“Could be far worse” - Birmingham City receive praise for St. Andrew’s matchday stance | OneFootball

St Andrew's continues to be a palace of positivity as the League One campaign continues

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

With the cost of living seemingly rising by the day, committing yourself to following your football club through every match of the season is getting progressively harder.

With the cost of a match ticket continuing to rise, let alone travel and everything else that comes with the match day experience, attending games has become a costly past time, with supporters feeling in the pocket more than ever.

With that in mind, we put it to fans of EFL clubs to discuss their club’s pricing strategy for the season ahead, and whether they feel they get bang for their buck when it comes to following their team.

As Football League World’s Birmingham City fan pundit, Mike Gibbs gives us his thoughts on prices at St Andrew’s, as the Blues look for an immediate return to the Championship.

Birmingham City ticket price evaluated as League One campaign continues

City have come flying out the blocks in their first League One campaign in 30 years, with the Blues currently sitting top of the table after an impressive start to the season.

With a star-studded squad for the level producing results week on week, St. Andrew’s has been a hive of activity since August, with Chris Davies’ side yet to taste defeat in front of their own supporters.

It is hard to say that Bluenoses aren’t getting their money’s worth during the early part of the campaign, although they are forking out a pretty penny to get a glimpse of the early league leaders.

Taking Tuesday night’s upcoming fixture against Bolton Wanderers as an example, an adult wanting to sit in The Kop will be paying £30, while a seat behind either goal will set you back £27.50.

For the third tier of English football, they are rather extravagant prices, although Gibbs believes the club have got it spot on when it comes to their pricing strategy.

When asked about the cost for the match-going fan, Gibbs told FLW: “I think the ticket prices are OK; they could be far worse and they are definitely worse at other clubs.

“You have always got to strike a balance, the club obviously needs to bring the money in, as we obviously have to increase revenue to increase our spending, and it is a business at the end of the day.

“But I feel like they have struck a pretty good balance on the whole - where it becomes difficult is I have three kids and taking the five of us to a game, with the travel, food programmes and merchandise, it is just really expensive, and it is not something you can do every week.

How Birmingham City’s season tickets compare to match day sales

With St Andrew’s as rife as it has been for some time, the Blues will likely be raking it in when it comes to match day revenue, with barely a spare seat in the house as the excitement around the club grows.

As well as that, City are offering one of the cheapest season tickets in the division, with a year-long pass to home games only costing £315 according to Birmingham World, which equates to just £13.70 per match.

That makes a ticket bought on the day likely to be close to double what a season ticket holder pays, leaving those who pick and choose their games with a bigger hit to take in the pocket.

For the majority of folk, committing to 23 weekends a season isn’t always the easiest, as Gibbs eludes to, although he has every faith that the board have got their figures spot on this season.

Gibbs added: “That being said, while season tickets are affordable, committing to being there every couple of weeks is a big-time commitment.

“So I think on the whole they have got it right; I wouldn’t say they were overpriced, I wouldn’t say they were underpriced. There is the odd game where I think they get it a little bit wrong and overprice it, but on the whole it is very good.”