Following the club's announcement of 2014/2015 season ticket prices yesterday, some areas of concern have been raised by fans on the Aberdeen Mad forum, Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere.
The pricing structure for season tickets has changed, meaning increases across the board and abandoning free tickets for under-12s. Here the club explains the reasons behind this.
Why has my season ticket increased in price?
For the previous three seasons the club has taken the decision to freeze season ticket prices as a reward to our loyal supporters. In fact, adults in the Main Stand have a price drop again for the forthcoming campaign.
The club has this season tried to ensure the manager has had the means to build a squad which has delivered a League Cup trophy and the return of European football to Pittodrie. It is imperative that this investment, not only in the playing squad, but in all areas of the club, on and off the pitch, continues to ensure that Aberdeen Football Club remains a leading light on the Scottish football landscape.
Ultimately, we want every supporter to become part of the dons family and that entails a change of mind set for some of our valuable fans. We want supporters to cement their place within the family through the purchase of a season ticket as opposed to purchasing on a match by match basis hence the reason for 25% savings when compared to match prices when purchasing during the early bird price period.
Thanks to our new finance partners, V12, supporters can follow the dons from just £35.85* a month by spreading the cost of your season ticket.
Why, in particular, have season tickets increased for over-60s?
In previous years all Dons supporters over 60 were being charged the same for their season ticket as our supporters under the age of 18 or in full time education. Given the significant difference in stages of lives between these demographic groups, the club felt it was important that we refocused the pricing structure to offer more value for money to those younger supporters, who are imperative to the long term development of the club.
We do, of course, value the loyal and sustained support our older fans have shown the club over the years, particularly when we were not delivering a team on the pitch they could be proud of, however these younger fans are the next generation of supporters and as a club we need to significant grow the number of season ticket holders within this bracket. Supporters falling into this bracket can also take advantage of 25% savings when compared to match by match ticket prices.
Why is there no free U12 season ticket this year?
The decision to remove the free U12 season ticket offer was not one which came easy to the Club however, it had come to our attention that these free U12 season ticket were failing to fulfil the purpose they were intended to, to encourage the next generation of fans.
The feedback provided to us showed these U12 season tickets were frequently not being utilised and when we experienced high demand for matches this season we were being left unable to sell these seats, despite no one taking advantage of the seat. Furthermore, we were frequently having to deal with adults attempting to use these free U12 season tickets to enter the stadium and this is fundamentally wrong.
An U12 season ticket is available for next season for just £49, across the stadium. Based on 19 homes games a season this equates to just £2.50 per game, a significant discount when compared to buying an U12 ticket on a match by match basis.
Additionally, we are offering every U12 season ticket holder the opportunity to attend one of our Junior Matchday Club sessions for free. A place at our popular match-day club normally costs £13.50!
With Motherwell, our contenders for second spot this season, charging £70 for an U12 season ticket, we feel our U12 package is financially fair.