Ticket Prices at Leeds United

It is almost impossible to argue against the fact that a packed out Elland Road generates one of, if not the best atmospheres in English football. Leeds also have the highest away following in the football league, selling out almost every allocation as soon as the tickets are made available to fans. However, in recent years, for various reasons, attendance figures at Elland Road have been increasingly declining.

One thing we have to take into consideration was the fact that Leeds were once owned by one of the greediest men to have ever been part of football, and he goes by the name, Ken Bates. Uncle Ken seemed to have a passion for ripping off Leeds fans, charging ridiculous ticket prices and spending money made from selling star players on executive suites that have no benefit to the fans that pay in to Elland Road week in, week out.

Uncle Ken loved ripping off Leeds' loyal supporters

Of course Leeds have now been taken over by GFH Capital, who have in some ways lowered ticket prices, but I feel more could be done to bring the crowds back to Elland Road. As important as it is to please the home fans and after what the whites fans have been through over the past ten years, that is crucial.

I believe that as well as reducing ticket prices for the Elland Road faithful, not releasing a new shirt every season and even bringing back a full sized programme for £3, more fans will come back if bigger away followings were coming to Leeds. A massive part of a great atmosphere is the back-and-forth-banter between fans but when you see the away end at Elland Road, the empty blue seats are nothing but an eye-sore.

The owners, directors or whoever is in charge of the away allocation at Elland Road should treat the visiting fans how they would want the thousands of Leeds fans that travel up and down the country on a weekly basis. Rather than charge £36 a ticket and only get 800 fans through the turnstiles why not charge £20 and get 3,000 away fans? This in turn will lead to higher match day revenue, from food, drink and programmes alone. To charge under 16’s £17 to watch a football game is poor and personally I am not surprised fans turn their nose up when they see Leeds away on their fixture list.

£36 gets you this view from the Elland Road away end

On twitter and other social media sites you see the terrible views from the new-ish Leeds away end that people have forked out £36 for. The seats are wooden and stewards are said to take themselves a bit too seriously and take the law into their own hands when it isn’t necessary to do so.

I personally went to Reading away this season on the Wednesday night and I found the experience pleasantly weird. The stewards were friendly and there were no police to be seen for miles. Tickets were cheap and the bar staff had shirts from the Leeds United club shop on which was more than welcoming. As always though, the Leeds fans sang their hearts out in massive numbers so there was absolutely no difference in the atmosphere and despite the result was a great day out.

Who are the owners to decide what constitutes a category “C” and a category “A”? Why not make every game a category “C” rather than putting every game as “A”. More fans will be tempted to go to the game as it will be more affordable. A full stadium, especially at Elland Road can prove to be a difficult place for away teams to come and get anything. The atmosphere generated from the Kop, or the electric buzz that circulates Elland Road during cup games could be a weekly occurrence again and the owners wouldn’t lose money, but would gain more.

It seems the league works on a tit-for-tat basis when charging tickets and one club will charge a ridiculous amount for an away ticket and the suffering team will charge the same when the fixtures reversed. Why can this not be done with cheap tickets rather than clubs trying to price each other out?

A full Elland Road

A full stadium would, I assume, bring in more revenue than Sky Sports can provide for the occasional game the Premier League teams aren’t featured in. The owners should give it a go. Leeds fans are charged ridiculous amounts for tickets for away games after years of being charged ridiculous amounts for home games too. Derby away for example cost £33, but who can blame them when Leeds are charging £36 for their fans to visit Elland Road?

I would rather a full Elland Road, with back-and-forth-banter, of course with us out singing the away fans as per usual. I would pay any price to watch Leeds home and away, but if tickets could be cheaper, I am sure that fans wouldn’t mind 3,000 away fans every other week at Elland Road.

The clubs are more likely to make money from cheaper tickets than the over priced ones that have taken over football. Nobody wants to see empty stadiums, so what’s the excuse?