SPORT - Arsenal stand firm on most expensive tickets in Europe

By Tom Lowe and Peter Hutchison

ARSENAL have refused to consider reducing ticket prices for next season despite pressure from the government and supporters.

Tickets for matches at the Emirates Stadium are among the most expensive in the Premiership but the club insists its prices are competitive and reasonable.



A high profile campaign by The Sun has already forced many clubs to slash their ticket pricess but Arsenal appear unwilling to follow their lead.

Blackburn, Everton and Bolton are just a few of the clubs who have announced price freezes or reductions on tickets for next season.

The cheapest adult ticket for an Arsenal Category A match, which includes games against Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham and West Ham, is £46.

The most expensive ticket is £94, making it the highest priced seat in the Premiership and the costliest league to follow in Europe.

A family of four has to fork out £128 for even the cheapest seats to watch just one match - a cost that some families simply cannot afford.

Amanda Chapman, a lifelong Gunners fan, said: "I used to go when I was younger but I haven't been since because it's too hard to get tickets. That was when you could get tickets for about thirteen quid.

"They have got to cover their costs because they've just bought a great big stadium, but prices have got silly."

Arsenal's prices have come under fire from sports minister Richard Caborn, who said the club's ticket prices were so high that they excluded many ordinary fans, including even those living in the shadow of their 60,000-seat Emirates Stadium.

"London is the most expensive city in the world to watch top-flight football," he said. "Prices are too high and it is the supporters who suffer.

"Even clubs that sell out week in, week out, should set aside cheaper tickets for people from the local community."

Tony Blair has waded into the debate, telling Times Online that "ticket prices shouldn't be beyond the reach of the ordinary fan because it's the ordinary fan that really builds the club."

There is growing support for ticket reductions amongst politicians - 49 MPs have signed an Early Day Motion demanding top-flight clubs cut their prices.

Premiership clubs have the opportunity to cut prices because they are to benefit from a £625m TV windfall next season as a result of matches being shown overseas for the first time.

An Arsenal spokesman, quoted in the Evening Standard, said: "We are comfortable with the pricing policy at the Emirates Stadium and believe that our supporters receive good value for money.

"As part of our move from Highbury, 50 per cent of all new season tickets allocated at the Emirates Stadium were offered to Islington residents."

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Controversy over match day closures

by Helen Roxburgh

RESIDENTS in Highbury have attacked Islington council over handling of traffic and fans during the first five games at the new Arsenal stadium.

Controversy broke out at the East Area Committee meeting yesterday evening, with one local resident claiming that the road closures on match days were a breach of his human rights as they prevented him accessing his home.

The packed meeting included a report on traffic safety and accessibility arrangements during the first few months by Karen Sullivan, Head of Transport Planning Service at Islington Council.

Methods of controlling the thousands of football fans who flock to the Emirates stadium include closing roads two hours before a match, and for up to an hour afterwards, to allow access for emergency services and to prevent traffic being a danger to crowds of pedestrians.

However, Giles Newman, of Drayton Park Road, said that if he was even ten minutes late returning to his home, he was being forbidden access to the road his house is on by the police.

“There just needs to be a level of discretion,” he argued, giving the Committee pictures of his road on match days, which he said proved there was no threat to crowds.

“That this is a breach of the Human Rights Act is irrefutable – you’re not allowing us access to our own homes.”

He added: “We’re not talking about a motorway, it’s only a few cars.”

However, PC Richard Walker defended the road closure to the meeting on grounds of health and safety, particularly in case of a large-scale disaster within the stadium, which can hold up to 60,432 people.

“I totally, 100 per cent, stand by my point – those road closures simply must be in place,” he said.

The council’s Director of Corporate Resources David Daniels, said: “They [the police] have used discretion, and a few cars have been allowed to sneak through.”

Richard Greening, Liberal Democrat councillor for Highbury West ward, supported the measures that had been implemented.

“I’d like to record my personal thanks and congratulations to the police,” he said.

The report also added that through the last three Arsenal matches, a barrier system had been trialled on Highbury Fields to restrict crowds from walking over the fields. Concerns over this had been raised by the Highbury Fields Association, and the committee agreed to continue this method.

“This process is still going on. It’s a very steep learning curve for us all,” said Cllr Meral Ece, Chair of the Committee.

“Any adjustments put in place now will still continue to be monitored.”

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