Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

GEORGE CRAN: Dundee’s season ticket price hike is a HUGE risk

The Dark Blues have revealed their 2024/25 prices.

Dundee fans have enjoyed watching their team this season. Image: Shutterstock/David Young
Dundee fans have enjoyed watching their team this season. Image: Shutterstock/David Young

Dundee have done some great work in rebuilding the connection to their fanbase.

Just remember the bad old days when Mark McGhee was in charge, season books were being thrown at John Nelms and barely any home fans turned up for a Scottish Cup quarter-final at Dens Park.

They’ve come a long way since that Rangers game and the low point of the 2021/22 season.

Lots of empty seats as Dundee face Rangers in the Scottish Cup quarter-final in 2022. Image: SNS

It helps that there has been success on the pitch – the Championship title win last season under Gary Bowyer has been followed by a top-six charge under Tony Docherty.

And, off the pitch, positive news has been flowing, too.

Dundee moved into a new training centre at Gardyne, the plans for a new stadium are moving on apace and there’s a link-up with Premier League Burnley.

There are brilliant young players to watch on the pitch in a strong squad playing some very decent football.

Dundee fans enjoying their day at McDiarmid Park on Saturday. Image: SNS

A lot of work goes into the playing side of things by manager Docherty and his staff.

And a ton of graft has gone on behind the scenes at the club to rebuild a relationship between club and fans that only a couple of years ago was in tatters.

They deserve a lot of credit for that.

However, it wouldn’t take much for that to turn.

Big risk

Dundee hiking season tickets is a big risk on that front.

It’s no big surprise to see prices going up from last year.

When the 2023/24 prices were revealed, the club were second in the Championship.

Dundee skipper Ryan Sweeney lifts the Championship trophy. Image: SNS.
Dundee skipper Ryan Sweeney lifts the Championship trophy. Image: SNS.

Promotion was far from certain, even midway through the final game of the season.

So, at a time of year when clubs need some money coming in, there was no way the Dark Blues could charge Premiership prices when there was still a big chance of Championship football at Dens.

The price of everything has gone up, so no doubt the club are feeling the pinch – and the playing budget has clearly gone up, so that needs paying for too.

Too much

But a price rise of £80 for a full adult season ticket to £490 is difficult to fathom.

Almost £500 for a seat in a stadium that is crumbling, with a pitch struggling to stage games feels like too much.

Dundee fans at Dens Park
Dundee have raised their season-ticket prices for Dens Park next season. Image: Shutterstock/David Young

The biggest disappointment for me is the scrapping of the £1 season tickets for U/12s.

The club didn’t get nearly enough credit for that. It was a great way to attract parents and young fans to the games, keeping them coming back year after year.

Putting them up to £50 as well as senior and disabled tickets up £55 to £335 sends the wrong message.

Manager Tony Docherty spoke this week about the connection between the players and the supporters after over 2,500 Dees saw their side win at St Johnstone.

Dundee fans are enjoying watching one of the best Dens Park teams in recent years.

Just when a whole lot is going in the right direction, hiking prices by such a large amount risks undoing all that good work.

At a time when everyone’s pockets are being squeezed, it’s just too much.

Conversation