Over the years, Sunderland supporters have undoubtedly witnessed drama and goals, but do they receive their money’s worth in terms of actual success?
With the best home attendance in the division, Sunderland supporters have another season filled with potential play-off excitement at the Stadium of Light.
With 16 league games remaining, the Black Cats have a good chance of finishing in the top six, exactly like they did the previous season, even after a 1-1 draw against Middlesbrough on Sunday. They are currently one point out of the play-offs with 44 points.
Despite the fact that the League One play-off final provided fans with a joyous day out, they will be eager to make up for losing to Luton in the semi-finals of the previous season. Fans will be determined to go one better and at least enjoy a day out at Wembley where they have suffered so much pain in the past. Additionally, Football League World examines if the money fans are spending is a fair value for their money given that the majority of supporters spend the entire season rooting for their heroes.
Sunderland’s ticket prices
We need to know the cost of tickets for Championship matchdays at the Stadium of Light in order to assess whether or not Sunderland supporters receive good value for their money.
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In general, the prices are reasonable. For the forthcoming games against Swansea and Plymouth Argyle, the cheapest adult tickets available are priced at £29 in the less costly sections of the stadium, with the more expensive sections only slightly costing £35.
It is therefore even less expensive for concessions located further down the field. Tickets for over 65 are only as expensive as £26, while supporters between the ages of 16 and 21 can only spend a maximum of £22. Tickets for youngsters aged 14 and 15 are priced at £14 each, while admittance to the stadium is only £14 for those under the age of 14.
When considering just match day tickets, these are often rather affordable; the price drops even further when considering season ticket prices. The most costly sections, which do not include premium seats in the Black Cats Bar area, only cost £565 for an adult season ticket. This equates to slightly over £24.50 each game over the course of the 23 home games in the Championship.
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Value for money at Sunderland
It has to be said that, in general, Sunderland’s ticket costs are incredibly good value when it comes to the success being carried out on the pitch. The Black Cats qualified for the play-offs rather unexpectedly last season, and they’re even more proficient at home this season.
With nine home victories from fifteen games, they have accumulated 27 points this season, good for eighth place in the home standings. With undoubtedly the biggest home crowd in the division, it’s no wonder that the sizable supporters support the players on the field. Only the current top five, together with Norwich City and Plymouth, can claim a better home record than Michael Beale’s team.
Sunderland next homefixtures
There’s a good probability Sunderland will win all of their remaining home games. The teams they play next are Swansea and Plymouth, who have both had recent road struggles. Over the weekend, Plymouth won their first away game of the season against the Welsh team.
There’s a difficult test against Leicester next, but Sunderland can still have hope because the Foxes have only won twice in their last four away games.
Following that, Sheffield Wednesday, Blackburn, QPR, Millwall, and relegation contenders; in the interim, there is a match against Bristol City. If Beale’s team manages to stay ahead of the league-leading Foxes, they have a good chance of earning all but the maximum amount of points.