With the cheapest season ticket at the Amex Stadium costing £595, Brighton are the ninth most expensive club to watch across Europe in 2024-25.
That is according to research by ticketing experts SeatPick. They sourced the cost of adult season tickets from every club across the five biggest European football leagues, comparing the cheapest option to reveal the most and lest affordable teams to support.
Unsurprisingly, the 17 most expensive ‘low-cost’ season tickets were all found at English clubs. This is despite the Premier League being the richest in the world and therefore in a better position than any other to reduce prices, with ticket money making up such a small proportion of income compared with broadcast revenue.
Arsenal lead the way, where the cheapest seat costs a frankly absurd £1,073. Compared to other European teams, a season ticket at the Emirates for 2024-25 is six times more than German double winners Bayer Leverkusen (£174) and three times as much as Barcelona (£378).
Next come Spurs (£856), Brighton B Team AKA Chelsea (£810), Liverpool (£713), Newcastle United (£662), Aston Vila (£640), Plucky Little Bournemouth (£633) and Fulham (£619).
The £595 season ticket at Brighton is located in the North Stand. The cost of said ticket went up 5.3 percent from 2023-24 as the Albion introduced rises of between five and eight percent across the stadium.
When announcing their 2024-25 Amex Stadium season ticket prices, Brighton put the increase down to financial pressures, saying: “Away from the pitch, we’re acutely aware that many people are still experiencing the ongoing effects of the rising cost of living.”
“As a business we’re not immune from these inflationary pressures either – indeed, we are seeing our own costs rise in all areas of the club.”
“Unfortunately, this does mean that for the 2024-25 season there will be an increase in our season ticket prices of between 5% and 8% depending on where you sit.”
“Even the largest increase for our stadium’s best seats remains in line with the very challenging average annual rate of inflation over the past two years of 8.3 percent.”
What the research from SeatPick does not take into account is the interest free direct debit option available to Brighton season ticket holders.
Being able to spread the cost over 12 months makes having a guaranteed seat at the Amex affordable for many supporters who would otherwise struggle with an up-front lump sum.
Still, it is difficult not to feel depressed by the greed of the Premier League when you read the cheapest season ticket to watch Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham at Real Madrid is £249.
The Bundesliga is known for its fan-friendly prices. Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness once famously discussed increasing the cost of a season ticket for the Allianz Arena from £104 to £300.
“We’d get £2 million more in income, but what’s £2 million to us?” said Hoeness. “In a transfer discussion, you argue about that sum for five minutes. But the difference between £104 and £300 is huge for the fan.”
“We do not think the fans are like cows, who you milk. Football has got to be for everybody. That’s the biggest difference between us and England.”
A 2024-25 season ticket at Borussia Dortmund costs £217. The £595 Brighton charge meanwhile is over four times the price of a Bayern season ticket at just £143. Regulars at the Allianz Arena do not pay £3.50 for a bag of Starbust or £5.50 for a scotch egg either.
Across the whole of Europe, it costs only £42 to watch Brest. The Ligue 1 side have the joint-lowest season ticket alongside Osasuina of La Liga. Turns out breast is best not just when talking about chicken cuts.
West Ham United are the proud owners of the cheapest Premier League season ticket at £345. It is obviously easier to offer such low prices, however, when you are playing in a 62,000 seater stadium paid for by taxpayers.
The most expensive season ticket in Europe outside England is found at Real Betis. Their £404 seat is £21 more expensive than Premier League title winners Manchester City, whose £425 seat is the fourth-cheapest in England and £170 less than the Albion.
A Betis season ticket does though come with the benefit of offering sunshine and Cruzcampo in Seville rather than rain, Boddingtons and sportswashing in Manchester.
