Sunderland ‘to reap financial benefits’ from new ticket controversy – Exclusive
Sunderland recently announced that they would be enforcing a new system when it comes to season ticket holders not attending games.
As of now, Sunderland are unaware as to which league they will be playing their football in next season, though it hasn’t stopped people from signing up for the new campaign.
Heading into the final eight games of the season, Regis Le Bris‘ side have every chance of achieving promotion and delivering success back to the fanbase that has supported them through thick and thin.
However, one change applied to the new season tickets will see junior supporters penalised if they do not attend more than 70 per cent of Sunderland games next season, a change that caused plenty of debate.
Sunderland could penalise supporters next season
Very rarely do you see Sunderland kicking off at 3 pm on Saturday in the Championship, making it difficult for juniors to attend every game.
While that needs to be considered, Dan Plumley, when speaking exclusively to Mackem News, thinks there will be a financial aspect behind the decision.
The football finance expert said: “I think it’s, it’s certainly around the kind of opportunity cost of not generating additional revenue because it makes sense, doesn’t it, you know, if you’ve got that seat, you’ve probably paid for it upfront or you’re on some sort of credit plan, so they have got that season ticket money.
“But of course, if people aren’t gonna use that seat, then you could sell that seat on, that’s the counterargument, and we’ve seen clubs kind of make it more of a normal practice.
| Sunderland | Average attendance |
| 24/25 | 38,895 |
| 23/24 | 37,012 |
| 22/23 | 38,585 |
| 21/22 | 30,847 |
| 20/21 | N/A |
| 19/20 | 30,118 |
“Maybe, you know, official resale-type opportunities for a small fee or whatever it is. But you want the fans there to generate the atmosphere, and all clubs would want every seat filled, every game, I’m sure, but also it does have the financial benefit that we’re talking about as well.
“I think it’s a sensible option for clubs to explore. You want to reward your most loyal fans, but also what you can’t have is them just buying the season tickets and not using them to gain access to further tickets.
“So it is a fine balance. I think that percentages will always be one that we will argue about, but, I think it’s more the kind of opportunity cost that you perhaps lose by, yes, you’ve got the guaranteed income from season ticket holders, but if they’re not using the seats, then there’s an argument that you can resell those seats and that’s what the clubs will be looking at as well.”
Le Bris could soon be a Premier League manager
Despite Sunderland’s drop in form as of late, a return to the Premier League is still on the cards, and then you could only imagine an even bigger increase in attendance.
Reading into the final eight games of the campaign, the Black Cats must return to the form that brought them plenty of success up until now, if they are to achieve promotion.