The Ipswich Town Independent Supporters Trust says the club risk missing out on a generation of fans due to the cost of matchday tickets.

Around 600 supporters responded to a recent Trust survey with almost half stating that “high matchday ticket prices” were a very important factor in putting them off attending games at Portman Road. Amongst those aged 30 and under that figure rose to more than 50 per cent.

For Grade A matches the cheapest adult seat costs £32, while a similar Grade B ticket is £27.50 and Grade C £21. Tickets purchased at a game are subject to a £2.50 additional charge.

Asked to name what they felt was a fair price for admission, the majority of respondents to the survey said £25 or lower.

Fans were also unhappy with the prices charged to away fans, with 90 per cent rating £32.50 — the lowest-priced seat purchased ahead of a Grade B game in the visitors’ section — as “poor” or “very poor”.

Supporters were also critical of “the ease of getting ticket information” this season with 33 per cent believing it was "poor” or “very poor”, while 43 per cent answered “poor” or “very poor” to the question “how easy has it been to buy a ticket on a matchday?”.

This summer’s controversial closure of the ticket office and ending of telephone sales was seen as significant by 26 per cent of respondents, who felt it was “very important”, however, 30 per cent believed it “does not matter”.

Alasdair Ross, the Trust’s chair, said: “This survey highlights what the club needs to do to make sure that the next generation of supporters get into the habit of spending their Saturday afternoons at Portman Road.

“Lower prices, more offers and promotions, and making it as easy as possible to get tickets, are all factors which will attract younger fans.

“We were pleased to discuss these results with the club at a recent fans’ forum, and look forward to working with the club further in identifying what should be done in response to the findings.”

Survey respondents had praise for the club’s season ticket prices, which were frozen for the third year running ahead of 2013/14, with 75 per cent of season ticket holders believing they pay a “fair price” for their seat. You can read more on the Trust’s survey on their website.

Meanwhile, the club are planning ticket promotions during the remaining months of the season with a £5 discount on seats for the Wigan fixture for those attending the Birmingham match having been announced yesterday.

Club spokesman Steve Pearce said: “While protecting the value of a season ticket we are constantly looking at promotions for matchday tickets.

“We had 'kids for a quid' against Leicester and discounted tickets for the Barnsley game, while plans are being put in place for a number of ticket promotions for the remainder of the season.”

Photo: Action Images

BerlinBlue added 15:28 - Feb 11 Ticket prices at PR are scandalous. Something does need to be done about it, otherwise people will continue to stay away.
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Seasider added 15:59 - Feb 11 Firstly nobody on here has said well done to the trust for compiling this comprehensive survey and conveying the findings to the club. I dont recall the supporters club doing this so how will the football club know the supporters feelings unless it is by such means. MattinLondon has a good point about disconnect between the Club and fans;but it is also with the community. The previous Chairman David Sheepshanks was always popping up at various functions around the area,the majority not connected to football or ITFC,whereas our present Chairman wishes to remain anonymous and the joint MD's I presume live outside the area,as does the Manager;so no networking goes on anymore and connection to the business community is left to Simon Milton. In addition the closing of the ticket office and phone bookings,the difficulty with obtaining e-tickets for some plus the match day premium charge all have a bearing on the decline,as well as the high cost I am sure ;together with the rather unexciting football played and of course the continuing squeeze on the ordinary persons income,not the rich;although a lot of them dont go to soccer,its rugger shooting hunting and fishing?!!!

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blackcat added 16:32 - Feb 11 door to door for me is a hundred miles add the fuel and time out from work to allow for travel time its an expensive day out for even just me and my child, however that was never a problem when i was a season ticket holder as we were a great team to watch with great players but since the End of George Burley we have been RUBBISH and i cannot justify paying that money for what has been ages, I hope we are turning the corner now though

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linhdi added 16:45 - Feb 11 The survey throws up some strange responses - how on earth 43% can think it difficult to buy a ticket on a matchday, when all you need to do is turn up at the ground and pay to get in - Town have even (unusually if not uniquely) put card payment turnstiles at each stand in case you pitch up without cash! And it is equally hard to see how so many respondents to an online survey seem to find it hard to buy tickets online. That is not to say that all is well - ticket pricing is needlessly complex, and categorising Championship games seems odd. But there's some room for optimism - since most people feel that the minimum price should be no more than £25, and with Cat B being £27.50 and Cat C £21, the survey suggests that we'd be happy to see the cheapest games made more expensive, and the Cat B drop to £25, and Cat A (just one this season) scrapped. I think we have about twice as many Cat C as B, so a £25 cost for all would seem to be what fans are asking for?Though I suppose "fans support price rise for most Town games" is not quite the headline that the Trust wanted to put out.

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Taricco_Fan added 17:35 - Feb 11 No surprise here. Match day ticket prices are too expensive, something that has been obvious to the rational fan for many years now. Quality of football and league position are factors (not as big as many think), but affordability is an absolute issue. I'm glad that this survey brings this issue to light once again, but I doubt anything will come of this. Our ticket pricing is short-termist and will prove to be damaging to the future fanbase of this club over the longer term. If you lose potential supports when they are young then you most likely lose them for life. The only meaningful action would be to reduce match day ticket prices across the board. End the nonsensical grading system. Stop the surcharge for buying tickets on the gate. We all know this club can get 20-25k through the gate each week with sensibly-priced tickets. Time to do something about it. The current ticket "promotions" are shallow gestures at best. If fans cannot afford to attend games then the occasional promotion does nothing to change that over the long term.

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adamisablue added 18:47 - Feb 11 ive blogged about this in the past, and made this exact point. average ticket price ive pad in europe is about 22 euros (for top of the league stuff) yet i pay an 32 pounds for 2nd tier? i love itfc, but i barely afford to go and when i do its so dull an uninsireing. im being frozen out on match day and as a result becoming more and more disconnected with the club. if this can happen to a supporter of 15+ years, what hope has the club of bringing in the next gen got? on a side note, you will find this situation is nation wide (barring cit eh chelski etc) and is destroying the game as we know it

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blue_moon09 added 18:53 - Feb 11 Sorry but if your proper Ipswich supporters, it shouldn't matter what match day tickets cost, if your loyal fans you should be renewing your season tickets year in year to support the club in the transfer market (FFP), I do rather than relying on the odd ticket promotion to watch the team No doubt all the hangers on will be chasing play off tickets if we get there in May, To many moaners support town these days, makes me sick, get behind the team and stop moaning.

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KBsSocks added 19:06 - Feb 11 "Proper Ipswich supporters" wouldn't say turning up to support the team was more important than feeding your family, bluemoon.
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blueboy1981 added 19:08 - Feb 11 The headline says it all - a very real potential problem. But, has it / is it recognised by the people running our Club ? - and / or in the process of being addressed ? Everything around us in this Country seems to smack of short term planning - long term detriment. Typical example FLOODS - lack of maintenance on Rivers, Streams, Dikes, Ditches - means FLOODS. So why are we surprised at what we see ? - it's been / is coming for all of us !!! ......... Changed subject I know but generic point.

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adamisablue added 19:14 - Feb 11 @blue moon there is an element of moaning but its also a statement of fact. i have to get by on minimum wage (just like the rest of us) and simply cannot justify such a high price for so little value out of some sense of mis placed loyalty or blind passion. especially when players (not mentioning any names) rinse the wages and move on in the blink of an eye whilst im trying to justify paying through the nose for 90 minutes a week. you must b one of the lucky ones if you can afford to do that, i simply cannot. hence i became disconnected with the club. im not the only one and 15,000 silent seats speak louder than i do

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muccletonjoe added 19:16 - Feb 11 The club have already lost thousands of supporters , who will not return even if we reach the premier league. The stupidity of these ticket prices will be felt for many many years.
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blueboy1981 added 19:42 - Feb 11 blue-moon09 - ....what planet are you on ??? - certainly not this one.
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Tom18 added 19:48 - Feb 11 If tickets were not so expensive I would go more, I think £20 for an adult is reasonable
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blueboy1981 added 19:53 - Feb 11 ....... and we still have people on here telling some of to 'go elsewhere' if we dare to challenge / disagree with anything to do with the goings on of the Club !!! ........ says it all I guess. Although a season ticket holder myself, I totally understand that some would be with us if only they could justifiably afford it - I would much prefer to see 25,000+ in the ground - many of whom would be on reduced match day ticket prices - than a half empty ground with no atmosphere, or a struggle to create one. Season Ticket holders could (with little thought) be suitable compensated / rewarded in other small ways, which I would be pleased to go along with. We need people - and NOT people telling others to go elsewhere.

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RegencyBlue added 20:14 - Feb 11 I recall we took 3000+ fans to Reading on the opening day of the season whilst a few weeks ago Reading, currently a top six side, brought only 5-600 to Portman Rd. The reason for the massive discrepancy? Could it possibly be that Town fans were charged £23 for a seat at Reading whilst their fans were charged £35 to come to Portman Road? Prices at Portman Road are a rip off for fans, both home and away, and whilst there are those who will not accept this point under any circumstances the empty banks of seats on a match day tell the true story.

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AlexanderFields added 20:50 - Feb 11 These days I am unfortunately unable to attend Portman Road except at fairly short notice and not all that often. If and when I get the chance to go, I cannot buy a ticket on the internet. I cannot buy on the telephone. I cannot go to the ticket office and get a seat somewhere close to or within shouting distance of my season ticket holder brother, as I used to. I am not going to make the effort to drive 180 miles (three or four hours, and expensive) to be ripped off at the turnstile. I say this with sadness, having supported the Blues since 1946. I went to the first game of the season at Reading (bought the ticket without fuss over the phone). The facilites there are good, and the prices sensible.

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adamisablue added 21:07 - Feb 11 the thing that most concerns me is the fact that nothing will be done about it. we have all said something about all of the issues mentioned, its plain for all to see yet the club will probably only justify with a "everybody else is doing it" attitude, or simply ignore becasue after all, we are mindless consumers who know nothing about football or business. its all very well talking here, but until someone actually sits down with the cheif executives we are talking amongst ourselves

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blueboy1981 added 21:16 - Feb 11 AlexanderFields - ..... sums our current ITFC up - simple proof that we do not have the correct policies in place to encourage people to support our once great, caring, and family Club. Others can - so why can't we ??
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loudnproud added 00:55 - Feb 12 Lots of valid points...However the bottom line is that ITFC is owned by effectively a "Ticket tout" who made millions doing it......Fans feelings dont come into it!!!
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jaspercon added 08:01 - Feb 12 The last few games have been grade C which is only £21 for an adult in lower tiers and around £6.00 (i think) for kids in family areas. Those last few games have also been some of the lowest attended of the season. The club have been poor at marketing this though as those prices are actually pretty cheap. I think also many fans just will not come back unless we are playing pretty, passing, attacking football.

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madmouse1959 added 08:19 - Feb 12 Good post by Mattin......Theres been a steady decline over many years now and at last some people are recognizing that fact. With managers coming and going.....players coming and going...loan players in and out without even a bead of sweat given........and not even a distant hope that Marcus Evans will ever inspire anyone to becoming an Ipswich supporter. This club is just too disconnected from the supporter....Yes....we can moan at the cost of a match ticket on the day....its scandalous pricing....The standard of football has been dire for too many years now and a lot of fans have said enough is enough.. When the famous Ipswich Town can,t beat bottom clubs like Barnsley at home then it just seems like a wasted afternoon. As mentioned.....half the time you don,t know what the team is going to be.......and much of the time its a dull game and a tired atmosphere.. Marcus Evans needs to wake up and make an effort to push this club forward.

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madmouse1959 added 08:35 - Feb 12 Another valid point by Dave (Loud n Proud)......It seems Marcus Evans is only in it for the money....When he,s made enough he,ll just sell the club on. Too wrong for too long !!
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BlueArmy01 added 18:37 - Feb 12 For me when the two muppet directors came out at the start of the season and said they think the pricing was about right I lost all hope, no pay increase in my job for years no hope of one unless things change so Football has just become unaffordable apart from the £10 games that are only offered when the season is effectively over. Wake up ITFC.
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SouperJim added 10:02 - Feb 13 Congratulations blue_moon09, that is one of the most the ignorant comments I've read on here for some time.
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HackneyBlue added 22:15 - Feb 13 I have 2 sons with a 6 year age gap,i have had a seaon ticket for 25years and wanted to make sure my boys followed in my footsteps,the first son went when he was 5 but when he reached 11 the child cost for a season ticket rose by £168 and i can not afford that so took him periodically but he lost interest and no longer goes ,second son was now old enough and he goes with me but yet again the 11 year old threshold looms and again the cost will mean no ST just odd promotion games-i understand there must be increases as you get older but how many 11 year olds earn enough to afford £169 ,16 yes thats when the change should happen,2 more future fans priced out and 1 lifelong fan will not renew the next season as i miss taking my sons to football more than going alone-well done Town.

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