Tickets: Renew Away, But Don’t Be A First Timer!

It’s a day for rejoicing – the Blackpool board have cut season ticket prices by 15% for next season. You’d think, yes?

Well, not exactly. Whilst I applaud the club for the reduction in season ticket purchases, this is only for fans who are renewing their booklets at Bloomfield Road; what is there for the fan who fancies investing in a years worth of football for the first time, or even for the first time since 2007? Well, sorry to say this mate, but you have to shell out £82 for the remaining four games (in a mini season ticket deal) so that then you can buy a ST at the same price as everyone else.

What if he wasn’t to buy a mini season ticket? That’ll be upwards of £450 if the club don’t offer any reductions (which is yet unclear) for Jim in B block on the Kop, while Bob sat two seats away could be paying £360 for his 23 tickets. How is this supposed to encourage new supporters to invest in season tickets?

Have the VAT cuts of this calendar year been taken into count for new buyers? I would suggest not, as last season’s ST prices have been, as the club say proudly, frozen. In effect, to become a new season ticket holder, who doesn’t feel the need to spend £82 on four games, you will pay more money than the horrendously over-priced ST of last campaign.

This season we sold around 5000 season tickets, and with the new plans I would guess that there will only be small increase on that. The gripe is that this small increase typifies, and to quote the Chairman, ‘measured progress’ when they have the opportunity to make giant leaps forward. Can we honestly say that we`ve witnessed a pricing policy of a business who is about to open up a new stand, ready to house a further 3500 customers?

Current season ticket holders are quite rightly being rewarded for their loyalty to the club, but if we are to progress properly as a football club, such an elitist pricing strategy cannot be left how it is. I hope in the coming weeks season ticket prices for the non-renewals will see timescale discounts, otherwise – unless individual ticket prices are to be bargain basement – attendances could only be a small increase on this term.

Perhaps that suits the owners just fine?


To look at next season’s renewal season ticket prices, click here >>>

And to look at this season’s season ticket prices, and in effect next season’s for the fan who didn’t buy this time around, click here>>>