Reductions in ticket prices worries Whalley

The reduction in ticket prices promised for next season by several Premiership and Championship clubs is not welcomed by everyone.

Last week Eric Whalley, the Accrington Stanley chairman, wrote about the subject on his website and made a good case for considering the case of smaller clubs who cannot afford such reductions.

There has been no comment from Hereford United manager Graham Turner on the subject as yet. He may not consider that price reductions at, for example, West Bromwich Albion will have any effect on the gates at Edgar Street.

Whilst Hereford's nearest 'big' club is over an hour away, Accrington is very close to both Blackburn and Burnley.

Blackburn are to cut season ticket prices by 25% for next season. Their cheapest season ticket will cost just £249. The club says that a family of two adults and two children need only pay around £10 each per game by purchasing a season ticket.

Meanwhile Whalley is worried about the effect of these cuts.

"The Premiership clubs are using the further increased revenue from the sale of television rights to offset the loss of income from the gate receipts, which is all well and good but where does that leave us? Here at Accrington we work to a strict budget, income from season ticket sales and gate receipts is a big part of our annual turnover, and probably more important to us than it is for Premiership clubs who can rely on other income streams. The revenue that clubs in Coca Cola League Two receive from the sale of television rights is a drop in the ocean in terms of the amount of money we have to bring in to break even, and it doesn't even begin to compare to millions that are going into the Premiership.

"I do feel that something has to be done to address the issue of the ever widening gap between the teams at the top of our professional game those of us further down the divisions. There has to be a fairer way of distributing money to help the smaller clubs rather than simply allowing the bigger clubs to get richer and richer"

As for West Bromwich, their reductions are partly due to a drop of 30% in season ticket sales after dropping out of the Premiership. However supporters who paid £419 for a season ticket last year will only pay £349 next year, whether the Baggies reach the Premiership or not.

Under-16 tickets throughout the Hawthorns will cost just £99, a reduction of between £50 and £100 and the club has introduced a student rate for young adults in full-time education up to the age of 21.

Currently at Edgar Street the dearest season ticket costs £300 but deals were available for families and youngsters.

Whatever happens between now and next season the pressure will be on clubs like Hereford to, at the least, have a stand-still on prices. It is not an easy situation as any reduction in gate income has to be made up in other ways or costs reduced.

A higher amount from television rights might address the situation but that's probably not likely to be agreed.

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