Season Ticket - Next Year?

[Gordons Cumming]

Due to circumstances, not completely beyond my control, I won't be purchasing a season ticket next season.

Will Reading sell-out their allocation of tickets next year or will enthusiasm wane despite such a great first season in the top flight?

There is talk of reducing ticket prices for fans ( lead by Blackburn I think )
will this effect Reading due to our continued success?

[Royal Lady]

I think, personally, that enthusiasm will wane, particularly if prices are higher. We'll still get sell-outs for Man U, Arsenal and Chelsea but I think you'd probably be ok in getting a ticket for some of the other matches. Then, there's always someone who has a seat going unused at some point, us included probably, so you should have a decent chance of getting to watch the Royals now and again, grandad.

[Slider]

I'd have thought as you had a ST this year you'll have enough points to get tickets to whichever home games you can get to

[kevan]

As the stadium is full now and people can't get in it is likely that a modest price rise will make no difference

[bigmike]

I am expecting another price rise this year which will mean that more fans are being priced out of the game. Being that the £200 increase last year was to bring in players and strengthen the team which never really happened

Are the club going to hold us fans to ransom again this year and stick another £200 on top?

[Upper West?!?]

The new international TV deal will make the club £15-25m better off next year, so what justification could there be to raise ticket prices? Gate receipts pale in comparison to TV money.

[Stranded]

Could swallow an increase in line with inflation but I'm getting very close to the top amount that I can afford now, so much of an increase and I'll be picking and choosing next season.

[Royalupnorth]

The new international TV deal will make the club £15-25m better off next year, so what justification could there be to raise ticket prices? Gate receipts pale in comparison to TV money.

True, but £50 extra per ST, and 20,000 ST's is an extra £1 million.
That could be another player, or a greedy players (no names) wages for 6months.

[bobby1413]

I'm struggling a lot with money this season. I made a budget recently, of my income and expenditures, and although I have money left over after, bills, rent, petrol, etc.... it's not enough.

I'm not renewing my AST next year, as the cost is j ust too much for me to afford. But I was looking at how much extra money I would have if I didn't have a home season ticket.

Apart from having more time on my hands, and more money, I could go to the odd game if I wanted.

I could imagine the ticket prices increasing. Followed by a statement expressing the "exciting times" and "huge ambition the club are attempting to follow". Maybe a rise from £545 to £595 for the east stand?

I'm not decided about my season ticket yet, but will probably wait for ST prices to be released.

[bigmike]

The new international TV deal will make the club £15-25m better off next year, so what justification could there be to raise ticket prices? Gate receipts pale in comparison to TV money.

Maybe with all that extra money the club can stop taking us for a Ride then and reduce the already extortionate prices.

[79Royal]

I think it's true that there won't be as many ST holders as there are this season, but the town is big and know a lot of people who have been waiting a long time to watch Reading play this year and are only now getting the odd chance.

Those casual fans who will watch Reading play regardless, will pick up a lot of those seats vacated by non-returning ST holders, I reckon.

I don't think it's a bad thing for the club to have a 'turnover' of fans necessarily. It keeps the long term enthusiasm there.

And who's to say that you wont renew your ticket the following season?

From my point of view and in a selfish way I guess, I'd like to thank every person who has attended a match this year, because I've thoroughly enjoyed every minute and they are all part of that.

[AF1]

Any chance we could leave the moaning about next seasons prices to errr... next season?

[rg6royal]

i'm fine with getting my tickets,i have a season ticket and have doen for a while i have about 630 points so i'm fine with tickets. interesting to see what blackburn did though, well it was about time really as they never even had any fan up the top tier behind the goal !

[bigmike]

i'm fine with getting my tickets,i have a season ticket and have doen for a while i have about 630 points so i'm fine with tickets. interesting to see what blackburn did though, well it was about time really as they never even had any fan up the top tier behind the goal !

A lot of the teams in that Area can not fill their grounds the likes of Bolton Boro.. Mainly due to ticket prices however I also think that there is the demand issue. A lot of people will travel the extra few miles to follow the bigger teams.

I would mention Wigan but they never will fill their ground unless its Rugby.. Wigan couldnt fill a bus to be honest

[West Stand Man]

A lot of the teams in that Area can not fill their grounds the likes of Bolton Boro.

And which 'Boro' would that be then, in the Manchester area? You couldn't possibly mean Middlesboro, which is a huge distance away from 'that Area'?

[eaststandbird]

After being a STH for the past 6 seasons, I too am having to give mine up at the end of this season due to the cost - I am absolutely gutted

[Warfield Royal]

Any chance we could leave the moaning about next seasons prices to errr... next season?

We are rapidly approaching the time of year for season ticket renewals which on previous years have been offered at a discount if renewed before the end of the current season.

The discount deadline for the 2005/2006 season ticket was end of April 2005 and that was at a time when we were not expecting promotion.

So how much and when is a very important subject for me.

[Turns8]

I'd like to see the club re-introduce the early bird discount thing like they did the season before last..

If they froze the price for next season at this season's prices on the guarantee that you paid up before the end of April, they could have potentially around £8 - £10million in the bank ready for the Summer.

Ok, so the money you get from being in the Premiership makes this figure look a little insignificant, but it would go some way to being part of a transfer kitty for Coppell...which has got to be a good thing...surely!

Come on Reading reward the season-ticket holders for their continued support..

[bigmike]

A lot of the teams in that Area can not fill their grounds the likes of Bolton Boro.

And which 'Boro' would that be then, in the Manchester area? You couldn't possibly mean Middlesboro, which is a huge distance away from 'that Area'?

When did I mention Manchester? I ment northern england... Boro have had terrible crowds recently I would say mainly due to the high ticket prices poor team performances and to be honest better teams in the North of england.

I know of a few people who go to Man U from the North east.

[STAR Voice]

Due to circumstances, not completely beyond my control, I won't be purchasing a season ticket next season.

Will Reading sell-out their allocation of tickets next year or will enthusiasm wane despite such a great first season in the top flight?

There is talk of reducing ticket prices for fans ( lead by Blackburn I think )
will this effect Reading due to our continued success?

Blackburn and Wigan have reduced prices for the rest of this season in response to inability to fill their grounds - even away areas for some "derby" matches.

"The Sun" has been recently running a campaign to get FAPL clubs to reduce ticket prices next season - but don't forget that "The Sun" doesn't necessarily have the fans' interests at heart. Firstly, this is a lovely bandwagon for them to try and claim for themselves, and also as part of the Murdoch empire they have an interest in making sure that grounds are filled, as they look better on Sky TV.

I'm a member of the FSF's pricing "taskforce" and we've been collecting stats on prices and attendances for a while, and analysing this for a few seasons. It's clear from these that price elasticity is reaching its limit, and many people's limit of what they will pay has been reached and exceeded - especially for TV games.

In the next few days the FSF will be launching what will be one of our biggest and loudest campaigns - as much as anything else, with the new TV deal next season there's no way that any more price rises can be possibly justified. The increase in TV revenue to clubs is equal to about 30 pounds for every ticket sold this season! So the FAPL clubs could let everyone in for free next season and still have the same amount of money to spend.

What we are asking for is three things from the FAPL and PL clubs :

1. A flat rate of 15 pounds for all away fans - to reflect that away fans are the lifeblood of the game, they keep atmosphere alive and also have the highest costs and time in order to attend away matches.

2. The "facility fee" for televised matches to be used to reduce ticket prices across the board for that match - to reflect the extra costs and grief that supporters have from changed kick-off times.

3. Price reductions at all matches compared to this season - but as a very minimum NO PRICE RISES COMPARED TO THIS SEASON - for the lifetime of this new TV deal.

Whichever way you look at it, considering the increased TV money coming in there is no way that any club can realistically argue against these proposals - they will, of course, but that will further expose the sheer greed in the game.

When this campaign is launched in the next few days I'll publicise what people can do to support it.