Leeds United face season ticket criticism as supporter feedback 'not acted on' despite meeting
Leeds United Supporters Trust say the club engaged with them to hear feedback on season ticket pricing but have not acted upon any of it.
The Trust met with the club to pass on members' concerns and suggestions to chief operating officer Morrie Eisenberg and CEO Angus Kinnear and the YEP understands Leeds United addressed the Trust on Wednesday night prior to Thursday's announcement on the renewal process.
Leeds confirmed to supporters that season ticket prices would be going up but the Trust say it is unclear what fans are paying as the club continues to 'equalise' pricing at Elland Road, where some pay different prices despite sitting in the same sections.
The YEP understands the top tier pricing has gone up four per cent, while supporters in the second tier who boast a longer tenure and whose tickets still remain cheaper, experiencing a greater price rise percentage.
A Trust statement said: "Over the last few month's we've been canvassing the opinions of our members around their expectations of pricing ahead of next season, regardless of which league we will be in.
"While we acknowledge that the club have engaged with us directly ahead of today’s announcement, it's disappointing that they took away the feedback, but haven't acted on any of it, which was not the outcome we wanted. We understand the club's running costs increase each year, but with rising income from sponsors, TV rights, and match-day hospitality, we had hoped this additional revenue could offset any price increases for fans.
"The Trust's feedback centered around three main topics, namely a price freeze, a reversal of 2024 concession price changes and a review of general matchday prices.
The statement continued: "We presented three main pieces of feedback to the club that came across loud and clear from fans - a general price freeze on season tickets and we hoped the club would lead by the example of some of the Premier League clubs, to rethink their concession prices based on the changes they made last season and to review the cost of general match day prices, general match day pricing has yet to be discussed in any detail.”
Season ticket and match day ticket price increases are never welcomed, particularly during times of continued widespread economic pressures. 'Stop Exploiting Loyalty' is a campaign organised by the Football Supporters' Association (FSA), which continues to express its frustration at rising costs for match-going fans, we continue to work with these groups to put more pressure on clubs to stop passing costs onto fans, especially with Leeds United having one of the most loyal fan bases in the country.
"It's still unclear what price our fans are paying, some fans face larger increases than others as the club continues to level out season ticket legacy pricing, which aims to ensure that, in the future, no season ticket holder is paying more than the one sat next to them.
"It's also disappointing that the club hasn't taken the opportunity to address ongoing inconsistencies in concession pricing, particularly for supporters who remain in full-time education beyond the age of 16. Additionally, rising matchday prices risk making attendance unaffordable for some families, potentially harming the atmosphere at games and jeopardising the club's future generation of fans."
Elsewhere, Huddersfield Town supporters groups have challenged their club's season ticket pricing structure, which they say disproportionately impacts seniors, 18 to 23-year-olds and disabled fans. But their concerns over proposed changes to under 14 and under 18 season tickets have led to a club review of those proposals, which has been welcomed by the supporters groups.
The YEP contacted Leeds United for comment.