I will end up spening the money on another activity.

 

Davo

[/quote]

 

---

 

Leaving aside any membership discounts, given what we were charging last season I suspect the top price for the top games will be at least £40.

 

Whether an adult can afford that is a question, but it would be an absurd price for a student. But one we seem likely to be charging. Since there is no pre-adult category for the Real Zaragoza and Parma friendlies it is a fair bet there won''t be a pre-adult casual category for the Premier League games either.

[/quote]

There was also no pre-adult category for casual tickets in the season just gone, so I can''t see it changing now we are in the Premiership; makes my season ticket unbelieveably good value, dreading the hike next season though

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[quote user="alysha"][quote user="PurpleCanary"][quote user="Davo"]

I wouldn''t like to see tickets top more than £40. Whilst I still think this is too much I do understand that the club needs to make money. If we follow QPR and go to £50 then it will just be unaffordable for myself right now and I will end up spening the money on another activity.

 

Davo

[/quote]

 

---

 

Leaving aside any membership discounts, given what we were charging last season I suspect the top price for the top games will be at least £40.

 

Whether an adult can afford that is a question, but it would be an absurd price for a student. But one we seem likely to be charging. Since there is no pre-adult category for the Real Zaragoza and Parma friendlies it is a fair bet there won''t be a pre-adult casual category for the Premier League games either.

[/quote]

There was also no pre-adult category for casual tickets in the season just gone, so I can''t see it changing now we are in the Premiership; makes my season ticket unbelieveably good value, dreading the hike next season though

[/quote]

 

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Indeed there wasn''t. The point was that scrapping the pre-adult casual category for last season was a controversial move. It was just possible the club had rethought that policy, because it had the effect of pricing the next generation out of the market. Something the club said (note the "said") it didn''t want to happen. The lack of any such category for the friendlies suggests strongly the policy hasn''t been rethought.

 

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Or more to the point may be it HAS been rethought but the ''new'' strategy has been adopted anyway

 

I think the club were waiting to see whether there was any impact on attendances - the fact there was not (helped Im sure by our league position) probably cemented this.  The ST waiting list probably sounded the final death knell for U-21 casual tickets - indeed it would be interesting to know how many of the 1700 waiters are in that category

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[quote user="Barclay hero"]

Or more to the point may be it HAS been rethought but the ''new'' strategy has been adopted anyway

 

I think the club were waiting to see whether there was any impact on attendances - the fact there was not (helped Im sure by our league position) probably cemented this.  The ST waiting list probably sounded the final death knell for U-21 casual tickets - indeed it would be interesting to know how many of the 1700 waiters are in that category

[/quote]

 

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BH, not sure there was no effect on attendances. The League average for this last season was 25,386 (up from 24,755). However that average was still around 1,100 or 1,200 below the effective capacity. We only sold out the ground (as opposed to the home areas) twice.

 

In part this was because away fans - and particularly pre-adult away fans - stayed away. A pre-adult Cardiff fan, for example, could watch two games elsewhere for the price of one at Carrow Road. In other words, the pricing policy meant the increase in attendances wasn''t as great as it might have been. Given that we were in a higher division, and given the extra capacity, I strongly suspect that figure of 25,386 (an increase of only 631) was significantly lower than the club had anticipated.

 

But I''m sure you''re right that the season ticket waiting list means the pre-adult category won''t be coming back any time soon. Equally, though, I don''t expect to see the away area sold out for every game next season.

 

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Talking of attendences...there was talk on here a few weeks ago that as well as adding extra rows, they will be putting temporary seats in front of the hotel, is this true and if so would the away fans section remain the same or move into this corner?

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If there''s a tempoary stand it would need to hold at least 3000 for it to be for the away supporters.

 

Davo

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It''s a really tricky one for the club I think this. They''ve built up a loyal following with some of the most competitive pricing for season tickets in the country, but they need to recoup as much as they can from the extra seats to give to the manager for transfers.

The object of this is obviously to achieve as many sell outs as possible and maximise income, arguably you could charge 50, 60 or even 70 quid and still sell out the category A matches next season, just for the spectacle.

I get the impression that a family could pay admission for 3 people for 3 category A games, say a husband wife and child (they would all have to become super members to get tickets in the first week before they sold out), and end up paying the price of a single season ticket next season. This really does show the tremendous value of having a season ticket.

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Casual ticketing is becoming an increasingly interesting area of clubs revenue.

 

If you take a trip around the West End of London you will now see the ticket shops which traditionally sold seats for musicals etc also selling Premier League football tickets to tourists (both from within England and international). It is also possibly to buy "Premeir League Tours" where a holiday package will include flights, hotels, transport and tickets to 2 of 3 Premier League games. This kind of fan has lead to Fulham having an area of the ground for neutral fans, in the knowledge there is more money to be made in selling 1,000 or so casual tickets per game than having an extra 1,000 season ticket holders - there is an obvious knock on effect on atmosphere of course. QPR know well that being London based they will be able to sell causal tickets to tourists who fancy seeing a football match over a West End musical (which can also cost over £50s a ticket).

 

There is probably less benefit for Norwich taking this route due to the lower amounts of tourists in the City compared to London but I''m sure the club won''t mind putting a few noses slightly out of joint for a year by imposing a ticket price hike.

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I think the fans should be allowed to set the ticket prices... Not anything silly of course... but theres a recession on.. what would the club rather.... fan pays £40 and not a penny more...  or fan happily pays £20 then buys a pie in the ground to accompany his watered down beer whilst he reads his programme....what will be more beneficial longer term for the club?its the illusion of value for money.. people will spend more then £40 if a ticket costs £20... Cant really explain it, kind of like people "rewarding" themselves for not spending the money.. if that makes sense?

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Interesting points here. I wasn''t aware that there was no "pre-adult" walk up ticket prices last year? My son (19) has a concession on his season ticket, but I did notice a MASSIVE increase when we upgraded this occassionally.

As with everything, particuarly in the leisure market, the prices depend substantially on what is on offer. The club have been lucky/clever on their strategy regarding season tickets in both the prices and the time that they make them available. Take for example the sales of tickets after relegation to the Third division, which in my opinion was sustantially due to the 20% discount offered on relegation, regardless of whether people actually took it eventually or not.  Following promotion, the early bird discounts worked well here, as we all "gambled" on whether we would go up or not. The same has happened this year with an even earlier "beat the VAT" discount. All good strategy, and all supported by the fare on the pitch.

There is one other aspect that I believe (ironically) works for increased season tickets and that is the size of the ground. Without an ST you run the risk of not getting a ticket. There is an argument (perfectly illustrated by our Binner Chums) that a larger ground, in times of even moderate success, leads to less season tickets being sold, as the undecided can nearly always buy a walk up ticket. Or course when you are languishing, as they are, ST takeup falls even further. I know plenty of former ST holders at Portaloo that now only buy occassional tickets, and of course they are always available.

The point is that the Walk Up ticket prices are determined by the amount of ST''s there are; In our case plenty. So the cost next year will be high. It does hit the families hardest; with no concessions at all four people going to CR with a bag of crisps and a drink could get to £200. A quite staggering amount. But whatever happens each game will be sold out this year, (allowing for the vagaries of the away teams like Wigan) and the concourses will be busy. And even if we go down next year, I suspect prices will remain high for some considerable time. It is a shame for theose that support City through "thick and thin" but it is also a fact of busienss life. If you want to be in the Premier League, you''ve got to pay for it.

 

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Unfortunately the likes of me can only afford to go when we are in the Championship or League One. The last time we were in the Premiership I didn''t attend a single game because I couldn''t afford it. I won''t be able to afford it this season either. It is a shame that real fans get priced out of the game to be replaced by tourists.I try to look at it another way. We only have 38 Premier League games. At least 10 of those are to be screened live. At £50 per ticket that would cost £500. All of the other games will be live somewhere in the world (so will be on the internet) plus extensive highlights on Match of the Day. It won''t be the same as being at a game to cheer the team, but I should still be able to see a lot of most games.

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[quote user="Davo"]

If there''s a tempoary stand it would need to hold at least 3000 for it to be for the away supporters.

 

Davo

[/quote]It would only need to be 3,000 if the ground held 30,000 as the rule is 10% of the capacity or 3,000 which ever is the least amount.

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Doesn''t the fact that there will only be a negligle number of "casual" tickets per game make this all a bit of an irrelevance?

The vast majority of those who watch City on a regular basis have season tickets

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Just had an email from admin at Carrow Road - Tickets for the posh sheets (meal and seat) are £ 200 for standard games and £ 250 for the likes of arsenal and man utd. Seem to think they where about £ 85 last season!

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Mungo

 

Appreciate youre trying to get a bite on this.  Yes, those that watch Norwich at CR on a regular basis probably are S/T holders.  Theres little point in buying a ST and not attending games - nor is there any point in going to 19 home games and paying casual prices.  However not every Norwich fan has a ST simply because everyones financial situation is different.  I USED to have a ST before kids came along, but have other financial priorities now - indeed I''d have to buy 3 tickets (which would cost me in the region of £1000) if I wanted to buy any at all.  Others are in a similar position - and some have never been fortunate enough to be able to afford a season ticket in the 1st place.  Being a ST holder doesnt make you any more of a supporter.  It doesnt make you any more special.  It just means that you have a lump of money either up front or on a regular basis to pay for a seat.  Good for you

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I''d be happy paying £45-£50 for a ticket if I can get one for a home match, obviously away games will be more expensive but that''s the price for being a Premier League team fan nowadays!

I''ve programmed in the ticket office number on Speed Dial already! 8-)

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[quote user="TheJarrold"]I''d be happy paying £45-£50 for a ticket if I can get one for a home match, obviously away games will be more expensive but that''s the price for being a Premier League team fan nowadays!

I''ve programmed in the ticket office number on Speed Dial already! 8-)[/quote]

you''re part of the problem.

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Harry said:

It would only need to be 3,000 if the ground held 30,000 as the rule is 10% of the capacity or 3,000 which ever is the least amount.

I know but your missing the extra maths here.If we put in a temporary stand to hold away supporters as the ground stands it would have to hold 2700. As you do that you''re then increasing the capacity from 27000 to 29700. Which means away fans would now be eligible for 2970 tickets. Well your new temporary stand now is not big enough for away fans so you need to add in an extra 290 seats to cover then and all of a sudden you are 10 seats away from 3000. But those extra 290 seats have pushed your ground above 30,000 anyway.

I hope I explained that clearly and understand why I don''t think the temporary stand would be for away fans. I''m not sure if there''s enough room for 3000 fans including facilities in that corner.

Davo

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You did say "it would need to hold at least 3000 for it to be for the away supporters", where in fact it wouldn''t need to be more than 3,000.

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[quote user="TheJarrold"]how am I part of the problem?

just because I can afford a higher price ticket?

get a grip![/quote]

You get a grip. Happy to pay £50 a ticket because that "goes with being a Premier league fan".People like you are why the game is out of control over here and why so many decent fans cannot attend.

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''people like me''?

LOL......guessing you are one of these ''PLASTIC FANS'' that can only ''afford'' to go to games when we play top teams.

Let'' see if you go to game like Wigan (A), Stoke (A) and Fulham (H).....I''m guessing not.

Or how about this...get a better job and stop moaning!....Or go support the Binners and get cheaper tickets!

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TheJarrold, you are not the problem. The massive demand for tickets is the problem. It''s a nice problem to have.

I consider that I have a reasonable living. I can pay my mortgage, and do a few nice things for me and my family. I''m looking at going to Carrow Road twice next season as a treat for the family. It will cost me getting on for half the price of a season ticket to do so, I reckon.

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