For many sports fans, following their favourite sport can be more than just a passing hobby, and can become a real passion â and an often expensive one, as avid followers of sports often spend several hundreds of pounds fuelling these passions, regardless of which sport they follow.
Football fans for example will buy season tickets to watch their respective clubs play their home matches, whilst they will also pay additional money to purchase tickets for away games or cup-ties that their season books won’t cover. And of course, travelling to away games often incurs additional expense, such as train fares or petrol costs.
Add in the season’s replica shirt purchase, food and drink before and after the game and the cost of attending a football match can very soon and very quickly add up into an expensive day out.
Much the same can be said about Rugby fans, whether their choice of oval-ball action is Rugby Union or Rugby League; or even if its just the Six Nations Championship, or Rugby test matches.
Fans of golf will also have some financial outlay when it comes to watching their sporting heroes strut their stuff on the fairways. Tickets and transport will often be the major drain on finances, but there is also the added cost of accommodation should fans look to spend more than a single day on the course.
Walking around the golf course can also be a hungry and thirsty business, especially as it is likely several hours will be spent on course. Once again the added cost of food and drink can drive up the cost of spectating quite dramatically.
Indeed the cost of food at drink at many sporting venues is perhaps one of the most prominent causes for increased expenditure when it comes to spectator sports and regardless of the sport, whether it’s a fast-paced action sport like football or rugby; or a slower-paced sport such as cricket, these costs can sometimes be almost as much as the event ticket itself.
And, unless you have a pre-booked seat such as those given with season books, turning up to an event on the day can often provide its own problems. You might not get a good vantage point, for example, or the food and drink outlets or toilets may be some distance away, meaning that when you need to use the facilities at hand you might miss part of the action.
For this reason, more and more people are choosing to watch the action unfold on TV, and most of the major sports and sporting events are subject to coverage by several of the sports TV channels providers. From the FA Cup final to Formula One motor racing; the Ryder Cup to Wrestlemania and the Horse of the Year Show to the Cheltenham Festival, being part of an event is now possible at a fraction of the cost of attending the event in person.
Of course, there won’t be the same atmosphere in a living room or pub as there might be on the terraces, but with the prospect of an unrestricted view; food, drink and toilet facilities closer at hand and even the opportunity to pause, record, rewind and review the action in real-time with some sports TV channels providers’ equipment, spectators can be better placed than ever when it comes to viewing their favourite sports â without it hitting them too hard in the pocket.
Paul Buchanan writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.