The Everton Fan Advisory Board said supporter feedback revealed a belief among respondents that their loyalty 'is being stretched and exploited'
A general view of Hill Dickinson Stadium. Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
A general view of Hill Dickinson Stadium. Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
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Everton supporter organisation the Fan Advisory Board has warned the club it faces the creation of an “inevitable erosion of trust” over season ticket price rises.
The new pricing schedule, released last month, will see some supporters face increases of almost 10% and placed a small group at risk of a hike of hundreds of pounds if they chose to retain adult seats in an area that would no longer fall within the Hill Dickinson Stadium’s family section.
The club has frozen costs for some fans and retained concessions within a pricing framework it believes reflects some key supporter demands while generating money that is essential to Everton continuing to progress on the pitch.
Senior figures believe that record-breaking renewals undermine fears the increased costs will price supporters out of attending. After conducting a survey of fan sentiment the FAB, however, believes “the message is clear that supporters feel that their loyalty is being stretched and exploited”.
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That view from the FAB follows the gathering of feedback from supporters on the latest price changes. The organisation, which engages with the club over issues such as ticket pricing and urged for price freezes for next season, said it had more than 1,700 responses across a four-day exercise it claimed revealed:
• 74% believe increases are unfair
• 74% feel the new pricing structure offers limited or poor value for money
• 81% feel loyalty was not appreciated in the pricing decision
• 62% say trust in the club has eroded
The FAB said the views of the survey echoed more than 150 hours of supporter insight the group had collected. Frustration and disappointment at the prices was clear when it held its first annual conference at the Blue Base in Walton recently.
Upon releasing their findings, the FAB said: “We’ve been clear since presenting proposals for a price freeze that we recognise the financial pressures facing the club and the importance of being competitive both on and off the pitch. But placing an additional financial burden on supporters for an estimated short-term revenue gain of £1.5m is misguided and fails to understand the true impact on supporters and the inevitable erosion of trust.
“We were not surprised that our survey also revealed that 60% of respondents said it wouldn’t impact their future attendance and were informed that renewals will beat expectations. Evertonians are loyal and attach a strong sense of identity and community to our football club. But the message is clear that supporters feel that their loyalty is being stretched and exploited.”
Everton have not placed the strategy behind the price rises on the record but the club’s position is understood to be that dialogue with the FAB and other supporter organisations is important - and will continue - and that its decisions also follow extensive engagement with fans.
The belief of club chiefs is that commercial growth is essential for the Blues to continue catching up with Premier League rivals after years of struggle.
Recently released accounts showed the groundwork carried out by new owners the Friedkin Group across their first six months at the club had been substantial, moving the club to a position of financial stability after the turbulence that characterised the final years of the reign of former owner Farhad Moshiri.
While progress was clear - and will have been turbocharged by the club’s move to Hill Dickinson Stadium - the £49m sale of Everton Women was essential to reducing the losses of the 2024/25 season to under £10m. The average matchday cost per fan for that year, the final one at Goodison Park, was one of the cheapest in the Premier League.
The record £250m turnover predicted for the first year on the Liverpool waterfront, one in which a Premier League survey found Everton supporters’ matchday experience had improved, will represent a significant boost but still fall considerably short of the revenue of the likes of Aston Villa and Newcastle United, clubs Everton hope to hunt down before mounting a sustained assault on the higher echelons of the table.
Against that backdrop, the belief is every penny of additional income is essential and the insistence is that it will be poured into the club and the fan experience. For critics of the price rises, the roughly £1.5m additional revenue pales in significance to the vast sums spent within the modern game and yet will represent a severe additional cost to supporters under increasing financial pressure.
The FAB claimed it had been told the pricing will not change for next season after presenting their findings to Everton. The group concluded its statement by saying: “The season ticket pricing for 2026/27 may now be set, but supporter representation on other key pricing, membership, a consultation framework and other matters of trust are not, with a further meeting scheduled with the club in early May.”
Everton were approached for comment.