Chelsea’s owners have moved to build relations with disgruntled supporters by freezing the price of general admission season tickets for a 12th successive year.
The announcement came after a warning from the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust that raising prices would risk creating “irreversible toxicity” between the club and supporters.
Chelsea’s owners, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, who have spent almost £600m on signings since last summer, have taken those concerns on board.
Chelsea, who remain in talks with Mauricio Pochettino about appointing him as their head coach, acknowledged in a statement that their first season under the current ownership had not gone to plan.
The controlling co-owners, Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, are under pressure to raise funds after their transfer outlay but have decided that making tickets more expensive is not the way forward during the cost of living crisis.
The move, which was welcomed by the CST, means that Chelsea fans in general admission areas will continue to pay less than supporters at Arsenal and Tottenham.
The cost for Chelsea’s cheapest adult general admission season ticket will remain £750. Spurs, who have also frozen their prices, charge £807 for seats in similar areas at their stadium. Arsenal have announced an average general admission rise of 5%. Manchester United, Liverpool and Aston Villa have announced increases.
One of the first moves by Boehly and Eghbali after buying the club was to freeze prices and scrap the booking fee for tickets. There had been discussions over whether to raise prices this summer but it was decided the majority of fans should not pay more after disappointing performances.
Chelsea are set to miss out on European qualification, went out of both domestic cups early and have faced criticism for sacking two permanent head coaches, Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter.
The spending by Boehly and Eghbali has left Chelsea with an oversized squad and results have remained poor since Frank Lampard took temporary charge last month.
A Chelsea statement said: “This season has not produced the results that any of us want. We know what we are working towards, but equally we know that will require hard work, determination and commitment. We all want to see Chelsea back where we belong and to share many more winning moments together at Stamford Bridge.
“Equally, we are acutely aware of the rise in cost of living and the impact that has on our supporters. Looking at all of these factors, the board has decided to freeze GA season tickets for the 2023-24 season.”
Dom Rosso, the vice-chair of the CST, said: “The Trust would like to place on record its thanks to Mr Boehly and his board for putting supporters first. We have campaigned vehemently that prices should be frozen to reflect the impact of the cost of living crisis, and the Trust is delighted that the club has responded positively to our representations on season ticket prices.”
Meanwhile Chris Jurasek, an operating executive at Clearlake Capital, is expected to become Chelsea’s new chief executive. He is set to take charge of the commercial side of the club, above Chelsea’s president of business, Tom Glick.
