Coming soon to Arsenal: the first £100 non-corporate ticket

Posted Monday, November 22, 2010 by theguardian.com

Coming soon to Arsenal: the first £100 non-corporate ticket
The club said the rise was an inevitable result of the increase in VAT.

Arsenal may have played out five seasons since their last trophy and scotched their 17-year unbeaten home league record against Tottenham Hotspur, but they appear likely to power through a new threshold next year with the launch of football's first £100 non-corporate ticket.

The price rise is anticipated to come into place in the new year, when the VAT levy on tickets rises by 2.5% to 20%, taking the cost of the most expensive match day ticket at Emirates Stadium, including a £2.30 booking fee and £2.20 postage, from £98.50 to £100.60.

The club was unable to comment but its website has already warned that "with the VAT increase due in January 2011, our matchday ticket prices will be subject to change", giving every indication that the added tax burden will be passed on to consumers.

Whether Arsenal fans will be willing to part with £100 for a view of a team that beguiles and frustrates in equal measure and without a whiff of half-time hospitality remains to be seen. The £390m development of the 60,000 Emirates Stadium has given the club unrivalled access to corporate revenue but also laden the club with significant debt. Supporters have been asked to remain patient while the club operates a prudent transfer policy but have had to reach deep into their own pockets. At Arsenal the cheapest season ticket starts at £893, almost enough to buy four equivalent tickets at Blackburn Rovers, while Chelsea – five trophies better off since the Emirates opened its doors in 2006 – charge £560.

At Manchester United, where fans have revolted against the ticket price rises which followed the Glazer family's leveraged buyout of the club, the most expensive match day ticket costs £49.

Malcolm Clarke, chairman of the Football Supporters' Federation, said: "A £100 ticket in the present climate is ridiculous. It is proof that football is not living in the same world as the rest of us. The game has more money going into it than ever before and it is not helping fans. Football is no longer a game that is readily accessible to all sections of the community."