Verdict: This time the price is right as Portsmouth prepare to host Arsenal in FA Cup
I was quick to have a go at Pompey when I felt they’d got FA Cup ticket prices wrong – so it’s only fair I praise them when I think they have it right.
I stand by my claim that charging adults £24 to see the round-four clash with Barnsley was over the top, even if the level of entertainment the Blues produced on the day helped soften it.
But in asking people to fork out a little more – £26 – to see Arsenal’s visit in the next round – I think they’ve got it about right.
This is, after all, a chance to see a Premier League side and one of the biggest clubs in the land – even if it is a team who, as I said last week, look a bit flaky and in danger of being on the wrong end of a shock.
I’d suggest that if the Blues had charged fans a bit less for the last round – say £18 or £20 – not only would they have had a bigger crowd to see the Tykes terrorised, they’d now be able to charge more than £26 for Arsenal. Maybe £30?
Concession prices are all very reasonable.
I wouldn’t like to predict what different prices would do to the overall Cup income, but it seems they’re doing very nicely from the Cup run anyway, and one hopes Kenny Jackett is handed a nice chunk of it in the summer for players.
And while I’m on the subject of backing club decisions, I also have to say I think they’ve made the right call in resisting calls for Pompey Women to be able to play some of their postponed home games at Fratton.
I sympathise with the women over their pitch problems at Baffins but the Fratton turf surely has to be protected as best it can be after a very wet autumn if the men are to be given a chance to play on a decent surface.
It was good to see the women use Gosport Borough’s Privett Park and I wonder if Bognor is another option?
But Fratton Park has quite enough on its plate.