Coventry City supporters are being charged more for comparable seating by Sheffield United for the game on February 1st.
I noticed that away tickets for the Sheffield United match on 1 February are more expensive than those of the home fans. So I e-mailed the Football League and asked them why this would be. They e-mailed back this morning with the following:-
“Thank you for your email.
As per regulation 32.2.9b (which can be seen here http://www.football-league.co.uk/regulations/20110629/section-5-fixtures_2293633_2125729#34), the accommodation being used by supporters in the away goal end stand is considered to be of superior quality to the equivalent/comparable goal end accommodation used by home supporters. This takes into account the facilities available within the stand and the quality of seating, including but not limited to, the 'rake' of the stand.
This regulations (sic) is in existence based on votes of our member clubs. As per regulation 34.2.5, clubs must submit their ticket prices before the start of each season. All prices are verified by The League.
If you require further information regarding the away accommodation on offer at Sheffield United we recommend you contact the club directly with your query.
Thank you for contacting The Football League.
I have been to Bramall Lane before and I must admit to finding the concept of the away fan accommodation being superior to that of the home fans a little difficult to cope with. I really can’'t see City fans chanting “We've got better seats than you!”.
I’ve also written to Sheffield United and got a response from them. I have set out below the contents from the e-mail chain. In brief, the accommodation for home fans on their Kop (behind the goal), is worse, in their opinion, than that allocated to the away fans. This must be a first!
“Dear Sir,
I notice that tickets for away fans are more expensive than those for the home fans for this fixture. I asked the Football League why this might be and they kindly drew my attention to the Regulations and then explained that “… the accommodation being used by supporters in the away goal end stand is considered to be of superior quality to the equivalent/comparable goal end accommodation used by home supporters. This takes into account the facilities available within the stand and the quality of seating, including but not limited to, the ‘rake’ of the stand.”
The Football League suggested that I might contact Sheffield United if I required further information about the away accommodation and that is the purpose of this e-mail. I would be most grateful if you would explain precisely what makes the away fan accommodation of “superior quality” to the equivalent accommodation for the home fans. I would add that this will not be my first visit to Bramall Lane.
I have copied in Dan Walker, the Ticketing Manager at Coventry City – this is the first he will have heard of this enquiry, but I feel sure he will be interested in your response.”
Kind regards”
“Thank you for your recent email.
The Lower Tier of the Jessica Ennis (Bramall Lane or visiting stand) has excellent facilities that were upgraded a couple of years ago along with those that are house (sic) in the upper tier. Situated directly behind the goal it offers an uninterrupted view for the visiting supporter. At this time the roof was extended out by a further 16 feet to try and ensure our colleagues from other clubs are kept as dry as possible.
There are no pillars in this area or restrictions on view for supporters.
The concession areas and toilets are of a better quality and in a covered concourse area.
Our Kop which people always consider as the equivalent area as it is behind the opposite goal has a high percentage of restricted view seats due to pillars and all concessions and toilets are uncovered and outside which can be affected by adverse weather.
The section above the away supporters(if open) and the Westfield Corner Stand (situated to the upper right hand side of the lower tier)which is for home supporters is also charged at the same price to home fans as visiting supporters."