Response To AFC Bournemouth’s Match Day Ticket Announcement
Despite some positive announcements today from the match day ticket details (such as Cherry Tuesday, the increased time for sales windows and the Ambulant Disabled supporter match day ticket) it’s difficult to ignore the significant cost increase for our non-season ticket holding supporters.
It’s disappointing to see that the categorisation of games has been introduced and we have argued that as fans we come to watch our football club, rather than the opposition.
The fact that prices for Category C games have dropped compared to last year is encouraging, but we can’t ignore that the average ticket price for someone who attends all 19 home games has risen by 14% when using the north stand as an example. While a rise in prices was expected, we find this move disheartening at a time some of our fan base may be struggling with the cost of living. We also note that the price ratio between season ticket holders and supporters who buy on a match to match basis has increased.
We also feel that the tiering of games is unbalanced, with only 4 games set as Category C and 8 games as Category B. We asked why a mid-point in the structured pricing couldn’t have been used as a set price for each game as this would have brought the same revenue to the club without the potential for confusion as to “how much this week’s game would cost”, but the club stated that a variable pricing model is of benefit to supporters with fewer points, or those who are only able to attend games which don’t sell out as quickly.
The Cherries Trust welcomes initiatives to increase the number of fans who can experience Premier League football both home and away, while limiting the impact to regular match day attendees although we note that with more supporters gaining an increased number of points, the need for an enlarged, or even new, stadium will become more necessary as we move forward as a fanbase. We would also like to give our thanks to AFC Bournemouth for engaging with us prior to today’s release.
Finally, as fans ourselves we understand and appreciate that you will wish to engage with the club and let them know your thoughts, good or bad. We fully support this but please do so respectfully when engaging on social media.
Cherries Trust are a voluntary, independent, not-for-profit organisation, relying solely on membership fees and donations to cover running costs. We are the only independent Supporters Trust for AFC Bournemouth.
