02/02/2024

MUFC ticket renewals, pricing and ticketing policy

Season ticket holders have today received their renewal pricing for next season along with some other changes to policies and the stadium. Season ticket renewals are not actually open yet but season ticket holders are asked to indicate whether they intend to renew and if so they should select the "Reserve and pay later" option on the link the club have sent.

Ticket prices
The main thing fans will notice is that ticket prices are going up by 5%. We felt there were good arguments for another freeze this season and so we did argue against the increase but ultimately it is a Club decision and we do recognise that this is roughly in line with inflation.

Reclaiming the Stretford End
Elsewhere in the latest email lies some better news. Our long campaign to reclaim the Stretford End as an atmospheric end, with the removal of the executive section in the middle, has borne fruit and will be implemented from next season. We’re especially pleased that additional Youth Season Tickets will be located in the right side of the Stretford End and the club's efforts to further populate that area with fans who want to create a vibrant atmosphere to work alongside the existing TRA section which is moving across to the central blocks of the right side.

While it was notified to those affected some time ago, the removal of the Exec section in the Stretford End does mean those in the area will need to relocate and we trust that the club will make every effort to accommodate their wishes in this process and we remain open to assist if/where we can.

Ticket usage requirement to increase to 17 Premier League games
The club have decided to further increase the minimum usage of season tickets for PL games, and from next year a season ticket (ST) will need to be used (or sold back/transferred/donated) for 17 of the 19 Premier League games to be eligible for renewal. A key point to note though is that you can sell your ticket back to the club for any Premier League match which you cannot attend (or transfer it to an official member or donate it to the MU Foundation). Doing any of these things counts as the ticket being used and so counts towards the 17 usage requirement.

However, while this is not a new policy, for those who are eligible to apply for away games, note that selling back a home cup ticket will make you ineligible to apply for away matches. 

Nobody wants to see empty seats/wasted tickets at Old Trafford so this should help to ensure the stadium is full and more fans will get to see games with unwanted tickets being reallocated. However we recognise this has caused concern to some fans in the past, sometimes because they are not aware of the options if they cannot personally use their ticket, but we have been reassured that exceptional circumstances will always be taken into consideration for any fan who fails to meet this requirement. Simple answer though is make sure you sell your ticket back to the club if you know you will not be able to attend any PL game.

Ticket transfer policy
A further win lies in the new policy, which MUST requested, is that ST holders will be allowed to transfer tickets to non-members (so no requirement to pay a membership fee) for any game where the option to sell back your ticket to the club is not available. This is especially important for cup games where seats have often been left empty because up until now, if you could not attend, you literally could not give your ticket away for free without requiring the recipient to pay to become a member. We argued strongly and successfully for this change and we also welcome the decision to allow transfers from under 16s to non-members for all games too.

One of the reasons we first pushed for the club to provide an official transfer of liability was to avoid ST holders getting bans due to the actions of others who they trusted to use their ticket. For this reason we strongly advise only using the official transfer options if you cannot attend a game as we have seen far too many unfortunate cases where supporters have received sanctions and too many have lost their season ticket due to advertising them for sale and/or trusting someone, even close friends and family, with a screenshot, only to be let down by that person. In the end the club holds the ST holder responsible for their ticket use so make sure you transfer that liability through the official system if you want to avoid the heartbreak of losing your ticket.

Digital Ticketing
Another change announced is the move to fully digital ticketing. We will have to wait to see exactly how this works out but we understand one impact is it will prevent the practice of screenshots. While on the face of it this is a reduction in freedom of the ST holder to pass on their ticket, if it works as envisaged we'd hope it will see a massive reduction in the number of our fans who receive sanctions due to somebody misusing a screenshot of their ticket. We will be talking to the club about this change to better understand exactly how it will work and we'll consult with supporters to allow us to raise questions and get answers on this before the new season starts. 

Safe standing
Finally, we’re pleased at the further expansion of rail seats. While we would ultimately like to see this stretch all the way across the Stretford End and indeed East Stand too, subject to supporter demand, we appreciate there are some challenges which may require more major redevelopment to accommodate them. However it is welcome to see a further expansion in the number of rail seats in the meantime ahead of long awaited further stadium redevelopment plans.

Overall, whilst we are never going to “welcome” any announcement which increases ticket prices for ordinary fans, there are some positive developments too and the implementation of the promised return of ordinary fans to the heart of the Stretford End is genuinely great news.