It costs being a Gooner you know! Really?
So it’s that time of year again when the ‘Price of Football’ Report is compiled and published to the world to dissect and digest.
Once again the knives are out and The Arsenal are in the firing line as usual.
Blah Blah Blah!!!
Now I’m not defending the prices at The Emirates, as yes they are high,
Being a season ticket holder, (PS. thanks to the lovely guy keeping my seat warm for me) I know this.
But that’s the price you pay for quality.
Quality facilities, Quality team (on their day), Quality entertainment (well it’s always a roller coaster).
But as usual, the figures are again misrepresented.
They compare the prices across the country, which is not a level playing field.
We all know the premium that has to be paid to watch football in London. Real estate in London is up to three times (if not more!!) the price versus the North West, therefore building a stadium and all the facilities that go with that cost at least three times the price.
Emirates Stadium – £390 million (60,000 cap)
City of Manchester Stadium – £130 million (55,000 cap)
Wages are higher, therefore police, stewards, ground staff etc costs are higher.
Stewards cost more
Therefore, it just costs more to run a match day in London.
But on top of all this, they miss the fundamental difference between The Arsenal season ticket and that of all the rest of the premier league…….
From £1000 and up
At The Arsenal you get 26 games with your season ticket.
19 Premier league games and the first 7 home FA Cup/Champion League games.
The rest (except the spuds, who get 21 games and I presume the 2 extra games are for London Counties Cup or something like that !!) you get 19.
But explaining this fact, doesn’t meet the tabloid criteria, therefore it is overlooked and The Arsenal are slated, as usual, on half truths & misinformation.
So taking these factors into consideration I’ve done my own comparison;
Londoners:
Arsenal: Number of games- 26
Spurss: Number of games -21
Chelsea: Number of games -19
Arsenal: Season ticket price (most common) – £1014
Spurs: Season ticket price (most common) – £880
Chelsea: Season ticket price (most common) – £750
Arsenal: Cost per game – £39
Spurs: Cost per game- £41.90
Chelsea: Cost per game- £39.47
So, you are worse off watching your football at White Hart Lane or with the Russian.
But you knew that anyway
Yep haha
Northerners:
Arsenal: Number of games- 26
Liverpool: Number of games -19
Man U: Number of games – 19
Arsenal: Season ticket price (most common) – £1014
Liverpool: Season ticket price (most common) – £869
Man U: Season ticket price (most common) – £703
Arsenal: Cost per game – £39
Liverpool: Cost per game- £45.74
Man U: Cost per game -£37
Cost of Living:
London
Average Monthly Disposable Salary (After Tax) £1,978.78
Liverpool
Average Monthly Disposable Salary (After Tax) £1,579.11
Manchester
Average Monthly Disposable Salary (After Tax) £1,388.55
Therefore, Sousers, based on disposable income are approximately 20% worse off than Londoners, therefore the price of their ST should be 20% lower than Arsenal’s.
By my reckoning that means the common match day ticket should be £31.20.
But at £45.74, Liverpool fans are relatively £276.26 (32%) worse off by watching Liverpool week in week out.
Similarly, Mancunians are 30% worse, therefore should pay £27.30 to watch a game, but by paying £37 a week, are relatively 24% worse off than us Gooners.
Looking at it that way, we Gooners don’t get to bad a deal, but this version doesn’t make sexy reading in The Current Bun, so this version doesn’t get reported.
You know its worth it
Let me conclude with this gem from the brilliant Andy Kelly (@Goooner_AK) over at Arsenal History, that was left in a comment on a blog from Tim yesterday which this blog is in part to respond to!
“Since Arsenal moved to the Emirates, ticket prices have risen 17.% (including a 2.5% VAT increase that was beyond their control). Wages have risen 23.8% in the same period.”
“In real terms it’s getting cheaper to watch Arsenal.”
English by birth, Australian by choice. Traffic Engineer, Arsenal ST Holder, Sun DreamTeam Winner, Writer on @GunnersTown, Depeche Mode, Welcome to my world…
Only an Arsenal fan would defend the pathetic prices for modern football. Twisted methods and shoddy defense of the ridiculous prices Arsenal charge to see your team. How about away prices? Arsenal are kings there too.
Hi Steve,
Ingenous. Well done
GunnerVic1946
Spot on.
Can you send this article to EVERY tabloid and Talksport to shut them the F*** up please.
Thanks
You are 100% correct when you say “Arsenal are cheap”.
This would be a half decent article if it wasn’t for your puerile names for Arsenal’s rivals. If you are going to write a serious article and want to be taken seriously then grow up. The crucial point is, Arsenal are far too expensive and with the amount of JLCs in the corporate boxes prepared to pay a fortune so that they can tell their mates down the golf club that they support ‘The Arsenal’ prices should be subsidised elsewhere. Being slightly better value than ‘spuds’ and ‘chavs’ is simply not a reason to celebrate. Why not pretend you have left school, re-write the article and send it to a newspaper and see whether they’ll print it – you maybe surprised.
Evening Frostie. Dave
Mark in all serious it is a well researched and valid analysis and does deserves to be read. I edited and should have amended which I have now done.
Thanks (You Spud!)
Dave
Morning Mark
Not used to writing serious pieces, so default is Spuds & Chav
Cheers for your comments
I agree being slightly cheaper than Spurs & Chelsea is not s huge celebration, but according to the tabloids we are twice the price, not on parity
And when it comes down to it, you would expect to pay the same in London for the same product (results aside)
Mark, it’s clear that the article doesn’t dispute the high level of ticket prices. It raises the valid point that the media reports Arsenal ST prices in a misleading way. You’re clearly passionate about the lowering of prices at football matches in the UK, but it wouldn’t hurt to, at the very least, acknowledge the point being made.
you have a point there Steve Wellman because the more expensive a city is the most cost of entertainment compared to cities that are less expensive. if arsenal was to be in a city that is less expensive order than London eyes will not be raised.
Kolo Toure (£150,000) Centre Back
In 2002 a twenty year old Ivorian named Kolo Toure
arrived for a trial. He played 37 games in our
Invincible season. The story told by Ray Parlour
about Kolo’s trial game, is worth repeating for those
who may not know this hilarious story:
…the Kolo Toure trial
Parlour claims that Arsene Wenger likes to play
trialists in small games, so he set up Martin Keown
and Kolo Toure to play against Thierry Henry and
Dennis Bergkamp. Not long into the trial and the
ball’s played into Thierry Henry. From nowhere Kolo
has come running in and taken Henry out from
behind with a terrible tackle, a two footed tackle that
would have been a red card in a game. Our best
players rolling around on the ground and Arsene
Wenger’s shouting: “Kolo, Kolo what are you doing,
don’t tackle, don’t tackle”. Well Kolo Toure is all ‘sorry,
sorry, sorry’.
Henry and Bergkamp had swapped now and the ball
goes into Dennis. Kolo Toure does the same thing,
two foots Dennis Bergkamp. We’re all saying, ‘oh my
god this is terrible, our two best players, how are we
going to win the league if our two best players have
been taken out by a trialist?! He must be working for
somebody else…..’.
Anyway, Wenger starts shouting, ‘’okay, okay no more
tackling, no more tackling’’. Kolo Toure’s going ‘yes,
yes, yes, sorry boss, sorry, sorry…’ Anyway the ball
comes in and Kolo Toure makes a great tackle and
the ball flicks up in the air.
Now in these games Arsene Wenger would stand in
between the midfield and the forwards to look at the
movement. And so there he is: the ball’s gone up in
the air and Kolo’s keeping his eyes on the ball and as
the balls in the air where does it land? Right by
Wengers foot and he’s only gone and two footed
Arsene Wenger!! Proper tackle, he’s taken him out
and all you can hear is ‘ooh, agh, ooh, agh….’ The lads
are like, oh my god this is unbelievable, the trialist
has taken out Henry, Bergkamp and Arsene Wenger
on his trial. Now Wengers had to limp off to the
medical room. So Kolo Toures nearly crying, he’s
going “oh no, I can’t believe it”. But he’s taken out our
two best players and the Manager.
Next day I go to the medical room and Arsene
Wenger is sitting there with a big ice pack on his
ankle. I felt sorry for Kolo so I said to Arsene, “I don’t
think he meant to kick you like that boss”. Arsene
goes “what, look at my ankle” and he’s got a big lump.
I said, “Boss I don’t think he meant it”. Wenger said, “I
know he didn’t mean it. I like his desire, I’ve decided
to sign him………..”
Not sure it relates to the blog but thanks mate for that funny interlude
Digging around this morning I found out that for a Category B game in the Premier League:
Arsenal have 24,000 seats prices at less than £41.
Tottenham have about 7,000 (which is being very generous based on 4,500 in south stand lower and 2,500 restricted view seats in east lower).
Chelsea have none.
And Liverpool (remember we’re told it’s cheaper up north) have none.
Arsenal have some very expensive seats but they are the exception not the norm.
Andy
My point exactly. The press focus on the minor high ticket prices but do not focus on the majority which are on parity or cheaper that the rest