Subsidy for away fans following BSM campaigns
26 September 2013
Arsenal have now announced on the club's website that away supporters will receive a £2.50 discount on each ticket purchased for our league games on the road, starting with our match at Crystal Palace on 26 October. In addition to this, our fans at an away match around Christmas will be provided with a £10 refreshments voucher.
Ivan Gazidis remarked "This is an ongoing process. We’re pleased to be giving something back to our supporters who travel the length and breadth of the country to support the team away from home in the Premier League. They are the lifeblood of the Club and we want to recognise that in a fair and meaningful way"
We applaud the steps taken by the club in making sure this initiative is implemented.
The funding for these discounts has in fact come from the Premier League, as we revealed last month. From the hugely increased TV revenue going to each club, The Premier League has made available some £4 million a season for the next 3 years and has stipulated that this has to be used to benefit away supporters.
The fund is split equally between all Premier League clubs, so taking this into account Arsenal will have to make available £200,000 for the next 3 seasons, and offer benefits to away fans.
If we assume that the average away allocation in the Premier League is 3,000 tickets, this would mean £7,500 per game comes from this fund to subsidise ticket prices. Spread this over the remaining 16 away games included in this initiative, and it means a total of around £120,000. Add in the Christmas refreshments voucher of £10 across 3,000 fans this gives us a grand total of around £150,000. Arsenal have also said that some of this fund will be used to enhance facilities for visiting supporters at Emirates Stadium.
Why did the Premier League take this step?
The recognition by the Premier League that fans are punished too heavily in the pocket, follows campaigning earlier this year by us.
We (the BSM) held discussions with the Football Supporters Federation (FSF) and in June we represented matchgoing Arsenal fans, together with supporters' groups from Liverpool, Man United, Spurs, and the FSF at a meeting with Premier League Chief Executive Richard Scudamore. Here we discussed ticket pricing, the financial pressures faced by football fans across the country, and the fact away attendances are falling because of the costs associated with travelling the length and breadth of England following your team.
Following this meeting, the Premier League launched their initiative and created the fund. Ultimately it means that our involvement with the FSF and other groups at this meeting, putting across a valid argument and applying pressure on the League to act, that Arsenal fans will benefit to the tune of £600,000 over the next 3 seasons.
While we're pleased there is recognition that fans are being hit hard by ticket prices as well as travel and other costs, this we feel is just the start. Of course our home fans pay some of the highest prices in football and we will continue to push for initiatives which help ease the financial burden on our matchgoing supporters while creating an enjoyable matchday atmosphere inside the ground. Our members will have received an e-mail from us yesterday concerning an atmosphere-generating idea for one game, and more will follow in the near future.
Up The Gunners
Arsenal have now announced on the club's website that away supporters will receive a £2.50 discount on each ticket purchased for our league games on the road, starting with our match at Crystal Palace on 26 October. In addition to this, our fans at an away match around Christmas will be provided with a £10 refreshments voucher.
Ivan Gazidis remarked "This is an ongoing process. We’re pleased to be giving something back to our supporters who travel the length and breadth of the country to support the team away from home in the Premier League. They are the lifeblood of the Club and we want to recognise that in a fair and meaningful way"
We applaud the steps taken by the club in making sure this initiative is implemented.
The funding for these discounts has in fact come from the Premier League, as we revealed last month. From the hugely increased TV revenue going to each club, The Premier League has made available some £4 million a season for the next 3 years and has stipulated that this has to be used to benefit away supporters.
The fund is split equally between all Premier League clubs, so taking this into account Arsenal will have to make available £200,000 for the next 3 seasons, and offer benefits to away fans.
If we assume that the average away allocation in the Premier League is 3,000 tickets, this would mean £7,500 per game comes from this fund to subsidise ticket prices. Spread this over the remaining 16 away games included in this initiative, and it means a total of around £120,000. Add in the Christmas refreshments voucher of £10 across 3,000 fans this gives us a grand total of around £150,000. Arsenal have also said that some of this fund will be used to enhance facilities for visiting supporters at Emirates Stadium.
Why did the Premier League take this step?
The recognition by the Premier League that fans are punished too heavily in the pocket, follows campaigning earlier this year by us.
We (the BSM) held discussions with the Football Supporters Federation (FSF) and in June we represented matchgoing Arsenal fans, together with supporters' groups from Liverpool, Man United, Spurs, and the FSF at a meeting with Premier League Chief Executive Richard Scudamore. Here we discussed ticket pricing, the financial pressures faced by football fans across the country, and the fact away attendances are falling because of the costs associated with travelling the length and breadth of England following your team.
Following this meeting, the Premier League launched their initiative and created the fund. Ultimately it means that our involvement with the FSF and other groups at this meeting, putting across a valid argument and applying pressure on the League to act, that Arsenal fans will benefit to the tune of £600,000 over the next 3 seasons.
While we're pleased there is recognition that fans are being hit hard by ticket prices as well as travel and other costs, this we feel is just the start. Of course our home fans pay some of the highest prices in football and we will continue to push for initiatives which help ease the financial burden on our matchgoing supporters while creating an enjoyable matchday atmosphere inside the ground. Our members will have received an e-mail from us yesterday concerning an atmosphere-generating idea for one game, and more will follow in the near future.
Up The Gunners