MP says he is "appalled" by three-year price increase plan as Reds' CEO Billy Hogan offers 'clarity' behind decision
Liverpool MP and Spirit of Shankly member Ian Byrne, left, has hit out at LFC ticket price increases as Reds' CEO Billy Hogan, right, issues a new statement to fans
Liverpool MP and Spirit of Shankly member Ian Byrne, left, has hit out at LFC ticket price increases as Reds' CEO Billy Hogan, right, issues a new statement to fans
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Liverpool FC's decision to increase ticket prices over the next three years has been described as an "existential threat" for fans as the Reds' chief executive issues a new statement defending the controversial decision.
At the end of last month, Liverpool announced ticket prices would be rising in line with the Consumer Price Index for inflation over the next three years.
This will see season ticket prices increase next season from between £21.50 and £27, while the cost of individual match tickets for those without season tickets will go up from between £1.25 and £1.75. Additional increases will then follow in the subsequent two seasons.
The move has caused major anger with fans, with the Liverpool supporters' union, Spirit of Shankly, now organising match-day protests at Anfield over the rising ticket prices, beginning with Fulham's visit on Saturday.
Reds fans group Spion Kop 1906 are also set to remove their flags from the Kop in protest at the rising prices. The group said its iconic flags will not be on display for the remaining Anfield fixtures this season - apart from next week's Champions League match with PSG, where respects will be paid for the 37th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.
Today Liverpool West Derby MP Ian Byrne, a lifelong Reds fan and member of the Spirit of Shankly management committee accused the club of "trying to kill off something that every club would want" in terms of the famous Anfield atmosphere by hitting hard-up fans with multi-year price increases.
But in a lengthy statement issued to Reds' season ticket holders and members this afternoon, LFC CEO Billy Hogan sought to explain the rationale behind the club's decision.
He said: "No one at Liverpool Football Club takes decisions on ticket pricing lightly. We have a responsibility to run the club sustainably, and to do so with an ambitious vision: to compete for all major trophies, to win trophies, and to keep winning trophies.
Fans groups are protesting against the planned ticket price increases
Fans groups are protesting against the planned ticket price increases
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"That requires strength on the pitch, and it also requires that we compete in every way possible off the pitch. The landscape around us is relentlessly competitive, and many costs that are rising across the club and the industry are outside of our control."
He added: "Like households and businesses across the country, everyone is feeling cost of living pressures — and the club is not immune to those cost rises either.
"Our matchday operating costs at Anfield have risen significantly in recent years - up 85% including Anfield Road (or 57% excluding Anfield Road) over the past decade, with utility costs up 107% over just the past four years and business rates up 286% in that same period. Over the last decade, we have increased ticket prices by just 4% to keep any rise in ticket prices to a minimum."
Mr Hogan said that it is against this backdrop that the club believes that linking any increases to inflation - confirmed as a 3% rise for next season - is the "fairest and most transparent" way to attempt to cover some of those uncontrollable costs."
The Reds' boss said the ticket price rises will not fully cover the club's increased costs but will help and allow more investment back into the club. The club says every pound generated is reinvested back into the playing squad and infrastructure.
Mr Hogan added: "Record revenue does not equate to profit given these ever increasing costs and that’s borne out by the losses the club has reported over the years."
But for Mr Byrne and the rest of the supporters union, this explanation is unlikely to dampen down the anger being felt, with particular outrage at Liverpool introducing a multi-year price increase across the next three seasons.
The West Derby MP told the ECHO: "I'm utterly appalled, astounded and ashamed that Liverpool are the first club to come up with a multi-year price increase. The negotiations we have been having with them over the last 12 months have been pointless because they are utterly tone deaf.
"We will be relentlessly saying that this is an existential threat. If you keep increasing the prices in an area like Liverpool, which is suffering from a cost of living point of view, then you are killing something that every club in the world would want - which is The Kop. Why would you want to take away your USP?
Ian Byrne, MP for West Derby and Spirit of Shankly management committee member
Ian Byrne, MP for West Derby and Spirit of Shankly management committee member (Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
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"We thought this message had hit home, but the people who run the club in Boston have just carried on with this. There are certain lines in the sand where the match-going supporters, who are steeped in the club and its history have just said, enough is enough.
He added: "We have been treated with disdain as a supporter's group so it is now a case of the supporters, who create so much of the atmosphere at Anfield - and why so many people want to come and experience it - now withdrawing their labour because they don't feel valued by the club. It is so sad, particularly at a time when the club really needs its supporters. It's just a terrible strategic decision by the club."
Explaining the decision behind the three-year approach, Mr Hogan said this is to "provide certainty and clarity" to fans over a number of seasons, rather than unexpected annual changes. He said the move limits any increase over the next three seasons to the rate of inflation.
He added: "We do recognise how world events can impact inflation, which is why the club has capped any increase to a maximum of 5% for season two and three, should inflation increase beyond this number."
The club says that under current forecasts, adult general admission matchday tickets will rise by between £3 and £4.50 over the full three years, while the most expensive adult GA match ticket in 2028-29 will be £65.50. Adult general admission season tickets would increase by between £53.50 and £67.50 over three years, with the most expensive in 2028-29 coming in at £971.50.
The CEO told the club's members that Liverpool is operating in a league where other clubs have increased prices at a materially higher rate over the past decade - pointing out that since 2016/17, LFC's competitors in the top six have increased ticket fees by an average of 17% while Anfield's prices have gone up by 4% in the same period.
Mr Hogan said the club remains committed to "continued, meaningful engagement" with the club's Supporters Board on ticketing policy and other matters. He confirmed that no decision has been made for what will happen with pricing after the three-year-period.