Arsenal fans’ fury at 10 per cent season ticket hike as prices exceed £2,000
The Arsenal Supporters’ Trust has expressed its “disappointment” after the club announced season ticket price rises in excess of £100 for next season.
The AST had called on Arsenal to freeze pieces for the 2024-25 campaign, saying that another increase was “unnecessary” because of rising broadcast and commercial revenues.
In a communication sent to supporters this week, Arsenal announced there would be a six per cent increase in the price of seats in the lower tier at the Emirates Stadium and a four per cent increase in the upper tier, on a match-by-match basis.
The club said that means upper tier tickets stand to rise by £113, with lower tier prices increasing by £103.
AST analysis shows that the total cost of the season ticket will therefore rise by approximately 10 per cent, with prices for the 2023-24 season already set between £331 and £1,895.50.
Club sources have cited rising operating costs as one of the reasons for the rise, along with the need to maximise revenues to stay within financial rules.
The club told fans: “Our ambition is to continue competing at the highest level and investing in our teams in an environment where costs continue to rise. We are also continuing to make investments to improve the matchday experience for our supporters at Emirates Stadium.”
In a statement, the AST said: “We are disappointed Arsenal chose to reject our call for a freeze in ticket prices given the club will benefit from playing more home matches next season.
“Arsenal are guaranteed to play at least one more game in Europe next season as the Champions League and Europa League group stages are expanded. It could well be two more games with the extra knockout game being introduced. We had hoped that the extra revenue these games will generate would mean Arsenal could lessen the annual uplift.
“These proposals mean a supporter buying an Arsenal season ticket for 2024-25 will pay approximately 10 per cent more than this season.
“This size of increase is unnecessary at a time when club revenues from broadcast and commercial revenues will increase by up to £150 million over two seasons to exceed a predicted half a billion pounds during this current season.”