The Board of Hamilton Academical Football Club wish to take a moment to address the concerns raised by many of you regarding our club’s match-day ticket pricing. We genuinely do understand and empathise with all of your frustrations and opinions. The voices of all football supporters (and in particular our own) matter greatly to us, and we appreciate your passion for the game and your attendance at matches during these challenging & uncertain times.
As you are aware, our club is currently navigating a #NewEra under fresh ownership. This transition comes in the wake of a really difficult period in the history of Hamilton Academical FC, marked by two relegations within the last three years, prior to our acquisition of the Club in July 2023.
We are wholly committed to rebuilding and recovering from these setbacks, but we recognise that this process is gradual and, at times, is unfortunately extremely challenging.
One of the significant factors contributing to our ticket pricing is the financial reality we face as a club. Given our current average attendance figures in the William Hill Scottish Championship the operational costs of running our stadium on a match-day are approximately £21 per person per game, assuming we enjoyed an 100% adult attendance. The unfortunate reality is that inevitably we will be delivering a number of our fixtures each season by operating at a financial loss.
Furthermore, our commitment to continuing to maintain and operate our elite youth academy through this transition period remains steadfast, even although we receive no financial support from the UEFA Solidarity Payments given to Scottish Football and the support that we do receive from the SFA (whilst its greatly appreciated & is certainly necessary monies received) is only, unfortunately, a very small percentage of the operational costs involved with the running of such a significant youth footballing infrastructure of excellence. We do however believe that investing in the development of homegrown youth is crucial for the future of our Club, for the Scottish game and for the creation of new young and exciting Scottish Talent who seek careers for themselves at the top of Professional Football, but this also adds significant pressure to our financial situation.
Currently, as many will also be aware we are tenants at our stadium, which further complicates our ability to manage ticket prices as effectively as we would like to, however, as part of our well publicised transitional phase, we are actively seeking to acquire the stadium.
Stadium Ownership will undoubtedly provide us with the opportunity to positively reassess our finances, including ticket prices, and to implement reductions where feasible.
We want to reassure all football supporters that our club regularly reviews ticket pricing structures and frequently offers special access prices throughout the year to encourage greater attendance at our matches. We genuinely want to foster a vibrant atmosphere at our games, and we understand that affordability is a key aspect of that equation.
Being mindful of this, we have decided to reduce the cost of our Concession/Child Prices to £10, effective immediately.
Further regular reviews of our Adult Ticket prices remain ongoing and should any adjustments be possible, announcements will be made at that time.
We are wholly committed to ensuring positive supporter engagement with all stakeholders and providing a good customer experience on a match-day for everyone. It is our goal to create a safe, welcoming, and affordable environment that encourages supporters (Home & Away) to attend our matches. The support of our fans and the support of the wider Scottish Football Fanbase is vital to our success & sustainability as a Club, and we want to ensure that every fan feels valued, included & represented at all times.
Thank you sincerely for your understanding during this period of transition & transformation at Hamilton Academical Football Club.
Together, we will work towards a brighter future for not only our club but our support of our fellow clubs in the Scottish Professional Football League, and we sincerely hope to see you at our Stadium in the matches ahead this season.
Board of Directors
Hamilton Academical FC
