The Fan Advisory Board also wants to concessionary rates for older and younger supporters to be protected
General view outside the Hill Dickinson Stadium as fans arrive prior to the Premier League match between Everton and Crystal Palace. Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images
General view outside the Hill Dickinson Stadium as fans arrive prior to the Premier League match between Everton and Crystal Palace. Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images
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Everton supporters’ organisation the Fan Advisory Board has called for the club to freeze ticket prices for the next three years.
The group wants costs to remain the same for the near-future as part of efforts to keep matches accessible for as many people as possible. That principle is behind separate pleas to protect concessionary rates and to make changes to the pricing and structure of the existing membership schemes.
They come as Everton prepares its pricing policy for next season against a backdrop of competing interests. The club has a track record of keeping prices restrained and has engaged with supporters during the first season at Hill Dickinson Stadium - but is attempting to play catch up with rivals that are starting from a stronger commercial base.
The move from Goodison Park to the Liverpool waterfront was viewed by many as necessary for the club to push forward at a time when the resources available on the pitch are increasingly driven by revenue off it, even as the Premier League prepares to switch regulatory financial codes.
Work to exploit the opportunities provided by the state-of-the-art venue has been extensive, with the club having secured partnerships from major brands including Pepsi and Budweiser.
Against the success of that work, the FAB is hopeful that growing commercial revenue will allow the club scope to protect supporters from increased costs.
In a statement, the group acknowledged the vast progress made by the club on and off the pitch in the 13 months since the Friedkin Group took over and explained: “Our football club is a very different one to that of 12 months ago. New ownership, new leadership and an iconic new home. We welcome the progress that has been made, the organisational discipline and the financial stability that is allowing us to build for a successful future, enhanced further by the chief executive’s recent statement that this year the club expects to announce record commercial revenues.
“This coincides at a time when nationally, Premier League clubs are reaping the benefits of record commercial and broadcast deals. With these foundations in place, we believe it is more important than ever that our game does not impose barriers that risk leaving behind communities of match-going supporters that made football what it is today.”
The central tenets of the FAB’s desires are:
Ticket prices to be frozen for three years and then to only increase in line with inflation
For the concessionary rates for those aged 65 and above and 21 and below to remain
For each membership tier to be reduced by £10 and for a new £5 tier to be introduced that would allow members to access ticket ballots
Everton committed to the continuation of its generous concessionary offering through the move to Hill Dickinson even as other clubs significantly revised their reduced packages for younger and older supporters.
And the club is understood to remain keen to keep prices as affordable as possible - something the FAB acknowledged has historically been the case - writing: “In the past, Everton has demonstrated its willingness to protect the loyalty of its supporters by ensuring going to the match was affordable. As we look forward, we believe it has the opportunity to once again lead the way – by protecting the strategic relationship between club and fans, rather than short term marginal revenue improvement.”
The extent to which any ticket price increases represents only a “marginal” upside for the club is likely to be a source of contention, however. Everton have vastly expanded their range of commercial partnerships over the past year but, in an age when off-the-pitch income determines what can be spent in achieving on-the-pitch success, the view among most clubs is likely to be that any increase counts.
It will also be borne in mind heading into a summer in which Everton’s front-of-shirt sponsor deal with Stake is due to end and with the Blues, like nearly a dozen Premier League clubs, seeking replacement deals as new laws on gambling sponsorships come into play.