Topic: LFC Ticket Pricing Forum

[sminp]

As for idiots, I'd reserve that for people who jump into threads they haven't read and unthinkingly shit on the table.

Clearly not me then because I have read it and there are a number of people who were kicking off, they are the idiots. Also if you read what I put I haven’t claimed everyone in here is guilty of that, merely that some were and they are idiots.

[Anfield89]

Clearly not me then because I have read it and there are a number of people who were kicking off, they are the idiots. Also if you read what I put I haven’t claimed everyone in here is guilty of that, merely that some were and they are idiots.

It's not exactly 'nice work FSG' though is it on this. The supporters and club officials were so far apart that they had to agree a price freeze which should go without saying with the prices tickets currently are.

[Giovanni]

Not just season tickets, all tickets will be frozen.

http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/announcements/286253-liverpool-fc-to-freeze-ticket-prices-for-2018-19

Good work FSG although it won’t get recognised by many of the idiots who have been kicking off in this thread before any prices were announced, they’ll just find something else to whinge about instead.

Good work 

It's the bare minimum.

[4pool]

Any news on the chances of a Corporate Sponsor to reduce ticket pricing?

[the 92A]

I'm not sure cheaper prices means a better atmosphere, I mean it'll only massively increase demand for tickets and make them harder to get. Would need to go hand in hand with plenty of other initiatives too.

No doubt teething problems making sure the tickets go to the right people and it would need other initiatives, this would be the start not the end of addressing the problem.
We've lost at least a generation already, there's a break, there was a process of us learning off our older brothers then hitting out on our own on our own terms, we were only around 16, when we turned football culture on it's head but we'd already stood on the shoulders of giants, who'd invented the thing. What is certain is that ignoring the problem will destroy the atmosphere and effect the 'product' Liverpool can be at the forefront of a process of changing things or can wait till the contradiction plays out, get a few kids of the local estates in the ground and they'll invent their own culture and it'll be noisy.

[sminp]

It's not exactly 'nice work FSG' though is it on this. The supporters and club officials were so far apart that they had to agree a price freeze which should go without saying with the prices tickets currently are.

They didn’t have to do anything, they could have whacked £20 on the price of each ticket and the place would still sell out so I think they are due a bit of praise for not acting like pure businessmen. I’m yet to see evidence that the club were miles away from any realistic price expectations either, all I remember reading was that the prices wouldn’t go down.

[Anfield89]

They didn’t have to do anything, they could have whacked £20 on the price of each ticket and the place would still sell out so I think they are due a bit of praise for not acting like pure businessmen. I’m yet to see evidence that the club were miles away from any realistic price expectations either, all I remember reading was that the prices wouldn’t go down.

NO. There would be another protest had they whacked £20 on each ticket.

[Graham Smith]

What prices should season tickets and general admission tickets be?

What's a reasonable set of figures?

[Narwin Dunez]

What prices should season tickets and general admission tickets be?

What's a reasonable set of figures?

500 a seasie, 30 a game? Half for under 12s and somewhere inbetween for the teens.

Plucked those figures out of my arse, but I think they would be fair. Less would be fantastic, but I think they should be the figures to aim for. Few hours wage to watch a few hours footy.

[sminp]

NO. There would be another protest had they whacked £20 on each ticket.

There would still be plenty who would pay though. You might lose a lot of locals and have a lot of protests until the end of this season but they’d still be able to sell out with much higher prices, if you don’t agree with that then I think you underestimate how big our fanbase is and how many of them would sell a kidney for a match ticket.

What prices should season tickets and general admission tickets be?

What's a reasonable set of figures?

That’s an almost impossible question to answer. To a fan their club is not a business and they are not customers however to many owners it is that and in business the correct price is the one when it leads to supply being equal to demand. It’s clear that our demand massively exceeds the supply so we aren’t being treated completely as customers of a business though.

From a personal point of view I can afford and go to around 4 games a season at the current price points as I have to pay for myself, my wife and my 16 y/o brother so the best part of £125 per game for the 3 tickets. It feels expensive but with the quality of football we play compared to other teams and their prices, and also compared to tickets for other forms of entertainment  like concerts or the theatre I don’t feel ripped off.

[Graham Smith]

The starting point for ticket prices should NOT be linked to demand.

Clearly ticket revenue should form a proportion of the Club's income but it is becoming less and less relevant and the FSG argument that the ticket revenue needs to increase to compete cannot be backed up in any way with any proper evidence - the lack of competitiveness comes from about 30 other reasons before you reach ticket prices - in fact there is an argument that the lack of encouragement and pricing out of the type of supporter who will contribute to an atmosphere is harming our ability to compete.

Getting a starting point for where prices should be is not impossible - the Club said in the last meeting that if people were being priced out then that was not fair and there should be tickets that allow accessibility for all.

Clearly we all agree tickets should not be £100 a game and it is a ludicrous thing to say they should be £1 a game.

For me the starting point, once you agree that the competitiveness argument is redundant, is that this is Liverpool FC and as we should be encouraging the vast majority of the stadium to be accessible to local people then the local economy has a huge say in where prices should be.

The Club said in the meeting they want to try and sort this issue almost 'once and for all' so the whole problem is not a recurring once a season argument with the threat of turmoil and what has gone before, for me that means establishing fair pricing,  accepting that the days of ticket revenue being one of the main income drivers is gone and that any increases, while the TV deals remain buoyant means prices go up by inflation only, if at all. And we need concessions built in to that.

The Club also need to recognise the absolute sea change there would be with such an approach as far as supporters feeling part of something again is concerned.

[Barrowred]

500 a seasie, 30 a game? Half for under 12s and somewhere inbetween for the teens.

Plucked those figures out of my arse, but I think they would be fair. Less would be fantastic, but I think they should be the figures to aim for. Few hours wage to watch a few hours footy.

Think those figures are spot on Jake. Anything less would be unrealistic when you take into account how much admission prices are for lower league football (£14 to watch Barrow in the National league).

[Narwin Dunez]

Think those figures are spot on Jake. Anything less would be unrealistic when you take into account how much admission prices are for lower league football (£14 to watch Barrow in the National league).

Cheers pal.

It needs to happen across the board too like the away tickets. If every team charges the same per ticket, then it's purely a case of "how many tickets can you sell" i.e. how popular you are, as opposed to "how much can you charge" i.e. how rich are your fans.

£30 across the board for home fans, £20 across the board for away fans to acknowledge the increased travel costs. People like me who have to get a train to home games? Well that's my burden.

[Graham Smith]

Cheers pal.

It needs to happen across the board too like the away tickets. If every team charges the same per ticket, then it's purely a case of "how many tickets can you sell" i.e. how popular you are, as opposed to "how much can you charge" i.e. how rich are your fans.

£30 across the board for home fans, £20 across the board for away fans to acknowledge the increased travel costs. People like me who have to get a train to home games? Well that's my burden.

It will never get linked like that for the simple reason that only about two or three Clubs consistently sell out and most of the other Clubs have a very different ratio of income between ticket revenue, TV money and commercial deals.

We should concentrate on us.

[sminp]

Cheers pal.

It needs to happen across the board too like the away tickets. If every team charges the same per ticket, then it's purely a case of "how many tickets can you sell" i.e. how popular you are, as opposed to "how much can you charge" i.e. how rich are your fans.

£30 across the board for home fans, £20 across the board for away fans to acknowledge the increased travel costs. People like me who have to get a train to home games? Well that's my burden.

I don't think £30 is realistic, I turn 29 next week and I can't remember prices ever being that low. They must have been around £35 when I first started paying for myself at around 13/14 years old. I agree with away seats being cheaper though, £20 is probably ok for them due to other costs in my eyes and I'd argue £40 for a home ticket is about as low as we could realistically expect although as previously stated I don't think the current prices are too bad.

The simplest way to avoid these arguments every year is to set a price one season and then state prices will rise by CPI every season. I think that would be an easy and justifiable increase as in real terms the ticket prices would stay the same.

[andy84]

What prices should season tickets and general admission tickets be?

What's a reasonable set of figures?

I'd say £35 - £40 all over the ground except for those that are on the half way line who should pay more for the view. Lower than that would be great but that's unrealistic, I think.

Importantly, the idea that people can choose to sit in an area that is affordable to them isn't true as you just get whatever you can in the craziness of the members' sale.

[Lush is the best medicine...]

I don't think £30 is realistic, I turn 29 next week and I can't remember prices ever being that low. They must have been around £35 when I first started paying for myself at around 13/14 years old. I agree with away seats being cheaper though, £20 is probably ok for them due to other costs in my eyes and I'd argue £40 for a home ticket is about as low as we could realistically expect although as previously stated I don't think the current prices are too bad.

The simplest way to avoid these arguments every year is to set a price one season and then state prices will rise by CPI every season. I think that would be an easy and justifiable increase as in real terms the ticket prices would stay the same.

the year we won the CL it was £28 in the kop and £30 everywhere else.

Would personally say £25-50 is about right nearer £50 for the best bits of the main and KD stand down the centre going down to around £35 in the outside and the kop and anny road £25-35 (maybe a bit more for the corners of the upper anny which are fairly decent spec)

[sminp]

the year we won the CL it was £28 in the kop and £30 everywhere else.

Would personally say £25-50 is about right nearer £50 for the best bits of the main and KD stand down the centre going down to around £35 in the outside and the kop and anny road £25-35 (maybe a bit more for the corners of the upper anny which are fairly decent spec)

I'll have to take your word for it, I can't remember it ever being that cheap though.

[MKB]

£10 for severely restricted views (including the current £9 ones in Upper Main)
£20 for restricted views
A flat £45 for everywhere else excluding hospitality sections
Let them charge whatever they want for hospitality

Needs to be clear demarcation of hospitality areas within ground and guarantee it won't be increased as a backdoor way of increasing prices.  There should be no hospitality seats in the Kop.

And I agree with the idea that there should be additional loyalty requirements to get Kop seats in the Members' sales.

[CraigDS]

the year we won the CL it was £28 in the kop and £30 everywhere else.

Yeah PL tickets in 04/05 were £38 in Kop, although think other areas went up to £32, maybe £34.

[Millie]

I'll have to take your word for it, I can't remember it ever being that cheap though.

I used to pay less than 50p in the Kop when I first started going 

[MKB]

Importantly, the idea that people can choose to sit in an area that is affordable to them isn't true as you just get whatever you can in the craziness of the members' sale.

I don't think you're right.  Some lucky people get into the Members' sales first, and the cheaper seats always go first.  Ok the 300s may go before the 200s but the price differential there is small, but I think the difference in price between Kop and Upper Main is a big driver of Kop demand.

[SP]

I'll have to take your word for it, I can't remember it ever being that cheap though.

With RPI increases £28 in 2005 is about £39.50 now.

[sminp]

With RPI increases £28 in 2005 is about £39.50 now.

I don't think I'm too far out with my previous statement below then...

I'd argue £40 for a home ticket is about as low as we could realistically expect

The simplest way to avoid these arguments every year is to set a price one season and then state prices will rise by CPI every season. I think that would be an easy and justifiable increase as in real terms the ticket prices would stay the same.

Just to be clear I was referring to Adult home tickets for the £40, not all tickets.

[timmit]

The starting point for ticket prices should NOT be linked to demand.

Clearly ticket revenue should form a proportion of the Club's income but it is becoming less and less relevant and the FSG argument that the ticket revenue needs to increase to compete cannot be backed up in any way with any proper evidence - the lack of competitiveness comes from about 30 other reasons before you reach ticket prices - in fact there is an argument that the lack of encouragement and pricing out of the type of supporter who will contribute to an atmosphere is harming our ability to compete.

Getting a starting point for where prices should be is not impossible - the Club said in the last meeting that if people were being priced out then that was not fair and there should be tickets that allow accessibility for all.

Clearly we all agree tickets should not be £100 a game and it is a ludicrous thing to say they should be £1 a game.

For me the starting point, once you agree that the competitiveness argument is redundant, is that this is Liverpool FC and as we should be encouraging the vast majority of the stadium to be accessible to local people then the local economy has a huge say in where prices should

Spot on..

It’s no excuse in these days of stupid tv deals to claim that admission revenue for a club like ours is hugely important anymore. The figures that have been given in the past by Graham shows how minuscule an effect reductions/increases in ticket prices will have to us. I suppose the issue that we all come back to though is trying to improve atmosphere inside the stadium. Some people think that if all the prices were £10, then everyone would sing, whereas if it were £100 then no one would. It’s a very simplistic theory, and also not very realistic.

We all know that in the past, it was small “communities” that went, you stood on the Kop next to your mates/older brother etc and the atmosphere was created by that. Whether we like it or not, all seater stadia have hugely reduced atmosphere at the match. There are too many people going to the match and taking a picnic etc and wanting to experience the “famous anfield atmosphere”. The point that these fans miss is that you don’t go to experience it, YOU have to create it. This isn’t a new idea nor is it rocket science. I just wish that I had the answers

[Alf]

£30 across the board seems fair to me.

[CraigDS]

I’m not sure you can really say £80-90m of revenue, close to a billion quid over a 10 year period, is not relevant, or even less relevant. Of course it is. It may not be 50% of a clubs revenue as it once was but it is still a huge chunk of the pie.

That’s not to say the prices should not come down, they should, but I’m not sure using that argument with the club would get you anywhere.

[Barrowred]

I used to pay less than 50p in the Kop when I first started going 

I think asking for that much of a price cut might be pushing it a bit

[the 92A]

When I started going it was 4/- or 20p to get in the Kop or Anny and a tanner or 2 and a half pence to get in the boys pen. £30 for an adult would be realistic price but for me the kids prices should be cheap enough for kids from local estates to go regularly on their own. Just watched the Fleetwood game and watched the young kids behind the goal having a brilliant time. We've got thousands of kids like that whod transform the place £10 for under 23's in any general admission seats

[TepidT2O]

When I started going it was 4/- or 20p to get in the Kop or Anny and a tanner or 2 and a half pence to get in the boys pen. £30 for an adult would be realistic price but for me the kids prices should be cheap enough for kids from local estates to go regularly on their own. Just watched the Fleetwood game and watched the young kids behind the goal having a brilliant time. We've got thousands of kids like that whod transform the place £10 for under 23's in any general admission seats

Did you ever meet queen Victoria?


(Runs and hides)

[gazzam1963]

The falling behind in ticket revenue can be addressed by all premier league clubs agreeing that a percentage of tv money is used to substantially reduce ticket prices for all teams . Everyone loses that percentage then and where does that percentage generally go ? In even more wages to players and ever  increasing transfer fees ( look at todays one ) , aren't Liverpool going to receive nearly three years ticket revenue off barca .

Its always peddled that we need to compete so that's why ticket prices are where they are but if every club has to adapt to a certain formula then admission prices could go down everywhere . 

[CraigDS]

aren't Liverpool going to receive nearly three years ticket revenue off barca .

Not even 2 years to be honest mate.

[the 92A]

Did you ever meet queen Victoria?


(Runs and hides)

No the only Royals I respected all wore Red. 😃 I was taken by my arl fella from about 6, that's what you did them days, by the time I was 12 I'd grown out of going with my dad and was in the middle of the Kop with my mates and had started going aways by 16 we were inventing a look at odds with everyone and what academics calll fan culture that we just thought of as being in the know. Great days  not fair kids like us are alienated from the game today

[4pool]

Graham, would it be possible for the club to consider a ticket price hold for three years for ST's and members? The club can raise Corporate and hospitality during that time.

In the meantime the club can sort out amnesty for transfer of name(s) on season tickets.

Look at restructuring the members card to include further data of identification for the member. Along with a limit of transfers to others during the season excluding confirmed medical issues.

Look at categories of seating within the ground. Either expanding or shrinking the categories to make it more plain.

Along with expanding the Anny Road end. When that is done, then announce the new measures of pricing going forward.

[Graham Smith]

I’m not sure you can really say £80-90m of revenue, close to a billion quid over a 10 year period, is not relevant, or even less relevant. Of course it is. It may not be 50% of a clubs revenue as it once was but it is still a huge chunk of the pie.

That’s not to say the prices should not come down, they should, but I’m not sure using that argument with the club would get you anywhere.

Fake news. Season tickets and general admission income is about 30% of your inflated figure, well less than 20% of income for the Club, and it will reduce even more next year with the next TV deal.

[Greg86]

Fake news. Season tickets and general admission income is about 30% of your inflated figure, well less than 20% of income for the Club, and it will reduce even more next year with the next TV deal.

In 2016 Matchday income was 62.5 Million, representing 20.7% of total turnover. That's a not insubstantial figure let's be honest. This does however include pre-season tour revenue.

I sadly don't get to attend for various reasons, that said, I do believe that ticket prices are getting out of hand and something needs to be looked at, the balance between growing revenue for the club and ensuring fans are not priced out of attending is a difficult one to strike.

[CraigDS]

Fake news. Season tickets and general admission income is about 30% of your inflated figure, well less than 20% of income for the Club, and it will reduce even more next year with the next TV deal.

So you’re telling me a 20% chunk of the revenue for the club is not relevant?

I totally agree as a % of overall revenue it’s dropping, and has been for a long while now, but it’s still a significant chunk.

I agree with your overall goal, and overall opinion that prices are too high. I simply think if you attempt to tell a business that 20% of their revenue is not relevant that its a course of argument that will not be taken seriously as they will simply not agree.

[Johnny Foreigner]

Absolute numbers is quite irrelevant. Any increase which in the large picture is insignificant will hurt your most loyal customers hard

[Graham Smith]

So you’re telling me a 20% chunk of the revenue for the club is not relevant?

I totally agree as a % of overall revenue it’s dropping, and has been for a long while now, but it’s still a significant chunk.

I agree with your overall goal, and overall opinion that prices are too high. I simply think if you attempt to tell a business that 20% of their revenue is not relevant that its a course of argument that will not be taken seriously as they will simply not agree.

It’s not 20%, it’s less than 17% and it will be even less in 12 months time.

And that’s without increases in other commercial income nor the Club ‘siloing’ revenue streams by saying that for instance £143m of player sales has to see all of it remain in that silo.

[daindan]

I’m a hospitality season ticket holder. Why does the club not do what they do with us. If you can’t attend the game you transfer the ticket via email to someone else and they download and print the eticket.