Fans of Tottenham Hotspur expressed strong backing for the accessible pricing policies adopted by the Club last season – making the Club’s pricing decisions so far this summer all the more disappointing. And after the first season of the Premier League’s £30 away ticket price cap it’s clear there is broad support for the policy, and that it’s not the primary factor affecting demand for away tickets. Not surprisingly, fans welcome the reduced cost of something they are committed to.
More than 3,200 fans took part in the fourth annual survey carried out by THST from 23 June to 9 July, with 84% expressing satisfaction with the pricing of last season’s Champions League packages, and 72% backing the pricing of cup matches. Satisfaction with ticket pricing for home Premier League games was lower, with 39% saying they were satisfied with home pricing, while 26% were not.
Some 26% of respondents said they attended fewer home games than the season before. Of that group, 54% cited ticket availability as the reason. The highest level of dissatisfaction on ticketing was expressed with the booking fees levied on ticket purchases – with 54% expressing unhappiness.
Last season saw the introduction of the £30 price cap on away match tickets in the Premier League. We asked whether that had influenced fans’ decisions to apply for away tickets. More than half the respondents, 53%, said the cap had not, while 36% said it had. However, 45% backed the cap and only 8% were opposed to it.
We asked fans to list what factors influenced their decision to apply for away games. Time and day of kick off, location and cost of travel came out top, with time and day of kick off being judged the most important factor. Ticket pricing came ninth on the list.
The much-debated system of awarding away tickets by loyalty points was backed by 45%, with a further 19% expressing no clear view, and 33% expressing dissatisfaction with the system.
The survey found that most fans travel to away games by either car or train, with 79% aware that Spurs had organised subsidised travel over the past four seasons. As a result, 23% have travelled on either club trains, coaches or aeroplanes and some 80% of respondents would like this to continue throughout the 2017/18 season.
Last season was a unique one at White Hart Lane, with reduced capacity prompting the Club to introduce a ballot system for home tickets. At the time, the decision generated enormous discussion and controversy in some quarters. Despite this, just 24% told us they were dissatisfied with the system, with the majority – 55% – ambivalent. Some 41% supported THST’s successful push for Category A tickets to be allocated by loyalty points. Only 14% disagreed.
The majority of respondents, 64%, said they had been inconvenienced by a match being rescheduled, whether for TV or because of other factors. An overwhelming 88% agreed that far more consideration should be given to match-going fans when scheduling games for broadcast, and 72% would like to see ticket on-sale dates aligned with TV pick dates.
68% disagreed with the potential introduction of additional Sunday morning and Saturday evening broadcast slots. As a result of an OFCOM ruling, more matches than ever will be shown on TV from 2019, and it’s clear more anti-social kick off times will not be welcomed by fans.
If rail operators offered flexible train tickets that could be used whenever a match was played, an idea floated at the last general election, 42% of those surveyed would be encouraged to travel to more away games by train.
A PDF presentation of the full set of survey results, with graphics to make it all easier to digest, can be found below..
THST Board
8 August 2017
Some 26% of respondents said they attended fewer home games than the season before. Of that group, 54% cited ticket availability as the reason. The highest level of dissatisfaction on ticketing was expressed with the booking fees levied on ticket purchases – with 54% expressing unhappiness.
Last season saw the introduction of the £30 price cap on away match tickets in the Premier League. We asked whether that had influenced fans’ decisions to apply for away tickets. More than half the respondents, 53%, said the cap had not, while 36% said it had. However, 45% backed the cap and only 8% were opposed to it.
We asked fans to list what factors influenced their decision to apply for away games. Time and day of kick off, location and cost of travel came out top, with time and day of kick off being judged the most important factor. Ticket pricing came ninth on the list.
The much-debated system of awarding away tickets by loyalty points was backed by 45%, with a further 19% expressing no clear view, and 33% expressing dissatisfaction with the system.
The survey found that most fans travel to away games by either car or train, with 79% aware that Spurs had organised subsidised travel over the past four seasons. As a result, 23% have travelled on either club trains, coaches or aeroplanes and some 80% of respondents would like this to continue throughout the 2017/18 season.
Last season was a unique one at White Hart Lane, with reduced capacity prompting the Club to introduce a ballot system for home tickets. At the time, the decision generated enormous discussion and controversy in some quarters. Despite this, just 24% told us they were dissatisfied with the system, with the majority – 55% – ambivalent. Some 41% supported THST’s successful push for Category A tickets to be allocated by loyalty points. Only 14% disagreed.
The majority of respondents, 64%, said they had been inconvenienced by a match being rescheduled, whether for TV or because of other factors. An overwhelming 88% agreed that far more consideration should be given to match-going fans when scheduling games for broadcast, and 72% would like to see ticket on-sale dates aligned with TV pick dates.
68% disagreed with the potential introduction of additional Sunday morning and Saturday evening broadcast slots. As a result of an OFCOM ruling, more matches than ever will be shown on TV from 2019, and it’s clear more anti-social kick off times will not be welcomed by fans.
If rail operators offered flexible train tickets that could be used whenever a match was played, an idea floated at the last general election, 42% of those surveyed would be encouraged to travel to more away games by train.
A PDF presentation of the full set of survey results, with graphics to make it all easier to digest, can be found below..
THST Board
8 August 2017
| thst_annual_fans_survey_2017-2.pdf |