Source: Telegraph
Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley agrees cut in season ticket prices
In a bid to halt the decline in the numbers of fans attending matches at the Tyneside club, Newcastle owner Mike Ashley has sanctioned a nine per cent cut in season ticket prices.[LNB]Average attendances have slipped below the 50,000-mark for the first since the stadium was re-developed at the turn of the millennium and now the Newcastle hierarchy are aiming to reverse that trend.[LNB]Many Newcastle fans angrily turned on sports retail tycoon Ashley and the other members of the so-called Cockney Mafia following the resignation of Kevin Keegan last September and this initiative represents a bid to regain local support.[LNB]"At a time when money is tight for supporters, football clubs have to recognise the sacrifices people make to continue following their team and offer any assistance they can in making games affordable to watch," said Newcastle managing-director Derek Llambias.[LNB]"We have decided to reduce the majority of prices back to 2007/08 levels to help fans because we appreciate the big commitment they make in buying their season tickets every year.[LNB]"We are also further increasing the family enclosure and raising the age of the junior price concession to 18 because young supporters represent our future." Llambias is expected to formally announce the new prices in April, but the price of a season-ticket in the Gallowgate End is expected to be fall from £543 to £494.[LNB]He is also planning to write to those fans who made a three-year commitment to the club last year after being offered a prize freeze.[LNB]Llambias added: "Those fans who bought season tickets in advance have shown a great deal of faith in the club and I will be contacting them by letter to outline why their continued support remains crucial to everything we hope to achieve at Newcastle United going forward.[LNB]"It has been a tough season, nobody will pretend otherwise, but together we must all look to better times ahead." [LNB]
