As you can see some of the prices have been reduced , but this is still crazy what is being charged.
This week there has been a public outcry into the ticket prices for the Springboks vs Wallabies in Cape Town this weekend. The SA Rugby Board is charging between R1750 ($100) and R14332 ($850) per seat depending on where you select the seat. The reality is these prices are too costly for many and this is no longer a family day out type of event.
If we look at the average family in South Africa who are considered middle class then they would be excluded from this event as the tickets for a family of 4 would equate to anywhere between 30 and 50% of a families income for the month.
The majority of South Africans have less disposable income today than they had 10 years ago. The middle class is under attack and the category is questionable as what makes a middle class income. Many data driven sites say it is between R10K and R30K monthly earnings and that is a wide variance. Calling a R10K income middle class I would not and would say R20K- R30K is more realistic.
One can not do a direct comparison with similar events in the UK or EU as everything is relative to where you live and the cost of living. SA has a shrinking economy with a growing population due to open borders besides the birth rate.
Salaries in SA when compared to 2016 are at roughly 85% of where they once were so they have dropped and not risen. If we use the official figures which we know are not even close due to sugar coating things are not looking that good. Inflation over the last 10 years is at a reported 52% and fuel has increased by 88% over the same time frame. This has resulted in the average middle class household having a reported 53% less disposable income.
These figures are actually rather good compared to the reality which is never mentioned and that is these households are all servicing some type of debt. The debt is what is killing these households as they are using 80% of their income paying debt so this scenario never really improves. I am sure this is not just an SA problem and similar scenarios are happening in other family homes around the world.
When we look at sporting events the fans should be the ones being looked after and the sponsors involved along with the television companies paying the costs and not having over priced tickets. This weekend many believe will be a great spectacle and it would be a shame if only half the stadium was full.
Last weekend at Ellis Park which I was fortunate to attend after getting some reduced price tickets I noticed the stadium was not a sell out as advertised. There must have been a good 10000-15000 tickets unsold out of the 67000 capacity. This is nearly 20-25% of the stadium and Cape Town stadium will be the same this weekend unless they drop the prices.
The argument by the SARB is that the SA team is double world champions and the demand is that high for tickets so they price them accordingly and then why are people not buying them? They have lost touch with their fan base and have chased the families away because these are not affordable anymore.