The Hammers hit the headlines with news the club was hiking ticket prices by between 6% and 14%, ignoring the rapidly falling rate of inflation, of just 3.4%. But the detail flagged by the West Ham Supporters Trust (WHUST) was that no new concession-priced tickets will be sold in the best seats. Only band five and six – up in the gods – will be available for concession rates to new applicants.
That means someone out of work through accident or sickness and on a reduced income will no longer be able to apply for their seat at a discounted rate. Instead they will have to climb the mountain of steps to get them to the far reaches of the London Stadium. This is from a club that gets the same share of the Premier League’s £1.5bn of TV rights revenue as other clubs but has significantly lower stadium costs due to the subsidy associated with the former Olympic Park.
WHUST raised these concerns with the club on Tuesday before the announcement was made public. And WHUST – and now the Independent Supporters Committee – has taken it up the club since fans have expressed their outrage. The biggest price hikes also hit the worst off, with the two-year band five ticket rising by 14%. The cheapest annual season ticket is rising more than 11% (£35) to £345 and the kids’ season ticket by 10% (£10) to £109.
At the other end of the scale the top priced ticket (excluding Club London) is rising just over 6% (£100) to £1,720. West Hams still claims its pricing makes it a working-class club offering ‘affordable family football’ but these prices would suggest otherwise. The much-criticised move to the London Stadium meant the club was desperate to drag unwilling fans to attend games. As a result, it cut the price of the cheapest season ticket from £620 to £289. This season, the cheapest ticket was £310, so had risen since that 2016-17 season by only just over 7%.
Next season the cheapest season ticket will have risen 19% since we moved to Stratford. The Bank of England puts inflation during that time at about 30%. By contrast, the most expensive tickets will now have risen by more than 56% in the same time period, much faster than inflation.
Non-season ticket match-day prices will also significantly rise. The club argues that this makes season tickets even better value. But the club also admits that it expects there to be fewer season ticket holders each year.
It claims selling more on-the-day full price tickets will enable it to keep the price of season tickets lower. The club wants to sell overpriced tickets to tourists – which doesn’t help the atmosphere on match days.
The club justifies the price rises using the threat of a points deduction under the profitability and sustainability rules set by the Premier League. These used to be called financial fair play. Basically, they prohibit clubs spending more on players’ salaries than the club earns from all forms of income.
Already Everton and Nottingham Forest have had points deducted for breaking the rules, though appeals against these remain outstanding. Leicester stands accused too and the hearing is due soon. West Ham needs a bigger squad to cope with its European football campaign and a better squad to stay a big six contender in the Premier League. It can’t, the club claims, increase its playing budget without increasing its income.
As a sop, there may be a few extra cheap games thrown in. The club is considering a category D pricing structure for what it describes as ‘Bournemouth on a Wednesday night if we’re in the middle of a cup run’. That’ll be kids for a quid. This was a suggestion fan groups raised last season.
Leaving your season ticket seat empty is going to be a no-no. The club will be monitoring usage and people who fail to attend will be tackled. Exactly how is not yet clear but other clubs do police this better than West Ham currently. The club’s ticket exchange is unpopular due to it failing to provide real cash in exchange for sold tickets but only ‘club cash’.
Supporter groups have raised this and the club says it is under consideration. Meanwhile the club is keen that season ticket holders who cannot attend make use of the friends and family options to transfer tickets to other fans so the stadium is filled. There will also be a very different cup ticket scheme. No longer will the club automatically take your money and give you your seat.
Too many payments bounce as people move bank accounts and change cards. On top of that, the different away ticket allocations for cup games – and take-up by the opposition clubs – means many season ticket holders have to be relocated. Instead, there will be a window for season ticket holders to buy their discounted seat before it goes on general sale at an inflated price.
WHUST still has questions unanswered by the club about season tickets and individual home game ticket prices. And let’s not even get started on away tickets.
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