Aberdeen Football Club has warned it faces “significant” increases in costs as it grapples with soaring prices of fuel, food and staff wages.
And the worst might be yet to come as the club’s energy bills are currently on a “reasonable” fixed contract which is likely to come to an end at some point next year.
Aberdeen Football Club commercial director Robert Wicks admitted cost price rises were “frustrating” but that the club was doing its “level best” to reduce the impact on fans by minimising the rises in price of tickets, food kiosks and matchday hospitality.
But he warned the added cost burden, thought to be in the region of hundreds of thousands of pounds, could affect community and grassroots access to facilities like Cormack Park as prices for use may have to rise.
He said: “The worry for everybody in this game is that rental charges are going to have to go up to cover these increased costs.
If those kids aren’t able to come and enjoy their football or come and enjoy the facilties, what is the unknown impact in terms of health and well being?”
“That then starts to impact on access, particularly for your grassroots clubs that perhaps can’t afford an increased rate.
“If those kids aren’t able to come and enjoy their football or come and enjoy the facilities, what is the unknown impact in terms of health and wellbeing?
“This is not about scaremongering, this is the reality of what we are facing.”
Dons fans already feeling impact of rising costs
Already fans have reacted strongly to cost increases in the grounds including the “famous” Pittodrie steak pie, which has risen to £4.10.
The club confirmed the cost of food sourced by the club has risen between 10 and 30%.
“We have seen some quite steep increases there – it is frustrating, but you recognise there are a range of global challenges going on that are driving supply as well,” he said.
“We are trying our level best, where ever there have been increases we try to minimise passing those on.
“But there comes a point where unfortunately you do have to pass it on because you just have no other choice.”
The club’s chief operating officer was unsure when AFC’s current energy contract comes to an end but he said they were expecting more bad news “in the near future”.
It is expected wholesale energy prices are due to stay high well into the next year and possibly even 2024.
Businesses across the north and north-east have been hit with huge energy bills with some being forced to close.
And while households are somewhat protected by the so-called energy price cap, businesses are not which means many will be paying much more once they renew their energy price contracts at much higher rates.
One of the issues facing Pittodrie is its “ageing stadium”.
“It’s 120 years old and we have some energy-hungry things like grow lamps on during the winter for keeping the pitch in tip top condition,” said Mr Wicks.
“The floodlights when we play through the winter or early evening kick off, those are big factors.
“We are not expecting an immediate increase in those energy costs because we are tied into a reasonable deal,” he said.
“But in the near future, we are going to see a couple of significant increases coming our way. We have to be ready for that.
“Given what we are seeing we are expecting it to be pretty significant.”
Cost of doing business
Costs of replica shirts are also up from £50 to £55 due to rising costs from its supplier, Adidas – although he said this was in line with most clubs.
He said the club had put a temporary price freeze for a month on season tickets sales so that they cost the same as last year, but that there have been “very modest increases” in the price of tickets on the day.
“We have been very conscious that if you can’t afford a season ticket you are in a group that tend to walk up,” he said.
He said the club will be bringing out some new offers to alleviate pressure on cost-conscious fans over the coming weeks and months.
“There’s some positive and exciting things coming down the line,” he added.
New revenue lines
Households and businesses alike are caught up in the biggest squeeze in living standards for a century, as energy bills soar and inflation worsens.
One of the ways AFC will soften the blow of inflation is to come up with new ways of bringing in money.
“Where ever there have been increases that have come our way we have done as much as we can to not pass those on,” he said.
“It’s tough out there but everybody is in the same boat.
“It is not an ideal situation to be in at all, it is about trying to find new revenue to try and cover those costs.
“We see it across the club. We know there are challenges – some staff are having a hard time.
“The cost of living crisis is biting and biting hard – it’s very very close to home.”
Everything costs more
Mr Wicks further explained how fuel and transport are adding to AFC’s costs.
“There’s a general sense no matter what everyone is doing you are seeing costs creeping up wherever you look,” he said.
“We have to move teams into Europe to play for our youth academy and flight costs are up.
“We have to move players on buses all around the country to different games, whether that is women’s team, the youth academy, the development team or the first team, fuel was £1.35 18 months ago and it is closer to £1.90 now.
It’s tough out there but everybody is in the same boat.”
“A lot of those prices are passed on to us – we have got to stomach as many of those and find ways to try to deal with them.”
He did not confirm an overall figure for the impact of current costs, although it is understood the club is facing having to pay out to the tune of hundreds of thousands of pounds more.
He points to the “positive step forward” of securing free bus travel for supporters with First Bus.
“If you think about costs on a match day of bringing a young family to the game, by the time you’ve paid for petrol, which is at ridiculous prices these days, it can become an expensive exercise for a group of people. I think free bus travel softens it.”
He said the club has “kicked off in earnest” a low carbon energy drive to achieve net zero.
“If we can employ some better technology and better equipment to cut costs and reduce emissions, that is going to bring our cost down at the club.”
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