A ticket to Paradise? It pays off more if you're a Jambo
Why do some top-flight fans have to fork out double the season-ticket price of others?
It’s just three days until the new season kicks off with Hearts v Rangers at Tynecastle and thousands of fans will be heading off to watch their team - many as season ticket holders.
But new figures show that, not all of them are paying the same.
I’ve analysed the cheapest (unrestricted view) season ticket for each club in three age categories - and there’s quite a contrast.
For adults, the cheapest is Hearts at £280, while the dearest is Celtic at £579.
Pensioners in Dingwall get the best deal
It means some Jambos are paying £15.74 less per match than fans of the champions.
Celtic also have the highest pensioner rate at £376, while Ross County have the lowest by quite some margin.
Older Staggies sitting in the Jailend pay just £121, which is just £6.36 per match - not bad value for money.
It’s Ross County who offer the best value for kids too: Their cheapest season ticket is £80 for under 18s - just £4.21 a game, while Dundee United charge the most at £240, or £12.63 per game.
In fairness to the Tangerines, the devil is in the detail.
United reward loyalty so, for example, a 16-year-old renewing this summer paid £157, not £240. And under 16s and under 12s pay much less.
When you look at these prices, there are a lot of such anomalies.
For some clubs, like the Old Firm, stating the ‘new’ rate is irrelevant because almost every season ticket holder is renewing and so early-bird rates come into play.
And if you are lucky enough to have made it off the waiting list for Rangers, you might need to snap up a season ticket at whatever price a seat is available.
Expectations are different at every club
You might not be fortunate enough to get a ‘value’ season ticket in Club Deck Area A (which is the price in the table).
And fans who take their youngsters along are pretty much resigned to paying whatever junior price it is next to their own seat.
The view/seat space/comfort levels are different at each ground and playing budget expectation - partly funded by season ticket revenue - varies from club to club.
And some clubs do offer cheaper season tickets for restricted-view seats (Rangers offer discounts of around £50-£60, for example).
So, we know the figures are limited - but what view can we form from them?
No club should be charging pensioners more than £350 for a season ticket.
No adult should be paying more than £800 (Rangers sell season tickets for £838 in part of the Main Stand, for example).
Clubs should be required to publish their full season ticket details for transparency. (Celtic and Rangers don’t).
Clubs should be banned from charging interest on payment plans (because they benefit from season ticket revenue by knowing they will have dependable income for the season ahead).
That said, clubs do get it right sometimes. Here are my favourite initiatives.
What do they get right?
Aberdeen - under 12s can go free with every paying adult in one particular stand.
Celtic - students can get a season ticket for £395.
Dundee - an early bird *and* a super early-bird discount.
Dundee United - a ‘bring a friend to the game’ ticket for every season ticket holder.
Hearts - very clear pricing information for disabled fans and personal assistants. It sounds obvious, but not every club does this.
Hibs - a designated safe-standing area with its own prices.
Kilmarnock - encouraging families to bring their children along by admitting under 5s for free.
Motherwell - Students pay the same as pensioners.
Rangers - a ‘value’ season ticket in Area A of the Club Deck - £121 cheaper than the next-cheapest Ibrox season ticket.
Ross County - huge discounts for fans watching from the Jailend in light of the inferior view to the East and West stands.
St Johnstone - under 13s can go free with every paying adult.
St Mirren - a family season ticket - two adults and up to three children for £760 in one particular stand (working out at £8 per person per game.
Some clubs have already taken inspiration from others by implementing the offers above, but more ‘best practice’ sharing would be good if we are going to attract more fans to games.
What do you think? I’d be delighted to hear your views.