Aston Villa's ludicrous ticket strategy must be reversed at first opportunity and Chris Heck knows why
Tickets for Aston Villa’s first home Champions League game against Bayern Munich sold out in record time, but seats for Bologna’s trip to Villa Park have now gone on general sale. General admission tickets will probably soon sell out, but it speaks volumes that it hasn't happened yet, less than a week before kick-off.
The reason why is of course down to the ludicrous pricing strategy which was implemented for each of the four league phase games. In this cost of living crisis, many supporters wouldn’t have entertained the idea of purchasing a ticket even if Villa are playing in the Champions League, also knowing the cost and aggro of travelling to the stadium, while food or drink is hardly cheap in and around the ground either.
An occasion like entertaining Bayern in the club’s first home match in Europe’s elite club competition for the first time in over 40 years is one which will live long in the memory for everyone who attended the match, and the result only amplifies those feelings. However, one historic night certainly does not justify the prices which the club have asked fans to pay to watch their club compete on the biggest stage.
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As Villa look to cement themselves at the top of the game in the years to come, it’s worrying that they run the risk of alienating a section of their supporters. For example, a family of four non-season ticket holders, two adults and two U18s, would have to pay £230 to sit in either zone three or zone four before splashing out on other matchday costs.
The cost for those four tickets for one Champions League league phase fixture would rise to £248 in zone two and a staggering £376 in zone one. The club deserves some credit for capping U18 season holders prices to £20, but it rises to £30 for U18 non-season ticket holders.
Whether Villa are playing in the Champions League or Championship, some of the best memories a supporter will make comes as a youngster with their family and friends in the stands. That’s how many of us fell in love with Villa in the first place. Indeed, the club’s president of football operations Chris Heck has already acknowledged the importance of family roots in supporting and following English football clubs.
Heck told Crossing Broad Sports: "It's part of the culture of like everything is just so critically important to them. Everything. To be fair to them, they don't have four other sports to dive into. They don't have college sports - that doesn't exist. It's European football that's it. That's what matters. It really is more than lifestyle. It's their family, it's generational and everyone takes it really personally.
"I respect that and you have to be very careful with it, but I also want to win. If your compass is the right compass of win by also being respectful.
He added: "I was reading something last night and every once in a while, and I've been pretty good about getting off social media, but I was getting destroyed yesterday for something.
"I can't even remember what it was, but it was something that has been wildly successful and I'm getting just destroyed on the whole thing. It's like 20 or 30 people killing you. You're kind of like this is the game, this is the deal. But what I've been saying to everybody is that I'm not claiming to be the expert on the sporting side. I'm an expert on the business side and I'm not apologising for that.
"I do believe that I surround myself with really good people and I do believe that I will deliver results and I do believe that they'll be happy in the end. Change is tough, change is hard.”
Under Heck, Villa have doubled three key three sponsorship deals; front-of-shirt sponsor, sleeve sponsor and kit manufacturer. He has also implemented new hospitality offerings at Villa Park which should increase the club’s matchday revenue.
It’s paramount that the club increases its revenue streams to supply Unai Emery and the football department with access to more funds to improve on the pitch. Despite the wealth behind V Sports, Villa are unable to continue spending what they would like to due to financial restrictions related to the amount of money which they currently make.
“I think by the success of other revenue streams, that can alleviate some of the problems which some clubs have with their fans,” Heck admitted on VillaTV earlier this year.
“I think that everything affects one another and this affects positivity for our fans. Our plan is to go out with renewals for our general admission adult ticket at a five per cent increase which is fairly modest.”
Heck revealed that the club’s pricing strategy for the four Champions League league phase home games was implemented because of the financial restrictions which the Premier League have in place, but that feels like a very short-term outlook.
"We recognise and understand the depth of passion felt amongst fans and their recent frustration around ticket pricing,” he said. “Achieving our sporting ambitions while complying with financial stability regulations requires difficult decisions.
“Financial fair play rules prohibit owners from covering shortfalls to finance this ambition, so we need to generate as much revenue as possible through sponsorships, merchandise, and ticket sales to ensure that we can keep the club where it rightfully belongs - competing (and winning) at the top of English and European football.”
A fairer pricing strategy would have seen Villa miss out on the few millions of pounds that they will earn from the four Champions League games. It’s something which should have been budgeted before the summer transfer window, because fans shouldn’t be asked to stump up money after the years of loyalty they have shown in decades previously.
"Here [in the Premier League], you could have the richest owners in the world and it doesn’t matter, it’s how much you actually generate,” Heck told Crossing Broad Sports. “So how do you do that without ticking off your most loyal fans?
"That’s the formula that we have found, let’s protect our season ticket base, our local fans first, the core fan, protect them, and then find new revenue streams to pump up the value of the club and the spending opportunity of the club.”
Granted, there was a minimal price rise for season tickets this season, but those “most loyal fans” have not been protected in regards to the Champions League prices. Far from it.
Heck is planning to drive up Villa’s revenue to £400m by 2027, which would give the club the platform to financially compete among the ‘big six’. If Villa do achieve that, will the price of tickets dramatically decrease? It’s highly unlikely.
By then, many fans who simply cannot afford the prices of tickets will have missed out on those big nights at Villa Park that provide experiences like no other. The match against Bayern was the club’s first at home in Europe’s elite club competition in four decades - that occasion obviously doesn’t come around every few years.
Villa will hopefully have European football for many more years to come, and there’s no limit to Emery’s ambitions. But this season’s Champions League pricing strategy must be amended at the next possible opportunity because these are the years which fans must have the opportunity to cherish together.