Age-related price rises hit younger fans hard
THE football business has grown and grown over the last decade, sadly for us fans so have the ticket prices.
From a recent 2012 football survey looking at 166 different clubs across British football, over the duration of 12 months, the cheapest adult ticket has gone up by 11.7 per cent and the average price of the cheapest ticket to watch a 90 minute game of football, is £21.24!
It seems quite ridiculous that this is the cost supporters have to pay, when more and more people are struggling for money in modern day 21st century Britain.
From reading this article so far, you are probably thinking that I am a dad, with kids and complaining about the cost to watch my football team. However no, I am a 16-year-old lad and have been supporting the Gulls for 10 years; this is my personal view on match-day tickets for supporters around my age.
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Here at TQ1, it costs under 16s £6 to watch Torquay United, but what happens when we turn 16?
I and a lot of my mates stand in the middle part of the pop side (the noisy lot) and £6 is a reasonable weekly price to watch our football team. However, I know for a fact that once supporters turn the age of 16, they are expected to pay £13 -£16!
A sudden jump, more than a 50 per cent increase in the price for myself and many others my age to watch our beloved team seems unreasonable.
If a season ticket is priced at £80 for under 18s, then why don't we have £6 for under 18s for a match-day ticket?
Surely this is fairer for our younger supporters?
Having a season ticket means that you theoretically are paying £3.50 for each game. How does it make sense that a 17 year old has to pay £13 for a match-day ticket, when someone the same age has a season ticket and has tentatively paid £3.50!
The answer to this, is not 'you should buy a season ticket then' because in this day and age in contemporary British society, under 18s just don't have £80 at an instant.
The aforementioned suggestion would certainly attract many younger Gull's supporters and boost attendances.
My message to the football world, just because owners are coming in and buying clubs with their billions, just because footballers are earning their millions each year, doesn't mean the price to watch the beautiful game that we all love should ascend.
To coin a well-used phrase, at the end of the day where would the club be without its supporters, especially the young generation who are the future supporters of the club.
Danny Harvey (@danny96_tufc)
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