NRL 2023 membership ticket prices revealed
Are the Dolphins price-gouging ahead of their historic debut season in the NRL? Here’s what the membership pricing figures say, as CEO Terry Reader responds.
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The Dolphins insist they are not ripping off Queensland rugby league fans amid fears their ticket pricing is among the most expensive in the NRL.
Analysis of every NRL club’s pricing structure shows the Dolphins have the most expensive adult season membership at $325 for 10 home games.
That’s $126 more than Queensland derby rivals the Broncos, whose $199 adult membership package features two extra home games compared to the Dolphins.
The Bulldogs and Warriors have the most affordable season memberships at less than $15 a game.
Broncos fans can watch Brisbane’s 12 home games at Suncorp Stadium for as cheap as $16.60 per match.
By contrast, the Dolphins’ 10-game package at Suncorp and Redcliffe’s Moreton Daily Stadium is worth $32.50 per game.
But Dolphins boss Terry Reader hit out at suggestions the club is price-gouging ahead of their historic debut season in the NRL, saying the expansion franchise has a number of affordable options for fans.
One variable for the Dolphins is the smaller capacity of Moreton Daily Stadium, which has 40,000 fewer seats than the Broncos’ traditional home at Suncorp, increasing the demand for seating.
“Our 10-game membership package that covers both Suncorp Stadium and Moreton Daily Stadium is currently a limited premium option,” Reader said.
“We have predictably already seen huge uptake in that category.
“Fans understand this is the best way to ensure they lock in the premium seats given the capacity differences at our 10,000-seat Moreton Daily Stadium compared to Suncorp Stadium.”
Reader said the Dolphins have tailored a membership specifically for their seven matches at Suncorp which, on average, make the package as affordable as any deal offered by the Broncos.
“We are playing seven games at Suncorp Stadium and our cheapest adult season membership for Suncorp games is $105 or just $15 a game,” Reader said.
“You can also take a family of four to those seven games at Suncorp Stadium as a membership for $270 – or $38.50 per game, which is less than $10 per person for each match.
“Obviously as a new club we have not yet released all of our membership options.
“Next week we will release flexible three-game memberships at Suncorp Stadium that will be priced from $18 per game for an adult, and a four-game package that includes tickets to our three matches at Moreton Daily Stadium at Redcliffe and a ticket to our game on the Sunshine Coast.
“We are certainly providing some great value for money.”
NRL membership prices: Tigers’ latest insult to fans
- Fatima Kdouh and Matt Encarnacion
The Wests Tigers may have finished at the bottom of the ladder this year but are still expecting long suffering fans to pay top dollar to watch their team in 2023.
Remarkably, only new franchise the Dolphins are charging more than what the joint venture is asking its faithful to fork out for an adult membership to home games.
News Corp has examined the cheapest season tickets for adults and families at each club next year, and, given the current economic climate, some of the results are surprising.
The most affordable Tigers’ season ticket, which doesn’t include “home” games at Tamworth, Hamilton (New Zealand) and Brisbane (Magic Round), will set fans back almost $28 a game.
Only the Dolphins, at over $32 a game, ask their new fanbase for more.
“I’m not too happy about it,” said a long-time season ticket-holder.
“Those ‘home games’ aren’t included, so how can we be the second most expensive when three of those games we can’t attend because they’re interstate or overseas?
“It doesn’t make sense at all.”
“I usually go with my dad to Campbelltown and Leichhardt. I haven’t looked into the prices but if they’re the second most expensive, that’s something to think about,” he said.
On the other end of the scale, Canterbury have the cheapest membership offering next year.
The Bulldogs’ home game package of 11 matches, which includes an away game deal with fellow Accor Stadium tenants South Sydney, is almost half that of the Tigers.
Canterbury, along with Newcastle, also have the best deals for families across the league.
Bulldogs CEO Aaron Warburton said the club made it a priority to be able to offer its supporters the most affordable membership packages in the NRL.
“The Bulldogs are ‘the Family Club’ and members are at the core of our family,” he said.
“They play a critical role in the success of the Bulldogs both on and off the field and our commitment to them has always been and remains to be, providing them with value-driven and affordable memberships.”
Keeping memberships affordable in a climate of rising interest rates and the cost of living was a crucial consideration for the Bulldogs.
“We know that we have all been impacted in different ways throughout recent years, so we have done our best to keep our membership rates as low as possible despite rising costs to the club,” Warburton said.
“We kept rates flat for six years and we rolled membership benefits forward from the 2021 season to account for the impacts and restrictions of the pandemic.
“But now in 2023, more than ever, we need the support of our members.”
The Belmore outfit has managed to remain low-cost even after increasing the price of memberships by four per cent across the board this year.
“The future success of our club relies on keeping competitive with our rival NRL teams and investing in our people and pathways,” he said.
“Despite some small rate increases across some of our membership packages in 2023, our memberships still remain one of the most affordable of all the clubs.
“We were conscious to complete a thorough analysis before making any changes to membership packages to ensure that we remain one of the most value-driven clubs in the NRL, which we are confident that we have achieved.”
The Tigers have been asked for comment on their membership prices.
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