Offside Magazine

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- ESCALATING COST OF FOOTBALL -

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A DAY AT WHITE HART LANE INSIGHT TO THE EVER ESCALATING FINANCIAL COST OF FOOTBALL

Even if you aren’t a massive football fan, you will know someone who is a die hard supporter of ‘their’ club. “Nothing beats the match day experience” is what they will tell you. But that has changed in recent years due to escalating cost of football tickets.

Tottenham Hotspur F.C are a club known to many for their constant fight in the Premier League. Each season Spurs attempt to secure fourth position for a Champion’s league spot, but they always seem to miss out.

So why does a club that is argubly not at the elite level charge the fans extortionate amounts of money for season tickets and match day tickets? The answer is simple, it is because the club’s hierarchy knows that fans do not want to betray their beloved club, and will continue to pay up even if the cost of football tickets increase.

Football clubs around the league are experiencing similar issues, where the business-minded owners are thinking about how much money they can fork in from absurd television deals, instead of considering the typical working class fan, and how they can offer them a reasonable costing ticket that won’t break the bank.

The average match day ticket costs 13% more than it did in 2011, this also works out at a 6.2% higher increase in comparison to the increased cost of living, which rose by 6.8%. How can the owners of football clubs justify charging this 4.4% increase each year to their commited supporters of the club, especially when clubs are paying out hundreds of thousands a week on players wages. Many argue that these extortionate figures could be lowered and the money used to help make the fans experience more enjoyable. After all, without the fans, the players wouldn’t even be there.

An example is Radamel Falcao of Manchester United.

He earns £300K a week, and many argue that this sum of money is way too much for a player who has been absolutely dreadful for his club.

Fans have asked for football clubs to restructure players contracts, keeping their base salary at a fair rate and then adding perks within the contract such as ‘if you score over 20 goals a season, you will receive a £50K bonus’. That is just an example of what many fans have called for, something that is very similar to the NFL (American football) contracts, and it has been successful over there for many years now.

Football in England is characterised by a keen sense of nostalgia, and many older fans refer back to times of the past as the “best times”, telling stories about turning up on the day of the match and buying your ticket then and there. Once you had your ticket, it was just a matter of finding a place to stand (there were no designated seats up until the tragic Hillborough accident in 1989). Many older fans would like to see standing tickets available, not only would it encourage cheaper tickets, but make the match day experience even better. This is something that is already happening in the German ‘Bundesliga’, where fans are allowed to watch a game of football standing behind a rail. The Bundesliga is often noticed as one of the loudest and most excting leagues on a match day. Fans are seen shouting and screaming their team on in the teams colours. But mind you. wouldn’t you have something to shout about if you were only paying around £12 for a match day ticket.

Fans of the Premier League have raised their voices on this matter various times, holding banners up on a match day directed towards their clubs owners - “Lower ticket prices” they say. But as more money is being pumped into the Premier League, the only thing that the clubs appear to be doing is increasing prices of the tickets and merchandise.

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“FOR MANY FA OF LIFE AND TH OBSES

ANS IT’S A WAY HEIR LIFELONG SSION.”

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TO DARE

IS TO DO It’s Saturday 21st March in North London, the sky is grey and the tempurature is low, but thousands of Tottenham Hotspur fans are gathered around at White Hart Lane stadium to watch their team play.

When you look around and scout the area, children have their replica kits on and the parents can be seen sporting a Spurs beanie hat or scarf, usually with a beer and burger placed in each hand.

Spurs fans are used to this weekly ritual of getting up early and excited about the day of football to come, only to be disapointed by either the result or lack of passion showed by some of the teams players. It is quite easy to get frustrated, especially as it’s possible to spend over £100 for the day, and that’s just by going on a budget. Don’t forget that it isn’t just the ticket that you are paying for, but also travel, food, match day program, a few drinks, and maybe even some club merchandise.

Of course, you do not have to spend money on some of those things, but these are the things that make the match day exciting, and at times even manage to restore faith if the team loses the match.

Spurs are often viewed as a mid-table side, and they are constantly pushing to become noticed as an elite team. Various times in the past few years Spurs have come close to securing a Champion’s league place, only to leave fans disappointed when they fall at the last hurdle. Even with the £100M sale of Gareth Bale in the summer of 2012, Spurs have continued to struggle reaching a top four spot. So why does the club still continue to charge the second most expensive season ticket in the Premier league to their die hard fans?

Because they know that they will pay it.

Through it all and despite struggling with form and the cost of tickets, fans continue to pledge their allegiance to the club by turning up every weekend to watch them play, and while that continues to happen, the club can take advantage and charge these highly costing tickets to the fans.

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THE POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES OF AN EXPANDING FOOTBALL CLUB In 2008, Spurs announced news that left fans overjoyed; the announcement of a new stadium, planning to be completed by the 2018/19 Premier league season.

There have been a few issues in terms of getting the go ahead to start building the new stadium, particularly a small business that refused to move unless Tottenham Hotspur paid them for the inconvinience. The £400M new stadium will stand next to their current stadium and it will hold a capacity of 56,000, which is 20,000 more than the current capacity at White Hart Lane. The new stadium is a massive step forward for the football club, and it may be the answer and solution in order to achieve that ‘elite’ title, a title that is already

held by Premier league sides such as - Manchester Utd, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool.

The new stadium would bring a lot more revenue to the football club, this would mean they could spend more on player transfers, players wages, and still obide by the rules and regulations of the recently introduced, ‘Financial fair play’. This extra revenue would grant Spurs the ability to buy elite players, who could help the club land a Champion’s league spot.

While this would bring a positive effect for the club, it could also cause a negative impact on the fans; the cost of match day and season tickets would increase dramatically. An example of this is when Arsenal moved to the Emirates stadium from Highbury in 2006. It brought great positivity to the club, but it also caused season tickets to soar in price; the most expensive ticket being over £2000. When Spurs eventually move to their new stadium, it wouldn’t be a big shock if the season ticket prices manage to overtake the price of their North London rivals, causing numerous problems for the more dedicated fans. Season ticket holders may have to reconsider renewing their ticket if the prices to manage to reach sky high prices. This would create a problem for working class fans, and make watching Spurs only available to middle-class fans.

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- ESCALATING COST OF FOOTBALL Any Spurs fan will tell you about the heartache they have been through, especially fans of the older generation. Richard has been a fan of the club for over 35 years. “I’ve been a fan for a very long time, and in that time i’ve spent a lot a lot of money on the club.”

Richard spoke a lot about times of the past, especially certain players and the moments Spurs won trophies.

Sadly, this doesn’t happen so often anymore. The last time Spurs won the Premier league, as it’s now called, was the 1960/61 season. “Although Spurs aren’t the best team, it’s not always the wins and losses that you remember, it’s usually the atmosphere and crowd that stay with you.”

7 Do you think the cost of tickets has effected the atmosphere?

“Partly. It is a lot to do with money, but the fans have also changed. A lot of people who come up to Spurs aren’t from London, they’re from surrounding counties such as Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.”

Richards looks at Nicholas while laughing. “The Chairman of the club knows what he’s doing. He’s going to target the middle class (well-off) fans, and also tourists from around the world who will pay stupid money to watch a game of football. It is a shame as football is so business orientated now, but that’s the way it works I guess.”

Since the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, football has changed dramatically.

One of the main features that was introduced to all stadiums was seating.

The ability to watch football standing is long gone, but many fans including Richard think that is the right time to reintroduce safe standing areas in the Premier league stadiums. “Not only would it provide a better experience, but it would also reduce the cost of tickets.” The Bundesliga (German Premier league) are one of the only leagues in the world football where the majority of the teams within the league provide safe standing areas. An example is Borussia Dortmund.

Football fans often describe Dortmund’s “yellow wall” as the most atmospheric stand in any football stadium around the world. These standing tickets cost the fans around £12, dramatically cheaper than any Premier league ticket.

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“ME AND MY FRIENDS USUALLY DON’T GO TO PREMIER LEAGUE GAMES BECAUSE OF THE COST.” The younger generation may be oblivious to standing in a football stadium, or even the ability to turn up on match day and buy your ticket on the gate. One thing that does remain the same with Spurs fans, old and young, is the passion they share to watch their football team play. Nicholas, 18, a student from Bedfordshire has supported Spurs since he can remember. He spoke about struggling to watch his team play in the Premier league due to the cost of tickets, so he mainly goes up on weekdays with friends to watch Europa league games. “Me and my friends usually don’t go to Premier league games because of the cost.” Nicholas said that he hopes in the future, the football club will listen to the fans and lower ticket costs for the younger generation. “The only reason i’m here today is because my dad’s paying for the ticket. I would just be at home watching it on TV otherwise.” Spurs offer discounted ticket prices for children 16 and under, but anyone over the age of 16 is considered an adult and therefore must pay the full price. “Now and again it’s a nice treat, but I wish I could come up most weekends.

It’s not the same watching it on TV.” Spurs offer their cheapest match day ticket at the price of £32, with their most expensive ticket price being £81. At the cost of £32, the seat isn’t going to be the best, so you could end up sitting right at the back of the stadium,

making it almost impossible to recognise players, unless you watch from the screen. “I think i’ve only seen Spurs play twice in the Premier league with my friends, and that’s because it’s too expensive.” It isn’t just the match day ticket that you are paying for after all. You have to consider travel, food, drink and any merchandise such as a match day program. All of this together on top of the cheapest ticket would cost Nicholas around £65. “I do have a part time job, but if I wanted to watch Spurs, it would take a massive chunk out of the money I earn. That’s why I just stick to watching Europa league games during the week.”

Although the Europa league may not be as exciting as a Premier league match, it is a cheap and cheerful alternative, as tickets can be around £18, depending on the opponent and seat you have chosen. “The atmosphere before the game is awesome. Everyone’s excited to watch Spurs play... and hopefully win.”

Although the atmosphere on match day is different for Nicholas compared to the older generation, to him it is the best experience, but due to the high cost of Premier league tickets himself and other young fans are restricted to games they can attend.

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THE FANS KNOW BEST

The fans are what make a football club. Without the fans, there wouldn’t be a Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Andy Thorpe is a passionate Spurs fan who has been a season ticket holder for the past 15 years. He usually travels to every weekend game, where he meets his friends in the pub before a game. “I’m addicted to the football club. A season ticket costs me £1895 a season and I haven’t thought about giving it up.” With the Premier league remaining as the highest in the world when it comes to season ticket cost, Spurs season ticket holders are paying on average £90 per match. Although Spurs have frozen the cost of season tickets for the past two years now, they still remain as one of the most expensive clubs to be a fan of. With the history of the football club and Spurs’ present form, the performance is not justified by the cost of watching Tottenham play football.

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“I MANAGED TO MAKE OVER £600 FROM SELLING MY SEASON TICKET SEATS TO SOMEONE ON STUBHUB. IT’S MADNESS.” Andy was optimistic when it came to talking about Spurs, and spoke about selling tickets to third party ticket sites such as ‘StubHub’. “It does cost a lot, and I think prices will continue to rise, but if you don’t feel like going to a game or you’re away and can’t make it, you can just put your tickets on StubHub.” Andy seemed confident that this was the way football was heading.

It was becoming more and more business orientated and admitted that Premier league clubs would team up with third party ticket sites so any tickets could be sold on there. “I was ill for one of the home games against Chelsea and I managed to make over £600 from selling my season ticket seats to someone on StubHub. It’s madness.” From the sale of two tickets, Andy managed to make back a big chunk of what he would pay for his annual season ticket. In this modern age anything is possible, and it does appear as if the sale of football tickets is becoming increasingly popular and they are being treated as a business opportunity for fans to have some of the season ticket cost reimbursed.

When questioned about why he returns to watch Spurs play every week, Andy simply replied by saying “loyalty”. He spoke about how it was almost a routine that he couldn’t replace. “It’s something I have done for so long now, it would be strange to just give it all up.”

Andy spoke about the reintroduction of safe standing areas within a football stadium, and how it could create a positive impact, but equally a negative effect.

“I think it would be great to be able to stand again, and while it would create a section of the stadium with cheaper tickets, the majority of the seated tickets would increase in price.” Although the Bundesliga have been very successful with their safe standing zones, the Premier league attracts a different audience.

Multi-billion pound television deals don’t help with the increasing cost of football tickets, especially because Premier league football is then branded with this label that it just revolves around money. Although it may be seen as one of the most exciting leagues in the world, it is also one of the most costly for fans.

If fans has the opportunity to have a say in how their club should be run, what sort of outcome do you think this would have?

“It would allow supporters not so much a say on pricing of tickets, as ultimately that would be dictated by directors, but maybe a say on membership costs.

Overall I don’t think it would work due to football clubs being high revenue businesses. TV revenues, players wages and transfer fees are too high for clubs to allow footballing influences. I think it would be a good idea if football fans had some sort of influence on their side, but as I already said, I think there’s too much money involved and the people at the top of these football clubs won’t allow fans to have any financial influence.

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“THE POWER AT UNDOUBTEDLY RE MAJOR SHAR

- ESCALATING COST OF FOOTBALL -

T CLUBS WOULD EMAIN WITH THE REHOLDERS.”

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DO WE FOLLOW SUIT LIKE

THE BUNDESLIGA? The Bundesliga is home to a few of the best football teams in world football, the most notable side being Bayern Munich. Bayern Munich is a team full of elite players, many who played in the World Cup winning Germany team. Not only is the football they play in Germany some of the best, but the league concentrates and focuses on the fans.

That is one of the main differences between German and English football, the fans are the ones who control their favourite football club. An example is the 50+1 rule in the Bundesliga, a rule which means a minimum of 51% of a club must be owned by club members. Investors such as Audi and Adidas still make considerable investments into the Bundesliga, but it stops football in Germany from becoming too business orientated. The president of Bayern Munich, Uli Hoeness commented on ticket prices in Germany compared to England, and was quoted to have said

“We do not think the fans are like cows to be milked. Football has got to be for everybody.

That’s the biggest difference between us and England.”

The Bundesliga really does put Premier league football to shame, the hard working fans are exposed and robbed of their hard working money.

From the 1996/97 to 2006/2007 seasons, the combined turnover of all the teams in the Premier league increased by 330% from €689m to €2273m, and the Bundesliga, a league often considered to be the most lucrative league in European football, increased from €440m to €1379m.

Borussia Dortmund’s most atmospheric and largest stand in football holds 26,000 fans and it would cost a fan roughly €15, which equivilates to around £12. If you compare this to one of Spurs’ cheapest match day tickets (£32), it seems mad that a football club who are not considered an elite side can charge their fans such a huge sum of money for a ticket. With the ability to offer the German fans a cheaper costing ticket compared to the Premier league, they are able to deliver a sports product that appeals to both the working class and middle class, whereas Premier league clubs such as Spurs and many other teams aim their sports product towards the middle class fan, completely ignoring the needs of the typical working class football fan.

- ESCALATING COST OF FOOTBALL -

With the 50+1 rule for all Bundesliga clubs being something that allows German fans to have a voice, this should be something that the Premier league should focus on, rather than allowing billionaire business men to buy a football club which they have no care about, other than the opportunity to earn millions of pounds.

With the latest television deal just been completed, a sum of £5.14bn is being paid by Sky and BT Sports to allow them the rights to broadcast Premier league football. This is one of the biggest issues to why ticket prices are increasing in the Premier league, because hardly any of that money is used towards the fans.

Comparing this to the Bundesliga, who get around

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£650m for television rights, it looks like a tiny sum of money, and the majority of this money is spent on subsidies for German football supporters.

This is one of the biggest problems with Premier league football; too much money is being pumped into it. Although it does bring joy to a lot of fans, it’s also starting to leave a big dent in the typical football fans wallet. The only way for Premier league football to achieve complete success and be considered the best league in world football is by putting the fans first and offering cheaper ticket prices, so the traditional fan can watch their team play every weekend without them having to worry about breaking the bank.