City fans accept ticket prices

Published Jul. 21, 2011 9:15 a.m. ET

foxsports

With almost 22,000 season ticket holders and Premier League rules dictating 10% of the total capacity must be offered to the away team, casual matchday sales are set to be extremely limited, possibly as few as 1,200. Norwich have announced their price structure for a first campaign back in the top flight since 2004/2005, which will see premium seats for the Grade A matches - expected to be against the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal - costing £55, although there will be reductions and further concessions for other areas of the ground. However, NCISA acting chairman Robin Sainty admits given the fiercely demanding financial environment which the Canaries now find themselves in, such moves were not unexpected. "The bottom line is there are certain facts of life. Football is a business and we are the customers. If the business wants to develop, to become bigger, more competitive, it has got to maximise income and profitability," said Sainty. "If we want to be able to compete for players in an inflated transfer market, we have to expect the club is going to look for its pound of flesh from the fans as well. "What the club is doing is coming into line with other Premier League teams, and the problem is the bloated nature of the Premier League, but if you want to be in it, you have to play by its rules."