Since the club’s announcement yesterday about match ticket prices we have been obtaining fans feedback about the situation before formulating our response.
We expected prices to go up in view of the rise in season ticket prices. What we didn’t expect was the size of the increases (the club’s calculation is between 10 and 25% but the reality is higher than that, for example Cat A tickets have risen by 46.9% from last season), the failure of the club to engage with any of the fan base beforehand, and the manner of the announcement which buried the bad news in a story principally about Fox Membership.
Since the ticket prices were announced, fans have said to the Trust via e-mail, social media and forums:
“The club are being greedy with these increases”
“Non season ticket holders are being punished twice … having to firstly pay a membership fee to give access to then buying an overpriced ticket”
“The fans are being punished for the club’s financial mismanagement”
“The recent actions of the club are rapidly eroding the wonderful relationship that once existed between fans and the club.”
“Last season I was paying £37 per ticket to sit in my preferred area of the ground. Next season I’ll be paying £55 … that’s almost a 50% increase. I’d have accepted £45. Now I’ll be more selective about the games I go to.”
“My view is quite simple … at these prices I simply will not go to games.”
“You’d have thought the club would have learned from their mistake over the £25 charge for a season ticket charge, and at least talk to fan groups.”
Perhaps though the most telling response was from someone who has supported the club since 1991. She has travelled home and away to games and is a single parent of a 14-year-old daughter who really got the Leicester City bug last season, attending 18 games. Now it will cost them £81 to attend games at the King Power, plus the cost of membership. At those prices she fears their spending limit has been exceeded. She can’t see them buying membership and going to games in the future, the upshot being the loss of next generation of support.
So where to now?
All faith in the club’s ability to engage with the fans, and fan groups is dissipating fast.
The Football Governance Bill is about giving fans a greater voice in the running of their club. The Premier League introduced a Fan Engagement Standard (FES), saying that ‘Supporters have always been the lifeblood of football …’ and the Premier League are behind the introduction of Fan Advisory Boards. Even if the club had followed its own fans charter to engage with fans it would have handled matters better than this.
Yet here at Leicester City fan engagement is the worst it’s been for decades. A new Head of Supporter Engagement has been in place at the club now for a couple of months but remains invisible to fan groups.
The growing view amongst many fans is of poor management at the club, whether it be of finance, communications, fan engagement, player recruitment or retention. Fans views range from disappointment to anger yet the club has given no indication that it understands this.
What we will do
We are pushing for an urgent meeting with the club. We will urge them to:
- Reconsider ticket prices, stressing there is an acceptance that prices would go up, but not by these levels.
- Provide better ticket deals for members. Not just charging them £35 simply as a gateway to buy a ticket, but giving them something back. Simply introducing a member’s reduction of 10% per ticket would be a start.
- Start proper engagement with the Trust and other fans groups urgently and do so in a manner that is open and honest. We understand that the harsh reality is that the club makes its own economic decisions, but there has been consultation and communication in the past – it now seems there is none.
- Take steps to assess their communications – for example the first mention of a match day ticket increase isn’t until the 12th paragraph of their message on membership.
We will also continue ongoing discussions with other LCFC fan groups about possible fan action if there is no movement by the club on the match day price increases.
Links you may find useful:
The club’s fan engagement – https://www.lcfc.com/news/3119067/leicester-city-welcomes-premier-league-fan-engagement-standard?lang=en
Premier League Fan Engagement – https://www.premierleague.com/news/3117739
Football Governance Bill – https://www.gov.uk/government/news/historic-football-governance-bill-introduced-in-parliament
Link to Leicester Mercury – https://www.lcfc.com/news/3119067/leicester-city-welcomes-premier-league-fan-engagement-standard?lang=en
Link to comments on Foxes Trust X/Twitter – https://x.com/foxestrust/status/1803157462679187964