• Cost of some Etihad season tickets to jump by £60
• Fulham, Tottenham and Everton also increase prices
Manchester City have increased season-ticket prices by an average 9% for next season. The hike, which follows a 6% rise 12 months ago, means that some City supporters will have to pay £60 more to renew their seat at the Etihad Stadium to watch the Premier League champions defend their title in 2012-13.
Although City are not alone in increasing the cost of season tickets, research by the Guardian shows that only three other established Premier League clubs have raised their prices across the stadium, with Fulham the next highest at 5%. Tottenham Hotspur fans will pay an average of 3.6% more next season while Everton supporters face an increase of 3%.
City say that the increases have been staggered in a way that those in the cheaper seats will not face the same rises as those at the top end. A standard adult season ticket in level one of the family stand under their gold membership scheme now starts at £425, rising to a maximum of £745, for platinum members, in level two of the Colin Bell Stand.
Adults will pay 5-10% more for a season ticket in 2012-13, over-65s will have to pay an average of 2% more, under‑21s face a 4-10% rise and under-16s need to find about £1 more per game. The club also offer an undisclosed and limited number of "value gold" seats. These cost £275 and are the second-cheapest seats in the Premier League, although the club chooses where the season-ticket holder sits rather than the other way round.
Although City's prices remain competitive in relation to their rivals, the fact that season tickets have gone up by 15% in the last two years suggests that there are some limits to Sheikh Mansour's generosity after all. The City owner has invested more than £1bn since taking control of the club and, in all likelihood, few supporters will be complaining at the prospect of paying more to watch a team who won the title for the first time in 44 years.
Across the rest of the Premier League, many fans will see little change in the cost of their season tickets. Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Sunderland, Stoke City, Newcastle United and Queens Park Rangers have all frozen prices. Norwich City and Swansea City fans will have to pay at least 10% more to watch Premier League football for a second successive season, although their 2011-12 prices were set when they were Championship clubs.
West Ham United season-ticket holders will pay the same as they did when the club was last in the Premier League, in 2010-11, while some Reading supporters, because of a similar situation to what Norwich and Swansea were in before, will watch Premier League football at Championship prices. Wigan have increased prices for adults by 2% on average but significantly reduced the cost for youngsters. West Bromwich Albion have made the most notable change, dropping adult prices by £50 and making cuts of up to £70 in their youth categories.
A City spokesperson said: "Our pricing structure has been reviewed this summer and we are confident that Manchester City membership for 2012-13 represents superb value for money. Last season we provided the best product for supporters on and off the pitch. We won the Premier League by winning 18 out of 19 home games and were voted the No1 club for supporter experience in a survey conducted by Visit Britain for the Premier League.
"We achieved all this while having on offer some of the most competitive ticket prices in the Premier League. For 2012-13 we have adult season tickets from £275 on offer, which equates to less than £14.50 per game to watch the champions, one of the best value packages in the top four tiers of the league.
"This year we have introduced a new 'City Kicks' junior membership scheme for youngsters and have season tickets available for under- 16s from £110. We are also providing season-ticket holders with the opportunity to sell unwanted seats via our 'Ticket Exchange' scheme, giving extra value to our supporters." Read More
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