The cost of watching Spurs has always been on the more expensive side and, with the team now playing in what is unquestionably one of the best football stadiums in the world, tickets aren’t going to get any cheaper.
However there was anger this summer when matchday ticket
prices were increased.
Season ticket prices for 2023-24 were frozen, despite demand
being extremely high. That meant the cheapest season ticket
remained at £807 (for some corner seats in the lower tier), with the average
being around £1,000 behind the goals, then up to £1,400 along the sides and as
high as £2,233 for some proper nice seats with access to a private bar and some
decent grub.
Despite how big a financial commitment is required to take
up a season ticket at Spurs, the price freeze was certainly welcome.
However, the same goodwill wasn’t afforded to the average
match-going Spurs fan.
Instead, prices jumped up £17 for the top home matches this
season (i.e. Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea) and between £3 and £15 for the rest,
meaning the most expensive match ticket this season will be £103.
As well as the price increase, the Tottenham Hotspur
Supporters’ Trust (THST) also highlighted the re-categorisation of the
Newcastle game from band B to band A, and the fact there were five category C
matches last season but this year there are only four, with Wolves also moving
up a band.
The Trust has estimated that the increase, assuming all
games are sold out, will generate an extra £2.5 million for the club, equating
to 2.4 per cent of its ticketing income (as per the most recent accounts) or
0.6 per cent of the club’s overall income.
Considering how the last few years have gone on the field,
with Spurs slipping from being Champions League finalists in 2019 to not
qualifying for Europe at all in 2023, supporters feel these price increases
just don’t add up, and that their loyalty is being taken for granted by their
club.
Martin Buhagiar is chair of the Tottenham Hotspur
Supporters’ Trust, which has been vocal on the price rises.
“Set against the backdrop of a cost of living crisis, people
struggling to pay their mortgages, their shopping bills, their energy bills, we
feel it’s not the right time,” he told The Athletic’s View From The
Lane podcast.” We just feel enough’s enough. We’re at the point now where you
can’t keep fleecing loyal fans, you can’t keep exploiting loyalty and forcing
fans to pay more.
If, for example, you were to attend one category A game at
Spurs this season, maybe three category Bs and two category Cs, using the
average price (£80 for A, £65 for B and £55 for C) it would set you back £385.
That could get you a season ticket at Manchester City,
Burnley (where the most expensive season ticket is £500) or Brighton. OK,
London premium maybe, but 14 miles away from Spurs are Brentford, whose season
tickets range from £419 to £549. If you’re a young family living halfway
between the two on the North Circular, somewhere near Brent Cross maybe, the
cost of somewhere like Brentford might pull you in. After all, they finished
only one place below Spurs in the Premier League last season.
Would Spurs care about losing future fans because of what
attending a game will cost? Ultimately, they will sell out the Tottenham
Hotspur Stadium week after week. Every game was a sell-out last year despite it
being the worst season for a decade and a half.
Fans are also concerned about the club's long-term strategy: https://www.thstofficial.com/thst-news/ninth-annual-survey-reveals-major-concerns-about-clubs-long-term-strategy
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