First the celebration party, then the bill. Queens Park Rangers fans are understandably upset at a big hike in prices. The cheapest seat will be £47 and you could pay as much as £72. Season tickets are up by 40 per cent although there are fewer games in the Premier League.
First the celebration party, then the bill. Queens Park Rangers fans are understandably upset at a big hike in prices. The cheapest seat will be £47 and you could pay as much as £72. Season tickets are up by 40 per cent although there are fewer games in the Premier League.
One suggestion from fans is that the owners want to make QPR a ’boutique’ club. It is true that the relatively limited capacity at Loftus Road is a constraint and makes it easier to force up prices and still fill the stadium.
It might be argued that the real ’boutique’ club in the London Borough of Hammersmith is Fulham. Craven Cottage has possibly the most attractive setting of any of the London clubs, including the walk through the park by the river to get there. The ground itself is unique.
It’s a while since I’ve been there, but at one time they had a section for neutral fans. Once I was sitting right on the edge of the away section and some of the people sitting just a short distance away in the home section were wearing suits. I have also heard more cut glass accents there than at any London ground apart from the Emirates.
I’m sure that Fulham has a cross-section of fans. But it seems to me that QPR derives its authenticity from being rooted in a particular part of West London. Of course, as Nick Hornby found when he moved to be near Highbury, the days when fans walked out of their home door at 2.45 to get to the ground have long since gone. But QPR could price itself out of the market if it is not careful.