They are the lifeblood of a football club, and the bread and butter of fans around the glob - and all A-League clubs have now released their membership packages to the public for season 2011/2012. So with all offers now on the table, who is getting the most bang for their buck this A-League season? Who has reason to feel sore? And what does $850 buy you for a membership in Melbourne? Read on and let's find out…

First of all though, a few caveats. All prices listed in this article are the 'regular' membership prices for a single adult; that is, they do not include the many 'earlybird' or online discounts that various clubs are offering potential members. So when I say a Gold Coast United home end membership costs $252, if you buy at time of writing you'll actually receive 10% off that price. So please don't complain that I'm artificially jacking up your team's prices! I also assume that the prices shown on Wellington Phoenix's home page are listed in terms of New Zealand Dollars - so I use an exchange rate of 0.79 NZD to AUD to work out an Australian equivalent price.

I have also tried to break each club's membership offerings into four distinct levels - home end memberships, base / general admission memberships, reserved seating, and top-level offerings. Some clubs, like Adelaide and Brisbane, follow this model to the letter. Others, like Perth and both Melbourne clubs, require some tweaking as 'reserved memberships' might actually have two, or even three, pricing subtypes. So where necessary I will note the breakdown that I have used to produce the listed price. To begin, let's check out what clubs are offering in the way of basic level memberships - the kind that give you general admission access or the most basic of seating preferences.

 

Base Level Memberships

The lowest tier of memberships, this level gives you the most basic elements that form part of being a member of a football club. You get entry to the games, perhaps a seat in one of the lesser viewing areas, access to any standing area your stadium might have, and of course the normal membership trimmings - entry to post-match conferences, showbags, fridge magnets, and so on. As you'd expect, most A-League clubs are fairly close to each other when it comes to this level of pricing:

What's interesting to note though is that, Newcastle Massive Discounts United FC aside, there are two distinct levels of price being paid across Australia. Sydney, Wellington, Central Coast, and the two Melbourne clubs all charge their fans between $180 and $215 for this level of membership. Yet Adelaide, Brisbane, Gold Coast, and Perth all price theirs at least $20 higher - with Gold Coast United taking the dubious honour of having the most expensive base membership in the league (without the 10% earlybird discount that they're offering, of course). So there seems to be a split between the football 'heartland' of NSW and Victoria and those fans who live in less football-dominated states.

Also of note here is the two-fold base offering of Perth. Rather confusingly, Perth's cheapest season ticket is actually a reserved seat in the small south east grandstand - certainly not the best seats in the house, and charged accordingly at just $200 a pop. Yet if you were to stand in the shed or on the steps in front of it, you would bizarrely pay $100 more for your membership! The same applies if you were to sit in the general admission seating areas such as the family stand. So I've chosen to represent Perth as a 'base' value of $250 - but actually, it is they and not Gold Coast who have the most expensive base level ticket; more than two and a half times more expensive than that of the cheapest team, Newcastle Jets. Also, because of the arrangements with Etihad stadium, a Victory ticket can cost between 195 and 265 depending on what class of seat you'd like to be sitting in (which seems confusing to me, but there you go).

Reserved Seating Memberships

The 'middle' tier of memberships, if you like, would be considered the reserved seating category. A better quality view reserved for your use each home game, it normally costs a bit more than the general admission level without quite rising to the luxury of the 'gold star service' afforded to the top tier of memberships. This level is where things get a little complicated research-wise, especially if you are a Melbourne Victory fan, because some clubs have multiple options (and even stadia) on this front. These however are my findings:

The first thing that you note is, once again, just how cheap Newcastle United's offering is. For the price of one reserved seat at Gold Coast, both Melbourne teams, or Perth Glory, you can get two at Nathan Tinkler's Jets. Other than that, the best value is to be found at Wellington, Gosford, and Adelaide. Perth Glory claw back some respectability on this front with competitive pricing on their 'Gold' brand of ticket, which is cheaper than both Melbourne sides and the Gold Coast offering (though how many people actually take up that GCU option is another matter entirely).

At this level, Victory fans can choose between $330, $365, and $400 options depending on where they sit at Etihad. 

 

Platinum Level Memberships

The best of the best - the top offering for the most generous members of the general public. The best views in the house, short of corporate boxes not for public sale, with protection from the elements and close access to the players. And guess what? Newcastle are the cheapest here yet again:

In saying this, top level memberships at Adelaide, Central Coast, Newcastle and Wellington are all really good value when you compare them with their competitors. Strangely though, there are a few outliers among the other teams. Take the city of Melbourne for instance. Now, as far as I can work out from their membership brochure, the very most you will pay as a Victory supporter is $495 - this will get you Premium A class seating at both AAMI and Etihad stadiums.

Over at crosstown rivals Heart, you'll pay the exact same price for guaranteed Premium A seats at their home, AAMI. But then Heart also offer the most premium of premium memberships, the "Ace of Hearts" pack - for eight hundred and fifty dollars! This gives you the best seats in the house and access to an exclusive lounge and a cocktail party with the players and coaching staff, as well as your name on a plaque in the Olympic Lounge. 

By comparison, Perth Glory's "platinum" branded tickets are $695 and give you, well, the best seats in the grandstand at nib stadium. Simply put, it's expensive because Perth only has one proper grandstand and as such they can charge as much as they like for people who like to stay out of the elements (the rest of the ground being uncovered bar the Shed). It's miles more expensive than any other top-level ticket in Australia (bar Heart, whose $672.50 listed in the graph includes the option of the Ace of Hearts membership described above). Just another reason for Perth football fans to get angry at the state government for dragging their feet on the proposed nib upgrade.

Home End Memberships

The beating heart of any football team, the home end is the place for the most passionate of supporters to sing and create the atmosphere of any big night. But here too there is precious little cheer for Perth Glory fans, as they have the most expensive home end membership of any club in the country - and by a very long way. In fact, you can get a platinum ticket for the Jets and still have fifty bucks left over for the same price as a Perth Glory home end pass. That, I must say, is simply ridiculous. 

As you can see, the differences are stark between Perth and the rest of the competition. Whilst somewhere between $200 and $250 is the generally accepted going rate for a home end season pass (the competition mean being $212.35) Perth fans are charged the comparatively astronomical $300 for the right to stand under a tin shed and/or on some concrete steps. For the same price, a family of five will get a season's worth of seating at EnergyAustralia Stadium. Because Perth Glory will no doubt protest my use of a super-subsidised club as a comparison though, here's another one: in the economic and cultural powerhouse that is Adelaide, $300 will buy you as an adult the best seats in the house for a season, with change left over for a beer or two from the bar. 

I'd talk about another team if I could, but the fact remains that if you lowered Perth's pricing model for home end memberships, the competition would look much the same - Newcastle obviously excluded. As it is though, it is painfully obvious that long-suffering Glory fans are getting a raw deal for their active support.

Going The Extra Mile

Now what about those football fans who can't afford to be at every game, due to financial or geographical constraints? How do A-League clubs service these people? Well, the good news is every club has some kind of associate, regional, or non-ticketed membership available - meaning that if you can't make the game, you can still support your team. The one exception appears to be Adelaide United; now just because I can't find the option on their web page or brochure does not mean it does not exist, but I do find it somewhat interesting that it's not displayed as obviously as their competitors. Surely they have such a membership, right? 

What Adelaide do display though is the savings you make against the gate with their membership prices. Other clubs who give this information out are Brisbane, Central Coast, and Melbourne Victory. As for the rest, I can't help but think they're missing a trick - showing the big savings that can be made by purchasing a membership should be one of the things that grabs you about buying one. By not showing these, you raise questions about the value of your season passes - well, unless you're Newcastle of course. 

One of the other great things I'm seeing this year is clubs offering discounts for either long-serving members or early renewers. A hearty congratulations to Brisbane, Central Coast, Gold Coast, and Newcastle for making this a part of their membership drive - and Melbourne Victory for also developing a 'supporter rank' system that recognises how long you've 'served' on the club's terraces and seats. Sadly, this isn't a concept embraced by all clubs - though one that I feel has great potential. That said, something that all clubs are doing - with one exception - is offering their memberships online for purchase. The one club that isn't making this option available to new or existing members? Perth Glory. 

 

Now I have not set out to make this a bash-Glory piece. As a card-carrying Glory member, I would really prefer that it wasn't. But the fact is, when you look at the figures, Perth have some of the worst value memberships anywhere in the A-League landscape, they price-gouge the most active of supporters far more than any other team, and they offer the least in terms of extra services when it comes to their memberships - no online purchasing option, no online or loyalty discount, and no information about how much your membership will save you at the gate. 

In fact, at time of writing, Glory have not yet even released their 2011/2012 gate prices to members or the general public. Although all indications from the Glory offices have been that we will see a price rise in their push to become 'cost-neutral', the fact is fans do not know what savings they are buying with a Glory membership and it costs more to stand in the Shed  for a season than it does to get the best class of seat at EnergyAustralia Stadium and Hindmarsh.

The Glory CEO and Chairman may both dismiss these comparisons as 'not relevant to the Perth market' but the fact is, when you look at the above graphs it is clear to fans and their wallets who the heroes and villains of the piece are. Factor in the extra discounts and services offered by other teams and it is clear who has spent the longer time considering the needs of their members, as opposed to just the bottom line. It will be interesting to see if by seasons' end "The Tinkler Experiment" works or just falls flat on its face to the amusement of people like Tony Sage and Clive Palmer. In the meantime though, I know which club is going to be riding high on a wave of PR and goodwill, and which clubs' fans will be looking at these figures with a sense of anger and disappointment.