Leeds United: Fans paying the price for success
Date: 07 January 2011
By Phil Hay
The gnashing of teeth over season ticket prices at Elland Road is becoming an annual event.
Rises of up to 13 per cent in certain areas of the stadium next season ensured that this year was no different.
Leeds United's supporters have been at odds with the club's board over the cost of attending Elland Road for most of Ken Bates' tenure as chairman. It was a contentious issue in 2005 and continues to be so, a never-ending cycle of dispute.
An adult season ticket for an existing holder next season will cost between £462 and £711, depending on the date of renewal.
On the assumption that prices will increase for new applicants – and perhaps increase substantially if the club are promoted to the Premier League – the cost of watching matches from Elland Road's West Stand is liable to knock on the door of £800.
By any measure, £800 is a serious amount of money for a Championship season ticket. A sizeable number of supporters would say that £711 is more than they should be asked to pay.
Leeds argued last week that the prices and rises are not only justified but necessary to meet growing expenses.
Those costs, according to Bates, pictured above, include a jump in VAT, a three per cent increase in the rent of both Elland Road and Thorp Arch and, most pertinently, the price of maintaining a squad which has a fair chance of winning promotion from the Championship.
Thus the season ticket rises unveiled last week. "You can't have one without the other," Bates said.
If the price of admission at Elland Road really does reflect the cost of running an ambitious Championship club and maintaining the necessary wage bill, it asks a serious question of English football in general – namely, how long it can continue to allow a financial structure which asks so much of the average fan.
Football should not aspire to a scenario where promotion from the Championship is dependent on season ticket holders paying £1 for every three minutes of football they see.
http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/leedsunited/Leeds-United-Fans-paying-the.6683160.jp
Bates leker med tall og vrir og vrenger på alt...
Han forsvarer prisene med økte kostnader...
Jeg trodde han hadde kuttet kostnader i klubben 
Billettprisene har snart gått opp 100% under Bates.
Så vidt jeg vet er kostnadene og gjeld kuttet til et minimum.
Så skal man følge Bates sin logikk skulle prisene gått ned!
Nå har jeg snev av breaking news for deg her!
Det har de siste timene blitt avslørt at klubben gikk med UNDERSKUDD før alle kostnadskuttene til Bates.
Også litt barnelærdom til deg... Bates kuttet kost (gjeld)ved å gå inn i en "fake" administrasjon...
Hadde vært hyggelig om Bates sa til fansen.. støtt oss, ve beklager denne økningen i pris men vi har som mål å kjøpe tilbake TA nest år... Når vi rykker opp i PL skal vi kjøpe tilbake ER.
Isteden bare en masse vrøvl om moms og økte kost.
Moms skal selvsagt legges til billetpris...
Maset om økte kost som vel er 2% pro anno på TA og ER utgjør med dårlig husk neppe mer enn 50.000 pund...
Trenger ikke øke bill pris med 15% for å dekke inn den kostnaden...
Men det er vel noen toaletter og noen hull i gjerdene som skal repareres igjen.
