Levy / ENIC

[John Thomas]

The last few pages have highlighted how different the many people that support Spurs are. Having supported the club since 1961 I consider myself very much a Spurs supporter. However I have never been a season ticket holder and never will be. During 1970’s and 1980’s I went a lot. Just turned up and paid at the gate and stood on the shelf. Then with all seaters, lower attendances it became almost impossible to get tickets. Started again when at Wembley and been to new ground.
Now I live further away and cannot get home from evening matches by public transport. However I have not ruled out going to a 3pm KO in future but getting a couple of tickets is not easy for some matches. If ticket prices are held back as has happened in the past few years then demand will increase, season ticket holders will keep their tickets even if they do not go that often as they can resell on exchange. An extra 6% if you just go once or twice a season is not a problem. Yes I want the club to be successful and win a trophy but whilst I got a ticket to every Cup final between 1971 and 1991 I doubt I will ever again.
So whilst the ground is being filled every match then yes I support prices of tickets going up. Not sure of the split of Season ticket holders compared to other supporters on this site are but my point is we are all supporters but have different needs.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're saying the price rise is justified on the basis that we fill the stadium each week......and the higher they charge the better, because more dedicated long term fans will be priced out of the game giving occasional fans like you more chance of picking up the odd ticket when it takes your fancy!!

What a crass argument that is....I'm not surprised by the people who support you, mind.

So other teams such as Liverpool and Man Utd should double, treble, or even quadruple their prices....because, fuck the real fans, they'll fill the stadium anyway!!

Your argument is as morally corrupt as our owners, mate.

 

[spursmalc]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're saying the price rise is justified on the basis that we fill the stadium each week......and the higher they charge the better, because more dedicated long term fans will be priced out of the game giving occasional fans like you more chance of picking up the odd ticket when it takes your fancy!!

What a crass argument that is....I'm not surprised by the people who support you, mind.

So other teams such as Liverpool and Man Utd should double, treble, or even quadruple their prices....because, fuck the real fans, they'll fill the stadium anyway!!

Your argument is as morally corrupt as our owners, mate. In fact, I think it's disgusting.

No what I am saying is as we all know there are many season ticket holders that sell there tickets every week and it these that are benefiting because with high demand they sell their tickets on the exchange/ to black market sites who then profit. Several posts to this effect re SK supporters getting tickets. To the occasional attendee the price does not matter. The price of the train ticket keeps going up. It is only the season ticket holders that see big increases and what % do they make up of the posters on the forum and elsewhere. The club built the new stadium to compete with the top clubs and therefore income from it is important and prices have not gone up with costs or inflation over recent years.
I am as critical as you about the lack of trophies but that is not the reason to limit ticket prices. The only reason to freeze prices is that the club are not selling out every match.

 

[John Thomas]

We are owed a big signing. Like 80m plus on a proper serious football. Kvaratskhelia, De Jong, Wirtz caliber type player.

We need to step up the signings we make, instead of the half measure likes Kulusevki and Richarlison. Good players, but not going to bridge the gap between us and the current top 3.

But we won't. We'll just continue to charge the highest prices, make the highest profits, pay the highest boardroom salaries, build the highest hotels....but sign mid range players like Kulusevski because our fans accept it and think we should somehow be grateful for what we've got because we had a few ropey years way back in the 1990's

And those that think we deserve more are being priced out and replaced by a new generation of zombies just happy to be part of the experience.

This is where we are

 

[Brian Fantana]

Wait until this in piggybacked with us releasing the accounts and huge profits again. It will make even less sense.

If every season ticket holder who goes next season spends less than the increase inside the stadium to claw the money back then maybe that’s a good idea. Just don’t give the club the money in another way. It’s pretty simple. That’s what I’ll do.

 

[Col_McCafferty]

He's a despicable cunt.

All that matters to him is impressing his peers with how good he is at wringing every last drop out of the people who love this club.

He's a disgusting abusive bastard.

And is why I despise his apologists almost as mush as I do, him.

Piece of shit.

 

[dudu]

This is a very bad look for the club - a price increase is not unexpected but like most, I just don't understand this from a PR perspective.

On the flip side it's interesting to hear people talk about legacy fans and atmosphere when I recall the 90's and most of the 2000s and the atmosphere from said legacy fans being absolute dogshit.

 

[Col_McCafferty]

The last few pages have highlighted how different the many people that support Spurs are. Having supported the club since 1961 I consider myself very much a Spurs supporter. However I have never been a season ticket holder and never will be. During 1970’s and 1980’s I went a lot. Just turned up and paid at the gate and stood on the shelf. Then with all seaters, lower attendances it became almost impossible to get tickets. Started again when at Wembley and been to new ground.
Now I live further away and cannot get home from evening matches by public transport. However I have not ruled out going to a 3pm KO in future but getting a couple of tickets is not easy for some matches. If ticket prices are held back as has happened in the past few years then demand will increase, season ticket holders will keep their tickets even if they do not go that often as they can resell on exchange. An extra 6% if you just go once or twice a season is not a problem. Yes I want the club to be successful and win a trophy but whilst I got a ticket to every Cup final between 1971 and 1991 I doubt I will ever again.
So whilst the ground is being filled every match then yes I support prices of tickets going up. Not sure of the split of Season ticket holders compared to other supporters on this site are but my point is we are all supporters but have different needs.

 

[1chriswaddle]

I must admit I find the withdrawal of senior concession season tickets extremely unpalatable, an absolute kick in the teeth for many long standing ST holders.
I already make every effort to not purchase drink/ food in the stadium as a form of silent protest against the parasite Levy and that stance will not be changing. I often think this Club, these owners, really don’t deserve the loyalty and devotion of the match going supporters.

 

[Col_McCafferty]

The people defending this.

 

[Cranston]

I don't understand it, I just know it's a lot more complicated than "gee, we didn't win a trophy, better reduce ticket prices".

You're right. It is more complicated. But it's not *that* much more complicated.

ENIC are selling the 'Spurs experience'. A product that provides arguably the most impressive and up to date 'football viewing' experience, minus the actual bit that matters - winning anything. We're little more than a tourist destination.

Football has always struggled with the distinction between fans and followers. There's the principle (old hat these days), that owners owe for the former a duty of care. To act as stewards of the club rather than ferocious sharks. This rise demonstrates that ENIC do not feel this duty of care. It's born of accounting logic as opposed to footballing. It is what it is. And, actually, I think that being the most expensive ticket in town might be something they crave. It's a feature not a fault.

I'm of the opinion that wanting the club to be successful falls on the 'duty of care' side of the equation. Broadly because the money you have to spend, in terms of achieving that success, represents a case of diminishing returns.

I have zero faith that ENIC will ever pursue this ambition. A bean counter will always get in the way.

The stadium is their legacy. I can only hope they sell up and take their billions.

 

[LeeMcl]

Been going as a season ticket holder ( bar 97-99 period ) since 90-91.

I’ve never gotten a warm fuzzy feeling paying the prices asked. It was especially annoying when we were utter shit and still paying through the nose.

In all honesty over 30 years I’ve become conditioned to accepting the asking prices, on the understanding that it’s not actually value. As time has gone on, you can now watch football from home, for “free” whenever you want. So there is probably no logic at all going into the transaction.

The vast majority of us ( I’d argue ) go out of habit or to see friends, with the latter it means the football is secondary anyway.

As a side point, the beer they brew in the stadium has gone up roughly 40% since 2019, there is no real outrage. For a regular Neck Oil drinker, you’re already bunging an extra £100 + a season at the club.

At the moment, what we don’t know is the justification for the next set of increases. We are generally settling on an extra £4m revenue raised. Which is comparatively nothing in the scheme of things. So can it be justified at all ? But if the club were to announce £4m investment in another part of the club, would that then be justified ?

Let’s say £4m investment in the Spurs WSL set up follows, would that be seen as justified? ( to me it wouldn’t by the way ) and would we all accept that ?

 

[AberdeenYid]

I don't know man, I'm not even 100% sure what we're arguing about this time.

I answered a question. 1, while philosophically success on the pitch (quality of experience) should be what admission costs were tied to that wasn't at all the way our economic system is designed or operates. 2, that a revenue stream which still produces >20% of our over all revenue is certainly not insignificant.

If £4M is the year on year increase, then what do you want a freeze? For how long? This year that's costs £4M, then maybe next year it's £6M because of the increase in operating costs. Year after that it's maybe £9M. Even when you go back to increasing prices, you either have to do a massive increase or you're always chasing the lost opportunity cost of money that the freeze created - always charging a couple years behind your operations cost.

I'm just saying, running an organization valued at £3B+ with annual turnover of £600M+ and dozens of expensive assets (players, employees, and infrastructure), and hundreds of contracts, loans, and lines of credit is a lot more complicated than some football supporters on a forum get. I don't understand it, I just know it's a lot more complicated than "gee, we didn't win a trophy, better reduce ticket prices".

Not much I can argue with there either. One thing I should be clear about, I don’t believe we should tie admission prices to success. Admission prices should only be tied to the costs needed to operate the stadium.

As fans, we enter into a contract to pay a price for a match. We aren’t paying for a win or a trophy. So that reasoning has always bothered me. “If I’m paying big money, I want big success” is bollocks.

If we were able to show that the operating costs have gone up, then raising prices is more acceptable. I probably have more issue about how this has been announced, rather than the actual raise. Show us that the money is needed to cover costs and I’d be more understanding.

It does show that this is an emotive subject though, as a non regular match going fan like myself, who generally (not completely) backs the owners, is struggling with the point of this. Just think it’s a bit tone deaf.

 

[dudu]

This is a very bad look for the club - a price increase is not unexpected but like most, I just don't understand this from a PR perspective.

On the flip side it's interesting to hear people talk about legacy fans and atmosphere when I recall the 90's and most of the 2000s and the atmosphere from said legacy fans being absolute dogshit.

People can disagree but there are plenty of posts on Spurs forums dating back a long long time complaining about the atmosphere at the old WHL

This is not a new problem brought about by the stadium -

 

[Brian Fantana]

This is a very bad look for the club - a price increase is not unexpected but like most, I just don't understand this from a PR perspective.

On the flip side it's interesting to hear people talk about legacy fans and atmosphere when I recall the 90's and most of the 2000s and the atmosphere from said legacy fans being absolute dogshit.

In the mid 2000s I picked up 2 season tickets with ease and had the choice of a couple of stands. Where was everyone then? There was no queue to join.

 

[Fattynomates]

But an extra £4m on the books (this is the figure I’ve seen quoted) is the salary of a substitute. Obviously makes a difference, but enough to disenchant a number of the fans?

Said it before but its the same now, the only way ENIC will listen is if fans show them some pain financially and i don't mean buying a ticket and not going to your seat, I'm talking about the majority of fans deciding they won't spend a penny inside the stadium or in the club shop, of course it would be hard to organise but imagine if even 30K people who normally have a few beers and some grub before a game decide not to, thats the only way things could actually change!

 

[Deuterz]

The wankers waited for us to have five fucking minutes of being halfway watchable and then raised the prices LMAO. Not even particularly great, just watchable! We're still worse than we were years ago pre stadium. Not even a flicker of trophy hopes this season.

I can't even be mad. It's just the most open case of "eh, this lot are mugs" I've ever seen and there will be nothing but a small grumble about it. If this lot pulled this shit with Liverpool fans they'd have been nailed to a wall by now.

 

[Col_McCafferty]

I'm so glad I gave up my season ticket and haven't been to a game since.

Those bastards don't deserve a single penny of your money.

Fucking parasites.

 

[Shadydan]

Wait until this in piggybacked with us releasing the accounts and huge profits again. It will make even less sense.

If every season ticket holder who goes next season spends less than the increase inside the stadium to claw the money back then maybe that’s a good idea. Just don’t give the club the money in another way. It’s pretty simple. That’s what I’ll do.

Surely the better protest is just not buy a season ticket?

 

[dudu]

In the mid 2000s I picked up 2 season tickets with ease and had the choice of a couple of stands. Where was everyone then? There was no queue to join.

OMG, and the non-stop moaning, complaining and slagging players off from these 'legacy fans' ruined my experience so many times.

I love how people conveniently forget these things - they probably remember the last couple of seasons at WHL when we were fucking amazing and think that is how it always was.

 

[Distaste for scouse]

No what I am saying is as we all know there are many season ticket holders that sell there tickets every week and it these that are benefiting because with high demand they sell their tickets on the exchange/ to black market sites who then profit. Several posts to this effect re SK supporters getting tickets. To the occasional attendee the price does not matter. The price of the train ticket keeps going up. It is only the season ticket holders that see big increases and what % do they make up of the posters on the forum and elsewhere. The club built the new stadium to compete with the top clubs and therefore income from it is important and prices have not gone up with costs or inflation over recent years.
I am as critical as you about the lack of trophies but that is not the reason to limit ticket prices. The only reason to freeze prices is that the club are not selling out every match.

The exchange and scalping tickets on the black market situation is disgusting and the club could and should do more to prevent it.

But I'm not sure it has much bearing at all on the argument regarding the ST increase.