Stay calm and stick to the plan. We’re all facing the same challenges together. Rent prices are skyrocketing, bills are piling up, and even the local supermarket has resorted to putting security tags on cheese. But don’t despair, brighter days are ahead. Desperate parents resort to stealing baby formula, while corporate profits continue to soar. The sight of mattresses on the street has become all too common. However, have faith in the process. In the meantime, avoid asking for a raise, splurging on brand-name products, or indulging in live sports events.
Let me confess that I may not be the best person to discuss the increasing cost of attending sporting events in this country. I have the privilege of attending them for free. It’s a rather pitiful excuse for a job, to be honest. Ticket prices have always been a blind spot for the sports media as a whole. We rarely have to engage in the battle over prices, and with our press passes, we remain blissfully ignorant of this significant aspect of the sporting experience. But it’s high time someone started making a fuss because things are getting out of hand.
In April, Tottenham announced that they were freezing season-ticket prices for the 2023-24 season, acknowledging the financial pressures on their fans. It was met with begrudging approval. Spurs seemed to finally understand. However, this lasted only three months. The club quietly raised match-day ticket prices by approximately 20%. The cheapest adult ticket for a home game now costs £48, but these seats are extremely limited. They have also extended the list of premium Category A fixtures, priced between £65 and £103. Many areas of the stadium do not offer child discounts. In justifying their decision, Tottenham argued that their ticket prices are comparable to other London clubs, as if disgruntled Spurs fans would choose to support their rivals instead.
This highlights the underlying issue. If you’re a loyal Spurs fan who wants to attend the matches, you’re stuck. There are no other options. You can’t downgrade to a cheaper alternative. The club determines what is a fair price, and you must pay it for as long as you can. Once you no longer bring in enough financial value for Enic Group, they will replace you with someone wealthier. It might have even been you once. It’s the circle of life, after all.
Spurs are just one example of this issue. Newly promoted Sheffield Wednesday recently announced a top-price ticket of £59 to watch Championship football. Stockport County attempted to charge fans £27 for a League Two game, but they quickly backtracked due to the backlash. Smaller sports face even more limited windows of opportunity, resulting in significant price hikes, especially in the current post-pandemic landscape.
Many sports enthusiasts in Britain find themselves on the outside looking in, unable to afford tickets. Take, for example, the Friday of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. In 2019, a ticket for the first practice session cost £50, but now it’s priced at £169. The cheapest adult tickets for the Ashes Test at Old Trafford were around £40 in 2019 and have now increased to about £60. The Wimbledon ground pass, previously an affordable option for introducing children to grand slam tennis, costs £27.
This trend has been gradually unfolding for years, driven by greed and speculation. It’s a socioeconomic cleansing of the sporting audience. We often hear excuses about the broader economic situation, the rising costs of energy and supplies, and the inevitable doom spiral. Stay patient, they say. We’re all in this together. When energy costs decrease, interest rates stabilize, and supply chains improve, the clubs and governing bodies will surely lower their prices again as a reward for your loyalty. The £20 Premier League ticket is just a few economic cycles away. Trust the plan.
Sports enthusiasts often extol the virtues of sport as a force for good. It brings people together, instills values, promotes exercise, brings joy, and inspires. It fosters local and national pride and serves as an extension of identity. It should be a safe space and a pillar of the community. So what does it say about a sport when it caters primarily to the wealthy, erects barriers to entry, and excludes an entire generation of individuals who are predominantly young and non-white?
Perhaps it suggests that only the rich deserve to enjoy the best things in life. Perhaps a person’s worth is tied to their ability to pay for things. In this regard, British sport mirrors the unfortunate reality of Britain as a whole. But that discussion is for another day. If you have any thoughts on the issues raised in this article, you can submit a response of up to 300 words via email for consideration in our letters section.
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