Fellow Hammers United members,
Following the Club’s announcement of inflation busting rises to the cost of a season ticket and reductions in availability of concessions for young, old and accessible fans, the ISC wrote to the club on March 11th:
www.hammersunited.com/isc-statement-on-season-ticket-prices-and-proposed-changes-to-concessions/
Hammers United recognises that the Club’s latest ticketing strategy affects all supporters in a variety of different ways, none of which are positive, but there is one group of fans for whom the changes to concession tickets are especially hard hitting, families and friends.
As is the natural order of things, there comes a time when our oldest and most loyal supporters are no longer able to attend matches. We cannot think of a time when it was anything other than the norm that their place would be taken by younger members of their family and friends, children and grandchildren, and thus new generations would continue the tradition of supporting West Ham.
That’s the natural progression. The way it has always been and always should be. However, the Club has taken a wrecking ball to this tradition.
From now on, families and friends in bands 1-4 who would like to transfer a season ticket to a new, young supporter (who would normally be offered a concession rate) will no longer be able to do this. Instead, the new concession rate season ticket would only be available in bands 5 and 6 which will see the disintegration of families’ and friends’ groups supporting West Ham together.
There is no doubt some new fans will not take up a season ticket and West Ham United will potentially lose a new generation of supporters. It should be noted that before announcing its decision to press ahead with these changes, the Club did not consult the ISC, which represents many thousands of West Ham fans. There are plenty of progressive ideas and solutions which could have been discussed and we are sure that a fair and equitable compromise could have been reached.
Instead, the Club chose to ignore its responsibility to consult and engage meaningfully with the ISC.
By “sheer coincidence” it transpires that most Premier League clubs are heading down the same route of inflation busting price increases and the removal of concessions from higher priced seat bands. Hammers United became aware of this worrying trend having attended an FSA meeting of Premier League fans groups - it’s happening all over!
Far be it from Hammers United, or any of the other fans’ groups, to suggest that there has been some form of collusion between the clubs who may well see a financial benefit in losing “traditional” fans in favour of the eye-watering revenue that tourists and hospitality attendees generate on a game by game basis, but it does raise some very serious questions about where all of this might be heading.
Among fans up and down the land there is a clear appetite for co-ordinated and sustained protests against the actions being taken by Premier League clubs and Hammers United will play its part.
COYI
Hammers United Committee
