In a move that has been welcomed by their matchgoing faithful, Tottenham Hotspur have frozen matchday and season ticket prices for the upcoming season.
Like 19 of the 20 Premier League clubs, Tottenham raised ticket prices for the current season, citing rising operating costs. In 2025-26, they join Liverpool and West Ham among the few clubs in the division to not increase them further.
However, at least for some fans, it is not all good news. In a statement released on their website on March 12, Tottenham announced several adjustments to their ticketing framework, including alterations to their senior concession, ticket exchange, ticket share and cup scheme policies.
“While we’re pleased to see a ticket price freeze at Spurs, which is something we had called upon all Premier League clubs to do ahead of next season, we do recognise the concerns raised by Tottenham fans about increases elsewhere which will impact supporters,” the Football Supporters Association told The Athletic.
“Dialogue is key from clubs to supporters in ensuring all relevant questions and concerns are answered effectively.”
Here, The Athletic explains what has changed…
Season and match ticket prices frozen
Tottenham announced matchday and season ticket prices for their men’s and women’s teams will be frozen for the 2025-26 season. The cheapest adult season ticket at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium costs £856, with the most expensive costing £2,367.
For context, the cheapest option at the Emirates Stadium for the 2024-25 season was £1,073, although that would also have included four Champions League matches. Newcastle United (£345) and Bournemouth (£397) lead the way among clubs challenging for Europe.
This follows a six per cent increase in season ticket prices last season. For context, Newcastle have increased their season ticket prices by five per cent in three consecutive seasons, Brighton have increased theirs for next season by five per cent, and Nottingham Forest’s prices have jumped by 8.5 per cent.
Not all clubs have announced their prices for next term, but none are likely to surpass Everton. For their new stadium at Liverpool’s Bramley-Moore Dock, the cost of the cheapest season ticket has increased by 15.3 per cent compared to its equivalent seat for their final campaign at Goodison Park.
Senior concession controversy
Last year, Spurs announced they would remove senior concession season tickets (SCSTs) for newly eligible season ticket holders. Since moving to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the number of SCSTs has multiplied by four compared to their total at White Hart Lane, where the capacity was less than half. In a statement, they described this as “clearly not sustainable”.
Spurs also stated plans to reduce the 50 per cent discount on the SCSTs to 25 per cent over a five-year period, decreasing by five per cent each season. The discount reduction came into play for the current season and will run until 2029-30.
This was met with opposition by the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust (THST), which called on the club to reverse the “unacceptable” decision. It was also a motivating factor behind several demonstrations inside and outside the stadium, one of which was supported by more than 10,000 fans in last March’s Premier League fixture against Luton Town.
“We managed to help deliver the biggest protest ever seen at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium,” says Katrina Law, part of the Save Our Seniors campaign group, co-chair of THST between 2013 and 2022, and a THST board member from 2013 to 2023. “Over 10,000 fans turned their backs on the pitch on the 65th minute in line with our slogan ‘Turn your backs on 65 because that’s when the club turns their backs on you’.”
However, Tottenham have since communicated that the number of SCSTs will not change for the 2025-26 season, essentially keeping newly eligible season ticket holders on a waiting list until a space becomes available. As the number of SCSTs is limited, available tickets will be allocated to eligible season ticket holders based on who has held theirs longest.
Fans must be of retirement age to be eligible for the SCSTs (currently 66). Season ticket concessions for juniors (50 per cent discount) and young adults (25 per cent) will remain the same.
“While we welcome the headline retention of senior concessions, the devil is in the detail and many questions remain unanswered,” read a statement from Save Our Seniors. “Our primary concern is that, even after this reversal, the vast majority of those who should be eligible for a senior concession will still not be able to access that concession.”
Changes to ticket exchange
Season ticket holders who could not attend a match are able to place that ticket for sale on the matchday ticket exchange.
However, they will now receive 1/19th of their season ticket price, as opposed to the appropriate cost based on the category of that particular match.
In other words, a ticket sold on the exchange system for a Category A match (the highest Premier League category, e.g. Arsenal) will net the season ticket holder the same amount as a Category C fixture (e.g. Southampton).
Currently, six Premier League matches fall into category A, nine into B and four into C.
In the statement, Tottenham say this is to prevent season ticket holders from netting a profit by selling their tickets on the exchange.
“This sees us revert to what we did previously, bringing us in line with the majority of other Premier League clubs and preventing season tickets, which carry an inherent discount, being sold for profit.”
Restrictions on ticket sharing
In addition to this, the ticket share resource will now only be available to paid patrons of the One Hotspur membership scheme.
Before this new arrangement, season ticket holders could share their pass with friends and family through the ticket share mechanism using a customer reference number, which could be obtained free of charge. Now, the receiver must sign up to become a club member, which was priced at £45 at the beginning of the 2024-25 season.
In the ticketing statement, Spurs communicated they made this decision “in the interest of fairness to our One Hotspur members”.
Sections of the fanbase have expressed their disappointment with this, noting how this resource was often used to gift tickets to friends who may not otherwise have the opportunity to support their club at the stadium.
“This is one of the most unpalatable moves, in my opinion,” says Law. “If I’ve not been able to go to a game, it’s been a great source of joy to be able to give the ticket to somebody who does not normally get the opportunity. They may not be able to afford it. Now I will have to make a friend take out a £45 membership to receive a gift.”
Removal of Automatic Cup Scheme
Another alteration for next season is removing the automatic cup scheme, which Spurs say “had a small number of members and impacted the length of the sales window”.
The statement reads: “Removing the scheme will extend the window for season ticket holders and members to purchase tickets for cup matches, which often go on sale at short notice. It also enables us to continue our discussions with atmosphere groups around the creation of a dedicated singing section at cup matches.”
Fans who signed up for this scheme by purchasing the Gold season ticket would automatically have their payment card charged on Spurs’ progression through the cups, reserving their seat for the upcoming match. Crucially, those fans were also awarded an extra 10 loyalty points compared to the standard season ticket, which increases their likelihood of securing a seat for away matches and matches at neutral stadiums.
It can be challenging for fans to gain extra loyalty points, as securing a ticket for European away matches (worth five points) is not easy. It also means fans are subject to further small booking fees through the Ticketmaster platform and are burdened with the added inconvenience of making single purchases ahead of each cup match. The added costs currently range from £1.75 per ticket online during the member’s sale to £4.50 per ticket over the phone during the non-member’s sale.
(Top photo: EYE4images/Getty Images)