North End fans angered by high ticket prices for Bolton clash
Premier League prices are capped at £30 for visiting supporters
Some Preston North End fans have reacted with anger, but not surprise, after being forced to fork out nearly £40 to watch their team’s opening game of the new Championship season.
PNE travel to the Toughsheet Community Stadium on Saturday, August 15, for a local derby against Bolton Wanderers. (kick-off 12-30pm).
While there is huge excitement and anticipation among supporters about the prospect of opening the season against their close neighbours, many fans on social media have expressed their dismay at how much it will set them back to attend.
The visitors were handed 3,370 tickets in the away section for the enticing fixture, which will be the first meeting between the two clubs in Horwich since the 2-1 victory for PNE in February 2019.
The pricing for the fixture means adults will have to part with £36 for a ticket, while those of pension age are being charged £30.
There is a concession of £30 for young adults, with Under-18s being charged £20 and Under-14s £15.
There are slight discounts for families travelling to watch the game of £45 for one adult and one child and £90 for a family of four with two children.
In the Premier League, tickets for visiting supporters are capped at £30 for an adult per game and the current cap has been in place for the past decade.
Top-flight clubs voted to keep this cap in place until at least the end of the 2027/28 campaign.
North End fan and Lancashire Post columnist Tim Mercer said: “I was a bit annoyed about the price, but not massively surprised.
“I recall away tickets for Leeds, a few years ago now, being £40, which included a pie, whether you liked it or not - the 'pie tax'.
“Most clubs for last season charged around £30. However, looking back at my trip to QPR for last season's opening game, that set me back £39 and I don't remember all the fuss I've seen on social media for the Bolton game.
“I think, in part, it is because it is a local derby and hence with significantly more North Enders going it has been noticed more.
“Also, this means that more less-well-off fans will be going and it really will be more of a struggle for them.”
Fellow Post columnist John Smith, who was one of the first people to author a fanzine dedicated to PNE in the 1980s - admits he is no longer surprised at how much fans are being charged in the Championship.
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He said: “To be honest, I don’t think we charge too much less than what Bolton are charging. It’s just the way the game has gone.
“I am taking my grandson to the Bolton game, he’s 10-years-old and £15 seems a lot for him, but I’ve paid it.”