How much does going to the stadium in Italy costs?

Live soccer finally got back on track in this season finale, reaching pre-pandemic capacity levels by filling Italian stadiums with color and passion ahead of one of the most uncertain season finales of the last decade. Teams, however, had to tweak tickets to make up for the huge losses caused by the nearly two years of inactivity, physiologically raising prices for various types of seats and games. This phenomenon, however, obviously did not take place only in our league but in every European league facing the same problems. On the contrary, Serie A for various reasons has experienced lower price increases than its counterparts according to the Football Price Index 2022 report compiled by BudgetAir.com.

In fact, while in the Premier League or the Belgian Pro League ticket prices grew 30 and 50 percent in Serie A the growth was just 2.27 percent. An overall figure, however, that should be read in light of the report that divides stadium seats into "behind the goal or curves" and "center stands" and into first and second tier matches. The cheapest price is 50.00 euros for a corner seat in a second tier match while it goes up a lot on top matches in exclusive seats normally reserved for VIPs or guests for which one can go up to 206.33 euros per ticket. While in the Premier League, LaLiga, and Bundesliga the increases have been more regular according to each seat and match, in Italy there has been a gradual growth according to a difference between large stadiums and provincial ones that is becoming increasingly clear in our league and that traces the differences in facilities for football. 

Compared to other leagues, where teams have invested heavily in their facilities to make them not only the theater of their sporting endeavors but also a major source of income thanks to the many collateral activities, in Italy in this case having antiquated and unattractive stadiums has meant that prices have not risen significantly. Moreover, in many cases teams have favored bringing as many people as possible to the matches also through strategies of lowering prices and exploiting season ticket holders as a catch to restart after the pandemic, as in the case of Roma. In fact, it is no coincidence that the Giallorossi club is the one that has recorded the most noticeable increase in spectators at home games with 40,726, behind only the Milanese, with AC Milan, second at 42,400 and Inter, leading the way with 43,549. 

The Football Price Index 2022 report depicts a landscape with which we are familiar, in which low costs for stadium entry reflect the same volume of investment in facilities that has characterized the last decades of Italian soccer. A very different approach than in the Premier League or Bundesliga where instead ticket prices have soared along with the stadium experience owned by the respective clubs, with results to be evaluated in the coming years.