Writing in his column for the Daily Mail on Thursday, Liverpool FC legend Jamie Carragher has expressed his pride for the club after owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) apologised for the increased ticket prices as they froze the prices for the next two seasons.
In protest of the new ticket-pricing plan announced for the 2016-2017 season by Liverpool, Reds’ supporters famously walked out of their game against Sunderland at Anfield in the 77th minute last weekend . It was later revealed that club legend Jamie Carragher was among the 10,000 supporters who left the game early, siding with the fans in their fight against rising prices.
Incredibly, the Reds’ supporters were successful, with owners FSG backtracking on their plan to increase the cost of the most expensive ticket to £77 , and the most expensive season ticket to £1000. In an open letter to fans, the American business group apologised for the pricing plan, announcing that the cost of the most expensive ticket next season will now be £59, while the costliest season ticket will be capped at £869 (the same as this season).
A happy Liverpool fan
In his Mail Online column on Thursday, Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher said the decision made him proud to be a Reds supporter once again.
“When I heard that Liverpool’s owners had taken the decision to freeze ticket prices for the next two seasons, as well as apologising for the idea of wanting to sell seats for £77, I felt proud of my club once again,” he wrote.
“My hope now is that Liverpool have created another snowball, one that takes in the rest of the Premier League. What an advert it would be if there was now a unanimous decision among all clubs to review ticket prices. Then we would all have reason to feel proud.”
Column on LFC’S ticket price turnaround. https://t.co/YIgIyHDgXj
— Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) February 11, 2016
Price-increase an inevitability with increased competitiveness in the Premier League?
Every club in the Premier League would have paid attention to the situation unfolding at Liverpool FC, hoping that they will not be in the same predicament in the near future. However, another such protest seems inevitable considering that clubs are always looking for additional revenue in an attempt to stay one step ahead due to the intensely competitive atmosphere in England.
London clubs West Ham, Tottenham and Chelsea are each in various stages of either moving into a new stadium (West Ham) or redeveloping their current one (Spurs and Chelsea), and ticket prices will likely be increased — at least for the corporate seats. That is something FSG attempted to point out in their open letter — “concentrating the price increases on those tickets typically purchased by fans least sensitive to affordability” — but the owners were met with fierce opposition nonetheless.
The situation could recur with regards to the three London clubs, and the powers that be might well have to look elsewhere in order to boost their annual revenue.
