BOLTON skipper Kevin Nolan wants to see ticket prices cut to give football fans a break.
Nolan has spoken out after the M.E.N. launched a campaign this week to drive down the cost of football for supporters.
M.E.N. Sport is urging Premiership clubs to pass on some of the benefits of a new é2.7bn global TV deal to supporters by cutting ticket prices.
And Nolan agrees that the cost of watching Premiership football is just too much for many fans.
He says he would much rather see prices come down and play in a packed ground.
Attendances at the Reebok have fallen markedly this season, partially due to a drop in season ticket sales last summer.
Wanderers have seized the initiative by allowing season ticket holders to bring a friend for just é5 for the forthcoming games with Charlton and Fulham.
And they have offered free coach travel to anyone buying tickets for Sunday's FA Cup fourth round tie at Arsenal. Bolton will be backed by 2,000 fans at the Emirates Stadium. The club asked for more seats but all tickets had been sold.
Attendances
"Attendances are often used as some kind of indicator as to the popularity of the FA Cup," said Nolan.
éMany season tickets donét include cup games and, with the cost involved in watching football, I can understand why forking out for extra fixtures over and above the Premiership is just too much,é Nolan said.
éI understand that the clubs have to try to maximise their revenue but, from a playing point of view, there is nothing better than playing in front of a packed ground. I would like to see some kind of restructuring over the next few years to try to ensure that grounds are full more often.
éHopefully our current initiatives will bring more people in and increase revenue for the club, because the new faces are spending money in other ways besides their admission cost.é
Nolan aims to help Wanderers knock Arsenal out of the FA Cup at the fourth-round stage for the second successive season when they meet on Sunday. A Stelios goal saw Bolton beat Arsenal 1-0 at the Reebok Stadium; 12 months to the day before this Sundayés tie. Wanderers were then knocked out in round five by eventual finalists West Ham last year.
If Bolton make it all the way to this yearés final, Nolan is certain that the new Wembley will be full. He said: éIf we do make it all the way this year, Iém sure Wembley will be packed for the final with no need for price offers.é
Are fans charged too much? Have your say.
Comments
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Bolton supporters can fight their own battles for
better ticket prices. I'd rather see a marked improvement in Kevin Nolan's form than mothering statements from him about ticket prices.
Kevin Nolan is right about prices and attendances. I cannot afford to go to more than five or six games a season as it costs ¿¿80 to ¿¿100 for the tickets for our family to go, plus all the other costs like travel, parking etc.
And Gareth is right about Kevin Nolan's form - he has been out of sorts all season long.
Nolan would benefit more from playing only two strikers! Oh wait a minute for 30 minutes against Boro we only had two anyway! Nolan is too defensive at the moment and needs to push on a bit more.
Wembley will certainly be full for the final, and I bet if Bolton get there, there will be loads of fans left disappointed without tickets, as happened when they reaching the Carling Cup final against Middlesbrough.
Will he take a pay cut?
Will any of them take a pay cut? This is at the heart of the problem.
hi there,
just one comment: nolan wants the fans to have cheaper ticket prices? thats good. but is he prepared to lower his big salary to contribute to this happening...what do you think is the answer on that one...cheers!