Brentford FC has today restated its commitment to affordable, accessible football as it launched its season ticket campaign and plans for the 2023/24 season.
The club has announced that prices in 2023/24 across all season tickets will be frozen. A new 10-month in-house direct debit scheme will also be introduced to enable fans to spread the cost across the year.
Brentford remains one of the cheapest places to watch Premier League football with the standard adult season ticket (band B) working out around £24 per match. Fans have until 31 March to renew.
Ensuring that football remains affordable and accessible
Jon Varney, chief executive, said: “We are very mindful that the cost-of-living crisis is biting hard for people across the country and within our communities.
“Ensuring that football remains affordable and accessible is really important for us and our fans. That’s why we have frozen prices and introduced a new direct debit scheme.
“When we set out to review our plans for next season, we wanted to consider ways to grow our revenue but avoid inflationary price increases. We also received representations from our fans on this point. I hope that the outcome of this work can ease the financial pressures which many are facing.”
Ticketmaster Sport to deliver new online ticketing platform
In order to improve the online ticketing experience, Brentford has also announced it will be partnering with Ticketmaster Sport from the summer of 2023.
Ticketmaster are experienced operators who work with a number of other Premier League clubs.
They will provide ticketing services and will deliver a new online ticketing platform for the club.
Varney said: “Using the feedback we received from our fans and from our staff, we reviewed a number of options in the market and we felt that Ticketmaster was best placed to provide the solution we needed.
“We believe that their platform will make it easier for our fans to buy tickets and manage their ticketing accounts.
“Their ticket exchange in particular was one feature that we were impressed with. It’s intuitive and easy to use – and this will be really important for us as we look to maximise seat occupancy going forward.
“Season ticket renewals will be handled via our existing system and we will transition to Ticketmaster in the summer.”
New ‘every seat counts’ policy introduced
With prices frozen, direct debits introduced and a new ticketing platform in the pipeline, Brentford is also keen to tackle the issue of unused, empty seats at the Gtech Community Stadium and the challenge of away fans gaining access to home areas.
On average, there are more than 1,000 unused season ticket holder seats each match.
Varney said: “We understand that not everyone can come to every game, but it is essential that if fans can’t make it, another Bees fan can attend in their place. So, from the 2023/24 season we are introducing a new ‘every seat counts’ policy.”
How will the policy work?
In basic terms, next season, fans will face consequences if they consistently leave their seat empty.
Brentford will be introducing a yellow card system - if a season ticket holder fails to use their ticket for a league match, they will get a yellow card.
If they get four yellow cards by the next renewal date in March 2024, they will lose the automatic right to renew their season ticket for the 2024/25 season.
To avoid getting a yellow card, each season ticket holder must use their ticket by either:
Attending the match and have the season ticket card scanned
Transferring the ticket to another Brentford supporter, and the recipient scans their ticket
Listing the ticket on the ticket exchange prior to 10am on the day of the match
Listing the ticket on the ticket exchange after the 10am deadline and it sells before the kick-off – but if the ticket is not sold, you will receive a yellow card
Exemptions will apply for fans with carers and those under 18. All decisions will be subject to an appeals process.
Read our frequently asked questions (FAQs) and watch our explainer video to understand all the details about our ‘every seat counts’ policy.
The team and the fans will benefit too
Varney explained why this new policy is important and how it can help the team: “The atmosphere at the Gtech Community Stadium is fantastic but imagine what it could be like with an extra 1,000 fans in the stadium each week.
“We want the Gtech to be as loud and as full as possible. Fans have their role to play in backing the team - it does make a difference. The players have said it. Thomas Frank has said it. Every seat counts.
“We also know that there are thousands of Bees fans, your friends and your relations, desperate to come along to a game. We want to give them the best opportunity we can to attend.
“It’s important to remember that as well as creating a better atmosphere, by using the ticket exchange, season ticket holders will also receive a pro-rata refund in cash for tickets sold.”
The club needs to grow to compete
Varney said: “This policy goes hand-in-hand with the price freeze. We are very mindful of the current financial challenges that our fans are facing. But we also need to grow our revenues given the fierce competition to thrive in the Premier League. We need to grow the club in line with football’s financial regulations against other clubs who have more established revenue streams, larger fan bases and different ownership structures. Simply put, increasing stadium occupancy will help us compete.”
A fair appeals process but the policy needs to be robust
“I want to stress to fans though that we do understand that circumstances can crop up which prevent them coming to the game at the last minute. That’s why we’ve introduced a policy which gives a bit of leeway. We will be reasonable and we will have a fair appeals process in place to consider any special cases.
“However, the policy does need to have some teeth, otherwise these seats will continue to remain empty.”
Lengthy fan consultation informed decision-making
To conclude, Varney paid tribute to the working groups which included representatives from BIAS and Bees United: “The fans involved have been working on this since last year. They have put a lot of their personal time into this, giving us feedback on both the season ticket plans and the ticketing platform, debating different ideas and helping us to refine the plan for which we are very grateful.
“All of that work has helped us make the decisions and finalise the campaign for next season which we are announcing today.”
Find out more
We encourage all fans to find out more about our season ticket renewals process and policy by reading our FAQs.
Please note that this is a season ticket renewal process and no new sales will be available at this time.
Should any additional season tickets become available once the renewals process has concluded, My Bees Members will be given priority access subject to match attendance and ticket access points (TAPs) criteria. More information will follow.
If you are interested in becoming a My Bees Member for the 2023/24 season, you can register your interest here.
If any fans would like to request a seat move, they should renew their existing seat and complete this form by 31 March 2023.