CHELSEA have told supporters to forget cheaper tickets
because the clubs millionaire players are demanding massive pay
rises.
Chief executive Peter Kenyon revealed everyone is queueing up to
get their hands on the revenue from the new £625million TV deal.
And, despite The Suns Cut the cost of football campaign, Kenyon
made it clear to a Blues fans forum that their sky-high wage bill
means they cannot afford to cut prices next season.
Kenyon claimed: A reduction in prices is a difficult topic because
other sectors of the business want their share of the TV cash and
the players also want a slice. The bombshell came as Frank Lampard
and John Terry are demanding £6.3million-a-year contracts to put
them on a par with top earners Michael Ballack and Andriy
Shevchenko.
Supporters representatives had calculated that slashing £5 off
every Premiership ticket next season would cost Chelsea just £4m.
They argued that could be funded by the massive increase in TV
money which the club will receive next term.
Every club in the Premiership is guaranteed a minimum of £30m a
season when the new deal kicks in, with the champions getting £50m.
But those hopes were quickly kicked into touch by Kenyon at a
meeting with a group of 15 fans before last Saturday's home game
against Middlesbrough.
Kenyon, accompanied by operations director Ron Gourlay and ticket
manager Graham Smith, spent 2½ hours with fans forum
representatives. Chelsea are currently the second most expensive
club in the country for supporters, with only Arsenal charging
more.
The cheapest tickets for a match at Stamford Bridge start at £35
and season tickets cost up to a staggering £1,150 a year. Yet the
club bankrolled by Roman Abramovichs billions are still set to
announce a massive loss when the financial figures for 2005-06 are
revealed next Monday.
Kenyon is under increasing pressure to start balancing the books
after announcing record losses of £88m in 2005 and a further £140m
last year. That task has been made virtually impossible by an
annual wage bill which has soared beyond £125m over the past
season.
But Chelsea fan Paul Fletcher, from Woking, countered: The players
dont seem to have any understanding of the costs involved in
following the team. I know some Chelsea fans who pay more than
£1,000 a year. But I simply cant afford that sort of money.
A Chelsea spokesman insisted: "No decision has yet been made on
ticket prices for next season. We have consulted the fans and their
comments will be taken into consideration.
