Football
Leeds vs Portsmouth Tops The Table With The Most Expensive Tickets On Championship Opening Weekend
Cai is a news and features writer that specialises in football, but has experience covering a variety of other sports, including darts, basketball, American football, MMA, boxing, and more. He holds a degree in Football Journalism (BA Hons) from the University of Derby, and worked with Nottingham Forest FC and Burton Albion FC throughout his studies. Cai also has experience working in social media with the Football Association of Wales, where he worked on a freelance basis, and has also been an accredited writer in the JD Cymru Premier for both Y Clwb Pêl-Droed and welshfootie since the 2019/20 season.
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The 2024/25 EFL Championship season gets underway this week, and with fans eagerly anticipating the return of competitive football, we’re investigating how much tickets cost to attend each match on opening weekend.
Ticket prices throughout the English football pyramid have been a constant topic of discussion amongst supporters and members of the media in recent years. Whilst some clubs have pushed to make matches more affordable for the average match goer, others have decided to jack up their prices.
Premier League prices, of course, dwarf the ticket costs across the rest of the pyramid. However, a select few clubs in the Championship are also beginning to charge hefty fares, with several increasing their matchday prices ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.
With the English second tier’s opening weekend fast approaching, we at SportsCasting have delved deep into the costs of attending all 12 fixtures, where an unsurprising figure leads the pack with a steep entry fee.
Championship Opening Weekend Ticket Prices
- Leeds United vs Portsmouth – £44
- Sheffield Wednesday vs Plymouth – £36
- Millwall vs Watford – £33
- Middlesbrough vs Swansea City – £32
- Preston North End vs Sheffield United – £30
- Luton Town vs Burnley – £29
- Hull City vs Bristol City – £27.50
- Cardiff City vs Sunderland – £27
- Blackburn Rovers vs Derby County – £25
- Oxford United vs Norwich City – £25
- Stoke City vs Coventry City – £25
- QPR vs West Brom – £22
Note: All data refers to the cheapest adult ticket available on general sale in home sections (excluding Family Stands) for each opening weekend fixture, and all figures are accurate as of August 5, 2024.
Leeds Selling The Most Expensive Championship Opening Weekend Tickets
Those familiar with ticket prices in the Championship won’t be surprised to hear that the entry fee to watch Leeds vs Portsmouth is the most expensive on opening weekend, with fans having to fork out a minimum of £44 for an adult ticket.
The Whites have marked the tie as a ‘Category A’ fixture, meaning that the highest possible rate will be charged to gain entry into the home end. Despite match-going fans being forced to a premium, Leeds have introduced a price cap for away supporters with a fixed price of £30 per adult ticket, falling in line with the Premier League‘s pricing policy.
Rather surprisingly Sheffield Wednesday – who survived by just three points last term – are offering the second most expensive tickets on the opening weekend, with their clash against Plymouth Argyle costing a minimum of £36 for home fans.
This is a similar pricing model to what was employed by the club last season, although their decision to continue charging higher rates than others in the league has drawn plenty of criticism from supporters on social media.
Tickets for Millwall vs Watford (£33), Middlesbrough vs Swansea (£32), Preston vs Sheffield United (£30), Hull vs Bristol City (£27.50), and Cardiff vs Sunderland (£27) are all priced among the mid-range bracket to kick off the 2024/25 campaign.
Also among this bracket is a ticket to see two sides who competed in the Premier League last term, with the entry fee for Luton vs Burnley at Kenilworth Road costing adult fans a minimum of £29.
Luton’s thoughtful approach to fan engagement has also seen them keep the same home shirt to the one donned last season, in order to relieve pressure on supporters’ pockets.
Towards the lower end of the spectrum, tickets to see newly promoted Oxford United host Norwich cost £25, and so do tickets to see Coventry City entertain Stoke at the Bet365 Stadium, as well as tickets for Blackburn vs Derby on Friday.
The cheapest entry fee on the Championship’s opening weekend can be found in West London, as Queen’s Park Rangers host West Brom. Available in the corner of the Stanley Bowles Stand, home supporters are able to secure a seat for a very reasonable £22, which makes the clash in the capital the best value-for-money tie.
Sport Finance Expert Warns Clubs Will Continue Squeezing Loyal Fans For Revenue
Dan Plumley, a sport finance expert from Sheffield Hallam University, says the rise in ticket prices across the English game is simply down to clubs needing to keep increasing their revenue numbers.
He told SportsCasting: “In terms of matchday revenue, the only way you grow revenue is either through stadium expansion, building a new stadium completely, or increasing ticket prices.
“The first two are, of course, very costly and for some clubs simply not possible, so they squeeze the ticket prices instead. They know fans have an emotional loyalty to the club, so a lot of them will still continue to come and watch even though prices are high.
“Clubs will feel they have to do it (and cite rising costs as the reason), but it’s been going on for years, and while fans are still paying their money, clubs will look to squeeze where they can in terms of revenue gains.”
Plumley continued by saying that a club like Sheffield Wednesday, who underwhelmed on the pitch for a large portion of last season, can get away with charging higher prices due to the emotional attachment they have with their fans.
“For a club like Wednesday, we know they have a big fan base that will continue to come and support the club through thick and thin.
“It helps, of course, if the team is flying, as that can be a buffer for high ticket prices, but the performances last season (in the first half of the season in particular) were not great, and the average attendance was still one of the best in the league.
“If you have a big and loyal fan base, you can often get away with squeezing ticket prices up slightly for certain games. It’s a fine line though, and you don’t want to deter walk-in trade at the same time.”
Price Caps For Home Tickets Unlikely To Be Enforced
The Premier League employs a £30 price cap for away tickets, and despite the rise in costs for home tickets throughout the English pyramid, Plumley doesn’t believe similar legislation will be put in place for them.
“I don’t think [a price cap for home tickets] is likely to happen. You are basically asking for legislation that will curb a club’s income stream that they have control over. It’s just not feasible to see it getting through.
“The cap for away tickets was welcomed and is a good thing for fans that travel up and down the country supporting their team, but I think capping home ticket prices is unrealistic and something I could not see happening any time soon.”
