Crusaders fans angry membership fee hiked for new stadium season
Thursday, 18 September 2025
A first look at Crusaders membership fees for the club’s first season in Christchurch’s new stadium has “shocked” longtime fans.
Sam Chung, who has supported the Crusaders for more than a decade and been a member for 10 years, said the cost of his platinum membership is jumping from $380 to $575 next year, a 40% price increase that has left many in his regular supporters' group reconsidering their loyalty.
“Everyone was shocked by the price increases,” he said. “The group that sit around me, the majority of them simply can't afford it.”
There are several tiers of membership options, which ranged this year from $140 for an adult for reserved seating at all regular home Crusaders games at the temporary Apollo Projects Stadium plus extras, to $575 each for the premium membership.
But next year membership tier prices start at $455 for full reserved seating for an adult, jumping to $3200 for the premium offer.
There is also a cheaper membership option of a guaranteed but not reserved seat under a general admission, priced at $279 per adult.
A membership for a family of four will cost a minimum of $749, up from $450.
The 2026 membership includes three games at Apollo Projects Stadium, and four at One New Zealand Stadium, as the stadium opens part way through the season.
Chung expected the club to show members “some loyalty back” with reasonable prices or no increase for the upcoming split venue season, since “the members were the ones that carried the club while in their temporary accommodation”.
But instead, the insurance broker said it felt like “nothing” was shown in return.
“Surely it'd be better for the club to have a stadium full of supporters than half full with people fortunate enough to pay for it.”
He anticipated further price increases the following year, he said. Members who raised concerns with the membership team were reportedly told the split venue season had already been taken into account when the new prices were set, he said. “That suggests that the next year will be even more expensive.”
But a Crusaders spokesperson said it was not their intention to raise prices again in 2027.
While in a position to absorb the increase himself, Chung said “there's a lot of people who can't, a lot of people doing it tough, and a lot of supporters on a pension or families”. A couple told him they cannot afford to renew, he said.
He claimed there had been no consultation or explanation to members about pricing prior to it “being dropped on you a couple of days out from renewal”, which felt like “time pressure” to decide to renew a membership or risk losing your reserved seats.
Chung has contacted the membership team and chief executive Colin Mansbridge for explanations but had yet to receive a response.
Mansbridge told The Press there were plenty of options available for fans, with new categories alongside existing ones.
The price was “accessible”, with the Silver Section costing a family of four $749, which worked out to just $26 per person per game, he said.
Moving from the Apollo Stadium to the new stadium was always going to cost more because the venues were incomparable, he said.
“The venues are very different, sort of like driving a Ford Cortina and then getting out and driving a Ferrari - you’re not driving the same vehicle. The experience will be unrecognisable. This is the best venue in the Southern Hemisphere.”
The Highlanders, based in Dunedin at Forsyth Barr Stadium, offer 2026 season memberships starting at lower price points. Gold category seating on or near the 22m line, similar to the family pack on offer for the Crusaders family membership, would cost a family of four $560.
Existing members could renew their 2026 memberships from Wednesday, and general sale memberships opened up next month.