Ashes ticket prices

[GIMH]

Got an email this morning from Warwickshire advising the final tickets have gone on sale for the Ashes Test this summer.

Now as it turns out, I am on holiday for days 1-4. But for the first time I would have refused to go on the basis of price.

Tickets are £91 for an adult. Now I clicked various parts of the ground on different days and it kept coming up with that same price. And what's more, it's £41 for a junior.

You can get day five tickets for £26. Haven't looked into it but would hazard a guess this is non-refundable in the event of there being no day five.

In the past I have defended ticket prices in England, as the £50 sort of mark represents decent value when you compare it to an England football international, which would likely cost more, for less time and London is your only choice. But this is a bridge too far. This sport is simply too inaccessible. I can afford it, but to hell with it because I could use that money to go to all of Lancs' home games in the T20 blast, or whatever.

I mean my daughters don't like cricket. If I did I'd be looking at £130 for tickets for me + 1 before I've even factored in travel, food and drink, programme & merch (a must when taking juniors I find).

I'm a passionate England fan and going to watch them is one of my favourite pastimes but this is too much.

Haven't checked the other grounds, so for now shame on your Warwickshire, and what a short termist approach we are taking to the game in this country.

 

[theegyptian]

Yes been to about 35 days test cricket overseas since I turned 18 and probably 4 days in England. Never been to a day of ashes cricket in my own country. Don't even bother looking at the prices or schedule these days. Not paying £70+ + transport etc. Much rather go overseas to watch a few tests every few years.

Still for ashes they can charge what they like and still sellout the ground comfortably. Supply and demand. Not sure that specifically is the greatest example of short termism in the English game.

 

[GIMH]

Looking at immediate supply and demand is the very definition of short termism though isn't it? When realistically it's a minimum of £130 for a young kid to go, you are going to lose a generation, surely.

 

[theegyptian]

Looking at immediate supply and demand is the very definition of short termism though isn't it? When realistically it's a minimum of £130 for a young kid to go, you are going to lose a generation, surely.

See for an ashes test I don't think so. Families will still come out for a day. It'll just be one day. And the next day it will be another family. People will go to one day for the spectacle and the event.

So many people want to see the ashes and there is such limited seating that having the tickets at £40 would be stupid. You probably get more people watching the ashes at £80 a pop than £40 because people can't afford to watch multiple days of cricket with the current prices.


Look at ticket prices for non ashes tests which are still £70 or £80 and don't sellout the grounds or to county 4 day games which can be £20 a day for a non members for better examples of short termism.


Admittedly as someone without children I don't really care about the cost for families and have basically given up on English cricket.

 

[GIMH]

See for an ashes test I don't think so. Families will still come out for a day. It'll just be one day. And the next day it will be another family. People will go to one day for the spectacle and the event.

So many people want to see the ashes and there is such limited seating that having the tickets at £40 would be stupid. You probably get more people watching the ashes at £80 a pop than £40 because people can't afford to watch multiple days of cricket with the current prices.

Look at ticket prices for non ashes tests which are still £70 or £80 and don't sellout the grounds or to county 4 day games which can be £20 a day for a non members for better examples of short termism.

Hmmm. I do see what you are saying. But a family of 2+2 could book a 4/5 day break at a Haven/Butlins type place for a UK holiday for the price of a day's cricket. And these are the choices a lot of families will be making.

NOTHING will hook kids on the game in this country more than an Ashes Test because it is truly one of the great events to attend live. Just because the tickets are selling doesn't mean your strategy is correct, because they will only be selling to specific demographics. IMO.

 

[sledger]

#againstmodercricket

 

[theegyptian]

Hmmm. I do see what you are saying. But a family of 2+2 could book a 4/5 day break at a Haven/Butlins type place for a UK holiday for the price of a day's cricket. And these are the choices a lot of families will be making.

NOTHING will hook kids on the game in this country more than an Ashes Test because it is truly one of the great events to attend live. Just because the tickets are selling doesn't mean your strategy is correct, because they will only be selling to specific demographics. IMO.

Yes i agree. You're not getting the poor family going. Unfortunately though in that respect cricket is already screwed. State school cricket is basically non-existent. Club cricket is struggling. No cricket on terrestrial tv. State School playing fields

Unless your family is rich and you're going to a public school or your dad is keen on cricket and you get into a good youth club very young you're probably not going to make it at cricket in this country.


Expensive ashes tickets don't help but at least that makes sense. £60 or £70 to watch West Indies play in May make no sense. £20 to turn up on the day and watch some **** second division four day game is ridiculous.

 

[Viscount Tom]

Would've liked to go to an Ashes test this year but quite frankly, for the price it just isn't worth it, the team isn't exciting enough to warrant paying that price supporter or not. That's without considering travel costs too.

 

[Cabinet96]

I forgot to enter any of the ballots this year. Wasn't even that mad. Sad times.

Best time is when you're a teen and can get cheap tickets without having to go with parents etc. Went to a couple of days of the Lords test for South Africa in 12 for a fiver each and free transport to the ground. Unreal.

 

[Viscount Tom]

I actually can't work out why Glamogran's prices for the Australia tests are what they are, it's miles out of the way for a lot of cricket fans as is, so I can't see them selling out most of the days anyway at £75+ a pop.

 

[Pothas]

Yeah, we looked at Cardiff assuming they would be the cheaper.

Have got day 4 tickets for the Oval, cost around £65 I think, which could be worse but the seats are not all that great. It is probably not worth tbh but I go with a friend to the Oval test every year.

 

[GIMH]

Yeah my mate is currently trying to talk me into Cardiff for £65

 

[cpr]

Yet the ODI's at Old Trafford are £40-45 a ticket - Its not like you're getting less play (well, its OT, so rain), nor is it the area of the sport struggling to pull fans in. Strange pricing.

 

[Furball]

It's because of the stupid bidding process the ECB makes the counties do to try and get games, so the counties then need to recoup the costs they've incurred by staging the game in the first place. So you make the fans foot the bill.

It's a ****ing nonsense.

 

[fredfertang]

In some ways it's quite cheap - what would it cost to get into Stamford Bridge or one of the other major Premier League grounds if it had a capacity of 25,000?

Put another way what does it cost to get into the MCG, which has more than three times the capacity of Lord's?

So yet another relevant question is how much would it cost to drop a pitch into the Olympic Stadium, or even have a permanent one there?

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Put it this way. I paid GBP45 for a ticket for day 4 of the NZ vs. England test at Lord's this summer.

I paid NZD90 for all 5 days of the NZ vs. England Test at the Basin Reserve which was, for the record, sold out for at least the weekend days.

I'd have to find the ticket stub, but I think I paid GBP15 for tickets to day 2 of the England vs. Australia Test match at Lord's in 1993.

 

[Jono]

Looking at immediate supply and demand is the very definition of short termism though isn't it? When realistically it's a minimum of £130 for a young kid to go, you are going to lose a generation, surely.

100% agree. It shouldn't be a microeconomics argument ffs.

I've argued against the high cricket ticket prices in Eng before and been hounded down for being a socialist by PEWS and Benchy saying that the demand is there to justify such prices.

PEWS may have changed his mind now though since he often admits that a cricket board's purpose isn't just to make money, but also improve the game in general, including grassroots / access to the public.

 

[SuperMurali]

Paid NZD40 (about 20 quid) to go to a day of the NZ V India test match at Eden Park last year, and there were articles in the papers about that being too high lol

 

[GIMH]

Overseas comparisons are pretty tricky though as context is everything. Fred's point about ground size is taken but on the other hand how do the ECB's domestic TV revenues stack up against NZ/Aus etc?