Most liked posts in thread: 25 Year 'Season Tickets' (Now with Suites Poll)

To me it's not really about the cash. I can easily afford to pay £180 pa for my season ticket. It's the principle of it.
Why should 25 yearers be the only group of fans to have a 50% price hike when everyone else enjoys frozen ticket prices?
Alternatively, why should 25 yearers be forced to pay £60 a season for an amenity they have no desire to use?
Either way you look at it, it's just wrong.

 

It’s a really simple fix….
Charge £120 for the 25 yearers who don’t want or can’t have a suite.
Charge £180 for those that want and use a suite.

why does everything have to be more complicated than it needs to be

 

I'd never previously understood the resentment about us 25 yearers. I've seen comments over the years on here, and on C&B, suggesting that we are somehow leeching off the club; that never made sense to me since I knew that for most of the lifetime of the deal I've been paying an annual fee for something I'd already paid for.
This thread has helped me understand why some City fans resent 25 yearers. Hopefully it has helped some of those fans understand that those who never got a refund have actually lost money.

 

Sadly Al, you could not be more wrong. I've just had the following response from our CEO that completely misses the point of our complaint:

"Good evening, Steve.

The decision to increase suite-upgrade prices has been taken after much consideration and analysis.


Rising costs have made the areas near loss-makers for the club, providing access for just over £5.20 per league fixture (for adults).


The suite-upgrade price increase hasn’t been set to discriminate, as you claim, merely to cover rising costs to ensure your football club is viable in all areas – while ensuring we can maintain our policy of affordable football via our season ticket offering, which has been frozen for the third-year running.


Prices for a number of other club products will also increase in order to maintain our viability and desire to ensure the accessibility of professional football for as many people as possible during these difficult economic times. Sadly, we aren’t immune to the significant rising costs of energy, personnel and maintenance."



Kind regards,





Ryan Sparks

Chief Executive Office

I have replied as follows:

"Thank you for your prompt response Ryan.

Unfortunately, your response completely misses the point of my complaint, which (if you check on other forums such as Bantam Talk) is shared by many other 25 Year ST holders.

Your response focuses entirely on the issue of the suites. As I explained, this is irrelevant to many 25 year ST holders, including me. I have never utilised the 'free' suite upgrade option. I have simply paid for my season ticket and attended games. I have no interest in sitting in a large, soulless aircraft hanger of a bar either before games or during half time.

I have no problem with your increasing the cost of a suite subscription, if that is what is required to make them profitable. Clearly those who choose to use the suites need to pay an economic price for doing so. But by tying the cost of all 25 year tickets to the increased suite prices you are forcing me, and many other 25 yearers, to pay a 50% increase on our ticket price for a product that we have no interest in, will never use and would never choose to pay for.

By all means increase the price for those who choose to activate the suite option, if you must. But it is simply not justified to do so for those who don't want to use the suites. Why should I subsidise other people's use of the suites? You wouldn't force me to pay for drinks or merchandise that I don't want, so why are you forcing me to pay for a service that I won't use? This is simply wrong and is incompatible with the values of this great club.

I again urge you to reconsider and reverse this unfair, discriminatory decision."

 

Good that the club has listened to feedback and acted.
I think this is a fair compromise and I'm happy to accept it.

 

Only if the original £2500 was all we paid. But it isn't.

The idea was that we paid a lump sum of £2500 - which equated to £100 per year - and then paid nothing else for the next 25 years. But, apart from the first few seasons, we've been paying a 'discounted' fee for our season tickets, on top of the £100 per year that we've already paid. EG, this season I've paid £120 + £100 = £220, which is £22 more than a standard ST fee. Last year I paid £120 + £100, which was £70 more than the standard price.

So those of us who paid by cash or cheque upfront and therefore got no refund, have ended up paying out more over the full period than if we'd simply bought year on year STs.

 

There’s been some awful comments on Twitter regarding 25 year holders of which I have 2. One for myself and one for my youngest son who was far keener on City than my eldest at the time. I bought them through a bank loan so I never claimed any rebate. They cost £2500 each though there was a £250 discount for paying up front. So every season I’ve effectively paid £100 per season,only the 1st 2 years were free as the club financially collapsed. Then we started to have to pay £100 per season to keep it going, eventually after a lot of proposals including a fixed rate dependent on which division we were in that was never implemented,Julian Rhodes came up with a fair scheme where you got a suite upgrade if you paid £120 which I’m happy with as the suite is ok and you get good seats. However if you sit in the Midland road stand you can’t upgrade to a suite so they are not getting a reasonable deal and next season paying £180 on top of their £100 per season when they took out the ticket. So in reply to certain individuals on Twitter we are not freeloading C***s nor did we all get our money back as the certain individual who leaked Ryan Sparks number on social media claims. Also there is added benefit to City as my eldest son who is now very keen but not a 25yearer pays for a yearly season ticket and a suite upgrade for himself and his 8 year old son so he can join us.

 

If they wanted to increase the suite prices that’s fair enough but they should have left the season ticket prices unchanged exactly like it’s unchanged for everyone else.
The only fans that are paying more next season are the 600 or so 25 yearers.
Just feels a bit shitty

 

£60 increase but only for some of your most loyal long standing supporters is just wrong.
Whether I can afford it or not is not the point.
I fancy this is really a mistake and the club needs to correct it quickly .

 

I don't think Mick sets the ticket prices. It's one for the Commercial Director or CEO in my opinion. They should back down and price them at the same as last year. Otherwise their advertising campaign claiming to have frozen prices could be deemed false.

 

I've just sent the following email to Ryan Sparks and Mick Lamb:

"A few days ago I received an email from the club, proudly announcing that prices of next year's season tickets have been frozen across all age groups. My initial reaction was one of praise for the club's worthy initiative in maintaining affordable football for the people of Bradford. Imagine my surprise, therefore, to subsequently discover that, as a City fan since the 1980s and a 25 year Season Ticket holder, my season ticket has increased in price by a whopping 50% on last year's price.
This appears to be a wholly unjustified and discriminatory price increase applied only to some of its most loyal supporters. How can it possibly be justified when all other ticket prices have been frozen?
Presumably the club will retort that the price includes a 'free' suite upgrade. But this is meaningless to those of us who never use the suites, have no desire to start doing so and, in some cases, don't even have a suite available to use in the stand in which they sit.
We are now in the ridiculous position where 25 year ST holders who are also pensioners are paying more than they would do if they bought an OAP ST rather than utilising their 25 year ticket. Is this a deliberate policy on behalf of the club to persuade older 25 yearers to give up their 25 year ST? If so, it is a disgraceful policy.
I urge the club to urgently re-think this anomalous pricing decision. A modest increase on last year's cost is one thing, but a 50% increase is simply scandalous.
I await your considered response."

 

Well, the head of ticketing is now saying it is the case.
When I was in the ticket office on Monday I was told that I could buy an OAP ST this year but revert to my 25 year ticket in future years if I chose. It's now clear that that is not the case. As far as the club is concerned you either pay for a suite, whether or not you ever use one, or give up your 25 year ticket.

I was also told that the decision to price 25 year tickets higher than OAP tickets was a mistake, not a deliberate policy to force out 25 yearers. I now doubt that that is the case - it seems deliberate to me, judging by the totally cloth-eared responses from the club.

 

Well said. Some people hate us 25 years, (don’t know why, we are all city fans?), but it’s all about principle, we are not freeloaders. Look, I can easily afford the extra, but yes, they are pissing me off big time.

 

Hello, I actually write the minutes and am also a 25 year Season Ticket holder and am certain this will feature at our next meeting on Thursday 30th. The minutes are posted in full on the Supporters Board website.

 

When does this 25 year thing end? Be glad to hear the back of it.

 

I’ve never had a suite upgrade as I sit in Midland Road with no suite facilities. So I must be paying for my ST.

 

It's not pointless, it's highlighting people like you getting shamed and rightly so. You've had your refund yet continue to enjoy the benefits of a 25 year ticket. You guys are the ones giving 25 yearers a bad name.

All other 25 yearers have ended up paying more overall than regular season ticket holders. You guys pay less! Not only do you want to have your cake and eat it, you spit the crumbs in our faces!