Praise for Pompey ticket freeze

And PST vice-chair, Pam Wilkins, believes Blues fans will be back in their numbers to roar on a promotion charge next season. Pompey announced they will be keeping prices the same for the fourth consecutive season on Saturday. Fans can begin buying their tickets at an early-bird rate from Wednesday, June 1, at 10am. Sales topped 11,000 in both of the past two campaigns, with optimism high about the seasons ahead. Despite missing out on promotion this term, Wilkins feels most fans will be encouraged by improvements made on the pitch under manager Paul Cook. And she praised the club for once again keeping prices the same. Wilkins said: ‘I think it’s an excellent move. ‘I can’t think anyone would be disappointed at the announcement. ‘I don’t think anyone would have expected them to go down, so I think it’s excellent to keep them at the same price for another season. ‘In my view, I think people will look forward to the new season. ‘I think we’ll sell roughly the same as before. ‘Maybe we’ll may drop a few, but I think most people will be back. ‘The people I’ve spoken to are talking about pre-season and that sort of thing. ‘This season has been so much better than the previous two. ‘We have looked like we could be relegated in the past. ‘It’s been a great season not to worry about that end of the table, and, with a few more points, we would have gone up automatically. ‘We’ve never won the fourth division, either, so we’ll have to go up as champions next season. It’s the only one we haven’t won!’ The freeze in prices was headline news when the club released details of their season tickets at the weekend. But Pompey have also made other changes, including the introduction of a young person season ticket. They are priced £240 or £225 for PST shareholders for people aged 18-22 on September 1 this year. The limit for junior tickets is also being raised from 16 to 17 – both positive moves in Wilkins’ view. She said: ‘There’s also been more encouragement to get youngsters involved. ‘Increasing the junior age and the young person’s ticket are both promising moves. ‘There’s no doubt, throughout football, the age group with season tickets are getting older. ‘We do need to encourage people on that front. ‘It’s something we also look at as a Trust.’ – JORDAN CROSS