A major storm is brewing between Tottenham and Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust regarding the ticket prices for the new stadium. The trust claims that the club is not addressing the issues of the fans and could be pricing a lot of the supporters out of the game.
This has been a rising issue in the Premier League with most clubs looking to raise ticket prices despite a new TV deal which has made the competition the richest football league in the world.
The trust has stated that a lot of support has come from its 11,000 members and even Gary Lineker and Vincent Kompany came out to share their criticism. There is even a petition to “Stop THFC from pricing fans out of the game with excessive season ticket price hikes”, which has even got 4,000 signatures.
Tottenham told the trust (quoted by Telegraph):
“There is no like-for-like seat comparison anywhere within the new stadium as spectators will have the benefit of improved facilities compared to the old White Hart Lane. This leads the club to reject the view that season ticket prices have risen at all.”
The bone of contention comes with the fact that some prices are going to skyrocket and fans would have to pay more than they did at the old White Hart Lane.
“Some fans will be paying £880 more than they did at White Hart Lane if they wish to continue having a seat on the side. Fans watching from behind the goal will have to pay at least £200 more than they did at White Hart Lane. In any terms those are price rises.”
A petition on change.org also added (quoted by Telegraph):
“We remain committed to a full dialogue with the club as soon as it is ready to properly address supporter concerns. In the meantime, we will be considering other methods of encouraging change.
“While £50 deposits for season tickets start being taken on Monday, there is still time for the club to reconsider before the 16 May deadline for full payment.”
Spurs also provided an update regarding their season renewal process which claimed that there was no like-for-like seat comparison anywhere in the stadium.
The statement added:
“All seats have uninterrupted views, comfortable modern seating, more leg-room, with spectators closer to the pitch than at any other comparable ground in the UK as well as a significantly enhanced experience for every spectator on concourses.”
Tottenham might need to get more financial support after spending millions on the new stadium but taking it out on the fans is not the way to go about it. The fans are an integral part of the game and pricing them out will harm Spurs a lot.
