Atlanta United season ticket price increase update: Supporters express displeasure in public statement

Atlanta United's increase in season ticket price has provoked a public response from some season ticket holders and supporters groups.

Photo credit: Sydney Hunte, x.com/SHWrites

Many Atlanta United supporters expressed displeasure with the team’s recently-announced season ticket price hike and offered a “proposal” in an Instagram post Friday.

The post made by The Gulch, which identifies itself as a collective that represents the various official supporters groups that frequent “The Gulch” seats at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, can be read in full here:

“We as the Gulch, and on behalf of our independent supporter groups, our memberships, and all supporters are deeply troubled by the price increases going into next season that are inconsistent with team performance and state front office goals.

“As frustration grows amongst supporters, we see these price increases as being extremely detrimental to the community we’ve worked so hard to foster and enrich season by season.

“The annual price increases over the past years have had a two fold effect on the Supporters Section. The section is increasingly filled with fans looking for affordable tickets but not keen on the supporter experience, while simultaneously supporters who provide that experience have been priced out.

“We all love this club. We purchase tickets, merchandise, and travel to away games. We have seen a minimum 56% increase in ticket prices from 2017 to present day in the supporters section alone. Season ticket holder benefits continue to disappear and performance on field is lacking, making the continuous price increases difficult to understand.

“We’d like to formally propose the following solution for all supporters to the front office of Atlanta United:

• A five year freeze on ticket prices.

• A second ticket exchange window at the 40% mark of the season.

• A one time option for each Founding Member to opt back in to season tickets at their Founding Member status and pricing.

• An additional ticket payment plan for season tickets over a longer period of time.”

The Gulch describes itself as such:

The Gulch is the Supporters Collective for Atlanta United. The Atlanta Supporters have come together to represent the city in the stands and in the community. By forming the Gulch it allows each group to focus on their missions and what they do best, while supporting each other for joint projects that involve us all. The Gulch will serve as a backbone for shared infrastructure and information, tifo, the Pit, and shared philanthropic efforts.

Five Stripe Final released an editorial opinion on the season ticket price increase, which can be found here.