Aston Villa have been slammed after a new hidden charge was found in fans’ season ticket renewals which could see some supporters charged 12% more.
A feel-good factor around Villa Park has been a mainstay for many months. Since Unai Emery took over in the dugout, the club has only been on the up.
This has seen the Birmingham outfit reach a European semi-final as well as reach the Champions League after finishing fourth in the Premier League.
However, the price to watch Villa’s first team in action for the 2024/25 campaign has just increased dramatically.
Season ticket holders who pay on finance will now be charged an arrangement fee which has been blasted online.
Aston Villa season ticket holders could be charged an extra 12% due to arrangement fee
Season ticket prices have been subject to much debate in the Premier League of late. Just down the road, Wolves have been highly scrutinised for their high increase for the 2024/25 season. However, it now seems Villa have fallen into this trap.
The window for season ticket renewals started on June 3, and on initial reading, it seemed a fair price.
Following the guidance from the Club’s Fan Advisory Board, Villa limited the base price of adult season tickets to 5%. On top of this, fans would receive multiple benefits such as free access to Villa TV+ and an eight-month interest-fee payment option.
However, for supporters looking to renew using finance, there is now an ‘arrangement fee’ which has never existed before. This will come to around 7% of the season ticket price meaning that for some supporters, there will be a 12% increase compared to the previous campaign.
This has caused outrage on social media. Journalist Dan Bardell commented that the situation was ‘totally unreasonable’ and that fans were being ‘stung again’.
Read more: Everything you need to know about Aston Villa’s pre-season tour 2024
More poor communication from Aston Villa
For all of the positives on the pitch, Villa continue to make poor choices off it. It was recently revealed that 900 season ticket holders would be forced to move from their long-standing seats at Villa Park to make room for more premium seating.
Now, this has quickly been followed up by a terrible potential 12% rise for many loyal supporters.
Season tickets at Villa have gone through many big price spikes since their promotion back to the Premier League.
Now, despite only a small initial rise in cost, for many, they will see their season ticket price rise.
While the extra cost might not seem like a lot to the club, it does for the fans. The new price could mean supporters have to sacrifice other aspects of their over the course of the year.
As a football club, Villa should not be looking to squeeze every penny out of their supporters but rather ensure that they have a loyal fan base for life.
If football continues to follow this trend for years to come, it will only be an attraction for the rich.
The post Aston Villa slammed after fans face 12% season ticket price hike as new charge is introduced appeared first on Aston Villa News.