Portsmouth dig deeper into their pockets to make 'high-risk fixture' against Southampton more affordable for fans
Pompey have dug deeper into their pockets to help the Fratton faithful attend next month’s south coast derby
Pompey have taken extra action to reduce the financial burden on fans looking to attend next month’s south coast derby with Southampton at St Mary’s.
The Fratton Park outfit have announced they will pay in full the damage insurance costs that had driven the price of the mandatory club-managed travel to the game up to £22.50 per person.
The Blues had already subsidised the transportation arrangement that will ferry 2,700 supporters back and forth to the ground via coach from three already determined pick-up points on Sunday, September 14.
They had also committed to pay a proportion of the additional insurance costs that transporting such a large number of fans to a ‘high-risk fixture’ would entail.
However, after careful consideration, Pompey have revealed they will dig deeper into the club coffers and subsidise the entire indemnity to reduce the cost of travel for each fan to £18.
Pompey statement on club-managed travel costs for south coast derby v Southampton
A Blues statement on the matter read: ‘The price of travelling to the game has been exacerbated by damage insurance costs for coach operators for what is a high-risk fixture.
‘The club had already absorbed the cost of the added facilities that are required, as well as a proportion of these damage insurance costs.
‘But after careful consideration over the weekend, we have decided to subsidise these additional damage insurance costs in full.
‘This will bring the price of coach travel down from £22.50 to £18 per person.
‘We want to ensure all Pompey fans who are attending the game enjoy what is sure to be a special day and we hope this reduction in prices will help those travelling to support John Mousinho’s side.’
Portsmouth Supporters’ Trust reacts to Pompey statement
The Portsmouth Supporters’ Trust was among those to express concern at the initial £22.50 cost that fans were being charged to travel to St Mary’s.
According to the Trust, the fee was disproportionate to the length of the journey, and with fans effectively paying £60,750 for a mandatory transport arrangement, they believed the game had ‘become an opportunity to squeeze the loyalty of supporters for more money’.
They have since released a statement via X that welcomes the club’s latest attempt to make the game affordable for those wishing to attend.
It said: ‘We appreciate the club agreeing to further subsidise the cost of coach travel following supporter feedback, making the game more affordable for fans. We look forward to backing the #Pompey team at St. Mary’s Stadium.’
.jpeg?crop=3:2,smart&trim=&width=640&quality=65)
Southampton v Pompey match-day ticket price
Despite Pompey’s intervention on travel costs, the price of a match-day ticket remains the same.
That’s after Southampton ‘turned down’ a reciprocal pricing arrangement proposed by the Blues that would have seen away fans pay less for their match-day tickets at both of this season’s south-coast derbies.
Instead, the St Mary’s outfit decided to increase the cost of entry into their away end for the first meeting between the two sides since April 2012.
As a result, any Pompey fan aged 18 or above before concession will be expected to pay an extra £10 on the price of their ticket due to Saints’ decision to make the game a ‘Category A’ fixture.
An adult will have to fork out £40, with Stoke fans charged £30 for the same ticket when they visited St Mary’s on Saturday. Anyone aged between 18-25 or 64+ will pay £35 (normally £25). Meanwhile, any disabled Blues fan, including children, could be charged as much as £50 and be situated in some sections of the home end.
In light of Southampton’s refusal to bring down the price of tickets for next month’s fixture, it’s understood that Pompey would now consider their own pricing structure for away fans when Saints travel to Fratton Park in January.