Loyal fans set to lose out (again) as Arsenal charge top price
for Bayern Munich match
28 January 2014
Following Sunday's FA Cup draw, we contacted Arsenal and requested that with a home tie against Liverpool and a forthcoming Champions League match with Bayern Munich, the club give consideration to their loyal fans when it came to pricing. Liverpool supporters' group Spirit of Shankly joined in with their own letter to Arsenal, which referenced our request. Arsenal Supporters' Trust then wrote to Arsenal the following day, further backing up the argument for fans of both clubs.
These campaigns from the three supporters' groups received national media coverage and thankfully Arsenal saw sense, moving away from their own pre-set price levels and declaring the Liverpool match Category B. This meant that instead of the cheapest seat for the game costing £62, it will now cost £35. We welcomed this decision.
However, there was still the issue of pricing for the Bayern Munich match, and unfortunately we are hearing that Arsenal have now set the ticket prices for this match at Category A levels. We are naturally very disappointed with the club's decision.
While we welcomed the decision to reduce prices for the Liverpool match, the scheduling of this meant that it leapfrogged the Bayern Munich game and became the 7th cup 'credit' on Arsenal season tickets. As such this meant that our game against Bayern falls outside of the season ticket and is chargeable - with the price being added to the season ticket holder's renewal cost this coming May.
Therefore while the Liverpool FA Cup game has been made Category B, tens of thousands of season ticket holders see no benefit of this. The beneficiaries are Red and Silver memebers, and away fans. And with the Bayern Munich being priced at Category A, it now means that these season ticket holders will have to pay between £62 and £123 to watch their team play this match. We understand there may be a way of 'opting out' of this i.e. not going to the game and therefore not having to pay, but the process for this is cloudy and it will inevitably mean empty seats at a time when the team needs all the support it can get.
Hugely increased income, but still fans suffer
One of our suggestions to Arsenal was that they make the Bayern match the 7th cup 'credit' (therefore it's already paid for by season ticket holders) and make the Liverpool game the 8th 'credit' but price it as a Category B fixture. This would have been a true recognition of loyalty and a mark of appreciation by the club towards our fans, who already pay the highest prices in football. However, the club have only gone along with part of this suggestion, meaning loyal Arsenal fans will now suffer even more in the wallet.
This week Arsenal announced a £150m commercial deal with Puma. This follows the £150m sponsorship deal they revealed with Emirates, and the additional £30m they have received this season from improved TV broadcast revenue. Overall an additional £330m of income to the club, but still they announced that ticket prices will rise next season by (an above inflation rate of) 3%... and now they are hitting season ticket holders (and other general admission supporters) with the highest possible price for the Bayern Munich match.
Ivan Gazidis has previously gone on record stating that when the club's renewed push for bigger commercial revenue started to bear fruit, this would mean that Arsenal wouldn't have to rely so much on their loyal matchgoing fans to foot the bill. We are yet to be convinced that Ivan Gazidis, Stan Kroenke and the rest of the Arsenal Board are truly committed to this pledge.
Without the fans, football is nothing. This is a line that our Board seriously needs to get to grips with, because when interest levels and fickle support starts to drift away (and it will), with core support continuing to be forced out, who will be left to keep the club going?
Up The Gunners
Following Sunday's FA Cup draw, we contacted Arsenal and requested that with a home tie against Liverpool and a forthcoming Champions League match with Bayern Munich, the club give consideration to their loyal fans when it came to pricing. Liverpool supporters' group Spirit of Shankly joined in with their own letter to Arsenal, which referenced our request. Arsenal Supporters' Trust then wrote to Arsenal the following day, further backing up the argument for fans of both clubs.
These campaigns from the three supporters' groups received national media coverage and thankfully Arsenal saw sense, moving away from their own pre-set price levels and declaring the Liverpool match Category B. This meant that instead of the cheapest seat for the game costing £62, it will now cost £35. We welcomed this decision.
However, there was still the issue of pricing for the Bayern Munich match, and unfortunately we are hearing that Arsenal have now set the ticket prices for this match at Category A levels. We are naturally very disappointed with the club's decision.
While we welcomed the decision to reduce prices for the Liverpool match, the scheduling of this meant that it leapfrogged the Bayern Munich game and became the 7th cup 'credit' on Arsenal season tickets. As such this meant that our game against Bayern falls outside of the season ticket and is chargeable - with the price being added to the season ticket holder's renewal cost this coming May.
Therefore while the Liverpool FA Cup game has been made Category B, tens of thousands of season ticket holders see no benefit of this. The beneficiaries are Red and Silver memebers, and away fans. And with the Bayern Munich being priced at Category A, it now means that these season ticket holders will have to pay between £62 and £123 to watch their team play this match. We understand there may be a way of 'opting out' of this i.e. not going to the game and therefore not having to pay, but the process for this is cloudy and it will inevitably mean empty seats at a time when the team needs all the support it can get.
Hugely increased income, but still fans suffer
One of our suggestions to Arsenal was that they make the Bayern match the 7th cup 'credit' (therefore it's already paid for by season ticket holders) and make the Liverpool game the 8th 'credit' but price it as a Category B fixture. This would have been a true recognition of loyalty and a mark of appreciation by the club towards our fans, who already pay the highest prices in football. However, the club have only gone along with part of this suggestion, meaning loyal Arsenal fans will now suffer even more in the wallet.
This week Arsenal announced a £150m commercial deal with Puma. This follows the £150m sponsorship deal they revealed with Emirates, and the additional £30m they have received this season from improved TV broadcast revenue. Overall an additional £330m of income to the club, but still they announced that ticket prices will rise next season by (an above inflation rate of) 3%... and now they are hitting season ticket holders (and other general admission supporters) with the highest possible price for the Bayern Munich match.
Ivan Gazidis has previously gone on record stating that when the club's renewed push for bigger commercial revenue started to bear fruit, this would mean that Arsenal wouldn't have to rely so much on their loyal matchgoing fans to foot the bill. We are yet to be convinced that Ivan Gazidis, Stan Kroenke and the rest of the Arsenal Board are truly committed to this pledge.
Without the fans, football is nothing. This is a line that our Board seriously needs to get to grips with, because when interest levels and fickle support starts to drift away (and it will), with core support continuing to be forced out, who will be left to keep the club going?
Up The Gunners
