In a statement that will be welcomed by all fans, Arsenal have promised to freeze ticket prices for the 2016/17 season.
The freeze includes all general admission and club level season and matchday tickets for next season.
Speaking about the decision, CEO, Ivan Gazidis told Arsenal.com: “We have incredible home support with sell-out crowds for every game. This decision reflects our on-going aim to maintain a fair and balanced approach to our ticket pricing.”
The statement goes on to explain: “It will be the seventh time in 11 seasons at Emirates Stadium that prices have been held flat, meaning the cost of season tickets has fallen around 19 per cent in real terms against inflation in that time.”
They’re free!
No wait, now they are “freze”?
Can’t do better than free ?
“ARSENAL CONFIRM TICKET PRICE FREE FOR 2016/17” – Wow, free tickets!! That’s fantastic news, all though I’m not sure it’s a sustainable business model.
Hope I can afford to watch my beloved gunners live even once in 2016/17
our season tickets are insanely expensive, so to hear IG crowing about how great the pricing is really does rather stick in the old craw.
Safe standing, increase in capacity and £400-500 season tickets would be good – but the chances of seeing it now the profit men are in charge? Meh. After the bubble bursts and we’re all back to the days of Lee Chapman battling Steve Walford for the striker’s berth, perhaps. But not now.
If affordable football was your priority you wouldn’t be watching the Premier League. Whilst they are expensive, their price has fallen 11% in real terms over the past 11 years (via @MessiSeconds). That is somewhat commendable considering our club has gone through a period of transition with heavy debts incurred. If they really wanted too, they could have raised it a lot higher over the past decade. I think there is also a certain hypocrisy is arguing we should get £400-500 season tickets: whether it’s transfers or spending, as fans we always think we know what’s best. It might be… Read more »
spot on.
If it helps to understand my personal viewpoint better, my first game at HIghbury was in 1976. When I started to stand regularly on the North Bank and occasionally the Clock End in the early ’80s, it cost £3, and you turned up on the day. Granted the football was often appalling and the crowds were frequently below 20,000 – but it was affordable, and we still managed to outbid Liverpool for Charlie Nicholas in 1983. The economics of football were of course very different back then… So no to your first point about affordability and where I watch my… Read more »
a couple of bullshit points in your argument, one being that the cheaper they are, the more affordable they become, so its better that they stay expensive so people with money like you can have them and others are priced out. That is exactly the point the other poster is arguing for- make the capacity of the stadium higher, introduce safe standing, and reduce ticket prices so more fans can watch their beloved team and the revenue would still balance out. What will likely happen (especially if fools like you have their way) is that expansion and safe standing (one… Read more »
Sorry but a refusal to accept facts and a rude means of expressing it are not attractive qualities. If the author has said something incorrect, point it out. If not, what is the problem?
It’s sad that you find yourself excluded financially. I grew up on an estate in Islington and can no longer afford to live there. This is life. I can piss and moan and shout at pigeons in the park, or I can focus on trying to improve those things I can control.
Give it a try.
You do sound like a right John Terry. Arrogant one at that.
I think you’ve maybe misunderstood what I’ve said. I told you it might be in both your interest, and mine, that they would be cheaper – being a student I can’t afford to give up 1/6 of my annual income on a season ticket. However, the club doesn’t cater to the individual. Season tickets would become more affordable as they become cheaper but the consequence would be that they would be less available. Decreasing their price would not make them available to you, it would instead have a negative effect: – Increased renewal rates/sell on rates: People would be inclined… Read more »
Arsenal’s £10 youth tickets rarely sell out, but we keep hearing that young fans are being priced out. We also see that the Cat C games do not sell out very often, despite tickets costing as little as £25 a lot of the slating of AFC’s ticket prices is just another thing to have a go at the club for. In this last week a ticket for Leeds v Bristol City in the Championship cost £42, and I did not see one article in any of the main newspapers or redtops condemning it, but AFC get stick for a £55… Read more »
my first game at highbury was in 1976 and i stood in the ’80s with no need for a season ticket because I could roll up and spend £3 – roughly the same cost as to see a cinema film at the time. and of course the other reason was because there were frequently less than 20,000 of us stood there scratching our heads at the crap on offer. but, affordable in a way that isn’t the case now. so no, i don’t think i’m a hypocrite to be fair, but i understand your point about how the club could… Read more »
It’s not about maintaining current attendances. It’s also about introducing new “customers” to the game I suggest a standing room in general PLUS one for an age group in order to introduce younger people to the game. How many people have told you about their first experience at Highbury when they were 11 or 12 years old who turned into lifelong diehard fans and not just wealthy prawn sandwich fans?
Wooooooohooooooo!!!
Third time lucky with the title :)?
It’s gone from “free” to “freeze”… waiting for arseblog to update again with “rise” any moment…
With new tv money kicking in shortly they will have much more money than to know what to do with it. We recieved £93m for last year which is set to become £158m plus 40% increase in CL money plus international tv rights we can easily increase our become by another £100m per annum in couple of years. This is why I think we should reduce ticket prices by 20 percent.
And every other club would love it. As they have no intention of doing the same so would achieve a de facto competitive advantage. Basic game theory.
20 percent reduction in ticket prices is only cost £20m to club but thdy would still be up by £80m per year which should be enough to buy one top player and one up and coming one every year. To be honest, we would never need £100m extra per year for player acquisition. We paid for stadium by high ticket prices for about 10 yrs and now when the club is getting a lot more money from tv and other deals then it’s only fair they would make things cheaper for fans. It costs between £100 to £200 per game… Read more »
It will be good if there is a freez on any further payments to Stan’s family.
If the 19% stat is true then it just shows how much they were ripping us off before.
Oh capitalism s so cruel.
Communism is the answer.
Apart from the fact that it clearly isn’t. We can all sit there and listen to the grandstanding of Corbyn and his like. But some of us were around to live the results of their sacrificing of realism at the altar of political theory. And it was an utter feckin mess. Be careful what you wish for.
Communism might not be the answer, as you have pointed out here.
But the kind of capitalism in which the people at the top refuse to share the benefits is no good either, or have I missed out on something here? Especially in Arsenal’s case when the owner is free to spend the club’s share of money for his personal use.
Or free to sell to the highest bidder and end up like Leeds. Or Blackburn. Or Portmouth. Or Rangers..
I knew the freze was too good to last.
There was an article recently from Swiss Ramble (or blogs, can’t recall) about how the German league have really affordable ticket prices but at the same time can maintain competitiveness against other leagues in Europe, mainly by having unbelievable youth set ups and having multiple league sponsorships. As a result, look at the atmosphere in bundesliga. Compare that to what you get in England (aside from local derbies) and you can certainly make a case in making the game more affordable to the common man. And of course having said all of that I have no clue why this model… Read more »
The German clubs are subsidised by thee tax payer, one little fact ignored in the comparison of ticket prices. Also all those lovely new stadiums built for the 2006 World Cup were down to tax payers money, not the clubs, not the fans, its much like Man City and West Ham being given new stadiums, and then slagging off Arsenal for their tickets being higher than the two clubs given stadiums. you are also ignoring that the stadiums in Germany have standing, so of course it will be cheaper. Fans in England now, may be paying for the sins of… Read more »
Well said, but you could have added that the ‘cost of living’ is much less in Germany and as their government considers football to be the peoples game, they ensure the public transport systems are adequate without charging the clubs. I’m not certain but I don’t think they’re charged for policing either. Finally, it’s wrong to say that the Bundesliga is really comparable with the PL, as although the top team is excellent and the next 4-6 (depending on the season) are very good/good, the rest are more like championship teams than PL teams.
Do you want a club that has top level talent?
Or do you want a club with affordable ticket prices?
It is difficult to have both. If you’ll remember the profit statements, The club only reports a modest net income. Much of these fees + the media revenue go towards player salaries which continue to escalate.
If standing is at the top of your priority list then join us on away days 🙂
Maybe I’m an idiot, but I don’t think the payments to KSE are pointless. From what I remember the takeover by Silent Stan was initiated by Alisher Usmanov who himself wanted to take over our mighty Arsenal. This left the board with little choice on the matter – either they would be forced into some sort of arrangement with Usmanov, or they could protect the identity of the club and its fans by selling to another owner who would be willing to let the club continue to run in an autonomous fashion (as it has been doing for some time… Read more »
Usmanov publicly stated he would institute a dividend on taking control. Can anyone tell me how this would have benefitted the club or fans?
It is annoying that they made the KSE payment and haven’t explained why, but it could very well be for actual serviced provided…..I wish we knew for certain.
The BBC have just reported on this, and say that the cheapest Arsenal matchday ticket is 12% below the league average and the most expensive is the highest. I think a lot of people forget that the season tickets include the cup games, so the Barca game, for instance, is included. I aim for four or five category B or C games each season, and the tickets cost more or less the same as if I supported my local Championship side, which I think is good value for money. I’ve met some lovely people at the Emirates, some regulars with… Read more »