Supporters Online Petition - Time To End Ticket Price Scandal
By N.O On Wed 21 Feb 2007 |
PRESS RELEASE
The Football Supporters’ Federation
For Immediate Release – 16 February 2007
FOOTBALL FANS LAUNCH PETITION AGAINST “RIPOFF TICKET PRICES
Football fans throughout England & Wales have launched an online petition against ripoff ticket prices in the game. Commenting on the petition launch FSF Chair Malcolm Clarke, a Stoke City supporter, said, “Supporters in this country are sick to the back teeth of being ripped off.
My own club has just had a game at St Andrews against Birmingham City moved from Saturday at 3.00pm to Sunday at 11.30am with eight days’ notice. Despite this surreal kickoff time for a professional football match we were still expected to pay £30 a ticket in the Stoke end for the privilege. It’s absolutely shameless. I’ve made an official complaint about this to both clubs and the League.
“It’s simply not good enough. Now we have Peter Kenyon at Chelsea reported as saying that the club has no intention of lowering ticket prices as his players will be demanding big pay rises. Sorry Peter. Get real. Here on planet Earth most people view professional footballers in the Premier League as being paid enough already. I think most people would be able to get by on the average salary of a Chelsea first team squad player. Anyway Chelsea and every other club in the Premier League are going to receive extra millions in broadcasting income next season. It’s time this was shared out with the fans. The new money coming into the Premier League from next season is worth around £30 per admission over three seasons. The Premier League clubs could afford to let most fans in for nothing and still be as well off as they are today.â€
The online petition calls for:
> A League wide away fans’ ticket price of no more than £15
> A League mandated freeze on all matchday and season ticket prices
> The use of television facilities fees for broadcast games to lower ticket prices to compensate for fixture moves and inconvenient kickoff times
Clarke commented, “Although the proposed changes are targeted at the Premier League initially, the petition is for all supporters, whether they support a club in the Conference or lower, the Football League or the Premier League. Ticket prices in this country are far too high at almost all clubs at all levels.â€
The petition can be found on the FSF website HERE
> The FSF represents over 140,000 individual and affiliated members supporting clubs and national teams at all levels throughout England & Wales.
> The FSF is a voluntary organisation which campaigns on behalf of football fans at all levels of the game.
> The organisation was formed in 2002 when the two major fans’ organisations – the Football Supporters’ Association and the National Federation of Football Supporters’ Clubs combined.
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I’ve sat in the east paddock since the days of Jim Smith, My ticket price has gone from being under £100 to £588. A lot less games to watch, 21 down to 19 and the facilities arn’t really that much better. Is the football we’re watching and the service we get really worth that much?
The major Shareholders will never reduce the ticket prices as it would reduce their own over inflated profit and they remain of the belief that we are one of Englands top 4 teams!
Somethings gotta change
Sent in on: March 2nd, 2007 at 4:12 pm
There is no way to prove the calibre of players is any better now than it was 20 or 30 years ago or even further back. They are deemed to be better by the way the press constantly harp on about players. Look back in History and you will see plenty of players who were as good as if not better than some of the so called stars of today. The difference is we are now over run by foreign players who are here for the money.
The fact is even if all tickets were at a fixed price then with the increase in TV money the clubs are getting they would be just as well off as they are now plus with full stadiums they would also make more money off merchandise sales. Also Sky have openly admitted they prefer to show games which have great atmospheres and big crowds so this would make Sky even happier.
The fans of most clubs don’t bring in anywhere near as much money as sponsorship or merchandise sales so to suggest that by fixing the ticket prices this would mean we are stuck with crap players is rubbish. If we didn’t spend small fortunes on long term contracts for the likes of Dyer (who was injured when he signed his increased contact), Luque (where we had no proof he would be good enough for the league) then this would help the club by not having to buy crap players like the ones you mention.
Sent in on: February 23rd, 2007 at 10:58 am
ToonTastic, the game has changed tremendously in just the past 20 years. The calibre of players is considerably higher and people all over the globe follow the Premiership. Football is so international that you’re not going to be able to control players’ salaries. Here in the states it’s different. Take the NFL, for example. The NFL instituted a salary cap. It makes for better (American) Football as it keeps the large market teams from buying up all of the best players. That wouldn’t work in this case because there would be an exodus of top-flight players across the channel. Unless every football league institutes the same standard it’ll never work. Then everyone will complain about how all of the good players leave the UK to play elsewhere.
If people are so stupid to get into debt to visit SJP or road trip in that’s their own damn fault. Skewing the economics and lowering the quality of the game is fine but you’ll have to endure Carr and Bramble, the best backs in the Premiership at that point, for 90 minutes. If that’s fine by you then great, but that won’t sit well with most people.
Sent in on: February 23rd, 2007 at 2:44 am
this is a nice idea, but will they listen no ill sign it but ino 100% its pointless the only way to
prove how serious we are is a UK wide boycott of all games over a weekend that would truly show we meant buisness a petition will do nothing they wont even read it.
Sent in on: February 22nd, 2007 at 5:01 pm
The clubs were all around long before Sky, the shareholders and the current crop of money hungry chairmen and that also means the fans were as well. It used to be very much a fans game now it’s a game for the chairman and the money men this needs to change. This is the reason I believe the comments by Alex W and Tripp are well wide of the mark. Many fans love the club so much they are willing to go into large amounts of debt to fund their visits to the stadiums.
So yes I do agree totally with the chance to limit the price of tickets. And if the money means the players get paid less then all the better, lets remember here the fans still loved the game when there were less foreign players in the league so it won’t make any difference at all if the money grabbing ones disappear.
As for basic economics, the St James park attendances are heading south this season down to poor football and stupid priced tickets. Tonights game is a perfect example. Charging anything over £5 kids and £10 adults is day light robbery in my eyes and the reason why we won’t get anywhere near even 35,000 fans. Tonights game was the perfect time for the club to follow the lead of Sunderland and Boro and give free tickets to school kids and bringing the price right down, there is very little excuse for not filling out ground with the number of fans we have, the chairman just has to get a bit of common sense.
Sent in on: February 22nd, 2007 at 8:32 am
Supply and demand, lads. It’s supply and demand. If you think that they’re overpaid don’t support the team with your money. It’s that simple. What people are asking for is artificial controls to be placed on the market. You can do that but the best players will leave and go to where the cash is. You can’t blame them. The blame is placed squarely on those who are willing to pay so much for entertainment. I personally don’t think it’s worth it and that’s why I don’t pay money to see live sporting events. I don’t pay money to get access to games on the tele. I don’t pay the £11/yr to get access to highlights on the official NUFC site. I follow mostly online where it’s free. You have no right to complain about it because you feed into it. If you paid £30 (or £40) to see a match it was obviously worth it to you. If it wasn’t you would’ve gone to the pub and watched the game there. You can’t fight basic economics. The prices will continue to increase (tickets and kit) until supply and demand are balanced. It’s as simple as that.
Sent in on: February 22nd, 2007 at 4:02 am
Get real, you guys! A business has a duty to maximise its profits for its shareholders (it’s a legal obligation - directors can be prosecuted if they fail to run the company to maximise shareholder benefits). A football club is a business and so must try to make money. They are not charities run for the benefit of the fans.
I agree that tickets prices are outrageously high but you really don’t have to pay these prices if you don’t like them. On the other hand, the clubs have no trouble selling tickets, so why should they reduce prices? If you were selling your car for over the odds, are you going to reduce your price because ‘it’s not fair’?
So, you have a choice - if you need your fix of football, you either pay the price on offer, or if you don’t like that price, you go somewhere else and find it cheaper. There are plenty of excellent teams out there, some of which you can see for free down your local park! If fans voted with their feet, THEN they’ll think about their prices.
So, either winge or do something positive.
Sent in on: February 21st, 2007 at 5:12 pm
Link now works.
Sent in on: February 21st, 2007 at 2:23 pm
£30, you’re lucky, I’ve just paid £40 to sit in the gods at St.James for the Middlesbrough match.
Sent in on: February 21st, 2007 at 2:02 pm
I agree with the sentiment comepltely, just a shame the link doesnt work for the petition!
Sent in on: February 21st, 2007 at 1:41 pm