Manchester City fan groups calls on Club hierarchy to ‘take a pay cut’ following Season Ticket price rise

Etihad Stadium officials have once again opted to increase the price of season tickets ahead of Manchester City’s 2024/25 season, as per confirmation on Wednesday.

In a document released to existing season ticket holders offering them the chance to renew ahead of the upcoming new campaign, incremental rises were once again applied to all sections of the Etihad Stadium.

Since the 2022/23 season, Manchester City season ticket holders located in the South Stand in particular have seen their average annual prices rise from £544.17 to £617.50 – a percentage increase on average in that region of the stadium of 13.5 per cent.

In fact, since the 2021/22 season, the South Stand has seen a greater average increase in season ticket prices across the Etihad Stadium, with prices for the club’s loyal support rising by almost 25 per cent.

In a statement issued to the Manchester Evening News, a spokesperson for MCFC Fans Foodbank Support not only questioned City’s decision to consistently increase season ticket prices for over a decade, but also the hierarchy’s inability to take matters into their own hands.

“Every year Pep (Guardiola) says, ‘We need our people’, but his mates make it harder for our people to be there. Our core support, who have been following our local club for years and years through it all, has had repeated price increases for over a decade now.”

The statement continued, “The Greater Manchester region, and Manchester particularly, are some of the most deprived parts of the country. There are families living in the shadow of the Etihad using foodbanks, who couldn’t imagine paying what a match ticket costs now.

“When fans returned post-Covid, the PA said ‘We’ve missed you’ and ‘It’s not been the same without you’. City made more money in lockdown despite no fans in the ground, proving that they don’t need to increase matchday revenue at all.”

In a closing message, the spokesperson questioned whether City officials should take a pay cut if the need for extra cash is so desperate, “So why squeeze costs out of the people who can afford it least? Do the people in charge ever consider taking a pay cut if the club needs that extra million quid?”

It remains to be seen whether Manchester City will perform a u-turn on their decision to issue supporters with an increase on their season ticket costs, with pressure mounting on club officials from all corners of supporter groups and online media platforms.