Season ticket price increase disappoints Spurs fans

"The reforms on senior season tickets pull the rug out from under the feet of pensioners after years of loyal support"

The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust says it is “hugely disappointed” that season ticket prices will increase by 6% for the 2024-25 season.

Spurs are also removing the concession for new senior season ticket holders – those aged 65 and above – from 2025-26.

It means the most affordable adult season ticket will be £856, up from this season’s price of £807.

The trust says the increase is “unacceptable” and “cannot be justified”.

Tottenham say the increase in season ticket price is because they have only raised prices once in the past five years – by 1.5% – and there has been a “significant increase in matchday costs”.

“Football is not immune to the rising costs of goods and services across the board and we continue to look at all options to minimise ticket price increases while absorbing the vast majority of costs,” Tottenham said on Thursday.

In a statement released on Thursday reacting to the changes, THST said “neither justification holds water” and that the reforms on senior season tickets “pull the rug out from under the feet of pensioners after years of loyal support”.

The club say the number of senior season tickets purchased at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has risen to almost four times the number at their previous home White Hart Lane and the increase is “not sustainable”.

The reforms mean discounts for senior season tickets remain unchanged for 2024-25 but senior supporters wanting to purchase a season ticket for 2025-26 will not receive the concession.

Existing season ticket holders who become eligible for a discounted season ticket from 2025-26 will begin to see their concessions reduced, with a 5% reduction each season for the following five years.

That means from 2029-30, senior season tickets will cost 25% more than they do today.

THST board members met with the club on 21 February to discuss ticketing and the trust directors said “we disagreed on several areas and as a result of our input, changes were made”.

“THST believes a fuller discussion at the beginning of this process with the club would have led to more effective input and increased the prospect of an outcome with wider support,” they added.

When approached by BBC Sport, Spurs said they had no further comment to make.

 

‘Disappointing’ but ‘not unreasonable’ – what you said

 

Ernie: Having been a season ticket holder for 41 years & now just about to benefit from a senior citizen discount as I turn 65 in June, part of the announcement covers the fact that the price discount is going to be reduced over the next five years from 50% to 25%. The club says it’s due to more older people but they only apply it certain areas. Unhappy!

Andrew: We had no price increase for season ticket holders last year, so I guess we knew one was coming. Personally it’s the continuing reduction in senior concessions that worries me the most. Having retired in 2022, I want to continue supporting my club but admit without the concession price, I couldn’t afford to renew.

David: As a 71-year-old life-long Tottenham supporter and season ticket holder affordability as a pensioner to purchase a season ticket has only been feasible with this discount. My Club’s attitude to pensioners is very disappointing. We have supported you all our lives and recognition with this discount was fair and needed. A big OG Spurs please re-think.

Robin: Bearing in mind the explosion of cost of living and general costs like business rates etc, it is not unreasonable, though the concessions for over 65 should continue.

Neil: 6% price increase is not unreasonable given the current inflation rate AND the fact that prices have hardly increased since we moved into the new stadium. The average increase in the cost of a season ticket is much less than the cost of a Spurs shirt. The club has to make money in order to buy players and coaching staff in a very competitive world.

Original article published 07.03.2024 on the BBC Sport website.

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