LONDON - Prime Minister Tony Blair on Tuesday backed a bid
to cut the cost of Premier League football tickets that campaigners
say are the most expensive in Europe and are pricing ordinary fans
out of the game. In parliament, almost 50 MPs have signed a motion
calling on the league to slash the cost of individual and season
tickets.
"Anyone who watches the Premiership can just notice, in the past
year or couple of years, the rows of empty seats," Blair said at a
news conference. "It's something I do not recall seeing in the same
way four or five years back so I think there are very sensible
market-based reasons for people to make sure the ticket prices
aren't beyond the reach of the ordinary fan."
Blair said it was up to the clubs to decide whether to cut their
prices but that "the logic of it is pretty clear". According to the
parliamentary motion, season tickets to see top football clubs in
England cost four times more than in Germany, the Netherlands and
Italy.
The motion urges the Premier League to use at least some of the
extra 325 million pounds it has recently obtained in overseas
television rights to reduce ticket prices. Liberal Democrat MP Don
Foster, who began the parliamentary campaign, said the cheapest
premiership ticket is almost 33 pounds on average.
"It's simply unacceptable that football's recent cash bonanza isn't
getting back into fans' pockets," Foster said. Government minister
Jack Straw recently said some clubs were "fleecing the ordinary
supporter" while Sports Minister Richard Caborn has referred to
"sky-high ticket prices".
Some clubs have already said they will reduce their ticket prices
while others have yet to announce their future fees.
