Bear faced cheek

I must admit I am very fond of my hometown rugby union team, Bristol Bears. This is despite the awkward fact that they are based at (chokes on words) Ashton Gate. League will always be my preferred version of egg-chasing but there is something about the style and culture of the Bears that strongly appeals to me. But there is one thing that doesn’t appeal to me: the ticket prices.

The first two home games are against newly promoted wage cap cheats Saracens. That one really appeals so I decided to do some digging before suggesting to my mate that we should go. That digging took me to a part of the Bears website which said, and I quote: ‘Saracens (silver) prices start from as little as £32 for adults’.  The forthcoming derby against Bath will charge ‘platinum’ ticket prices, starting from £37′. At least they didn’t have the brass neck to say ‘as little as £37’.

It’s true that the Bears offer concessions to young people and to various other groups, like old farts (almost me), but this is a very expensive day out for many people. And that £37 entitles you to sit at the South Stand, which used to be known as the East End, so much of the action will be 100 yards and further away. The worst view on offer, which is admittedly a good-ish view, for £37 but if I want to sit in the Lansdown Stand, named after the club’s modest owner, it would set me back a mere £70.

Now I appreciate that if you watch the Bears, you are paying to watch the top clubs in the land with the best players, in Bristol’s cases including many international superstars and someone has to pay their wages. So that means your average punter. If the players are to be lavishly rewarded, then people who enjoy lavish incomes can pay top dollar. Which won’t include me.

Quite how the club squares this particular circle at the same time as promoting rugby union in a city more divided in terms of income and social class than I can ever remember, I have no idea but it does seem strange that you work hard to create the fans of the future and then price them out of the stadium.

None of which will remotely concern the club, which already has over 10,000 season ticket holders in a city with more than its fair share of affluent people, all of whom are desperate for sporting success.

I’ve no intention of forking out a minimum of £32 for what in any event would only be a ‘silver’ game, probably some Mickey Mouse affair involving reserve team players and kids or £35 for the second tier of attractive games. If you see me at the Gate next season, it will be either because I have managed to blag some complementaries or the club comes up with a one-off discount for a game where they want to ‘pack the gate’.