Sheffield Wednesday treated their second biggest crowd of the season to a resounding 4-1 win against Charlton on Saturday and today the club have announced new measures aimed at maintaining strong attendances for the remainder of the season.
May fans had become disillusioned with the direction that the club was heading with regards to off-field matters over the past couple of years and when a sharp increase in season ticket prices was announced last summer this was the final straw for some and attendances have been down significantly this season.
However, the recent appointments at boardroom level including that of new Chairman Lee Strafford has brought something of a feel good factor to Hillsborough of late and to capitalise on this the club placed details of a new price structure for home games on the official website, swfc.co.uk this morning.
Adult match-day prices on the Kop have been reduced by £5 and tickets will cost £3 less on the North and South Stands. Furthermore, the new prices will be applicable on match days as well so there will be no extra cost for paying on the day.
With nine home games still to play this season this represents a potential saving of up to £45 on the Kop.
Season ticket holders have also been rewarded for their loyal support and will now receive 25% discount on full-price merchandise in the official shop up until the end of September. In addition to this they also have the opportunity to can claim 2 complimentary tickets for either the Birmingham, Crystal Palace or Swansea home games with 2,000 available for each on a first come first serve basis.
Some season ticket holders may feel that they have been a little short-changed in these deals with those who chose not to buy at the beginning of the campaign now getting good prices and as such the savings on match day prices that people were quoted when originally purchasing their season tickets will now equate to much less.
Having said that, the club have stated that while it was not possible to give money back, they wanted to give something back to the loyal fans now and would be looking to restructure the pricing for the 2009/10 season. Let's hope that this includes a fair offer for those that did commit themselves at the start of this season.