Rethink by Town on ticket prices (From This is Hampshire)

Rethink by Town on ticket prices

1:00pm Friday 22nd June 2012 in Hampshire Sport By John Boyman

BASINGSTOKE Town supporters have welcomed the board of directors’ decision to carry out a further review of ticket prices for the 2012-13 season.

The club recently announced a new price structure, which saw prices rise across the board, sparking criticism from elements of the Town faithful and the supporters’ club.

Fans were particularly concerned about the impact of increasing the price of adult admission by £1 to £13, while it was also felt that including supporters’ club membership with season tickets was a bad idea.

Both of these areas have now been addressed, with adult admission returning to £12 and the price of season tickets going down by £10 as membership of the independent supporters’ club has been removed from the deal.

Julie Partridge, chairman of the supporters’ club, said: “We are a lot happier with the situation now. The fans are happy that adult prices have been frozen, while it was a worry when supporters’ club membership was added in with the season ticket.

“We are a separate entity and people can join us if they wish, without having membership forced on them.”

Football club chairman Rafi Razzak added: “Trying to combine the supporters’ club with the season ticket was an idea that we thought the fans might support. They obviously did not so we thought it was the right decision to retract that.

“With the ticket prices, we reviewed the reaction and what other clubs are charging next season. In our league there are only two who will be charging £13 so we decided to reset it to £12, as it was last year.

“I think that is the right decision because it is better to keep the price at the same level and hope that we get more people through the gate.”

An adult season ticket at the Camrose will now cost £180 (£170 for renewals before August 1), with concessions paying £120 (£110 for renewals before August 1). Children aged between 11 and 15 will pay £60, with under-11s paying £30.

On the gate, adults will pay £12 and concessions £8. Children aged between 11 and 15 will pay £4, with under-11s paying £2, while a family ticket for two adults and two children can be bought for £25.

A separate pricing structure has been announced for Town’s four home pre-season friendlies. Prices will be set at the same rate as league games but a special ticket for all four matches is available from the club shop, priced at £40 for adults, £27 for concessions, £13 for children aged 11-15 and £6 for under-11s.