'Everyone's talking about ticket prices'published at 12:32 GMT 10 March
Pat Riddell
Fan writer
Image source, Getty ImagesNottingham Forest's biggest game in Europe for 30 years. A night under the lights at the world famous City Ground. And everybody's talking about… ticket prices.
A place in the quarter-final of the Europa League awaits the winner of Nottingham Forest versus Midtjylland. Yet Thursday's first leg on the banks of the River Trent could see one of the smallest crowds of the season. As it stands, seats are available in almost every block of the stadium.
Adult tickets — anyone over the age of 18 that is, no youth reductions here — range from £50 up to £70. Those same tickets aren't much cheaper for a Premier League game but, in a supply-and-demand world, anyone will tell you they haven't been as difficult to buy recently. Maybe the club's recent form has something to do with that?
It's not exactly been an inspiring time. We've wasted millions of pounds on payments to sacked managers — three at the last count — while season ticket prices have risen to levels unheard of just a few years ago. And above-inflation rises are rumoured for the next season, too.
We all know how it works and Forest aren't alone. Newcastle United and Manchester United, among others, are facing similar criticism for season ticket prices. Forest fan Ellie Molloson's impassioned appearance on The Overlap went viral recently, her opinions on the atmosphere at Premier League stadiums touching a nerve with many.
There is always an argument that if you don't want to buy your ticket, then somebody else will. Thursday's game looks like it might well disprove that theory. And relegation this season could see a return to the relative ease of buying tickets just a few years ago.
Thousands of fans kept their season tickets through the Reds' years in the Championship and League One. Loyalty and respect work both ways. Do you cash in on the club's 'success'? Or do you reward the supporters, as well as ensuring a sell-out crowd lifts the team with the atmosphere they — and the game — deserve?
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