https://spiritofshankly.com/ticket-increases/Why we oppose them
Liverpool are pressing ahead with their plans to raise ticket prices for a second successive season, despite strong opposition.
Spirit of Shankly, backed by a mandate from our members, and Spion Kop 1906 believe tickets are already too expensive. The cost of going to a game far exceeded the rate of inflation a long time ago and this latest rise is a worrying trend.
We have heard criticism of our resistance to the increase as “it’s just 2%” or it’s only “about season tickets”. It is not. Season tickets and individual matchday tickets will cost more, plus we have yet to see prices for Champions League games. And the hike comes as the club is set to benefit from a completed Anfield Road stand meaning increased general admission capacity and hospitality seats.
Matchday revenue fell due to performance last year, but commercial revenue rose by £26m and with more Champions League games to be played next season, a growth in income is already guaranteed. The club say matchday costs have grown 40%, but overall revenue has increased more than 60% in the same period.
Ticket prices were frozen from 2016 to 2022, but coming on the back of supporters walking out in protest at proposed increases, followed by the aftermath of the pandemic, it was not an entirely benevolent act.
We understand the global appeal of LFC, we recognise the high demand for tickets. But a football club is not an ordinary business – it is not, as one previous owner of LFC Tom Hicks likened it to, “Weetabix”.
The people who live and breathe our club, who have long invested time, money and effort into supporting it cannot simply walk away, nor should they have to consider that an option. Liverpool are rich enough to thrive without further squeezing matchgoers, many of whom are already struggling. It is nothing more than greed.
True supporters are locked in for life. Bill Shankly spoke of sharing the rewards of success and the success of the club, on and off the pitch, should be shared to include the fans who play an active role in making it happen. It is why we, along with other supporter groups of Liverpool and beyond, will continue to call for no future increases.
There are better ways to grow revenue than the exploitation of fans and we argued our case at the recent Supporters Board meeting. The club recognised the strength of feeling against the rise and we wait to see how they will fix what they acknowledge was broken in terms of meaningful engagement and consultation over ticket price strategy.
We believe their decision came from the top, from John Henry and Tom Werner. They made a choice that wasn’t necessary or business critical and which has unnecessarily disrupted a chase for trophies and a season-long appreciation for Jürgen Klopp.
They got it wrong. Again. But this time, rather than seeing supporter reaction and protests and reversing their decision, they have gone ahead. It is a direction of travel that should worry every football fan regardless of who they support.
As a collective we know we have power. It was proved by the £30 away cap, the scrapping of £77 tickets and the abrupt turn-around regarding the Super League. Unity is power. If the collective shrug and wave through the race to the richest, the Atalanta match is a glimpse into the future.
Flags, banners, passion, support and song. This is the Anfield, the Liverpool, we know and love. It is packaged and sold as the most passionate backing for a club in the best league in the world. Without opposition to what we see as the dilution of the traditional fan base, this culture will fade. We must do everything to protect it.
LFC’s current owners need to work alongside fans to ensure it endures and is preserved. We are willing, as we always have been, to work with them to do that. And with the partners and sponsors to ensure the club remain successful on the pitch without pricing supporters out of the stands.
Consecutive years of price rises is a backwards step. Following our recent survey, we have a mandate to lobby for reduced ticket prices and we will push for constructive talks on the strategy beyond next season in the coming months.
