Glazers Listen To Yanks... But Not Us

Joel Glazer made the mistake of attributing lower ticket prices at Tampa Bay Bucs to listening to the fans complaints a couple of weeks ago.

“We have spent a lot of time listening to fans at a time when our team is thriving and our economy is not,” said Joel Glazer. “As a result, we are now offering several pricing changes in response to our community’s needs.”

This sparked a MUST campaign where close to 30,000 United fans e-mailed Joel Glazer to ask him to listen to us too, and lower our prices.

Today, the Glazers have confirmed that ticket prices will increase at Old Trafford next season, after this season’s price freeze.

The prices will go up £1 per game and the Glazers claim the decision has been taken as a direct result of the increase in VAT from 17.5% to 20%, having absorbed the initial rise since the turn of the year. This means the most expensive season ticket at Old Trafford next season will be £950 (£19 more than it is this season, illustrating the £1 per game increase).

It’s not all doom and gloom though, as they have taken up an idea put forward by the Fans Forum to reduce ticket prices for 16 and 17 year-old’s, capping them at £20, as part of the transition from a junior ticket to a full adult.

If we compare this to Arsenal, a club who haven’t won anything for six years, spend less than us in the transfer market but don’t have a problem with debt, there are some interesting findings. Their cheapest season ticket for next season will be £951 (although this does include cup games) after an increase of 6.5%.

According to The Telegraph, when taking into account the new prices, and this season’s freeze, United’s tickets will have increased on average by 5.8% over the last six years. In the six years before the Glazer take over, the average was 5.9%.