Genève-Servette won 3-2 after almost 115 minutes of play

If the National League pre-playoffs are at the center of the news in the hockey world, the teams guaranteed to take part in the final series are taking advantage of this week to launch their ticketing. If the six clubs increase their prices, the Genève-Servette Hockey Club is the one with the highest increase, compared to the other teams.

The practice isn’t new and it’s a simple concept of economics: supply stays the same as demand rises, so do prices. If Rapperswil was the last team in the top 6 to open its ticket office on Wednesday, all the prices have been communicated beforehand, at least for the quarter-finals.

In comparison with the prices applied in the regular season, Genève-Servette, with a 38.27% increase, is the club with the highest average increase, while Saint-Gallois Rapperswil are, with an average increase of 14.16%. %, which inflate their prices the least.


Explanations of the data at the bottom of this article

More family offers

Following our article, a misunderstanding was detected on the garnet club website. A sentence indicating the family offer valid “outside the final series” has been removed since it is still available via the order form. The prices have therefore been adjusted.

The family offer is also experiencing an increase at the GSHC. A family of 2 adults and 2 children under 16 paid 46 francs to attend a game in the regular season (1 child ticket under 16 offered for 1 adult ticket purchased), they will have to pay 72 francs for quarters upcoming final.

In the two other ice rinks which offer a special rate, this same family would pay 110 francs in Zurich to attend the match (compared to 90 francs in the regular season) and 120 francs in Rapperswil (compared to 100 francs in season). It is therefore once once more Genève-Servette which offers the highest price.

Increase from 2019 to 2023

The price increase proposed in 2023 by the GSHC also stands out in direct comparison with the prices charged in 2019, the last playoffs played in Geneva with the public and without health restrictions. All sectors experience a price increase of at least 13.75% for the lowest and 20% for the highest increase.

If in 2023 ticket prices increased by 38.27% on average, the average increase between the regular season and the quarter-finals in 2019 was 31.74%.

Several rates for the 2023 quarter-finals reach or even exceed the rates charged during the 2010 playoff final.

No increase in 10 years

Contacted, the club responded in writing via its president Philippe Baechler, who justifies the increase in particular by the fact that the prices of tickets for the quarters have been the same for 10 years (i.e. since the 2012-2013 season).

“The inflation, known to all, suffered in recent years is also to be taken into account, especially following the long period of Covid and, moreover, in the midst of the conflicts between Russia and Ukraine. We had to adjust, like many players in the sports market or others, so as not to jeopardize the financial balance of the club”specifies Philippe Baechler in his email.

“It was planned to make a staggered increase over several seasons but we had not participated in the playoffs with the public since the 2018-2019 season. Despite this, if we look at the numbers factually, we remain competitive compared to those practiced by teams such as Zurich, Davos or Zug and, moreover, with a growing quality of the spectacle offered by Swiss hockey at Les Vernets”adds the chairman of the club’s board of directors, specifying to conclude that an alignment on market prices was also carried out following an “in-depth study”.

Data for comparison

For comparison, full price tickets were taken in 5 different categories. If an ice rink offers 4 seating categories, these four categories have been chosen. If an ice rink has more sectors, these have been chosen according to their location.

  • the cheapest standing places (north/south parterre at Les Vernets)
  • Assis 1: the most expensive seats, excluding business and VIP tickets (platinum sector at Vernets);
  • Sitting 2 and 3: two price ranges in the seats (gold and silver sectors at Vernets);
  • Assis 4: the least expensive seats, excluding the family sector (bronze block K sector in Les Vernets);

Choice of sectors (map of the skating rinks in link)

Assis 1: Zurich