Tickets, snacks etc. for an adult and 2 kids. What does it cost on average to make a day of it watching an English professional soccer team play a game?
Also, out of curiosity, do the English have pre-game “tailgate” parties in the parking lot like Americans do?
20 - 30 pounds for an adult, 10 - 15 for a kid. No idea on snacks - the match only lasts 90 minutes plus half time, so little need to eat there.
No tailgate parties - you go to the pub.
I’d imagine that would depend on what league the football team was in- watching a 3rd Division team (Oxford United) play a friendly in August wasn’t particularly expensive- 20 pounds at most, I think.
I suspect a Premiership team’s tickets are quite a bit more costly.
Based on my one match, English football games are an entirely different sports-watching animal than US football or baseball games.
For one thing, there’s no beer allowed in the stands. So the locals just guzzle beer like there’s no tomorrow underneath the stands and outside the stands until right up to the starting whistle, then during halftime, they crowd under the stands at the concession stands and pound down beers until halftime’s over.
They sing songs and have chants- much like a US college sports game, except that the chants were damned hard to understand for a foreigner like myself.
You don’t find supporters of the other team in each other’s sections like you will in the US. Even at the UT/OU, UT/A&M, AL/Auburn, FL/FL St. games, you’ll find each other’s supporters in the other side’s seats. Not done in English football. That’ll get you an ass-kicking, based on what I saw.
Still, it was a hell of a way to spend a Saturday afternoon in August!
The English have a reputation for violence at football, but in domestic matches this is almost always conducted between llike-minded people well away from the stadium… they know who’s who and the ordinary matchgoer has nothing to fear.
No tailgate parties, the pub and the chippy are the usual pre-match places…
I’m not sure what you’re used to over the pond but the language in the grounds over here is often not what you’d want your kids to hear… mind you, they probably won’t understand the accents… “CAAAHHNT”!
All in all though, a great day out;
Intensity, passion, atmosphere… (Arsenal excepted)
You’ll Love It… LOVE IT!
Any particular team you’re planning on seeing?
Premiership games can be ludicrously expensive. £50 isn’t uncommon for “big” games. You may also find it difficult to get tickets for games featuring Premiership clubs. Lower league prices vary. I paid £15 to see Colchester United at Layer Road, hardly the most modern stadium in the country.
Most league clubs have family enclosures (probably all league clubs, but I can’t claim knowledge of the 90 or so league grounds in England), which are specifically geared for families with children and if anyone shouts the obscenities that are often heard at football matches in these arreas they will probably be ejected from the ground.
Prices vary, at my club Reading FC, which is in the Nationwide Divison 1, adult tickets cost £25 - £30 (which is quite expensive for a club outside the Premireship, but that’s because they have a brand new, very modern stadium). In the Premiership I’d say £25 - £50 for adults, though most clubs do offer very reasonable concessions for children.
Also if you wish to see a big club ticket avaidabilty cna be a problem (esp. if they are playing another big club), I’ve been told it’s very difficult to get tickets to see Man U. at Old Trafford.
The standard of stadia varies quite a bit, there are quite a lot of new ones, where they will have dedicated family areas, and others that are very antiquted.
The atmosphere will depend on the particular club, and the opponents they are playing on that day.
Tailgate parties - the main factor against this is that a lot of venues are in the middle of urban areas. There may not even be a car park. Anyone who has come in their car, is probably too busy driving in circles looking for a space.
I have been to a fair number of football grounds around the country - if the question is regarding a specific venue/match that you are looking at, let us know more details and we can give you more specific info.
Big matches, like Arsenal vs Manchester United, Liverpool vs Manchester United, local derbies etc. will have by far a better atmoshpere than most normal games. They’ll probably also be more expensive.
[Insert “priceless” joke here]
In fact they’ll probably be impossible to get a ticket to, unless you’re willing to pay an unseemly amount to a tout (scalper).
Try a smaller local derby for, say, a couple Division Two sides. You’ll still get the atmosphere, but at a much reduced price.