We remember three years ago the Rennes fans who had chosen to spend the night in front of Roazhon Park, to be the first at the opening of the ticket offices to secure their place against Arsenal in the Europa League. At the time, the club claimed 90,000 ticket requests, three times the capacity of Roazhon Park, even before the ticket office opened. This year, the enthusiasm seems much less, and on the networks, the supporters point the finger at the prices set up by the club.
Seats ranging from €30 to €104 at full price
Subscribers, who must pay the same price as the general public, cringe. Subscriber with his mother and sister in the Vilaine tribune, Julien testifies: “They both decided not to go to the Leicester game, because it was too expensive. Me in the end I go there, but not in my subscriber place: I waited for the opening to the general public to take a less expensive place. Me as a subscriber it cost me 80.5€. My mother, who did not have a reduced rate at the time of the subscription, it cost her more than 90€. We almost consider it a lack of respect for the club in fact.”
At the club, we remind you that the stadium should still be full, and that the occupancy rate of Roazhon Park is among the highest in Ligue 1. But above all, that subscriptions are among the cheapest in the championship. The policy is clear: attractive prices for the faithful, and higher prices for prestigious posters. Mickaël, subscriber for 15 years in Mordelles bas, finds this operation logical: “You can’t have everything, you can’t have cheap subscriptions and cheap prestige seats at the same time! There is an interest in making subscriptions cheaper because it builds loyalty. I am in Mordelles bas, I paid my place 30€, those who could not come against Bordeaux (match under gauge of 5,000 people, Editor’s note), they pay €23 with their credit. It is still immediately much more accessible.“Mickaël admits, however, that for a family who would like to come to the stadium, the bill is quickly steep.
The club explains that it is difficult to do case by case, and has the impression that its policy of affordable subscriptions is backfiring during “premium” matches. The schedule (6.45 p.m.) also deprives it of supporters who come from afar. However, the schedule was more or less the same (6:55 p.m.) when Arsenal received it in 2019. Stade Rennais must also generate revenue to get into the nails of the European Financial Fair Play imposed by UEFA, and cannot not rely solely on financial interventions from its shareholder at the end of each season.
Slightly higher rates than Arsenal
In March 2019, ticket prices for Arsenal ranged from €29 to €95. If the entry price is substantially the same this year (€30), the most expensive place has increased by 10% in three years, while the opponent and the competition are less prestigious. This is undoubtedly what explains why the least filled blocks at this time are precisely those where the places are the most expensive. Here are the seats that were still available this Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. in the Lorient bas stand:
– Screenshot – SRFC ticket office
On Monday, the club claimed 25,000 tickets sold for the match against Leicester. Roazhon Park should still be full this Thursday, and it won’t be too much to push the players to a #Rennesmontada hoped for by all the Red and Black people.