New ticket prices for Blues

Published Apr. 14, 2011 3:15 p.m. ET

foxsports

The Londoners, who crashed out of the Champions League this week, have introduced a price hike for those supporters planning to attend games against Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, Manchester United and Manchester City, who will now be included in the newly created 'AA' category. A non-Chelsea member wishing to watch one of those games in the upper tier of the West stand at Stamford Bridge will have to pay £87 to watch the match - an increase of £12. Prices for band A and B games have stayed the same, but fans wanting to watch the club's FA Cup matches will pay £30 a ticket, rather than the £25.50 it cost them this year, although this is subject to the agreement of the visiting club. Season ticket prices have also gone up across the board, with fans in the upper tier of the West stand having to pay £1,250 to watch the club's home games - an increase of £40. Season ticket holders in the lower part of the Matthew Harding stand face a rise of £55, but senior citizen and juvenile season tickets have risen by an average of £23. Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay said: "We believe the new ticket prices strike the right balance between the commercial needs of the club and value for money for our fans. "We have taken on board the supporters' wishes to help younger fans by extending our concessions from under 16s to under 17s and we fully intend to increase by a further year in the following season. "Our prices are competitive when set against our rivals and our season tickets in particular represent a significant saving compared to the equivalent cost of purchasing matchday tickets." Tickets for matches will go on sale 42 days in advance instead of the current 28 days. The deadline for returning season ticket forms is Friday May 20 at 5pm.