Arsenal hike season ticket prices by four per cent for executive fans, sparking fears of stadium-wide increase

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EXCLUSIVE
By Wayne Veysey | Chief correspondent

Arsenal are increasing season ticket prices for executive supporters by four per cent next season, Goal.com UK can reveal.

The Premier League club have opted to raise prices for their 6,700 ‘Club Level’ seats in 2011/12 after a three-year freeze.

The move has outraged supporters’ groups and campaigning fans, who fear that the increase will inevitably be passed on to the club’s 35,000 general admission season ticket holders.

Executive fans, who pay from £2,500 to upwards of £5,000 for season tickets, are being sent renewal forms by the club this month detailing the hike in prices.

It is understood that the increases average out at 4% across the board. This means that an executive supporter paying £2,500 for a season ticket will pay around £100 more next season, while those in the most expensive seats will pay more than £200 extra.

Arsenal will send out the season ticket renewals to general admission fans in May and it is believed that a final decision will be made next month by the board about whether the rank-and-file supporters will be asked to absorb a similar rise in prices.

The cheapest season ticket at Emirates Stadium costs £925, the most expensive in the Premier League, although this is a 26-match allowance and does include cup and Champions League games. Arsenal have also frozen season ticket prices for five out of the last six years.

Yet the club announced record pre-tax profits of £56 million in their last full set of accounts and there is anger among some fans that supporters are being asked to stump up more money at a time when the team is struggling to end a trophy drought that dates back to 2005.

    Annual collapse | Arsenal fans are angry at price hike following six years without a trophy

“A rise after another year of profit hoarding? I think it’s an absolute disgrace and about time Arsenal fans voiced their discontent about the way things are going online and in the ground,” wrote Arsenal blogger Le Grove.

“We’re being run by a manager who is accountable to no-one, who has flunked three out of four trophies again and you’re being whacked with an increase in price in one of the hardest recessions ever despite record profits over the last five years. That is almost as disgusting as our annual collapse.”

The uptake of the lucrative executive facilities, which include 150 executive boxes and generate 35 per cent of all matchday revenue at Arsenal, is crucial to the club’s business plan.

Even if staff have to turn to the seasonal waiting list to fill Club Level like they did 12 months ago, the board are confident there is enough demand for the 6,700 seats.

Yet the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust discouraged a price rise when it met chief executive Ivan Gazidis last month.

“The AST has urged Ivan Gazidis not to pass on the increased costs of running the business, including player wages, to Arsenal fans,” a statement said.

“We fear any increases will price some fans out of the Emirates. Instead of raising ticket prices the club must now expedite other forms of income.”

The Arsenal Independent Supporters’ Association is similarly critical of the club’s hike in prices.

“The economic situation, together with the lack of trophies over the last five years, mean that many fans will be very vocal if an increase is announced,” said the group. “However, Arsenal still have a massive waiting-list for season tickets, and believe it will be easy to replace those who chose not to renew.”

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