Ticket Prices Rise

I normally have nothing but praise for the way Swindon Town has been run since the club was taken over by Andrew Fitton. Thinking where Swindon may now be had Fitton not taken over the club is a frightening thought. Gratitude is something I have aplenty for Fitton and other members of the board.

However, I believe interim chairman Jeremy Wray has made an error of judgement on the new ticket prices. Admission for the side stands is £25 for an adult whilst tickets for the Town End are on sale for £19; a rise of £5 and £3 respectively.

You would think after relegation last season that once promised so much that the club would looking to attract supporters. £25 is an awful lot of cash to part with to watch League Two football against the likes of Macclesfield and Hereford.

Managers and players alike bemoaned the lack of atmosphere so this action is somewhat contradictory. It's impossible to make any noise when surrounded by empty seats. The gates could be largely reduced meaning no actual increase in revenue.

I hope Jeremy Wray and Co think very carefully about grading games once more. The last thing they should do is slap an extra £2 for when Oxford visit the County Ground. The price increase was actioned for the games against Southampton, Sheffield Wednesday and Bristol Rovers last season.

Furthermore, they have already reduced the age for the 'young adult' category from 21 to 18. This would have left many young supporters having to fork out extra should they wish to return to the County Ground this term.

One praise I had of the club last year was to offer reduced ticket prices for particular games. For the game against Walsall they offered a free ticket for season ticket holder as well as a 'BOGOF' deal for other fans. Swindon offered reductions for buying two different tickets for particular games as well as a 'Kids for a Quid' initiative.

Supporting Swindon isn't exactly easy and at times I wonder why I do. At the end of the day Swindon are not a top flight team with a waiting list for tickets so the club need to be careful not to annoy the loyal fans we do have. The best thing the club can do now is ensure the performances on the pitch are an incentive to return to the County Ground.