Ticket prices for home games are still too high according to an overwhelming majority of fans surveyed by the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust. And, while the £30 away ticket price cap was widely welcomed, fans indicated late changes to fixture dates and kick off times were a major source of irritation, and the major influence on deciding whether to watch their team away.
The message coming through loud and clear from fans in the survey is that home Premier League ticket prices are too high. Only 27% were satisfied with them. The Club has, after lobbying by THST, frozen prices for the last three years. But ticket prices at White Hart Lane are still among the highest in the country and such a high level of dissatisfaction should serve as further indication that prices need to be reduced.
“Fans feel their loyalty is taken for granted because they can’t switch to another brand if they are unhappy with the price of watching Spurs,” said Trust co-chair Katrina Law. “With a new stadium on the horizon, we’ll be continuing to make it clear to the Club that the pricing policy has to be as inclusive as possible, and that fans shouldn’t be considered bottomless pockets of income.”
On a positive note, the Club’s policy of charging £20/£25 for home cup tickets is working, with almost 63% of the survey satisfied, and a comparable 59% satisfied with the pricing of home European games. The Club’s decision to drop the progressive pricing policy for the Europa League game against Dortmund was opposed by 58% of our survey, with a further 18% saying they would have accepted an increase on the £20/£25 price point but not as much as the one imposed. Only 19% felt the Club got its pricing policy right for this match. THST will be emphasising the positive benefits of consistently applying the progressive cup pricing policy to the Club.
The Club’s decision not to reduce the price of Bronze membership for next season despite the loss of benefits attached to this package is deeply unpopular, with 70% saying the fee should have been reduced by £5 to the Lilywhite price point. Because of changes to home ticketing policy introduced as a result of the reduced capacity at White Hart Lane next season, the Bronze priority booking window and the multi game package option have been withdrawn from the Bronze membership package. Fewer than 10% thought Bronze membership still offered value for money. This was a view THST put to the Club strongly.
The coming season will see the introduction of a £30 price cap for all away tickets in the Premier League. The survey asked if this would mean fans applied for more away games, and 47% said it would. But 42% were either not sure or said it would make no difference to the number of games they applied for.
In fact, price was now only fifth on the list of factors influencing the decision to apply for an away ticket. The time and date of the game was by far the biggest influence, with 82% citing this reason. Other key factors were location, travel options including cost of travel and work commitments.
It’s clear that kick-off times and especially late changes to them are the most significant issue for fans when deciding whether or not to attend matches. Some 80% said they were inconvenienced by fixture changes, with 77% wanting better alignment of ticket on sale dates and applications announcements with TV picks.
In the previous three seasons, THFC has offered subsidised travel on trains, planes and coaches to some away games as part of the Premier League’s Away Supporters Initiative (ASI). Some 70% were aware THFC offered subsidised travel, but only 18% used it.
The ASI has now been withdrawn after the introduction of the £30 away price cap. However, 81% of our survey respondents said they wanted the Club to continue offering subsidised travel in the coming season, a figure brought into sharper perspective by noting the increased number of fans using trains to travel to away games.
Survey results can be seen in easy-to-digest format in the attached pdf.
THST
July 2016
“Fans feel their loyalty is taken for granted because they can’t switch to another brand if they are unhappy with the price of watching Spurs,” said Trust co-chair Katrina Law. “With a new stadium on the horizon, we’ll be continuing to make it clear to the Club that the pricing policy has to be as inclusive as possible, and that fans shouldn’t be considered bottomless pockets of income.”
On a positive note, the Club’s policy of charging £20/£25 for home cup tickets is working, with almost 63% of the survey satisfied, and a comparable 59% satisfied with the pricing of home European games. The Club’s decision to drop the progressive pricing policy for the Europa League game against Dortmund was opposed by 58% of our survey, with a further 18% saying they would have accepted an increase on the £20/£25 price point but not as much as the one imposed. Only 19% felt the Club got its pricing policy right for this match. THST will be emphasising the positive benefits of consistently applying the progressive cup pricing policy to the Club.
The Club’s decision not to reduce the price of Bronze membership for next season despite the loss of benefits attached to this package is deeply unpopular, with 70% saying the fee should have been reduced by £5 to the Lilywhite price point. Because of changes to home ticketing policy introduced as a result of the reduced capacity at White Hart Lane next season, the Bronze priority booking window and the multi game package option have been withdrawn from the Bronze membership package. Fewer than 10% thought Bronze membership still offered value for money. This was a view THST put to the Club strongly.
The coming season will see the introduction of a £30 price cap for all away tickets in the Premier League. The survey asked if this would mean fans applied for more away games, and 47% said it would. But 42% were either not sure or said it would make no difference to the number of games they applied for.
In fact, price was now only fifth on the list of factors influencing the decision to apply for an away ticket. The time and date of the game was by far the biggest influence, with 82% citing this reason. Other key factors were location, travel options including cost of travel and work commitments.
It’s clear that kick-off times and especially late changes to them are the most significant issue for fans when deciding whether or not to attend matches. Some 80% said they were inconvenienced by fixture changes, with 77% wanting better alignment of ticket on sale dates and applications announcements with TV picks.
In the previous three seasons, THFC has offered subsidised travel on trains, planes and coaches to some away games as part of the Premier League’s Away Supporters Initiative (ASI). Some 70% were aware THFC offered subsidised travel, but only 18% used it.
The ASI has now been withdrawn after the introduction of the £30 away price cap. However, 81% of our survey respondents said they wanted the Club to continue offering subsidised travel in the coming season, a figure brought into sharper perspective by noting the increased number of fans using trains to travel to away games.
Survey results can be seen in easy-to-digest format in the attached pdf.
THST
July 2016
| thst_annual_survey_2016_-_results.pdf |