Sunderland will fully reopen the Premier Concourse next season amidst rising attendances at the Stadium of Light following the club's return to the Championship. In the wake of relegation from the Premier League, and with the club enduring a disastrous campaign in the Championship that would ultimately also end in relegation, Sunderland experienced a dramatic drop in attendances and in March 2018, in the last weeks of Ellis Short's ownership, it announced that the top tier of the West Stand would close for the 2018-19 season.
Its closure involved the relocation of around 1,500 season ticket holders to the lower bowl, with the club saying it would improve the atmosphere by bringing fans closer together, while saving money on stewarding and staffing. Since then, the Premier Concourse has only been used when necessary to accommodate supporters buying individual match tickets for games attracting high attendances, and that has become an increasingly regular occurrence.
With Sunderland winning promotion back to the Championship last season, average attendances have jumped 38,017 this term with five fixtures attracting gates in excess of 40,000. That has prompted the club to open the Premier Concourse for the entirety of next season and allow the purchase of season tickets in that area of the ground once again.
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When the club moved season ticket holders out of the Premier Concourse five years ago, it vowed to give affected fans first refusal on their original seat once the upper tier reopened. And Sunderland have announced a week-long priority period for current season ticket holders who were previously located in the Premier Concourse to choose their seats, with that period beginning at noon on Monday, March 6, and running until 5pm on Monday, March 13.
Sunderland will contact current season ticket holders who previously sat in the Premier Concourse direct via email, with the club urging supporters to ensure their email address in up-to-date within their e-ticketing account. Supporters who moved from the Premier Concourse but would prefer to remain where they are will not need to take any further action.
The North West Upper will remain closed but, should it reopen on a seasonal basis, there will be a priority period for supporters previously housed in that area to relocate. Early-bird 2023-24 season tickets are priced from £390 for adults and £48 for U16s, with all other early-bird renewals beginning on Monday, March 20.
Sunderland's attendances at the Stadium of Light averaged 41,287 in the club's relegation season from the Premier League in 2016-17. That dropped to an official figure of 27,635 in their Championship relegation season, although actual attendances appeared to be closer to the 20,000-mark.
In League One, putting aside the 2020-21 season when games were played behind-closed-doors due to the Covid pandemic, Sunderland averaged home gates of 32,157 in 2018-19, 30,118 in the 2019-20 season that was cut short by the pandemic, and 30,847 as the club won promotion last season.
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