Keith Wyness rips into Aston Villa as he reveals real ticket price truth
Aston Villa’s former chief Keith Wyness has claimed his old side will only rake in around “£1.4million” of extra revenue after hiking Champions League ticket prices.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old – who served as CEO at Villa Park between 2016 and 2018 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – insisted the increase has been a “kick in the teeth” for the club’s supporters.
The Villa Supporters Trust has branded the club “out of touch” for charging up to £97 a ticket for home Champions League matches this season.
Business president Chris Heck has responded, claiming that “achieving our sporting ambitions while complying with financial stability regulations requires difficult decisions”.
Villa will host Bayern Munich, Bologna, Juventus and Celtic at Villa Park in the Champions League this season after returning to Europe’s top table for the first time in 41 years.
Aston Villa should have handled ticket increase better after ‘upsetting fans’, says Wyness
Wyness told Football Insider‘s Insider Track podcast: “I think the majority of tickets are around £90-95, which is a big number.
“There has been a big fan reaction. I understand the fanbase, I was there for some time and got to know them.
“They’re traditional, good, honest fans. This was a bit of a kick of the teeth for them, as far as I’m concerned.
“You’d think that Champions League football was almost like a reward.
“This increase has been hard for them to take.
“The actual money that the club will make from these increases is small, it’s about £1.3 to £1.4million across the league phase.
“Is it really worth upsetting your fan base for such a small amount of money?
“Everywhere you go, you’re seeing inflation in entertainment prices. We’ve seen it with Oasis over here.
“It’s in every aspect of entertainment, but it’s just the way it has been done with Villa.
“There should have been better consultation with fans and the club should’ve found a better way to put it forward.
“They aren’t making that much out of this. I’m split because we are seeing this inflation, but it should’ve been done in a better way.”
In other news, Aston Villa reject offers from 40 clubs for star man.
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