Manchester United’s ‘Sir Alex Ferguson’ VIP box will set fans back £136,000 

Manchester United’s priciest VIP container for adjacent play comes with champagne and good eating arsenic portion of a £136,000 package.

The enforcement space, successful the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand, offers a ‘premium’ drinks and nutrient paper and ‘outstanding’ views of the Old Trafford pitch.  

The berth astatine the nine where Ruben Amorim has taken implicit arsenic caput manager is the astir costly hospitality enactment for the 2024-2025 season.

The Sir Alex Ferguson Stand Box connected Level 3 has gone connected merchantability arsenic fans run against rising Premier League summons prices crossed the committee and with the legendary manager preparing to permission his role arsenic nine ambassador astatine the extremity of the season. 

Match days successful the backstage container see a five-course, good eating paper with a starter, main, dessert, food and petit fours.

An all-inclusive complimentary barroom features champagne, sommelier-selected wines and premium spirits.  

Guests volition beryllium capable to ticker each location Premier League, home cupful and European games from backstage outdoor balcony seating, with further perks including a framed signed garment and matchday programmes.  

A astute formal codification applies, but for children nether 12.

Manchester United maintains that, based connected expected games per season, the VIP suite costs astir £600 per person, per crippled – little than comparable products sold by clubs specified arsenic Chelsea and Arsenal.

The terms secures the abstraction hosting a minimum of 8 people. The selling does not specify however galore of the boxes are available.  

Also disposable are seats successful the 1878 hospitality abstraction astatine a terms of £18,240 each. The outgo includes a ‘refined ambiance and exceptional service’, besides successful the Sir Alex Ferguson stand.  

A steak main people is the header crockery of the five-course, good eating menu, with a barroom offering premium wine, spirits, cocktails and champagne. 

Corporate hospitality has been a maturation assemblage arsenic Premier League clubs progressively cater for a marketplace that has been disparagingly termed ‘the prawn sandwich brigade’ aft remarks by Roy Keane 2 decades ago.

Kieran Maguire, a shot concern expert astatine the University of Liverpool, said: ‘Football is much fashionable than ever and owners are catering to the firm and non-season summons sectors arsenic request exceeds proviso astatine the biggest clubs, truthful putting up prices increases gross astatine a clip erstwhile broadcast income for the Premier League home woody has flatlined.

‘Corporate partners privation to entertain their clients and providing lavish surroundings astatine an amusement lawsuit specified arsenic apical formation shot to impressment others is 1 mode of making an impression.’  

Maguire, who co-hosts The Price of Football podcast, added: ‘Clubs specified arsenic Manchester United cognize that determination is simply a agelong enactment of imaginable customers consenting to wage ever-increasing sums for tickets.

‘It’s not conscionable the ticketing for Oasis, Manchester’s different stars, which shows that fans volition wage large sums to spot an event.

‘Therefore prices are apt to proceed to emergence until radical halt buying, but with an estimated 1.1 cardinal followers per the club’s ain figures, it is apt to beryllium a precise semipermanent approach.’ 

Roy Keane took a swipe astatine Old Trafford’s pampered fans successful 2000 erstwhile helium said that the location supporters were astir apt excessively engaged eating prawn sandwiches alternatively than cheering connected the Reds astatine a Champions League crippled against Dynamo Kyiv.  

Luxury catering crossed Premier League grounds has since entered a caller era, with Fulham unveiling a ‘Sky Deck’ hospitality country boasting views of the Thames, 2 Michelin Star restaurants and a rooftop swimming excavation earlier this year.  

At the aforesaid time, summons prices for mean fans are expanding crossed the board. In September, a question tabled by 24 MPs stated that 19 retired of 20 clubs — with Crystal Palace being the lone exception— had upped the outgo successful the contiguous season.  

The members said: ‘Top-flight clubs progressively look intent connected replacing long-time play summons holders with accrued numbers of hospitality clients and one-off visitors who are much consenting to judge precocious prices.’ 

The MPs privation a caller autarkic shot regulator to nutrient a study connected pricing and for clubs to undertake a reappraisal of concessionary rates. 

The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) is presently moving its #stopexploitingloyalty campaign, claiming that ‘club owners and executives spot regular lucifer goers arsenic a assets to beryllium bled adust alternatively than valued.’  Research by the FSA suggests that prices person gone up astir 7% connected mean with a ‘widespread attack’ connected concessionary prices. 

The vast bulk of tickets for games astatine Old Trafford are sold to play summons holders and authoritative members astatine wide admittance prices. 

The nine maintains that it has a scope of hospitality options astatine antithetic terms points from ‘grab and go’ thoroughfare nutrient to five-course good eating menus.

The hospitality is sold connected a game-by-game ground arsenic matchday VIP packages and connected a seasonal ground arsenic enforcement nine membership, which sells retired each season.

The ‘relaxed’ introduction level options commencement astatine conscionable £137 per crippled and scope up to the astir premium experiences Old Trafford has to offer.  

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