"Hard to backtrack now" - Middlesbrough FC: Ticket claim made amid Riverside Stadium frustration | OneFootball

We asked our Middlesbrough fan pundit if he thinks tickets are overpriced at the Riverside Stadium.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Ticket prices at the Riverside Stadium are quite expensive compared to the rest of the Championship, while the Middlesbrough fans have only seen their team reach the play-offs twice in the seven seasons since they were relegated from the Premier League in 2017.

For category A fixtures at the Riverside Stadium, adult tickets cannot be purchased for less than £30, while in some areas of the ground prices are as high as £38.

Adult tickets can be bought for £29 in the corners of the stadium if there is a category B fixture, with the Generation Red Family Zone being the only other place where adults can buy a ticket for less than £30, although they must be accompanied by at least one under-18.

BirminghamWorld revealed during the summer that out of every Championship club, Middlesbrough provided the worst value when it came to the cheapest adult season ticket, with their most affordable option costing £574. In comparison, Sunderland's cheapest season ticket cost £440, while Coventry City supporters had the best offer at £250.

Boro have averaged 25,652 fans at home games so far during the 2024/25 campaign, as per Transfermarkt.com, so while they could fit more supporters inside their 34,742 capacity stadium, it seems as though the demand is there for them to charge as much as they do for tickets.

Middlesbrough's fan pundit discusses ticket prices

FLW's Boro fan pundit, Jasper Hudson, has been discussing the club's ticket costs, having been asked whether he thought the current prices are fair or overpriced.

"In regard to ticket prices, I think there is a general consensus amongst the fans that it is more expensive than it possibly should be," said Hudson.

"It is towards the top end - a season ticket is towards the top end of the Championship in terms of cost, and sort of anywhere around the ground you are looking, for an adult, around £33 a ticket.

"So yeah, I think the general consensus amongst the fans is that they'd want it to be slightly cheaper, but I wouldn't say there is a massive outcry against it, because what we have seen over the last three years is it being invested back in the squad and the performances have been good, which always helps sell out the stadium.

"When we are struggling, definitely, the stadium is empty and ticket prices, the cost of it all comes into conversation, especially amongst fans on Twitter.

"I do think that it is slightly overpriced, but it is hard to backtrack now. We just need to hope they don't increase it again and again going ahead and forward into other seasons."

The Riverside Stadium could potentially be expanded one day

Middlesbrough have invested in their playing squad in the last couple of years as they look to make a return to the Premier League under Michael Carrick, with Emmanuel Latte Lath's arrival from Atalanta for around £4.5 million and Tommy Conway's £5 million move from Bristol City just two examples of their willingness to spend.

If Boro do make it back to the top flight of English football, it would increase the likelihood of the Riverside Stadium being expanded to a capacity of 42,000, with provisional planning permission already in place for that to happen.

With the current state of ticket prices and the fact that Middlesbrough are in the Championship, it is unlikely that the ground will need to be expanded any time soon, but it could be a possibility in the future.

For now, the club will attempt to achieve promotion with a respectable average attendance despite their ticket prices, which Hudson admitted are probably slightly too expensive.