We all know that the Premiership is the richest football league in the world and that it's players are paid more than those in other European leagues, and so do the managers. We know that the average percentage of seats filled in the Premiership's stadiums was 94% last year - in second place was Germany's Bundesliga with an average stadium attendance of just 74%. Even the Championship (the division below the Premiership) was Europe's FOURTH largest football league last year.

BUT, even a ticket for little Wigan Athletic, who were promoted into the Premiership from the Championship last season and are one of the favourites to be relegated back into the Championship, is more expensive than that of Spanish giants Real Madrid. Wigan's tickets cost £351, but Real Madrid's tickets cost just £80 - and the tickets for Wigan are the CHEAPEST in the Premiership! -


9 August 2005
JEST THE TICKET

Cheaper to watch football at Real Madrid than Premiership Wigan

By Paul Gallagher

PREMIERSHIP season tickets cost so much it is cheaper to watch Real Madrid than newly promoted Wigan.

Theirs are the cheapest in the Premiership at £351. But Spanish fans can watch David Beckham and fellow "galacticos" from just £80.

Prices have risen every season since the Premiership was formed in 1992. Watching your team costs over 20 times more in real terms than 40 years ago.

In the early 60s, an ordinary ticket cost 12.5p in modern prices and players' wages were capped at £20 a week.

Now, the average Premiership ticket is around £30.

With top players such as Rio Ferdinand taking home around £100,000 a week, fans' wallets are suffering. And many are turning their backs. Saturday's Community Shield match between Arsenal and Chelsea was watched by 58,014 - leaving 16,486 empty seats at the Millennium Stadium.

Tottenham Hotspur this year joined Arsenal and Chelsea in selling season tickets at over £1,000.

Bernie Kingsley, who is on the board of Tottenham Supporters' Trust, said: "On two occasions they have gone up by nearly 40 per cent.

"I've often asked myself at what point would I reconsider getting one, but inevitably everyone is full of optimism. Ask me again in a few months and I might tell you I should never have bothered."

Arsenal are the most expensive. Their season tickets range from £885 to £1,825.

Since the Premier League's first major survey of prices 10 years ago, Chelsea's average season ticket has risen from £383 to £900. But Rob Evans, who has had one since 1993, said: "With the trophies we've won most fans are happy to pay."

Promotion to the Premiership has been expensive for West Ham fans. Only Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs charge more.

Steve Fairchild said: "I expected the increase because the club can argue it needs more cash to compete with the big teams.

"I'll go to five games this season instead of 10 because of the cost


mirror.co.uk

   

I knew the prices are obscene in the EPL, but I didn't know they applied to the newly promoted clubs.

Wow

   

Real are hundreds of millions of Euros in debt but are bankrolled by the Spanish monarchy, if they were ever run like an actual business you'd see ticket prices go through the roof.