Tyne Talk
First Two Clubs Agree Cheap Ticket Deals With Newcastle United
Newcastle United have reached agreement with the first two clubs which will see cut price tickets for two away trips.
Swansea and West Brom have signed up to the initiative though we understand other clubs haven't been so forthcoming/enlightened, yet.
Swansea Here We Come
Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion have agreed away ticket prices of just £15 for adults and £5 for concessions for their return Premier League fixtures during the 2013/14 season, with the sides meeting at St. James' Park in November and The Hawthorns on New Year's Day 2014.
The agreement with the Baggies will result in a saving of £24 (61.5%) for Newcastle United fans from the £39 it cost for an adult away ticket when the sides drew 1-1 in the West Midlands last season. Albion fans, meanwhile, will save £11 (42.3%) compared to the £26 away ticket price in the preceding fixture at St. James' Park in October 2012.
The Magpies have also finalised an agreement with Swansea City, the clubs' reciprocal deal will see fans of both clubs paying just £20 for adults and £5 for concessions for their fixtures in South Wales in December 2013 and on Tyneside in April 2014.
Magpies fans will save more than 40% on the £35 charged at the Liberty Stadium last season, with Swans fans receiving a third off the £30 they paid at St. James' Park in 2012/13.
While away supporters visiting Tyneside paid an average of less than £30 for an adult match ticket last season, the average adult away match ticket for Newcastle fans was just short of £40 (based on the lowest-priced available ticket) – despite Toon fans already facing the longest average round-trip in the top flight at 447 miles per game (8,498 miles over 19 games). The cheapest adult away match ticket for Newcastle fans was £25.
The NUFC ticket initiative was leaked last week but it would appear that the club were waiting for other clubs to sign up before officially announcing it in public.
Very good newsm and well done to our club, not just in terms of the actual money saved by those fans going to Swansea and West Brom (and their fans coming to SJP) but also the symbolic value of the deal in terms of clubs looking at ways of brining the cost of football down.
What would really make this initiative look even better is if Newcastle United scrapped their insistence on charging fans £30 for a year's membership before they can buy a single ticket. The fact remains that if you have an exiled Geordie in deepest Wales who can only make the Swansea match this season, he/she will still have to pay £51 to go and support the team. The breakdown being £30 membership, £20 for the ticket and £1 admin charge that Newcastle charge their own fans to buy an away ticket.
When Swansea away is a televised midweek match in December, it doesn't take a genius to work out that it is going to be one of the toughest away trips in terms of numbers going to support Newcastle, so it would clearly be a massive help if Newcastle fans in easier reach of Swansea could buy a ticket without Newcastle United's £31 surcharge.
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