Liverpool FC stood down on raising ticket prices at Anfield this week in the face of a strong campaign from fans.
At face value it looks like a victory for the common people against the corporate greed of big business. Face value though is often misleading.
Liverpool FC is owned by Fenway Sports Group, a US company that has properties across the US and invested in Liverpool because of the passion of the fans, the value they thought they could unlock from that and the promise of turning a profit through escalating TV rights income.
To compete at the highest level big sport needs big investment and it is that which delivers the ability to attract a manager of the calibre of Jurgen Klopp and the ability to compete in the transfer market.
Connection
Fans though do not necessarily make the connection between being competitive and having the money to make that happen. They want it all to paraphrase Freddie Mercury.
Liverpool have developed facilities at Anfield and the new upper ticket prices were to have climbed from £59 to £77 for the best seats in the new house. Charging more at the upper level allows any business to keep prices down around the rest of their inventory whether that be match tickets, air fares, food in a restaurant or services from an accountants practice.
Fans travelling to France will moan long and loud about price gouging from airlines, louder than they will have cheered over the ability to fly to watch matches in London through the year for less money than it costs to park their car at the airport.
It’s simply a case of supply and demand.
Hammered
Liverpool fans who walked out at Anfield in the 77th minute last weekend genuinely felt aggrieved that they were being hammered by corporate greed. Fans in Dortmund expressed their anger at rising prices imaginatively through throwing tennis balls onto the pitch and stopping the game they were watching.
Yet Arsenal fans who pay more than any other in the country cannot get a ticket at the Emirates because of high demand. Ask any fan whether they would pay over the odds to see their team in a final and the answer would be ‘at any price’. That’s what supply and demand does. If you make it too cheap too many people want to go and you get left out.
The beauty of making the seats cost more for those who can afford to pay is that everybody wins. Well, except now at Liverpool where the fan victory will now lead to a redrawing of how to make the club work as a business. That may mean missing out on the next transfer target. It may mean that the next phase of development is pushed back. Both will lead to derision again.
One of the other gripes that was aired last week at Anfield was that kids pay the same price as adults on the famous Kop. That is also true of Hill 16 at Croke Park. but there are kids priced tickets available elsewhere around the ground so we have a choice. That’s where fans win, having a choice.
Emboldens
In a world of social media and distributed power across more hands, fan power is going to increase. When it wins as was the case at Anfield, it emboldens the next campaign.
On many occasions the cause is right but there will always be consequences. Ticket prices will edge up at Anfield in the coming years. It will now be more likely to be across the board at all price points.
Those who marvel at the fact that GAA prices remain relatively low, despite the magnificent surroundings of Croke Park, know that part of the deal is that the narrow band of corporate seats that rings three sides helps to pay for all the others above and below.
There are tickets currently on sale within this golden circle and their prices would make the eyes water of a fan who was used to paying €15 to go see an Allianz league match under floodlights.
each September though the cry will still go up that too many corporates take up too many seats from the regular fans. It’s part of the complex dynamic that enables sport to take place. It’s part of the cycle of supply and demand that ensures for the most part that all parts of the equation add up.
Liverpool fans have put a stick in the spokes of that cycle. While they will celebrate their win today, they should be prepared for what the consequences of their victory might be over time.
