11 Comments

Reality bites with season ticket price hike

West Ham today hiked the prices of season ticket between 8.2% and 90.9% costing season ticket founders who were the first to move to the London Stadium between £31 and £100 extra per season.

If asked the club would argue that the increased prices are still comparable with other Premier League clubs and still provide value for money when compared against other London clubs notable Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea.

Manchester United, Everton and Burnley have all announced price freezes for their season ticket holders for the 2019/2020 season while Brighton and Hove Albion have announced a modest increase costing their season ticket holders between £5 and £35 extra per season. Most other clubs are yet to announce their pricing strategy for next season.

The harsh reality is West Ham have been living beyond their means when they spent £89.5m in the summer and that model is not financially sustainable unless they bring in more income. Income actually dropped last season by £8m across the board with less TV money, less ticket money and less commercial and retail.

Raising ticket prices was the most obvious way to increase revenue and it is the price we will have to pay for a greater ambition on the pitch.

Paying more for our season tickets is the consequence of having a larger transfer budget to be able to push for a place in Europe, a place in Europe brings more TV money and so on.

The news of price increases is never welcomed by anyone paying for anything but we can’t have both ways.  We either pay less for our season tickets and have less to spend in the transfer window or pay more to have a bigger budget. It really is as simple as that!

 

About Sean Whetstone

I am Season Ticket Holder in West stand lower at the London Stadium and before that, I used to stand in the Sir Trevor Brooking Lower Row R seat 159 in the Boleyn Ground and in the Eighties I stood on the terraces of the old South Bank. I am a presenter on the West Ham Podcast called MooreThanJustaPodcast.co.uk. A Blogger on WestHamTillIdie.com a member of the West Ham Supporters Advisory Board (SAB), Founder of a Youtube channel called Mr West Ham Football at http://www.youtube.com/MrWestHamFootball, I am also the associate editor here at Claret and Hugh. Life Long singer of bubbles! Come on you Irons! Follow me at @Westhamfootball on twitter

11 comments on “Reality bites with season ticket price hike

  1. Let’s assume that we have 50k season ticket holders and they all have to pay the maximum of £100 per year. That would be an extra £5m.

    About the same amount as is taken out by the owners in interest payments.

    How about we freeze season ticket prices and stop funding new Rollers and helicopters for the owners?

  2. My ST has increased by £55 (9.3%) the statement that we have to accept this to increase our transfer budget is utter b@ll@?ks.

    This was not what we were sold when we moved, how can it go up £55 in one season?

    Disgrace, as you well know…

  3. The price increase on season tickets will bring in approximately £5 million in extra revenue and there’s no way on earth that would make a difference on us getting a euro spot etc.
    All that will happen is the board will have a healthier bank balance. I personally can’t wait for them to sell up.

  4. Im pretty sure my seat in the Billy Bonds stand is exactly the same price as last year. So some seats must have been frozen.

  5. With the utmost of respect Sean that is total rubbish in the modern day, most money by far is placing in the league and TV cash that is paid to the spoilt children . . .

  6. With the utmost of respect Sean that is total rubbish in the modern day, most money by far is placing in the league and TV cash that is paid to the spoilt children . . . if certain players did not walk around sulking or cheating (which being a West Ham fan is sickening to me) and doing what they are paid for the club would make far more money being two places up the table than sticking it to the fans

  7. The season ticket price increase will probably just pay Jack Wilshere’s wages whilst he’s injured next season. It certainly won’t make any real difference in providing us with a squad that is capable of challenging for 7th/8th.

  8. To add some support for this post, the club need to do everything they can to maximise revenue. Increasing the income by a “paltry” 5m in 3 or 4 areas could take the available 25m to 40m net spend available which can make a significant difference.

    The bottom line is we’re in a free market economy, and if demand outstrips supply prices will rise. Time will tell, but if season tickets sell out as per usual then the club will have judged this correctly.

    As a fan base we seem to want it both ways…100m net spends, but keep everything cheap for us. Owners pumping money into the club is totally unsustainable and frankly why should they basically give away their hard earned for our benefit…its a utopian ideal but just doesn’t happen. Theyre businessmen first.

    The club need to maximise all sources of revenue, sell players at premium prices and invest the additional income in the club and the squad.

    Imagine the outcry if we do crack the top 4 or 6, and we start getting charged top 4 or 6 prices!

    • They make money off the loans they provide…

      An increase may have been acceptable but some are over 50%!

      £5m is the amount they will make over the entire season ticket increase not £25m ?????

      Is that worth ****ing off everyone?, not even worth a Hugill!!!

      Every top ten club has to spend big to stay there, have you forgotten they didn’t spend in the previous 3 seasons? And the £100’s of millions in tv revenue?

      You are deluded my friend.

  9. I feel quite crushed.. been a regular going back to 1974 .. a season ticket holder West Lower, West Upper, South Bank and East Side at the Boleyn over the years… now Band 1 in Billy Bonds Stand… I can understand my ticket increasing by about £100 .. but my son has just turned 16 and his ticket for next season will increase from £99 to £490.. he’s still at school taking GCSE’s – and then enters 6th form for his A’s .. surely if the kids are in full time education they should be offered an appropriate rate… his ticket has increased by almost 500%

  10. The best argument for the increases would be to deter the large number of tickets sold and then not used, resulting in empty seats week after week.

    I agree with the other contributors that have said that the extra income will not make much difference, but if it goes back into funding new recruits, it will be worthwhile.

    For me the biggest issue with club income compared to its peers, is commercial revenue. Whoever is responsible for that needs a serious talking to!

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