Man Utd & Arsenal Up Prices, USD3,200 for Top Emirates Seat
May 5, 2011
English Premier League leaders Manchester United have announced an across-the-board £1 (US$1.65) per match increase on ticket prices for next season a day after league rivals Arsenal upped their already league high prices by 6.5 per cent.
United and Arsenal have both claimed that the decision to raise prices is a result of the increase in VAT from 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent, with the former having absorbed the initial rise since the start of 2011.
Supporters purchasing a top-price season ticket will pay £950 ($1,568.5) for a 19-match home Premier League programme, a pound cheaper than that of the cheapest ticket at the Emirates Stadium, a move the Arsenal Supporters Trust (AST) feels will price loyal fans out of the club.
Arsenal CEO Ivan Gazidis has since admitted that “ordinary fans are increasingly being priced out of live football”.
In a letter to the AST, Gazidis stated: “This is bad for the continued health of the game and is driven primarily by escalating and ultimately unsustainable levels of spending on transfer fees and player salaries.
“I agree that we need to reduce the club’s reliance on ticket revenue as a source of income to compete at the highest level. At present, we are more reliant on ticket revenue than any of our major competitors. Therefore, we have made significant investment in initiatives to ensure that our squad spending becomes as efficient as it can be and to develop our commercial revenues.
“Our strategy in terms of commercial revenue has already begun to produce results and I believe can develop significantly over time.”
The clubs cheapest season ticket of £951 ($1,569.6) has increased by £58 ($95.73) from this season whilst the most expensive seats have been boosted to a whopping £1944 ($3,209), up from an already league record £1825 ($3,012).
