TFC vs Europe Ticket prices

[james]

Heres looking at different ticket prices in Europe, these prices however are from 2006 so prices may have changed a bit since, but it gives you a good idea on price differences. I converted the money exchange to Canadian dollars:

Italy
As Roma $22.50 - $150
Ac Milan $17.85 - $104.50
Fiorentina $21 - $120
As Livorno $24 - $34.50

France
Lyon $21 - $120
Marseille - $45-$75
PSG $28.50 - $90
AS Saint-Etienne $12 - $45
Monaco $12 - $60

Scotland
Celtic $39.10 - $42.50
Rangers $34- $37.40
Dundee United $32.30 - $45.90
Aberdeen $25.50 - $42.50

England
Aston Villa $28.50 - $49.30
Liverpool $47.60 - $51
Chelsea $64.60 - $81.60
Portsmouth $44.20 - $51
Millwall $28.90 - $39.10
Blackpool $26.35 - $32.30
Oldham $23.80 - $30.60

austria
Red Bull Salzburg $13.50 - $18

Ireland
Cork City $19.50

Netherlands
Den Haag $18 - $34.50
Feyenoord $19.50 - $43.50
Ajax $33 - $70.50
Heerenveen $22.50 - $25.50

Germany
Stuttgart $16.35 - $66.90
Dortmund $30 - $69
Leverkusen $26.25 -$45
Hannover $19.50 - 67.50

[Yohan]

what's your point?

[Super]

TFC is cheaper than most of these. I pay less than $20 per game for my south end tickets.

[torontocelt]

what's your point?

I would imagine he is implying TFC fans are being ripped off for the amount they have to pay to watch MLS football.

[uncle p]

How many time do we have to have this discussion?

[james]

id say our ticket prices arent to bad right now. I can still afford to sit in the South End. However if prices keep increassing like they have every single year then i would say we are deffinitly getting ripped off considerring the low quality of skill on the field compared to these other leagues. Id say we are no better then teams like Aberdeen whos tickets cost less overall.

[CretanBull]

MLS generates its money through the gate, in Europe teams generate their money through TV deals. We'll have every right to complain about ticket prices when our league sells its TV rights for a BILLION and half dollars...

[Yohan]

if you want to see higher quality of football live, feel free to fly to europe

MLS is what you get in North America, and you pay price according to demand...

[james]

TFC is cheaper than most of these. I pay less than $20 per game for my south end tickets.

ya but single tickets are $23. Im not sure what the higest price tickets are for TFC. I dont think tickets in the South End should be selling over $25.

[torontocelt]

Even with demand I find it difficult to justify some of the ticket prices at BMO field, some are definitely a big time rip off. God help us all if we continue to stick up for the MLSE charging $112 for a ticket to an MLS game, that is just insane. From a football point of view any ticket in the ground should not be above $40.

[prizby]

j/w if u work for TFC FO and are trying to justify price raising?

[SilverSamurai]

You also have to remember that BMO Field only has a 21k capacity, which is smaller then most if not all of the clubs you've listed.

[james]

You also have to remember that BMO Field only has a 21k capacity, which is smaller then most if not all of the clubs you've listed.

no not really, alot of these i listed are same size or smaller then BMO field
Portsmouth 20,200
Aberdeen 21,600
Oldham 13,500
Millwall 20,100
Blackpool 9,000
Dundee United 14,200
den Haag 11,000
Monaco 18,500
As Livorno 18,500
Cork City 9,000

[prizby]

You also have to remember that BMO Field only has a 21k capacity, which is smaller then most if not all of the clubs you've listed.

not to mention that half of the teams on this list don't sell out (regularly) or at all ever

[james]

ya even the big Italian clubs As Roma and AC Milan dont sell out most there games. Ony big matches like Champions League or derby matches.

[Cashcleaner]

There's a lot of reasons why our ticket prices are what they are. I think the biggest factor is the fact that BMO Field only seats 21,000. As the capacity is so small compared to many of the other teams you've listed, each available seat is at a premium when you consider the demand for TFC tickets. Perhaps if we had a larger stadium the price per seat would be less costly, but that's all speculation.

It's hard to argue with the concept of supply-and-demand. Let's face it, we all know the level of talent in MLS is well below that of the English Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, etc., yet the prices between MLS and those leagues are fairly comparable. There's really nothing else to say other then to point out that TFC sells tickets at an inflated price and more than enough people are willing to pay that price. Sure, we can get mad and bitch about it, and that's perfectly understandable, but little will change unless the demand drops off.

[T.Reis]

Someone with more knowledge may want to confirm this but I think the demand=price factor may be a little unfair.

One of the "demand" factors is based upon the SSH waiting list (I believe). The same list that people who are not interested in getteng season seats are told they should sign up for when they are inquiring about TFC related events. Ex- The Real game. This way they get priority over the general public for tickets.

Can someone confirm?

[Yozzarian]

Look at what other things cost in comparison. Canada is expensive. Full stop. Toronto even more so.

[Cashcleaner]

^ Well, compared to the rest of North America, operating a business in Toronto can be rather expensive, but well below the costs you'll find in most European cities. As expensive as it can be to work in Toronto, it's really not up there with London, Rome, Paris, Berlin, etc.

[torontocelt]

There's a lot of reasons why our ticket prices are what they are. I think the biggest factor is the fact that BMO Field only seats 21,000. As the capacity is so small compared to many of the other teams you've listed, each available seat is at a premium when you consider the demand for TFC tickets. Perhaps if we had a larger stadium the price per seat would be less costly, but that's all speculation.

It's hard to argue with the concept of supply-and-demand. Let's face it, we all know the level of talent in MLS is well below that of the English Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, etc., yet the prices between MLS and those leagues are fairly comparable. There's really nothing else to say other then to point out that TFC sells tickets at an inflated price and more than enough people are willing to pay that price. Sure, we can get mad and bitch about it, and that's perfectly understandable, but little will change unless the demand drops off.

Agreed. Toronto FC is one of the more expensive MLS teams so it is not as if the entire MLS is charging inflated ticket prices for what is on the pitch. The MLSE has fans who will pay inflated costs to see a quality on the pitch which does not justify the ticket price. The MLSE realises this, we all realise this. I dont think it helps when we as fans help them justify the price by telling people to just suck it up and fly over to europe for a game if you are not happy as this will cost way more. The MLSE should be tackled on ticket prices, they are pushing the limits for most people on these boards in their ticket prices. The next logical step for the MLSE will be to increase the cheap tickets as the expensive ones are already at their limit I would think? Once the south stand and the light grey prices go up to say $600 - $700 then we will see more people on these boards coming out and criticizing the MLSE for ticket prices which are not justified. I could imagine that will not be far away unless they have to go by some code which does not allow them to increase supports areas by a certain amount? People in these areas have it very good at the moment but unless demand falls then that may not last too much longer.

[Oldtimer]

MLSE is giving us De Guzman and a real grass pitch, which all together is costing them almost $6 million.

They can justify the current ticket prices because of that. Many of these clubs play in stadiums where they didn't contribute any financial resources. The big issue is that most of us afraid that they will continue to raise ticket prices until we can't afford them.

By the way, if Red bull is in Salzburg, does that mean that they are still as horrible as that team in New Jersey?

[rocker]

the only thing I find interesting about the list is that some teams like Celtic have a very small range of price. why is that? Celtic doesn't really have the equivalent of "cheap seats" in north america. same with Liverpool. their low-end tickets are pretty expensive.

At least BMO has a large range.

[torontocelt]

the only thing I find interesting about the list is that some teams like Celtic have a very small range of price. why is that? Celtic doesn't really have the equivalent of "cheap seats" in north america. same with Liverpool. their low-end tickets are pretty expensive.

At least BMO has a large range.

That is my main beef with the pricing as I have been to Celtic Park many times and there are not prices that are varied. Can anyone please explain to me here how a club seast is $1900 but a seat in the south $380? Is the club seat really worth an extra $1500 for its view and use of a bar and toilet? It is crazy how they price football here.

[rocker]

That is my main beef with the pricing as I have been to Celtic Park many times and there are not prices that are varied. Can anyone please explain to me here how a club seast is $1900 but a seat in the south $380? Is the club seat really worth an extra $1500 for its view and use of a bar and toilet? It is crazy how they price football here.

so what's the business philosophy at Celtic? equality in ticket prices?
surely some seats are much worse than others, right? What if the minimum is too high for someone to pay, particularly for shitty seats?

I actually wanted club seats this year but couldn't get any at my relocation.
I like the club restaurant underneath and the fact they have the private washrooms

[Beach_Red]

That is my main beef with the pricing as I have been to Celtic Park many times and there are not prices that are varied. Can anyone please explain to me here how a club seast is $1900 but a seat in the south $380? Is the club seat really worth an extra $1500 for its view and use of a bar and toilet? It is crazy how they price football here.

Well, of course, all prices are based on what people are willing to pay. So yes, someone out there feels that the use of the bar and the toilet is worth an extra $1500.00.

Som people feel it's perfectly reasonable to spend $120,000 for a car to drive on the roads we have here - go figure.

The only thing that might affect the prices of TFC games is if someone put a Toronto team in that new NASL, got a new stadium and a new grass pitch, a few good players and charged less.

Let's face it, capitalism works as well as democracy .

[sully]

Look at what other things cost in comparison. Canada is expensive. Full stop. Toronto even more so.

It's hard to generalise these things...but in comparison, Ontario is much cheaper than Ireland and Britain but probably comparible to mainland Europe.

Toronto is of course more expensive than other parts of Ontario, but much less expensive than places like London and Paris.

However, it's hard to compare different economies, as income levels and costs of living can be very different. In Ireland people make more money (or the ones that are fortunate to still have a job) than in Ontario in general, but costs of living are more expensive than Ontario...personally I think overall people are much better off in Ontario overall..

On the ticket price comparison, I went to see Crystal Palace (Championship division) play Manchester City in the Carling Cup a few months ago, and it was £15 (or $25) for the cheapest ticket....

[Parkdale]

you know what....



Please stop comparing Toronto to Europe. They are different, and always will be.


the only fair comparisons are
a) other sporting events in Toronto
b) other MLS venues around North America.


in the case of a) TFC tickets are a pretty sweet deal.
In the case of b) TFC tickets are a pretty big ripoff.

there is no comparison to europe, so please stop with that nonsense.

[torontocelt]

so what's the business philosophy at Celtic? equality in ticket prices?
surely some seats are much worse than others, right? What if the minimum is too high for someone to pay, particularly for shitty seats?

I actually wanted club seats this year but couldn't get any at my relocation.
I like the club restaurant underneath and the fact they have the private washrooms

The worst seats in celtic park are the obstructed ones, one time I was sat right behind a pole/ roof support in the main stand and you could only see half the pitch lol. Luckily I was able to move to a couple of spare seats further down and the view was perfect. Those seats are rare though and I can honestly say there is not a bad seat in Celtic park apart from those onbstucted ones which suck. In Scotland we are renowned for our complaining and to be honest if ticket prices were above 30 pounds for games outside of the old firm and Europe then people would either kick up a massive fuss or they would simply stop going. In Scotland some people are still pissed at having to pay 28 pounds or so to see a sub standard Celtic team play in a league that is pretty much a two horse race and that is being seen in the stands now as attendances are dipping. People do not understand why ticket prices are still the same when we dont have real star players anymore and it is understandable.

Basically and I do not mean offence but people in Scotland would not stand for paying crazily inflated ticket prices for a product that does not warrant it. Toronto differs and the ticket pricing policy differs from Scotland in that people here will pay inflated ticket prices to see a product that does not warrant it, you can count me as one of those people also. This does not mean that you have to sit there and justify the prices MLSE charge though, they are definitely over charging for the product on the pitch in some areas of their stadium just like they are over charging for the football jerseys you can buy. They are taking all of us for every cent they can get while the product is still in demand, that is good business for them but at the end of the day in my opinion they are still ripping off a lot of people.

[redtfcred]

you know what....



Please stop comparing Toronto to Europe. They are different, and always will be.


the only fair comparisons are
a) other sporting events in Toronto
b) other MLS venues around North America.


in the case of a) TFC tickets are a pretty sweet deal.
In the case of b) TFC tickets are a pretty big ripoff.

there is no comparison to europe, so please stop with that nonsense.

hahahaha that funny and right really
we can talk about it all day but really who gives a fuck ..
on this board especially prices are not affecting patchers

[Beach_Red]

In Scotland some people are still pissed at having to pay 28 pounds or so to see a sub standard Celtic team play in a league that is pretty much a two horse race and that is being seen in the stands now as attendances are dipping. People do not understand why ticket prices are still the same when we dont have real star players anymore and it is understandable.

I'm just curious, where do you see this going in Scotland?