- Author, Oprah Flash
- Role, BBC News, West Midlands
A lifelong Wolverhampton Wanderers fan fears his son may no longer be able to attend matches after the price of his season ticket rose by 190%, he has said.
Scott Phillips has enjoyed taking his son Harry, 13, to matches at the Molineux Stadium for a number of years and described it as a mental health boost but says he will struggle to afford the new child prices.
They were announced after a BBC fans’ survey was carried out on attitudes towards Premier League season ticket prices.
Club chairman Jeff Shi has said commercial growth is “vital” for the football club’s sustainability and competitiveness.
Image source, Scott Philips
For a spot in the Billy Wright stand, Mr Phillips used to pay £835 but says he now has two weeks to decide if he will pay the new £939 cost.
His son’s under 14s season ticket, in the same section, has risen sharply from £105 to £305.
“It has demotivated me as a fan, I’ve got an affinity for Wolves and have supported them for many many years,” he told BBC Radio WM.
“You meet people there, it’s a day out so from a mental health point of view it was very good. The question now is, how far do you have to take yourself financially just to enjoy that. It’s very difficult to see a way past it.
“The first one to go will be the child’s ticket so there’s every chance that Harry won’t be able to go to football anymore.”
The petition organisers said the increase had sent “shockwaves” through the supporter base.
‘Ashamed’
“Wolves supporters are ashamed of our club for what they have done to their supporter base,” said Neil Dady, the Football Supporter’s Association representative for the Wolves 1877 Trust following the meeting.
“Football has a spending problem not an income problem and Wolves are a great example of that, we’ve got more than £50m worth of players out on loan that the club has spent money on and decided they weren’t good enough for our first team.
“To pass that down to supporters is disgusting.”
While talking to BBC Radio WM, he read out a message from Dot, a fan who has also been impacted by the price hike.
She said: “This has ruined my weekend. I’m feeling really low after a 21% rise, £704 for an aged 65 and over ticket in the Billy Wright stand is not fair for people on a fixed pension income, I’m sadly not renewing after being a season ticket holder for 50 years.”
Speaking when the prices were first revealed last week, Mr Shi said: “We do listen to fan feedback, and we understand that price increases are unpopular, but our aim is to ensure our prices are neither significantly higher nor lower than our peers.
“Our ticketing team has thoroughly researched and compared Wolves with other clubs, and I believe our pricing reflects a fair and reasonable balance based on our current position, past growth and future aspirations.”