Massive season ticket price hike at Old Trafford

Manchester United have announced massive season ticket price hikes of up to 24% as they bid to claw back a £14m (€20.4m) loss in media revenues and stave off the threat of a Malcolm Glazer takeover.

The club estimate the increases, which average out at 10% across Old Trafford’s 67,500-capacity stadium, will net them an extra £4m (€5.8m) per season and insist their prices remain among the lowest in the Barclays Premiership.

However, they are sure to attract criticism, particularly from the 11% of supporters now being asked to pay an extra £133 (€194) for a 19-game league campaign and lead to allegations that the new pricing structure has only been introduced in an effort to win over shareholders ahead of Glazer’s anticipated £800m (€1.2bn) bid.

The American business tycoon has still to make his move, despite completing due diligence nearly a month ago.

No formal offer is anticipated until the end of next week at the earliest, so United chief executive David Gill and finance director Nick Humby will hope today’s move, confirmed to a scheduled Fans Forum meeting yesterday evening, finds favour in financial circles and proves they are running the club along agreeable lines.

Fans currently occupying seats in the North and South Stands, which run down the touchline, will bear the brunt of the rises after United introduced a wider ‘stretch’ of prices.

From next season, a seat in the first tier of the North Stand and those occupying central positions in higher section of the South Stand will cost £684 (€998).

It is also estimated that 5% of supporters face a 17% increase, again those who sit in the North and South sides of England’s biggest club ground, which will be hold 76,000 at the start of the 2006-07 campaign once the North-East and North-West quadrants have been filled in.

United took extensive soundings from the Fans Forum before reaching their conclusions, although representatives of the Independent Manchester United Supporters Association were left fuming when an extensive document outlining their own proposals, which the club asked them to draft, was rejected out of hand.

However, the club have done their best to appease more vocal elements of the United support by limiting rises in the Stretford End and East Stand to just £19 (€28), with Family Stand tickets going up by the same amount.

They have also scrapped the much-hated three percent levy for credit and debit card payments.

“The club realises that no price rise will ever be welcomed and that many fans would like to see ticket prices cut,” said a United statement.

“However, there continues to be excess demand with over 7,500 ticket requests, on average, being turned down for each Premier League game.

“These price rises are announced at a time when the club’s media revenues are under a pressure that is unlikely to ease in the next couple of years, leaving it facing a significant challenge in increasing its income to make up for that loss.

“The impact of these proposals will increase the Premier League matchday gate receipts by around £4m (€5.8m) next season but the amount raised is still significantly below the loss of over £14m (€20.4m) of media revenues this season.”