Gas, electricity, groceries – everything is rapidly becoming more expensive. Just not the live Bundesliga experience, at least not with the ticket prices. A full stadium is more important to the clubs. But how long can the clubs hold back on price increases?
The specter of inflation is haunting Germany – it just hasn’t arrived at the ticket counters of the 18 Bundesliga clubs yet. While the rapid rise in costs for gas, electricity and groceries is generally lamented, only a few clubs have increased their prices for admission and season tickets for the new season. And if it does, then mostly moderately.
“Basically, the clubs strive to fill their stadiums to capacity as much as possible. Rising ticket prices can jeopardize this goal to a certain extent, so that clubs try to avoid excessive pricing,” says Kim Lachmann, an expert in the sports business group of the accounting and consulting firm Deloitte.
Season ticket prices in the Bundesliga have risen by 1.3 percent annually since 2013
Viewed over the long term, too, the rate of inflation for attending a Bundesliga game is rather low. From the 2013/14 season to the upcoming 2022/23 season, the cost of the cheapest season ticket for the Bundesliga clubs rose by an average of 1.3 percent annually, according to a current Deloitte analysis. In the most expensive category, the increase over the same period was even flatter at an average of 0.8 percent per year. Additional discounts and VIP seats were not taken into account in the analysis.
In any case, according to data from the Deloitte Annual Review of Football Finance, the share of matchday revenue in clubs’ total revenue continued to fall in the ten years before the corona pandemic. While total revenue increased by an average of 7.9 percent, matchday revenue grew by just 3.2 percent.
Before this season, for example, FC Augsburg, VfL Wolfsburg, Mainz 05, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and Bayer Leverkusen are relying on stable ticket prices, much to the delight of their fans. Other clubs, such as Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt or Hertha BSC, only slightly increased the prices in some categories.
Bremen and Schalke demand more money for tickets
First division returnees Werder Bremen, on the other hand, take five percent more. “Unfortunately, the price adjustment was unavoidable due to steadily rising inflation and growing costs in almost all business areas that affect the home games,” said the club. Among other things, increased energy costs, the gradual increase in minimum wage and price increases for service providers would have had an impact on prices.
FC Schalke 04 return to their first division prizes from the 2020/21 relegation season as another Bundesliga comeback. The Revierklub announced that the children’s and youth prices introduced in the 2nd Bundesliga would be retained.
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For the first time in a long time, fans of cup winners RB Leipzig have to pay more for football fun. “After we were able to keep the ticket prices constant since the promotion to the Bundesliga in 2016/17, it was now necessary to adjust the prices,” said the Saxons. Accordingly, the season ticket prices rose by an average of 35 euros.
VfB Stuttgart also demands more from its fans, as does SC Freiburg. The experience in the Europa Park Stadium, which opened last October, is five euros more expensive for the cheapest season standing room and costs 200 euros; for the cheapest seat, 369 euros are charged during the season and thus ten euros more. The most expensive seat is worth 709 euros (plus ten euros).
Borussia Mönchengladbach has introduced a whole new price structure. “We hope that the duels, which experience has shown to be less popular, will become more attractive thanks to cheaper tickets,” explained Borussia’s managing director Stephan Schippers on the club’s website. After that, the tickets for the top games against Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund will be more expensive, the tickets against less top-class opponents cheaper.
Gladbach introduces new pricing structure for tickets
A historical look at the Bundesliga shows that clubs have generally only changed their ticket prices every few years. A somewhat stronger increase can be observed for the current season, but this can be explained by the composition of the clubs within the Bundesliga. In the current season, clubs with smaller stadiums in Bielefeld and Fürth in particular have been relegated, while those promoted have larger stadiums with higher-quality season ticket categories.
In view of the general price development with an inflation rate of more than seven percent, it is currently difficult to say whether the clubs will maintain their moderate ticket price policy in the long term. “It can be expected that the clubs will be able to cushion the increases to a certain extent,” says Deloitte manager Lachmann. In any case, the energy costs would have a relatively smaller share than other expense items during matchday operations. However, due to the increased food prices, higher expenses can certainly be expected in catering, which are generally passed on to fans a little more quickly.
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At some point, however, the specter of inflation will knock at the ticket counters. “It can be assumed that from a certain point the increased costs in the area of the match day will also be passed on to the spectators,” says Lachmann. “But this is primarily related to the further development of inflation.” (dpa / pw)
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