Premier League fans 'face being priced out by travel costs'
Last updated on .From the section Football

Premier League fans face being priced out of the game before they reach the turnstiles, says a campaign group.
The Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) has called on clubs to help their supporters tackle the "spiralling cost" of travelling to matches.
A CBT survey revealed 23% of football fans spend more on travel than a match ticket.
"Fans want something cheaper and better than traffic jams and overpriced car parking," the group said.
A football railcard, offering reduced fares for train travel, is one of the options the CBT puts forward to reduce costs.
Its findings suggest Premier League champions Manchester United appear to have conducted "no active travel planning with Trafford Council since it applied for expansion in 2004".
And the survey draws attention to Norwich City's website promoting car travel and parking before public transport or other alternatives - despite Carrow Road sitting close to a mainline railway station.
It also highlighted Premier League clubs who have launched travel initiatives for their fans.
Newcastle United's Magpie Mover gives season ticket holders match-day use of public transport across Tyne and Wear for £10 for the season. A similar, though more expensive, option is available to Sunderland fans.
Arsenal have worked with Transport for London and others in an attempt to help fans leave their cars at home, with the percentage of supporters arriving by car falling from 30% to 10% since they moved to the Emirates Stadium in 2006.
Stoke, meanwhile, announced last month they will offer supporters free coach travel to all 19 of their Premier League away games this season.
CBT has written to the chief executives of all 20 Premier League clubs stating the average fan spends £55 on match day, with £13 going on travel, while train travellers spend £74, £26 on getting to the game.
"Our research found that, up and down the country, many fans spend as much money on getting to the ground as they do on buying a ticket for the game," said CBT sustainable transport campaigner Sian Berry.
"Clubs need to learn from other countries and work with train and bus companies to make travelling to the game an affordable part of the match-day experience.
"As well as saving fans a fortune, a few simple steps would also make football more accessible and could help to increase attendances."
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5 Minutes ago
This is rather amusing. I've just bought a season ticket for Man United... I have to travel from the Isle of Man. Plane or boat then train, possibly an overnight stay at times and then plane or boat back home. Any chance of United covering my travel costs??
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They may award you a cash prize for being the season ticket holder that lives closest to Old Trafford. :D
Liverpool really deserve to be acknowledged too. They've saved their fans a fortune by avoiding the need for expensive midweek European travel altogether.
2. Develop a "Fit and proper persons test" that actually combats the appointment of reckless owners.
3. Lower ticket prices.
This isn't rocket science.
Sky should have to pay for the fans' travel everytime they are responsible for the date and time of a fixture being changed!
Clubs should gain their revenue from advertising / merchandice / sponsor / tv deals / etc
The loyal fans should be the ones to benefit from success, not pay extra from the priviledge.
A Tory would probably say thats good business. Others think that it is about time concepts like value for money and pride in giving good service were re-introduced.
if there was a group of four of you, it would even be cheaper to get a TAXI the whole way rather than puchase four rail tickets!
As a Raith Rovers supporter, I'm glad I never have to worry about a Sunday lunch time kick-off at the other end of Scotland for a game which is on the telly.
There must be loads of spare capacity on the rail network at the weekend, you'd think some marketing man somewhere would be looking to utilise it. A train full of football fans, properly stewarded, could make money, even at low fares.
Careful there mate. Those are revolutionary ideas. Surely you don't expect anything to interrupt the flow of naked self interest and profiteering that has become celebrated in our culture as the highest achievement you can aspire to?
Next you'll be asking for things like human dignity, compassion for others, community spirit. No place for that in the 21st c*ntury :D
What does need to happen is they need to reduce the price of tickets!