The AST recently wrote to Arsenal Chairman Sir Chips Keswick setting out our position on ticket price discussions for season 2015/16 and urging for improvements to be made to the Ticket Exhcange system so that more fans can have an opportunity to watch Arsenal. The letter is set out in full below:

Sir Chips Keswick

Chairman

Arsenal Football Club

Highbury House

London N5 1BU

19 November 2014

Dear Sir Chips

The Arsenal Supporters’ Trust (AST) is writing to you with regard to the cost of season tickets and general admission tickets at Arsenal and to urge the Board not to increase prices for season 2015-16.

This is earlier than we would normally write but last year the Club announced its price increase almost six months earlier than usual and we therefore thought it important to let you have our views now. This response also follows the publication of the Club’s Report and Accounts which set out the strong financial position the Club is in.

We would welcome the opportunity to have a dialogue with you and other Board members and Executives, about this and related issues, including improving the Ticket Exchange.

In our annual survey, conducted in May and June 2014, 91 per cent of our members responded that they were against the 3 per cent ticket price increase brought in last year and we know this is a view echoed amongst the wider supporter base and in other fan groups’ surveys.

Furthermore 94 per cent agreed that now Arsenal are securing increased revenues from broadcasting and commercial deals that ‘further effort should be made to have more affordable ticket pricing at the Emirates’. This reflects comments made by Ivan Gazidis to the AST in 2011 when he talked of his concern that ordinary fans were being priced out of football.

As the Club demonstrated at its recent Annual General Meeting, commercial and broadcasting revenue has increased dramatically and continues to rise. Further increases in sponsorship revenues and broadcast income can be expected and a cautious estimate is that Arsenal will grow income from these sources by another £30m over the next two years.

In light of this we really hope that the Board will recognise the pressure that fans are under in buying tickets to support their team and sympathise enough to not impose another price increase. The wider economic climate means many fans are still suffering, with more and more being unable to afford the high cost of tickets. We frequently hear from concerned members that they feel they are being priced out of a club they have supported for life.

As well as not increasing prices we would also urge the introduction of more initiatives to help people on lower incomes, especially younger fans who are the future of the Club.

The AST’s independent analysis of Arsenal’s finances (widely judged to be accurate and fair within and outside the club) demonstrates that the club has an extremely healthy financial position and does not need the revenue that a ticket price rise would generate.

Furthermore, last year’s increase was the second rise in three years, making 9 per cent in all (including VAT) or an average 3 per cent pa. It is a worrying trend that seems to correlate to the change in ownership.

Supporters are further frustrated when reviewing last year’s ticket price increase as it has subsequently been shown (as we correctly predicted) not to be required by the manager for team strengthening. It is hard to believe that the relatively small extra revenue that would be secured from a further increase will even be spent, let alone make the difference between success and failure on the pitch. We would be interested to know whether the Board consults with Arsène Wenger as to whether he supports additional funds being raised from match-going fans, as he doesn’t appear to require them for transfer activity.

Matchday revenues from non-premium seats (Gold, Silver and Red sales) currently account for a maximum of £60m pa, which is now down to 20 per cent of the Club’s total revenues. This demonstrates the reduced importance of ‘gate money’, given the larger increases in other revenue streams. We therefore believe there is a case for Arsenal to offer a Custodianship approach and ‘give something back’ in addition to not increasing the headline price of General Admission and Season Ticket prices.Our suggestions include:

a)     removing the additional surcharge costs for games played beyond the 26 covered by the season ticket, in the same way that Club Level already encompasses all home matches

b)    allowing ticket holders to opt out of the earlier cup games without penalty, to avoid then having to pay extra later for the bigger and potentially better and more rewarding games in the latter stages

c)     a Premier League-only season ticket consisting of 19 games

d)    extending the excellent Young Guns scheme to also cover Category A games

We are aware that some of these suggestions have previously been made, but we urge you to consider them seriously.

The AST would also urge extra investment into improving the ticket exchange. We have previously put forward suggestions for this, including the need for better technology to run the Exchange. Ideally it would be open until just a few hours before kick-off and fans could log into it using an App on their phones.

We also advocate the introduction of home credits to reward fans who use their seats and/or make them available on the Exchange. There could also be an option to allow these tickets to be sold at reduced prices to younger fans.

Arsene Wenger often reminds us how important it is to have the backing of the crowd and it cannot help the team’s fortunes to be playing in front of 5,000-10,000 empty seats each game. More people attending also means greater revenues for catering and merchandise which would help the Club to keep the pressure off ticket prices.

We believe that match-going supporters and the atmosphere they create are a principal asset of the Club, and without fans, and particularly fans in the stadium, the Club is nothing. Furthermore, they are an asset that if nurtured can improve results on the pitch, increase sponsorship revenues and breed new fans through selling an atmosphere both on line and on screen.

This letter has been discussed with and is being shared with the AST membership.  We trust you will fully consider all our suggestions and we very much look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely

Glyn Taylor

For Arsenal Supporters’ Trust