A ton for a ticket

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Oct 12, 2008

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By Will 9 months ago Leave a comment on this post

We ran a story today about ticket prices for this summer exceeding £100 at The Oval. The piece was originally in this month’s issue of The Wisden Cricketer magazine - our ex-sister publication - and it’s quite a shock. But it should be noted that most tickets on sale this summer are sold “at around £50 to £62 for the ODIs and a bit cheaper for the Tests”.

Nevertheless, a hundred quid for one day’s cricket - which could be rained off or excruciatingly dull viewing - is an extraordinary amount of dosh. Considering the opposition England face this year - New Zealand, specifically, at The Oval - it begs the ominous question of just how inflated prices might become for the Big One: the 2009 Ashes.

How much are you willing to pay?

Tags: 2009-Ashes, ashes, ashes-tickets, england, new zealand in england, the-ashes, the-oval, ticket prices, tickets |

Comments to “A ton for a ticket” Maillot Noir wrote:
January 21st, 2008 at 8.49 pm

I’ve given up going to BIG cricket - it’s overpriced, attended by boorish and unknowledgeable people who are usually on some corporate jolly, and overseen by stewards who exceed their authority to ensure that a miserable day is had by all except the foul mouthed pissheads who seem to be able to do and shout whatever they like. As for the (boring) Barmy Army - don’t start me off! Stick to county cricket - decent cricket, decent people and decent prices. International cricket is killing the golden goose. Won’t be long now…..

Michael wrote:
January 21st, 2008 at 9.45 pm

As an 18 year old student here in Scotland, I went to a FP game at the Grange for £5, and the India ODI in Glasgow for £30. I was thinking about going down to a test in the near future, or even the 09 Ashes, but at these types of prices, and then you’ve got to add on food and travel, it becomes out of reach.

Ollie wrote:
January 21st, 2008 at 9.58 pm

Got to agree with Michael. With prices that high, you’ll still sell out your grounds (which, frankly, have a small capacity anyway), but you are cutting out a very large segment of your market - young people and families simply can’t afford to go and have a day at the cricket at that price. Cleverly, a very similar demographic to those who wont have Sky Sports either!

Alan R wrote:
January 21st, 2008 at 10.07 pm

That does seem expensive, but I’m a free-market fanatic when it comes to event tickets. The idea that an event sells out in 30 seconds, and then you’re supposed to punish people for selling tickets for more than they paid for them to people who are too busy to stand in line is pure madness.

People who want to enjoy a good day’s cricket at a reasonable price have county matches. For me, I still have to pay more for transport and hotel than for the tickets, so I’m not going to get too worried about the ticket price, though if the 2009 Ashes tickets are priced correctly I might decide I can’t afford them.

I still find it better to decide I can’t afford the ticket than to be unable to reliably buy one I can afford because there are 10 people per seat signed up for a random drawing. Even worse is a random drawing where you pay first, and then if you lose you get your money back months later. It basically means people who don’t get the tickets effectively pay a small fee to make it cheaper for those who do.

Miss Field wrote:
January 22nd, 2008 at 12.10 am

One hundred pounds! That’s appalling! Does anyone remember how much the tickets were for the 05 Ashes series?

When I was in England earlier this year I wanted to see a match at the Oval but couldn’t because the tickets were close to sixty pounds, and I couldn’t afford it.

I went to see Australia play India on Saturday and my ticket (I was in the full sun all day, so I could have had a better seat, but it wasn’t the cheapest either) cost AU$48, which is about twenty pounds.

And, considering the exorbitant cost of food at these venues, I thought that was an expensive weekend! I would not be able to afford 100 pounds a ticket, not in a thousand years. It’s sad for the game.

miss-field.blogspot.com

CC wrote:
January 22nd, 2008 at 9.10 am

Are you sure it was £100? I was specifically looking at Oval prices and for the South Africa Test (not New Zealand) it was more like £75 (and sold out before I got there - which was before Christmas!). Still rather a lot I agree, and off putting, but there you go. Lord’s this year, also for a South African Test, is a similar price.

Just for the information of commenters here I’ve also bought tickets for the New Zealand Test at Trent Bridge - far more reasonable! £30 for a lot of tickets, and I bought a pair for £25 each as they were in the alcohol free stand, thus (hopefully) avoiding the boorish behaviour previously mentioned.

Reverse Swing wrote:
January 22nd, 2008 at 12.23 pm

Far be it from me to shill for the ECB, but don’t forget we’re talking about the very highest seat prices here. If some people want to pay over £100 then let them - it would be nice to think that the ECB are using the higher price to subsidise the cheaper prices. The same with Corporate Boxes - they should set the prices for these as high as they possibly can, because ultimately the money is coming out of company marketing budgets rather than individual pockets.

In 2005, my treasured stubs tell me that I paid £35 at Trent Bridge (a bargain) £40 at Edgbaston (another bargain) and £40 on Days 1-4 (another bargain) and £10 on Day 5 (surely one of the bargains of the century!!) at The Oval.

This summer the cheapest prices are all around the £40-50 mark, apart from Headingley which barely scrapes over £30, and Lords where they still expect you to take out a second mortgage for the privilege of visiting the ‘Home of Cricket’. For a whole days entertainment £40 is not bad value - and compared with comparative prices you’ll pay for around an hour and a half of international football it’s a steal - and you can have a drink whilst you’re watching!

As for the possibility that the cricket might be ‘boring’ - well, believe it or not, that’s what happens at a test match sometimes! Tests last five days, so you’re always going to have some quiet passages of play, but any real cricket fan will surely accept these as part and parcel of the game.

If you want guaranteed swashbuckling entertainment, stick to ODIs or 20/20, or go to the pictures!

Venkat wrote:
January 22nd, 2008 at 2.56 pm

Oh my…100 pounds for a game is quite unaffordable and I can’t even think about the price for the 2009 Ashes…Probably will hit 150 pounds before that…or even 200 pounds for that matter…

Graham E. Smith wrote:
January 22nd, 2008 at 6.42 pm

Cheer up…with the way the economic structure of the planet is imploding……it will soon be down to a Tenner again…but as most of the European /American based economies will have collapsed completely…..very few will be able to afford even that price ?????

Never mind we can all go and support our local amateur teams again.

A P Webster wrote:
January 22nd, 2008 at 7.39 pm

I’ve just booked my tickets for Old Trafford Vs. New Zealand, and raised an eyebrow at the fact that it’s costing me £10.50 more to sit in a worse seat than for the W.Indies 12 months ago. Considering that English cricket is worse now than it was then, it’s quite a steep increase.

That said, it’s a matter of supply and demand… and South Africa at Headingley is less than £20 ( or so my smug Yorkshire mates tell me), so maybe it’s just a few counties trying to squeeze the extra few quid out…

Wizzard of Odds wrote:
January 23rd, 2008 at 5.08 pm

Yorkshire are selling there tickets to the Npower Test vs South Africa for £27 (cheapest tickets). An very reasonable price for the 1st day of a test match. There are no poor seats, viewing wise, at Headingly and I have had a brilliant day each time I have been.
The prices tend to go up the further south you get, so it doesn’t suprise me that Surrey are charging ridiculous amounts. Probably trying to get the money to attract to decent players down there.

Mike wrote:
January 27th, 2008 at 7.30 pm

That price is a little excessive,
Here in New Zealand for the England test matches it’s going to cost $100 (£33) for a ‘gold’ 5 day pass, $60 (£20) for a ’silver’ match pass or for a single day - $35 (£12) ‘gold’ $20 (£7) ’silver’.

No wonder England have so many away supporters, they just want cheap tickets!

chris wrote:
October 2nd, 2008 at 6.29 pm

In 2006 the price for tickets at Headingley for WI game were £27 and the same price for SA game this year,but for the AUS game in 2009 its gone up to £50 for the cheapest seats,and im a member.How can the ECB justify nearly doubling the prices?

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