Welcome
to today's issue of
BOUNDARY
BULLET-zine
The
Daily On-line e-zine for 194
Oldham Athletic Supporters
Worldwide
Today's
Edition for
27th April 2000
Today's
Headlines
Price
increase for next season
Oldham
Evening Chronicle
Latics
to raise ticket prices
ATHLETIC
are offering generous discounts to season-ticket holders and members to
compensate for a hike in admission prices. The
cost of season tickets purchased before the end of May will be cut by 15-per-cent,
which means that the rise in the lowest priced adult season ticket is limited
to £9.50. Athletic have been reluctantly
forced to raise admission prices between £1 and £2 to try to
make inroads into an operating loss which currently exceeds £1million
per year. Chief executive Alan Hardy explained that the directors deliberated
long and hard before making the decision. He
said: “I must stress this is the first time for seven years that we have
raised season-ticket prices, and it was not done without a great deal of
thought. “We believe we have made great
strides this season, particularly with regard to cost cutting. To try to
underpin our attempts to be more competitive next year, we have to look
at our income, and we believe these modest increases will be understood
by our supporters.”
Mr
Hardy hopes the increased discount from the usual 10-per-cent will prove
attractive to supporters as well as helping the club. “Cash
flow is critical in the summer when we do not have any income from matches,
and to a degree we rely on season-ticket sales to keep the club financially
viable,” he said.Fans taking advantage of
the 15-per-cent discount will save £149.50 on normal matchday admission
in the Seton Stand and £126.50 in the Lookers Stand. Athletic are
continuing to make the £23 juniors’ season ticket available when
purchased as part of a family package. Mr
Hardy points out that a family of four can save £535.90 over the
season by taking advantage of the discounts. Admission prices are rising
by £1 in all areas, with the exception of the Ellen Group and Seton
Stands. Prices for visitors are to rise by £2 but, as league regulations
forbid higher prices for visitors than home fans, admission charges must
also rise by £2 at either end of the ground. However, members in
these stands will be given a £3 reduction per match which cuts the
increase to £1. Membership for
the season will remain £5, with Athletic currently having over 3,000
fans subscribing to the scheme. Season tickets will go on sale from Thursday,
May 4.
Teamtalk
Oldham
Murphy
set for Latics trial
Young
Liverpool star Neil Murphy, is on his way to Oldham for a trail, after
completing a spell at Ipswich. Murphy has returned to Anfield for the time
being after featuring in a reserve game for George Burley's men, but he
doesn't know yet if the East Anglian club are going to make a permanent
for him. Murphy is now expected to arrive at Boundary Park next week, as
he looks set for a summer move from The Reds. Murphy himself has said he's
spoken to Andy Ritchie and he could be set to feature for the reserves
in a trial spell.
Price
rise
The club
have announced the first price rise in seven years with Alan Hardy revealing
the club had thought "long and hard" about the increase. The chief executive
said that the decision was unavoidable adding: "We believe we have made
great strides this season, particularly with regard to cost cutting measures
at Boundary Park, and we are keen to maintain the momentum. "To this end,
and to try and underpin our attempts to be even more competitive next year,
we have to look at the income side and we believe a modest increase will
be understood by our fans." Admission prices will rise by £1 in all
areas, except the Ellen Group and Seton Stands. Those will go up by £2
because that is the rise for the visitors and Football League rules don't
allow travelling fans to pay more than the home supporters. However, the
good news is those who become members of the Latics will enjoy a £3
reduction per match bringing down admission prices to £12.
Contributions
and letters should be sent to Gary
Davies by e-mail at [email protected].Boundary
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