With the news yesterday that Barrow Raiders will offer free season tickets to 20,000 local schoolchildren and the announcement from Batley Bulldogs in December that they would cap tickets at £10 for adults, it’s fair to say there’s plenty of value in watching rugby league in the Championship.
As the cost of living crisis continues to put pressure on people’s wallets we’re listing the cheapest to most expensive season tickets among the second division for 2023.
For reference the cheapest available adult ticket is what these prices are based on, in some cases that means a standing ticket whereas other side’s don’t offer standing at all.
14. Toulouse Olympique – £80
Priced at just 90 euros for a season ticket the French side boast the cheapest ticket across the Championship with juniors being able to pick a season ticket up for just £9 as well. For any expats living in the south of France and missing their home town team this is a brilliant alternative.
13. Newcastle Thunder – £99
Another side outside of the traditional heart lands but one where the sport is growing and also happens to host Magic Weekend. Newcastle is clearly developing a thirst for rugby league and if that’s the case for locals then access to all 13 home games for change out of £100 is exceptional value. For a seated ticket across the whole season it’s only just over £10 a game at £149.
12. Batley Bulldogs – £110
The team that went all the way to the Million Pound Game last season are arguably the best value across the whole league with their chairman announcing that tickets would be £10 for all adults across the board and therefore season tickets just £110 for all 13 home games and the Summer Bash at York as well. With kids going free as well this is incredible value.
11. Keighley Cougars – £165 (Sold Out)
With tickets priced as reasonably as around £12.50 per home game there’s no wonder that Cougarmania has taken over and season tickets have sold out. The League One Champions look set to go again this season with a bold promotion bid given the recruitment they’ve undergone including Luke Gale and Ben Crooks.
10. Barrow Raiders – £190
The side who finished fifth last season offer the fifth cheapest season ticket with it priced at £190 but with the announcement yesterday that 20,000 season tickets will be distributed for free amongst the local schools then this could actually become an incredibly cheap family day out every Sunday for the Cumbrian fans.
9. Sheffield Eagles – £195
The Eagles had the lowest average attendance in the 2022 season but with this reasonably priced ticket, that gets members access to all men’s, women’s and wheelchair games it’s actually a really good deal. Sheffield kick their pre-season off with a first of its kind triple-header against Hull FC, with the wheelchair (10am), women’s (12.30pm) and men’s (3.00pm) games all going ahead on the same day.
8. York Knights – £199
With the news yesterday that York will be paying their women’s team, York Valkyrie, from the 2023 season onwards is an amazing step towards growing the female game and equality, then it made sense that season tickets for the men would also include the women’s games too. For just under £200 getting access to all of the Knights and Valkyrie games is great value.
7. Featherstone Rovers – £200
5. Swinton Lions – £209
The other team that came up from League One alongside the invincible Keighley, was Swinton Lions and the Lions are offering access to all home games in the league at approximately £16 per game which is great value considering that’s a seated ticket.
4. London Broncos – £210*
Whilst this is listed at £210 to watch all of the Bronco’s games in the capital it’s actually split into two fees. Membership is £80 and by purchasing that then access to all home games is £10 per game, which across 13 games equates to £210 which is actually incredibly well priced for high level sport in a city such as London.
3. Widnes Vikings – £220
One of the sides in this division with a lot of history and for that brand recognition they’re one of the pricier tickets, whilst still representing great value. This is the price for adults, listed as 24-64, meaning that students and 65+ are priced at a lesser rate as ‘concessions’.
2. Bradford Bulls – £229.95*
Another huge club with huge history, and arguably the best supported club in the division given they boasted the highest average attendance in 2022 at over 3,200. The reason for the asterisk on this price is that tickets are actually £219 but a booking fee of £10.95 drags that price up, but to watch some high quality rugby league at one of the most historic grounds in the country it’s still a very fair price.
1. Whitehaven – £240
The most expensive season ticket in the division for one of the clubs that don’t get as many fans through the gate. As one of three sides from Cumbria in the 2022 season, Workington got relegated to League One, Haven have potentially had to price themselves at such a point to ensure that for those that do attend they still manage to keep the club going. Only over Christmas did the club leadership express that they almost went under during the 2022 campaign so if you’re a rugby league fan in Cumbria then Haven will be a great club to pledge your hard-earned pounds towards.
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