It is a commonly voiced complaint by Football supporters across Britain, that ticket prices to watch their favourite team play on a regular basis can be at least a little on the expensive side. For the top Premier League clubs in England, the cost of a season ticket can be verging on the extortionate, especially when a family has to be factored in with food, transport, parking, match day programme and the extra incidental costs to consider in the total outlay.
Some of the clubs are now beginning to think of alternative ways of payment to ensure that their supporters are all fairly considered.
North of the border in Scotland on Tuesday, Inverness Caledonian Thistle decided to trial a "pay what you can" deal for their Scottish Premiership match with St Johnstone. The concept has previously been piloted last season by Scottish League Two side Albion Rovers, who were delighted with the outcome as they reported increased gate receipts as a result. The basic notion is that supporters only pay what they feel is a good price for the game they have come to watch.
Crowds for the top-half Inverness side's home games at the Caledonian Stadium are typically around 3,800 at present, so the attendance of 3,161 to see their 2-0 defeat of the Saints may have been a little disappointing as success stories go. However, the club were relieved that the crowd was still way above the extremely low figure that some had predicted and publicly at least hailed that the exercise had indeed been worthwhile on a chilly Highland evening. With some paying more than normal to watch and others paying less, the exact figure for the gate receipts taken in are still to be confirmed.
Undaunted, they are still planning to try out other options in the future, including allowing under-12s that accompany a paying adult to gain free entry to the derby with Ross County.
Chairman Kenny Cameron recognises that as a relatively new club with only around twenty years of history to reflect on, that the fan base needs to be worked on by bringing new fans into the ground on a more regular basis. Whether or not they persevere with the various trial payment options is still up for debate it seems, but they seem keen to see what works and what doesn't, before a full review of their pricing structures for the seasons to come.
One of the key questions that arises from offering such a payment option for a fan is what do they think is a fair price to pay? Standard admission prices at Scottish Premiership games are around the £20 mark, yet some fans on Tuesday surpassed that figure in their estimation of the value to them, with some paying as much as £30 for the privilege.
Other teams in England have from time to time trialled similar local initiatives, especially when they fear that crowd numbers may be down on normal, with either reduced admission prices for some age groups, price cuts across the board or even free tickets to deserving socio-economic groups for some games. Often that has been with an eye to ensuring a good atmosphere in the grounds, just as much as it has been to protect the revenue streams generated as a result of more fans attending. One such club is Brentford, who continued their (third) annual 'pay what you can' initiative for the visit of Rotherham United earlier this month.
Given that football clubs are often viewed as a major part of the local community, they can often encourage attachment to them and their product through offering other initiatives such as education through sport or open days.
Once people in the community make that connection with the club, they often decide to watch the football team as well, as a by-product.
Some clubs have taken the interesting step of seeking to recompense their fans after matches where their side has performed particularly poorly, such as earlier this season in the Southampton versus Sunderland game at St Mary's. The humiliating defeat 8-0 left many away fans shocked and angry, so the players offered to give them the price of their ticket back as a means of continued good faith and club spirit.