Generation Rent are being priced out of football

Dean Mears was 12 years old when his dad took him to Stamford Bridge and bought them a season ticket each.

Every match, his dad would pay for the food and the drinks and the programmes and everything else that went with. Obviously — Dean was only 12. It would’ve been pretty tight of Dean’s dad to make him pay.

Being Chelsea season ticket holders together has created a special bond between Dean and his dad which has seen them through some difficult personal times. A decade-and-a-half later they are still going. And Dean’s dad is still paying, because football and life have increased in cost at a far greater rate than wages have grown and a problem is arising which, Dean believes, is affecting plenty of supporters his age.

Unaffordable

Dean is 27-years-old. He has a two-year-old son, Charlie. He would love to do the same thing for Charlie which his dad once did for him: to buy Charlie a season ticket and relive all of those experiences again, this time being dad. To buy the food and the drinks and the programmes. To create that special bond in the same way.

But Dean can’t. He has a decent job as a shop manager which he describes as one that “pays well” but he has rent and bills each month and there is absolutely no way he could afford two Chelsea season tickets and everything that comes with it.

It’s not football’s fault that rents and house prices have soared out of control, of course. But it’s football’s fault that the game is no longer realistically affordable for Average Joe. Or Dean.

Generation Rent

“The truth is, as part of Generation Rent, attending football is way out of my means,” Dean wrote in a brilliant column in the cfcuk fanzine at the weekend. “Just the tickets alone, without all the extras that go with it, is an expense that I just cannot justify with the rising cost of household bills.

“According to the BBC’s cost of football survey, in 2015 the average age of a season ticket holder was 41. And it’s hardly surprising.

“Now, there’s nothing wrong with the same old faces year in year out. They make a fanbase, knowing the faces of those around is something fans should try and cling on to because we all know that clubs would rather a tourist in that seat.

“However, it’s the younger supporters who are being priced out, and once those season ticket holders call it a day, who’s going to be there to take over?”

Dean adds: “When my dad was my age back in 1989, the average salary was £9,663, the average house price was £95,792 and it cost just £5 to get into the Shed End (or £1 for the benches). Compare that to today, where the average salary is £35,000, house price is £476,000 and it would cost you £56 for a ticket in the Shed Lower (£47 for a category B game).”

So the average salary has increased by around three times, the average house price by five times, and a rough comparison of tickets shows an increase of roughly 11 times.

Priced out

Dean points out that Chelsea have done some great work with their pricing for fans in the 18-24 bracket and that the Chelsea Pitch Owners, the non-profit group who own the freehold of Stamford Bridge and naming rights of the club, have reduced share prices from £100 to £25, so more supporters can own a piece of their stadium and feel as though they belong. But there are a generation of supporters – Generation Rent – who are increasingly being priced out of actually attending matches. Which, for many, is what it’s all about.

I spoke to Dean on Monday. He knows plenty of other supporters around the same age who are facing the same problem. Especially those who have moved away from their parents’ home and have housing and bills to pay and potentially young children to raise. Fans who are effectively being given the choice: a Chelsea season ticket, or living in their own home. Who will not be able to buy their son or daughter a season ticket and spend a lifetime going to games together.

Breakaway league

“To be honest I’m not sure what you could do,” Dean said. “I think the wider problem is football clubs — especially the big ones — want tourists in because they’re going to spend more. Clubs have shown that they don’t need supporters to make money so perhaps they can cap the prices, like the away ticket scheme.

“The prices means fans can only pick and choose certain games and finals at Wembley being even more expensive they’re missing out on some of the biggest moments. In my opinion it won’t be long until European elite clubs play in their own leagues.” At which point supporting Chelsea would become even more expensive than ever before.