What is more important to you: fan affordability or reaching Premier League?

[martyn20]

Speaking personally, I absolutely loved the romance of going batshit at Cheltenham because we'd just equalised to 2-2. I go along for a day of football, I drink, I have a laugh with my mates and that is number 1, the football is a distant second to this. I'd rather be able to go and have a laugh a with my mates and watch my us get shafted than us be top of the league all season but me not be able to afford to go to any matches. Just my view innit. Ultimately if prices continue on their current trajectory I'll have to find a new team to follow lower down the pyramid, I wouldn't want to do this but it might be my only option if I want to continue actually attending football matches. But if I was driven to this I certainly wouldn't be returning when the club is struggling at some point, the club should be trying to hang on to people like me happy to attend through thick and thin not drive me out in preference to some rich banker who will **** off back to Stamford Bridge after a single poor season, because when people like me are gone, and they are gone then the club really will be in trouble.

Also, teams in this league like Barnsley have a turnover well below ours but have survived in this league for years, you seem to think we need to break the bank every season or it's not worth it.

You would prefer we were back at Withdean wouldn't you?

 

[Husty]

You would prefer we were back at Withdean wouldn't you?

100%, I enjoyed very much paying £7/game INCLUDING travel. Marvelous. If it wasn't for those ticket prices I'd have never got into supporting the Albion like I do.

 

[beorhthelm]

Would you be happy being in the prem if you couldn't afford to go and see us when we're there?

yes within reason, im not saying the club should jack the prices 100%. the two poll answers are not mutually exclusive anyway, keeping it "affordable" could be substantially more than current, bearing in mind the monthly cost of ST over a year. affordable isnt defined, or for that matter how much "funding" whould be, so its a bit vague.

 

[Acker79]

I voted 'affordable for all', but in truth I mean 'affordable for me'

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

Just a little look at theatre tickets for the Lion King gives me the following:

Stalls £67.50, £57.50, £47.50
Royal Circle £67.50, £57.50, £47.50
Grand Circle £47.50, £42.50, £35

Now you may or may not like going to the theatre but that is a typical show in a typical theatre in any city showing one of the top productions, transpose that to football and we are one of the top productions in the country every time we put on a performance. The Lion King is shown say 8 times a week nearly 52 weeks of the year playing to nearly full audiences. The average cost is higher, the difference is it's played to a new audience every night and this is my point. We as supporters feel that to be able to watch our team every game home and away is too expensive but as a one off would be happy to pay more to see a show. Both are deemed as entertainment and as such the cost of the productions either football or the theatre come at a price.

The issue is are you happy to see only a few productions at the higher echelons of the scale or want to see an amateur production? Alternatively spread the cost by direct debit and enjoy the ride like me!

 

[The Modfather]

Cant believe the amount of people who have voted to spunk money we do not have on reaching the premier league

 

[Husty]

Just a little look at theatre tickets for the Lion King gives me the following:

Stalls £67.50, £57.50, £47.50
Royal Circle £67.50, £57.50, £47.50
Grand Circle £47.50, £42.50, £35

Now you may or may not like going to the theatre but that is a typical show in a typical theatre in any city showing one of the top productions, transpose that to football and we are one of the top productions in the country every time we put on a performance. The Lion King is shown say 8 times a week nearly 52 weeks of the year playing to nearly full audiences. The average cost is higher, the difference is it's played to a new audience every night and this is my point. We as supporters feel that to be able to watch our team every game home and away is too expensive but as a one off would be happy to pay more to see a show. Both are deemed as entertainment and as such the cost of the productions either football or the theatre come at a price.

The issue is are you happy to see only a few productions at the higher echelons of the scale or want to see an amateur production? Alternatively spread the cost by direct debit and enjoy the ride like me!

No one goes to these shows every saturday though do they.

 

[Acker79]

There was a film recently called Quartet, about aging stars in a care home. It was mentioned in the film that the opera used to be the entertainment of the common folk. It was cheap and everyone went, then the rich wanted to know what all the fuss was about and gradually costs increased, and the target audience changed. I don't know if the film was historically accurate with that, but if so, are we seeing the same thing happen with football?

 

[Creaky]

Just a little look at theatre tickets for the Lion King gives me the following:

Stalls £67.50, £57.50, £47.50
Royal Circle £67.50, £57.50, £47.50
Grand Circle £47.50, £42.50, £35

Now you may or may not like going to the theatre but that is a typical show in a typical theatre in any city showing one of the top productions, transpose that to football and we are one of the top productions in the country every time we put on a performance. The Lion King is shown say 8 times a week nearly 52 weeks of the year playing to nearly full audiences. The average cost is higher, the difference is it's played to a new audience every night and this is my point. We as supporters feel that to be able to watch our team every game home and away is too expensive but as a one off would be happy to pay more to see a show. Both are deemed as entertainment and as such the cost of the productions either football or the theatre come at a price.

The issue is are you happy to see only a few productions at the higher echelons of the scale or want to see an amateur production? Alternatively spread the cost by direct debit and enjoy the ride like me!

Accepted and if BHAFC are promoted and ticket prices increase dramatically then I don't believe there would be a reduction in the attendances - in fact they would probably increase.

The difference would be in those attending - it won't be the same people who have supported the club during the hard times but those who are willing to pay high prices to see the top teams playing at the Amex - in other words customers, not fans.

 

[Creaky]

There was a film recently called Quartet, about aging stars in a care home. It was mentioned in the film that the opera used to be the entertainment of the common folk. It was cheap and everyone went, then the rich wanted to know what all the fuss was about and gradually costs increased, and the target audience changed. I don't know if the film was historically accurate with that, but if so, are we seeing the same thing happen with football?

Snap!

 

[Bra]

The club seems to think the priority should be increasing revenues and cutting costs to allow them to keep paying competitive wages which will compete for promotion.

I'd rather the club used FFP as a catalyst to bring wages etc in control and make football more affordable. Not simply pass on the additional costs to supporters.

Nice idea in principle but the club have to pay the market rate and until wages come down it is impossible for the club to take unilateral action unlesx it means dropping down leagues and the amex becomes a problem as crowds drop

 

[saafend_seagull]

Premier league by a mile.

If its too expensive, don't eat or drink at the ground its that simple.

Season ticket prices are about £25 per game, affordable for most.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Premier league by a mile.

If its too expensive, don't eat or drink at the ground its that simple.

Season ticket prices are about £25 per game, affordable for most.

Quite. And as long as it 'feels' right, the ticket price is not the most important issue. If it feels right we make the sacrifice (well, I don't, obviously, because I can afford two season tickets, but I sacrifice a massive amount of time that I don't have to spare . . . .).

Agree with the post above about the Opera, though. However, if your only issue is to have ticket prices sufficiently low that anyone can get into every game, may I recommend Division 1. Or the Conference. Mind you, even if the clubs there cater for 'proper fans' (why is it that only poor fans a proper?), there aren't that many of them judging by the gates. Our 30,000 may be largely middle class johnny and jemima come lateliess, but they are turning up. How many go to Barnet, or Ebbsfleet? Or even mighty Brentford?

 

[fork me]

Easy for you to say sitting on your sofa in Cyprus. What happens when we narrowly miss out this season? Another £5 next year. What about the year after that? Another £5?

I'd be thinking EXACTLY the same thing if I was still in the UK.

What's the point of supporting a club and NOT wanting them to do well?

Maybe you should switch your allegience to Crawlwy if you'd rather support a shitty little club...

 

[B.W.]

PL. You have to be ambitious / want to progress. For us, that means PL. And, no, I won't stop supporting whatever division we are in.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

No one goes to these shows every saturday though do they.

And that's my point. Like I posted every thing you do in way of entertainment costs a lot of money. Go to one of the top theme parks and its bloody expensive instead go to the local park and it might even be free. Your choice. However if you wish to go to one of the top football matches in the country then expect to pay in line with other top attractions

 

[8ace]

Albion attendances always seem to plummet if the team is doing badly in the division it is on and/or there is a lack of ambition shown by the board.
Mid-table mediocrity is more likely to drive punters away than ticket prices IMHO.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Football is not just any "attraction" because there is no competition - a vast majority of us have only one option, the club we support, in this case BHAFC.

Football is also unlike any other "attraction" because the money isn't going into the production of the event - it's going to ludicrously high player wages, and the majority of "businesses" are losing money because of it.

If people keep talking like football is like any other business or entertainment event this very serious problem will never improve, because it isn't. We are football fans and in most cases have little choice over who is our local team, or who we support - We will spend stupid money, knowingly getting ripped off, because supporting our teams is something we have done for our entire lives.

Really football fans need some kind of protection, and this is not just down to BHAFC, but really down to Fifa, Uefa and the FA - but BHAFC needs to show some sign of understanding & acknowledgement that many of us are loyal football fans without a bottomless pit of money. Something like a promise of a price freeze if/when we make the Premier League would give me personally some satisfaction if we persist with hiking the prices.

It is 'not like any other business' only for the hard core. Certainly NOT fot the club - business is IT. Our hard core (judging by attendances at Gillingham) is about 3000 to (judging by Withdean) 6000. It is easy to become deluded. If you are a hard core Lady Gaga fan, you probably imagine everyone at the gig is the same. Not so. For Gaga to sustain her business she needs to accommodate those who just want to see some 'top entertainment', not just the Gagaettes. This may not be the best choice of entertainer for my analogy, but it will do. For me, its Caravan . . .

 

[B.W.]

Albion attendances always seem to plummet if the team is doing badly in the division it is on and/or there is a lack of ambition shown by the board.
Mid-table mediocrity is more likely to drive punters away than ticket prices IMHO.

I agree, although our current level of STHs will cushion the effect of mid-table mediocrity, should that happen, in the short-term at least.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

Football is not just any "attraction" because there is no competition - a vast majority of us have only one option, the club we support, in this case BHAFC.

Football is also unlike any other "attraction" because the money isn't going into the production of the event - it's going to ludicrously high player wages, and the majority of "businesses" are losing money because of it.

If people keep talking like football is like any other business or entertainment event this very serious problem will never improve, because it isn't. We are football fans and in most cases have little choice over who is our local team, or who we support - We will spend stupid money, knowingly getting ripped off, because supporting our teams is something we have done for our entire lives.

Really football fans need some kind of protection, and this is not just down to BHAFC, but really down to Fifa, Uefa and the FA - but BHAFC needs to show some sign of understanding & acknowledgement that many of us are loyal football fans without a bottomless pit of money. Something like a promise of a price freeze if/when we make the Premier League would give me personally some satisfaction if we persist with hiking the prices.

Your first point is not right of course there's competition. Having been brought up in Horsham lived most of my young adult life in Haywards Heath and latterly Nr Hasting there are plenty of football season ticket holder of other teams.

Just because you (no one forces you) chose to follow Brighton you could go elsewhere, up to you alone. I will only ever support Brighton but if my finances mean I can't go so be it.

Football isn't unlike other attractions. Of course money goes into the event production, the production of putting a competitive team/squad into the league/cup competitions . The production costs of a show include the also very highly paid main actors you know!

The current average st works out at about £25 per game in comparison with many other "entertainments" it is very reasonable, just because you wish to repeat your experience 24 times a season or more doesn't mean the club should undervalue the product.

Fans don't like being a customer but in anything you "support" financially you become a customer.

With being the top average supported team last year in the Championship, on a normal Saturday including all events sporting or otherwise, we would have been within the top 10 supported/populated events in Britain at the time, lets not forget that fact. Of the other events that attracted more including perhaps International Rugby (not cricket as no ground holds more than our ground) I expect all of them cost more to get in to.

£25 to get in, food/beer prices not extreme when compared to many venues like Sussex CCC, Lords, Wembley, rip off theme parks, theatres and alike, I don't believe we are being asked to pay too much.