- Liverpool CEO defends ticket price increase
- Sends ‘personal’ mail to fans
- Fans slam CEO on social media
Liverpool FC CEO Billy Hogan has sent a ‘personal’ email to all season ticket holders after the club’s decision to increase the ticket prices.
He tried his best to justify the club’s decision by revealing their matchday expenses. The CEO added that the 4% increase is the minimum required and that the 3% increase proposed for the upcoming seasons aligns with business rates.
“Liverpool Football Club fully respects the right of supporters to protest and we acknowledge those supporters who are opposed to this approach. But we would also ask one thing in the days and weeks ahead: that any protest, and any debate, is grounded in the facts – what is changing, why it is changing, and what it means in real terms.”
“Our matchday operating costs at Anfield have risen significantly in recent years – up 85% including Anfield Road (or 57% excluding Anfield Road) over the past decade, with utility costs up 107% over just the past four years and business rates up 286% in that same period. Over the last decade, we have increased ticket prices by just 4% to keep any rise in ticket prices to a minimum.”
Hogan went on to add that the ‘small increase’ is not something to protest, as it does not make fans dig deeper into their pockets.
“Against that backdrop, we believe linking any increases to inflation, confirmed as a 3% rise for the 2026/27 season, is the fairest and most transparent way to attempt to cover some of those uncontrollable costs. For the 2026–27 season, the 3% increase for adult general admission season ticket holders will be between £1.13 and £1.42 per game.
“Adult general admission match-by-match tickets will rise by between £1.25 and £1.75 per matchday next season. Using current forecasts, adult general admission matchday tickets would rise by between £3 and £4.50 over the full three years. The most expensive adult GA match ticket in 2028–29 would be £65.50.”
The CEO tried to justify the ticket prices at the KOP by claiming they have remained the same for 15 years, while inflation has been around 45%.
“Adult general admission season tickets would increase by between £53.50 and £67.50 over three years – equating to £3.55 per game. The most expensive adult GA season ticket in 2028–29 would be £971.50. We have frozen general admission season ticket prices in eight of the last ten seasons.
Today’s cheapest Kop match ticket price is the same price now as it was 15 years ago, despite cumulative inflation across the UK economy of around 45% in that period.”
“We are also operating in a league where other clubs have increased prices at a materially higher rate over the past decade. Since 2016/17, our competitors in the top six have increased ticket prices by an average of 17%, where we have increased our prices by 4% over the same period.
No decision has been made post this three year approach and we will continue to meaningfully engage with our Supporters Board ahead of that time.”
Liverpool have already announced they will be going ahead with a 3% increase in match tickets, with further increases at 5% or the CPI inflation rate – whichever is lower – for the next two seasons.
Liverpool fans slam club CEO after fresh mail
The Liverpool Supporters Board were unhappy with the club’s decision when they made the announcement and released a statement against it. The fans have also announced that they will not display any banners or flags on The Kop for the remaining matches at Anfield this season.
The fans have now taken to social media after Hogan’s email, slamming the CEO for his poor attempt. Spion Kop 1906 have posted on X, calling him out for not attending any of the meetings.
They are fully behind the Liverpool Supporters Board’s call for a meeting with the owners and are open to debating ticket prices. They insist that the proposed prices are unjustified and should be reevaluated.
LFCSB chair Jay McKenna has also taken to social media, issuing an open invitation to Hogan to debate the club’s decision.
The Anfield Wrap have also hit out at the owners and the club management for the decision, saying:
“Our support is something that the club monetises, it’s something it sells around the world – pictures of the Kop, the scarves, the flags…we provide that for you. People are being clear: we’re not giving you those visuals if you can’t value us…we’ve had support from away team supporter groups as this is a wider issue.”
More fans have joined in on X (formerly Twitter), slamming the CEO and posting:
Liverpool face Fulham on Saturday, April 11, and it will be the first game at Anfield since the decision not to display flags and banners in The Kop.
