Today we hear from Vicci Elliot – STAR Treasurer
As Treasurer of STAR, finance is a very important subject to me. A few years back STAR was part of the “Twenty is Plenty” campaign looking for support to cap away ticket prices at £20 in the Championship. We have to applaud Reading FC in sticking to this pricing policy despite very few other clubs in the Championship offering us a similar price, £30 seems the norm this season. In fact in the case of clubs like Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday it is £35+ for an adult ticket, and these clubs charge their local rivals even more. This has led to a situation where you can follow your team away in the Premiership for less, as tickets are capped at £30.
It is about time the EFL took the initiative and introduced their own cap. I, as a regular traveller to all away games would be happy to see this at £25 if “Twenty isn’t Plenty” in their eyes. However, this is like getting Turkeys to vote for Christmas as many of the EFL chairman see it as reducing income rather than a way of encouraging more supporters through the gate. This is then a circular argument in their opinion.
I don’t think boycotting these high priced games is the best idea, as our team would be the one to suffer through the reduced support. Also due to FA rules on pricing, we are unable to charge a higher price to the clubs that charge us more. Therefore, working closely with the FSF/SD to lobby the EFL seems to be the way ahead.
In the meantime, at least the financial burden of trips to Yorkshire and other far flung destinations have been eased this season by Mr Yongge’s gesture of paying for the coaches to a number of away grounds. This included the trip to Nottingham Forest which ended up at as a six hour round trip to Leicester Forest Services for a cuppa of tea overlooking the M1. As well as saving our travellers up to £350 this season, it is great to see a number of young people being able to use the STAR coaches to grounds they otherwise couldn’t have gone to. If you haven’t taken the owner up on his offer yet – then pop into STAR base for information and bookings.