This sounds like it's good news for our young fans at least.
Liverpool FC will reduce the cost of watching Premier League football for hundreds of youngsters by up to £650 after revealing their season ticket prices for next season.
The price of all junior and disabled season tickets for 2014/15 will be frozen at current levels but, significantly, junior season tickets – priced just £200 - will now be available in all parts of Anfield.
Currently, season tickets for the under-16s are only available in the Anfield Road Stand – meaning several hundred youngsters in the Kop, Main Stand and Centenary pay the full adult price of anything up to £850.
Under the new pricing structure, they will pay just £200 – a reduction of up to £650.
Liverpool FC are retaining the six-tiered system of pricing they introduced last season based on a seat's location and view.
Adult season tickets will rise on average by around 1.9% for next season. Those with seats in Tier Six won't face any increase from the current level of £710, while those in Tier One face the biggest hike from £850 to £869.
Managing director Ian Ayre says the change to junior season tickets is part of Liverpool's ongoing commitment to ensuring the next generation of Kopites aren't priced out of watching the club play.
“I have been here seven years now and if there's one thing I've consistently heard from fans it's the need to encourage and promote opportunities to grow a new base of young fans,” Ayre told the ECHO.
“It's always been a big challenge for Liverpool FC as with the crowds we get and the massive demand for seats, we just don't have the capacity, but making the right price and opportunities for kids is important. We have an ageing fan base and it's vital that we encourage youngsters to come to games.
“Young people continue to be a priority for the club and following the introduction of the £5 junior matchday ticket last season, all junior season tickets have been reduced to £200, regardless of where they sit in the stadium.
“We have a family area in the Anfield Road but we know it's not where every junior has a season ticket. It's not possible to relocate them to that area so to compensate for that we want to give them the right price.
“We will also be introducing a new young adult price band for all home cup games next season. For games where there is less demand, it's an opportunity to encourage people at that age level to come into the stadium and start enjoying the atmosphere.”
Ayre says next season's pricing plan was drawn up following lengthy discussions with the official Liverpool FC Supporters Committee, who represent the club’s global fan base.
“The range of pricing is based on the feedback we got from the supporters committee,” Ayre said. “Last year we went to a tiered structure after years when Anfield had been divided into just two price bands.
“It means we can stretch the best seats in the house while retaining our lowest prices on the lower end. That's something we will continue with in the future and we have managed to keep Tier Six where it was. There needs to be some seats affordable for everyone.
“Our cheapest adult season tickets are held at the 2013/14 rate which follows a reduction last summer.
“Encouraging kids to come to Anfield and supporting disabled fans was also something that featured heavily in our discussions with the supporters committee.
“The committee has a very important function and we took on board what they said. They are playing a big part in how we go about things.
“It's difficult as we can't always do everything everyone wants but we listened to what they said.”
Liverpool, who have yet to reveal prices for single matchday tickets for next season, have around 24,500 season ticket holders in total and another 28,000 fans are on the season ticket waiting list.
The club also have around 100,000 members accessing tickets over the course of a season.
For those adult season ticket holders facing a £19 annual rise, Ayre insists increases have been kept to a minimum.
“There's never a year when anyone is happy with an increase but at the top end of the spectrum, if you boil it down, it's a £1 increase per game,” he added.
“We've tried to be sensible about it. It doesn't represent some huge price hike.
“The bottom line is we have a business to run and a budget to achieve but we have listened a lot to what the committee said and the changes we have made for next season reflect that.
“We're trying to balance affordability with needing to run the business in a responsible way. We all want success.”
Bob Humphries, chair of the official Liverpool FC Supporters Committee, said: “We met with club officials last month to discuss the feedback we had received from supporters.
“Although this isn't everything that we would like, it does appear that the club is listening and has implemented several of our recommendations with regard to disabled, junior and child season tickets.”
LFC ADULT SEASON TICKET PRICES
Tier 1 (central sections of Centenary Stand, Main Stand and Paddock): current price: £850, 2014/15: £869
Tier 2 (end sections of Centenary Stand, Main Stand and Paddock): current price: £815, 2014/15: £834
Tier 3 (central sections of Anfield Road Stand): current price: £770, 2014/15: £785
Tier 4 (end sections of Anfield Road Stand): current price: £760, 2014/15: £775
Tier 5 (central sections of the Kop): current price: £725, 2014/15: £735
Tier 6 (end sections of the Kop): current price: £710, 2014/15: £710
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/liverpool-fc-reveal-season-ticket-6858841?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
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