Blackpool FC fan power forces U-turn over junior prices

It comes after fans expressed concern about the children’s price of £75 being restricted to the new Family Stand in the South West corner of Bloomfield Road.

Under the original pricing policy, those youngsters who wished to be seated elsewhere in the ground would have been charged a much higher price – £149 in most areas and £199 in sections of the West Stand newly denoted as ‘premium’ seating.

Fans believed that was far too high, especially as the club are looking to regain a generation of young supporters who have missed out during the recent boycott.

One dad, Stephen Whitehead, told The Gazette on seeing the initial new price structure: “I think it will drive away young fans because parents won’t be able to afford to take them.

“A charge of £75 for five- to 11-year-olds is steep enough but to even get that we would have to sit in the family stand, as I have had the same seat every season since the current west stand, I don’t see why we should move.

“I have been watching the club since I was a boy and I have taken my lad Jenson practically since birth.

“The cost for him has been minimal up to now but the prices for next season are shocking.

“My seat is in the premium area and the price increase there is bad enough - having to pay so much for Jenson would have made the situation even worse.”

The interim board initially indicated they would not budge on its new pricing policy, but following further feedback from supporters, they have now made it £75 for children aged between five and 11 whether they sit in the Family Stand or not.

“We have noted the comments made regarding the club’s season tickets for 2019-20,” the board said in a statement.

“Season ticket pricing is a critical part of the balancing of a club’s books, it is a complicated process, and will never satisfy everybody.

“However, it was never our intention to force family groups to split up and we do recognise that it should be left to parents to determine in which part of the stadium they wish to sit with their children.

“We would though ask all families to give consideration to the possibility of moving to the Family Stand.

“It will be the only area designed with children and families in mind, and without critical mass it will not operate with the energy and vitality we, or the Fans’ Forum on March 27, were intending.”

Season tickets for children aged under five will remain free, while those aged between five and 11 will now be set at £75.

This applies to the entire stadium excluding blocks L, M and N in the West Stand, where season tickets for under fives are priced at £50 and £125 for those aged between five and 11.

The price for a standard adult season ticket has been set at £299, although this is reduced to the early bird price of £269 as long as the ticket is purchased before the Friday, May 31 deadline.