Thoughts on ticket prices, now versus then

[TxRover]

So there is great debate about the price of tickets today. Here’s a thought, £1 in 1975 is worth £8.07 today. So a home ticket at Falkirk today (£18) would be the same as £2.23 in 1975...at Stranraer (£14), the same number is £1.73. Do anyone know the historical prices of tickets? (Celtic’s £30 tickets would be £3.72)

[Angus of the Mo]

Jings!

Ive nae idea, but it’s £15 to see the Mo, and with the quality of football I’m watching, I think that’s okay

[Zen Archer (Raconteur)]

I remember when this was all fields. 

[Newbornbairn]

It was free* to see East Fife in the 70s and 80s.  Still too much.

 

 

 

 

*They opened the gates at half time and you could come and go as you pleased.  Us kids went in past the crowd trudging out. 

[GordonS]

4 hours ago, TxRover said:

So there is great debate about the price of tickets today. Here’s a thought, £1 in 1975 is worth £8.07 today. So a home ticket at Falkirk today (£18) would be the same as £2.23 in 1975...at Stranraer (£14), the same number is £1.73. Do anyone know the historical prices of tickets? (Celtic’s £30 tickets would be £3.72)

IIRC the Scottish Cup final in 1988 was £5 for adults and £1 for kids.

Applying RPI, that would be approximately £14 and £3 today.

I had a look at ticket stubs on ebay, and these are some of the many that came up (https://www.ebay.co.uk/b/Football-Scottish-Fixture-Tickets-Stubs/53638/bn_16568480)

Rangers v Dundee, Scottish Cup final 1981, enclose ticket - £2.50 then, £12 now.

Hibs v Celtic in Feb 92 was £8. That's £17 today.

Celtic v Rangers in 1975 was 60p. £7 today.

Celtic v Rangers in March 1997 was £10, would be £19 now. That was this game, with Mark Hateley exhumed:  https://youtu.be/QnR7CFzrNvA

Celtic v Shakhtar Donetsk, November 2007, £36. That's £51 today. For the OF game at Parkhead in March last year they charged £49.

Celtic v Rangers, April 1987, £3 then, £9 now.

 

From all that it seems clear the big hike came from the mid 90s to the early 2000s - the SKy TV years, the new stadium years, the spend-cash-you-don't-have years.

 

 

[The Moonster]

Fans always greet about prices but they aren't willing to accept that a drop in prices means a drop in quality. They also aren't willing to vote with their feet and stay away when they think prices are too high. Nothing will change.

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

Fans always greet about prices but they aren't willing to accept that a drop in prices means a drop in quality. They also aren't willing to vote with their feet and stay away when they think prices are too high. Nothing will change.

My gripe is more to do with the disparity of pricing within the same league, so as an Ayr fan we charge £18 for both the main stand and terracing as do a few others, however the likes of Morton charge £20 for arguably the poorest facilities in the league (restricted view terracing) and then we have the Dundee clubs who are charging a whopping £24 (which actually increases to £26 when playing one another).

Personally I think it's scandalous that there's a 33% difference in pricing within the same league.

[Newbornbairn]

14 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

Fans always greet about prices but they aren't willing to accept that a drop in prices means a drop in quality. They also aren't willing to vote with their feet and stay away when they think prices are too high. Nothing will change.

Right enough, the quality of football on display is brilliant.

 

 

My arse. 

[The Moonster]

8 minutes ago, WATTOO said:

My gripe is more to do with the disparity of pricing within the same league, so as an Ayr fan we charge £18 for both the main stand and terracing as do a few others, however the likes of Morton charge £20 for arguably the poorest facilities in the league (restricted view terracing) and then we have the Dundee clubs who are charging a whopping £24 (which actually increases to £26 when playing one another).

Personally I think it's scandalous that there's a 33% difference in pricing within the same league.

Easy - stop going to Cappielow and Dundee. 

6 minutes ago, NewBornBairn said:

Right enough, the quality of football on display is brilliant.

My arse. 

If you don't think the quality of football is worth the money you're being asked for then don't give them your money. 

Edited February 18, 2020 by The Moonster

[Guest]

23 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

Easy - stop going to Cappielow and Dundee. 

If you don't think the quality of football is worth the money you're being asked for then don't give them your money. 

I've never been one for the attitude of "if you don't like it, you know where the door is", with that attitude debate is pointless and nothing will ever change, surely the whole discussion thread is "thoughts on ticket prices" which is what people are giving and I'm also sure we all know that it's down to personal choice whether we attend or not.........

 

[TxRover]

9 hours ago, GordonS said:

IIRC the Scottish Cup final in 1988 was £5 for adults and £1 for kids.

Applying RPI, that would be approximately £14 and £3 today.

I had a look at ticket stubs on ebay, and these are some of the many that came up (https://www.ebay.co.uk/b/Football-Scottish-Fixture-Tickets-Stubs/53638/bn_16568480)

Rangers v Dundee, Scottish Cup final 1981, enclose ticket - £2.50 then, £12 now.

Hibs v Celtic in Feb 92 was £8. That's £17 today.

Celtic v Rangers in 1975 was 60p. £7 today.

Celtic v Rangers in March 1997 was £10, would be £19 now. That was this game, with Mark Hateley exhumed:  https://youtu.be/QnR7CFzrNvA

Celtic v Shakhtar Donetsk, November 2007, £36. That's £51 today. For the OF game at Parkhead in March last year they charged £49.

Celtic v Rangers, April 1987, £3 then, £9 now.

 

From all that it seems clear the big hike came from the mid 90s to the early 2000s - the SKy TV years, the new stadium years, the spend-cash-you-don't-have years.

 

 

Brilliant data! I suspect your analysis of the reasons is pretty spot on too.

 

50 minutes ago, WATTOO said:

My gripe is more to do with the disparity of pricing within the same league, so as an Ayr fan we charge £18 for both the main stand and terracing as do a few others, however the likes of Morton charge £20 for arguably the poorest facilities in the league (restricted view terracing) and then we have the Dundee clubs who are charging a whopping £24 (which actually increases to £26 when playing one another).

Personally I think it's scandalous that there's a 33% difference in pricing within the same league.

For Gods sake don’t look at some other sports in American then. The ticket prices for the haves and have nots are considerably stiffer here, and that’s without promotion and relegation. That being said, it does seem that prices must float down slower when relegated (we need the revenue to get right back up) than they jump up (we need the revenue to stay up). How did Clyde and Peterhead’s ticket prices change this year? Falkirk’s seems to have stayed the same.

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, TxRover said:

Brilliant data! I suspect your analysis of the reasons is pretty spot on too.

 

For Gods sake don’t look at some other sports in American then. The ticket prices for the haves and have nots are considerably stiffer here, and that’s without promotion and relegation. That being said, it does seem that prices must float down slower when relegated (we need the revenue to get right back up) than they jump up (we need the revenue to stay up). How did Clyde and Peterhead’s ticket prices change this year? Falkirk’s seems to have stayed the same.

The USA epitomises everything that is wrong with the modern world extreme Capitalism and represents Evil and corruption in my book, so I tend to stay away from anything American as I just find their business models so bloody cynical.

[TxRover]

1 minute ago, WATTOO said:

The USA epitomises everything that is wrong with the modern world extreme Capitalism and represents Evil and corruption in my book, so I tend to stay away from anything American as I just find their business models so bloody cynical.

Somewhat hyperbolic, but in essence not wrong. The model changed in the 90’s and 00’s, starting in the NFL...personal seat licenses to even buy season tickets, etc...

[The Moonster]

27 minutes ago, WATTOO said:

I've never been one for the attitude of "if you don't like it, you know where the door is", with that attitude debate is pointless and nothing will ever change, surely the whole discussion thread is "thoughts on ticket prices" which is what people are giving and I'm also sure we all know that it's down to personal choice whether we attend or not.........

 

Any debate on here is largely pointless and changes nothing - that's exactly my point.

If you aren't happy with prices then hit your club where it hurts and they might do something about it. If you keep turning up, paying the money then shouting "this isnae fair" then I'll continue to call it out for the idiocy it is.

[Guest]

18 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

Any debate on here is largely pointless and changes nothing - that's exactly my point.

If you aren't happy with prices then hit your club where it hurts and they might do something about it. If you keep turning up, paying the money then shouting "this isnae fair" then I'll continue to call it out for the idiocy it is.

Fair enough, I don't actually have an issue with my own club as I feel £18 (as opposed to £24) for the quality of football we've offered (for the most part) is actually pretty good, Yes, there are arguments that Somerset is a bit run down and doesn't provide the greatest of facilities which may be True, but from my own perspective I'm only there for under 2 hours every fortnight and it's the product on the park which matters as opposed to the catering choices, seating or toilets but others would probably disagree.

[Homer Sandoval]

1 hour ago, WATTOO said:

My gripe is more to do with the disparity of pricing within the same league, so as an Ayr fan we charge £18 for both the main stand and terracing as do a few others, however the likes of Morton charge £20 for arguably the poorest facilities in the league (restricted view terracing) and then we have the Dundee clubs who are charging a whopping £24 (which actually increases to £26 when playing one another).

Personally I think it's scandalous that there's a 33% difference in pricing within the same league.

The financing model for football is wrong. That said, what can be done about it? The disparity between the clubs is staggering to the point that I'm perplexed how clubs are still in business.

The people coming through the gates at league one/two level are vital sources of income and in that respect it is unlikely there will be reductions any time soon.

There is a bigger question here of course. Is league football sustainable for some clubs?

[Guest]

30 minutes ago, TxRover said:

Somewhat hyperbolic, but in essence not wrong. The model changed in the 90’s and 00’s, starting in the NFL...personal seat licenses to even buy season tickets, etc...

Yes, the English Premiership appears to be rapidly heading in a similar direction. I heard Carragher and Neville discussing modern players and agents last night where basically the player now sees himself as a company and product with lots of employees, Management teams and personal entourage as opposed to a footballer playing for a club.

It's certainly a very dangerous route to be going down as there will surely be a tipping point sooner or later, especially when the next long expected global recession hits...........

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Homer Sandoval said:

The financing model for football is wrong. That said, what can be done about it? The disparity between the clubs is staggering to the point that I'm perplexed how clubs are still in business.

The people coming through the gates at league one/two level are vital sources of income and in that respect it is unlikely there will be reductions any time soon.

There is a bigger question here of course. Is league football sustainable for some clubs?

I'd say Scotland is maybe further ahead than many as lessons have been learned since the crazy spending days of the 90's and early 2000's, more and more clubs appear to be living within their means and keeping their playing budget and expenditure broadly within their income.

There are of course exceptions who are being funded by rich benefactors which of course is unsustainable long term and there's a few lowland league clubs who would appear to be following the Gretna model which will undoubtedly end badly for all concerned.

I suppose it's just about clubs finding their level and accepting that without increased gates or unearthing a diamond in their youth setup (if they have one) that they're unlikely to really progress but again some are most likely happy with where they stand in the game.

Being completely honest, as a supporter I'm happy with watching Ayr in the Championship where we're capable of competing week in week out and most games are pretty competitive close affairs, I'd take this any day over watching my team being cannon fodder in the league above or playing negative football each week hoping to snatch a 0-0 draw etc.

What can I say, for most of us it's a Labour of Love which makes little sense, especially to many Old Firm or non football fans but it's our teams and we follow them week in week out irrespective of the level we're at or what our form is like, for that very reason I would expect football at all levels to continue, so long as those in our boardrooms don't start attempting to live a dream which ultimately ends in OUR nightmare........

[FFCinthearea]

My first Falkirk match was in 1986 v Motherwell.  I still have the ticket and it was £2.50 for the terracing which is about £5 in todays money.  Admission to the South Stand in the Scottish 3rd tier is £18 which is just under £9 in 1986 world.

Edited February 18, 2020 by FFCinthearea

[Tappy the Toon]

"there's a few Lowland League clubs who seem to be following the Gretna model".

Who's that then?