Big games will cost you bigger bucks

FOOTBALL fans are being hit with hefty rises of as much as 17.5% in the cost of tickets to watch the English Premiership’s giants next season.

Prices of 2008-2009 season tickets are as high as €2,287 at Arsenal, €1,142 at Man Utd and €1,441 at Chelsea for the new campaign starting in August. Liverpool FC’s prices are to be unveiled on Friday.

FA Cup winners Portsmouth have landed their fans with the steepest rise of any Premiership side at 17.5% for the new season but rich, elite clubs like Man Utd are also asking supporters for extra.

Fans will have to pay an extra 6% for season-tickets at Old Trafford for the new campaign beginning in August, while Arsenal have just imposed a 2.6% rise despite a trophy-less season.

Of the so-called Big Four, only Chelsea so far have left their ticket prices unchanged, but their season tickets are among the costliest in the Premiership, starting at €664 and rising to €1,441.

Robbie Keane’s League Cup-winning Tottenham Hotspur have tickets from €796 to €2,099, while Arsenal’s start at €1,071, almost the same as Man Utd’s costliest seat.

Corkman Roy Keane’s Sunderland are imposing a 12% rise with the cost of an adult ticket for next season ranging from €627 to €1,115.

Irish fans of the Premiership’s best-supported clubs say affording tickets to see live matches is becoming increasingly difficult on top of the cost of travelling over the Irish Sea to see games.

“It’s great to be successful but the supporters have to pay for that all the time,” said Dubliner Eddie Gibbons of the Ireland branch of the Man Utd Supporters Club.

“Where does it end? Season tickets are going up year after year and it’s getting expensive, especially over here.

Despite clinching the Premiership and the Champions’ League titles, Man Utd’s season tickets are average for the division’s big teams and cost around the same as Premiership minnows Sunderland.

Chelsea’s and Arsenal’s season tickets are among the costliest despite the failure of both teams to win any domestic or European cups this year.

On the back of winning the unfashionable League Cup this season, London team Spurs hiked their prices by 10.7% with the costliest seat an eye-watering €2,099 for the year.

Spurs said the club needed the extra money to build on the success of the 2007-2008 season, despite finishing 11th and in the bottom half of the table.

What your support will cost

The price of a 2008-2009 season-ticket to watch your favourite Premiership football team:

* Man Utd — now costs between €619 and €1,142, up 6% on last season

* Liverpool — to be announced on Friday

* Arsenal — between €1,071 and €2,287, up 2.6%

* Chelsea — between €664 and €1,441, no change

* Sunderland — between €627 and €1,115, up 12%

(Source: Premier League / BBC)