BIAS is disappointed by the Club’s plans to increase Season Tickets by 10%, despite our call for a further freeze in season ticket prices for next season

Although the Club first indicated the possibility of an increase in Season Ticket prices late last year, the Ticketing Working Group were only presented with the final Season Ticket proposals for the first time on 22nd February despite repeated calls at previous working group meetings to freeze season ticket prices.

These proposals were discussed at the Fan Advisory Board (FAB) on 27th February when the decision to increase Season Ticket prices had already been made by the Club. At this meeting BIAS strongly opposed any season ticket price increases to protect the affordability of football matches for all Bees fans.

Whilst we understand that prices cannot remain static forever, and an increase in Season Ticket pricing is inevitable at some point, we do not believe this is the right time to increase these prices.

We have pointed out that:

• The Club recently published its financial statements for its second season in the Premier League. The last two years have seen the club in healthy profit and performing well compared to other, bigger, Premier League clubs. It is, according to football finance analyst Kieran Maguire, “7th in the all-time Premier League profit before tax lists”.

• The revenues from the Premier League, television deals and commercial sponsorship dwarf the revenue from ticket sales. A £49 increase per season ticket would raise approximately £0.5million. This is a fraction of total revenue for the club, which was shown to be £166.5m in the latest accounts.

• Although season ticket prices were frozen last season the removal of the early bird discount in 2022 ahead of the 22/23 season meant an actual rise in price for some fans. This along with the introduction of the every seat counts policy in 2023 ahead of the 23/24 season has led to an increase in income from ticket sales for the club this season. The 10% rise this season in addition to the previous early bird removal negates the previous year’s freeze.

• The cost of travel and overnight stays for away games, particularly when fixtures are changed at short notice, impacts fans heavily and we have noted a reduction in away support this season.

We accept that our season ticket prices are low compared to other London Clubs in the Premier League, but the cost of living in the UK is still rising and impacting fans in real terms.

We commend the Club for not increasing prices in previous seasons but we reiterate that now is not the right time to do so.

The Club is rightly seen, by many, as a good model in how to run a sustainable football club. It sees itself differently to other clubs, priding itself on maintaining its community ethos even though we are now playing at the highest level.

We are proud to work with the club to maintain this ethos. We believe that the reputation of the club would benefit from showing that it allows fans to share in its current good fortunes by not rising season ticket prices.

We believe this is a missed opportunity for the Club to show that we are not like other clubs and really make football affordable for as many people as possible.

We do, however, welcome the club’s decision to freeze match day ticket prices, which will reduce the disparity between match-cost for season ticket holders and those holding a Brentford membership.
We also welcome the decision to spread the cost of season tickets across 12 months rather than 10 months for next season

We want to thank the club for the constructive Ticketing Working Group meetings that have focused on the implementation of the ‘Every Seat Counts’ policy and the fairer operation of the Ticket Exchange to cater for juniors to purchase at concession prices. We also thank the club for their willingness to address a number of points raised by BIAS.

We would again stress that there has not been any meaningful consultation on ticket price rises with BIAS.

Although the likelihood of price rises was aired and inflation discussed at various meetings, the final proposal was not shared and discussed prior to one week before the FAB, despite registering our opposition to any increase.

BIAS strongly believes that a fuller discussion on concrete proposals at the beginning of this process with the Club would have led to more effective input and increased the prospect of an outcome with wider support.

We will continue to fight to keep football affordable for all.
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