UNITED supporters are facing ticket price rises of up to 14% next season.

The Old Trafford outfit have released details of pricings for the 2007-08 campaign, which could yet see them defending the treble.

While a range of measures have been introduced to effectively cut the cost of concessionary tickets, meaning an adult with two children will pay less next season than they did this, full price tickets have risen sharply.

The biggest increases are in the lower tiers of the North and South Stands, which will rise from £665 to £722, while the most expensive seats in the stadium are the upper tier of both stands, which rise over 12% to £836.

In addition, all season ticket holders not currently a member of the club's automatic cup scheme, which forces fans to buy tickets for cup games whether they intend to watch the game or not, will be required to join.

Frozen

Junior tickets in the Family Stand will be frozen at £190, while all junior tickets in other sections of the stadium will be £10, a 48.7% reduction.

Over 65s will pay £20 or half the cost of an adult ticket in the appropriate section of the stadium, whichever is the lower.

Despite those initiatives, United are sure to be condemned by fans' groups, who warned of hefty increases in ticket prices once Malcolm Glazer completed his controversial takeover two years ago.

However, United officials can argue their move - which bucks the trend of other north-west clubs such as Blackburn, Bolton and Wigan who have cut the price of tickets - is justified given Old Trafford continues to sell out for virtually every home game.

The lowest crowd for any Red Devils' first-team game this season is 61,325 for the recent FA Cup sixth round replay with Middlesbrough, while all 18 Premiership home games have had attendances topping 75,000.

Chairman of the Independent Manchester United Supporters’ Association (IMUSA), Mark Longden, blasted the price hike, insisting there is “absolutely no justification” for it.

He said: “Clearly, it flies in the face of the thinking all over the country, from Bolton to the Emirates (Arsenal’s stadium).

Justification

“They have all frozen prices and in some cases reduced them.”

In particular, Longden believes it is hard to justify any price rises given the mammoth new television rights deals sealed by the Premier League in recent months.

“It’s just slightly strange with the new money that is coming in from the TV deal - the club is getting £30 extra per seat across the board for the next three years,” he added.

“For every person that goes through the turnstile they could give them £30 back and not be any worse off, so surely there must be some scope for reducing prices or at least freezing them.

“There is absolutely no justification for putting prices up.”

The linking of season tickets to the automatic cup scheme will also prove highly unpopular with fans, Longden claimed.

“If they are tying tickets to going in the automatic cup scheme, that is going to be a step too far for a lot of people at Old Trafford.

“Every time there is a price rise people don’t renew but they seem to be able to find new people to fill those seats - but whether that happens this time remains to be seen.”

The reduced prices for concessions were to be welcomed, Longden added, although he dismissed the cuts as “just a bit of window dressing” in an attempt to appease angry supporters.

A spokesman for the Glazer family said: “Prices for Old Trafford, when compared to other leading clubs grounds, still represent very good value for money, supported by the exceptionally high quality of the football on offer.”

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