Ticket pricing is - and always will be - the touchiest subject at most football clubs, and Birmingham City is no different.
In the current economic climate we all expect to pay more for things. At this point we are accustomed to the blows of discovering that something has increased in price by 10 percent. We begrudgingly hand over the cash for the essentials.
But football, albeit important and central to many of our lives, doesn’t fall into that category. Watching it is an increasingly expensive luxury that people are having to do without.
It feels like the ‘Kids for a quid’ days are over. Nowadays, an adult’s ticket for a Championship game will set you back more than £30.
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There was outrage a few weeks ago when Coventry City confirmed Blues fans will have to pay up to £37 for a ticket to the match at the Coventry Building Society Arena in December. The game is on TV, meaning many of those who are being asked to fork out £37 could watch it for free.
Some Blues supporters are being asked to pay £37.50 for a seat in the Kop stand for this weekend’s match against Sheffield Wednesday. Tickets for the Leicester City game - which is also on TV - are priced at £40 in the same stand. Even the cheaper seats in the Gil Merrick and Tilton stands will set you back £35 against the table-topping Foxes.
Remember the Twenty’s Plenty campaign? That seems to have fallen on deaf ears. Blues and Coventry are by no means the only ones, most Championship clubs are following the trend and, to some extent, they have to.
Blues owner Tom Wagner, chief executive Garry Cook and Co can’t sit back and watch their rivals steal a march on them financially. Increasing ticket prices is the simplest way of making a quick buck in football.
There are Financial Fair Play issues to consider too. If Blues ignored the trend, they would have to make up the financial shortfall to compete in another way. Consumers, as ever, are hit in the pocket.
What’s the answer? Either nobody knows or nobody has taken the time to assess alternative options to rising ticket prices. If the product on the pitch is good enough then the people will come.
Take Premier League clubs, for example. They are constantly making fans pay more to watch football because they know they can. If a season ticket holder is priced out, there are thousands more waiting to take their place. How often do Premier League clubs boast about the size of their waiting lists?
It’s not reached that level in the Championship and it probably never will. Now is the time for these clubs to create new fans who can be carried along the journey to the Premier League.
It can’t only be one club which takes that stance, though. The vast majority of Championship clubs need to get on board, otherwise some will feel short-changed and cheated in the FFP stakes.
Creating new fans is one of Blues’ main objectives under Knighthead. Wagner and Cook need to ensure that a seat inside St Andrew’s is accessible to all in the first place.
