Season-ticket sales on hold as Pompey await outcome

The Blues board have drawn up different costings for football in League One and League Two next term.

As it stands, Paul Cook’s side are six points clear in an automatic promotion spot with seven matches remaining.

That outcome will determine the timing of the anticipated season-ticket announcement.

The likelihood is there will be a rise, irrespective of which division Pompey turn out.

The club insists there has, effectively, been a price freeze during four campaigns in League Two, currently generating more than 11,000 holders.

But for now the precise details remain on hold.

Mark Catlin said: ‘The season-ticket prices have been given to the board and are currently under review.

‘Obviously, they cannot go on sale until we know what league we are in next season because there will be a difference in price between League One and League Two, that’s fair to say.

‘We have planned for both and will try to get them on sale as soon as we know where we are.

‘There are two different processes involved in calculating next year’s season-ticket prices.

‘If we are in League Two you have to look at what is sustainable in regards of our business model and the number of season-ticket holders we would like to achieve. You have to look at that scenario and then what is achievable in League One.

‘As a club, our model is self-sustainability in whatever league we are in. Obviously, our season-ticket levels at these levels form a massive part of our revenue.

‘That is our income, the fans own the club and collectively will have to contribute towards that.

‘We have effectively frozen season tickets for four years and I don’t know whether we can do that again.

‘It is always going to be a difficult one. This coming season we have extra liabilities such as changes to the national minimum wage, pension requirements, inflation is gradually starting to creep up, there are a lot of things out of our hands which are going up and up and up.

‘So how long we can hold on to those prices, even in League Two, is a very good question. Let’s wait and see.’

The last time Pompey were in League One was 2012-13 – with 8,080 season-ticket holders.