Dynamic pricing is used in many places – hotel rooms, train tickets, flights, theatres, etc. Everybody knows that you buy your ticket in the last moment it will be more expensive and this trend is set to take over football as well.
Some teams have already accepted this price model and the price of their tickets increases during match day. If you ever visit a match of Derby County, Bristol City or Cardiff, then you might sit next to a supporter who has paid less for his ticket. These three teams are the first to use the dynamic price model in Britain and if this turns out to be successful, many other clubs will follow their example.
Dynamic pricing is quite complex and the price of the tickets is based on the attractiveness of the game. A ticket to a single game is usually a bit more expensive than the season ticket, but with the most recent changes, the price of a single ticket may not have a maximum limit.
If there are only a few tickets left and the interest is high, then their price will quickly increase. Thanks to the dynamic pricing system clubs can increase their average attendance and bring more money to the club’s bank accounts.
Supporters will also be able to choose between paying less or more for a ticket. This choice can be quite important, especially now when the economy is failing. The vice-president of operations at Derby, John Vicars says: “This new price model will make tickets more affordable to the supports who buy them in advance.
You’ll just have to accept that if you show up at the stadium 30 minutes before the game, you’ll have to pay much more than the fan who bought his ticket few weeks ago.” Thanks to this system, regular supports who don’t own season tickets will pay less for a ticket and therefore the average match attendance should increase.