Chelsea fans are being asked to pay more than three times the current price for their season tickets with costs reaching almost £4,000 next year, after the club upgraded the facilities in one of the stands at Stamford Bridge.
The West Stand upper tier has been rebranded, Westview, with new bars, food outlets and TV screens, but it comes at cost for supporters wanting to keep their padded seats next season.
The current price of £1,250 will rocket to £3,900 per seat for a tier one ticket on and around the half-way line, which is likely to push Chelsea ahead of its London rivals for the most expensive seats in the Premier League next season.
'New' West Stand at Stamford Bridge was finally finished in 2001 when the upper tier opened
This term, Spurs held that dubious honour with the top-priced season ticket at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium setting supporters back £2,223, according to research by the newspaper group, Reach.
That price was only rivalled by Arsenal, where the most expensive annual season ticket cost £2,013.
The cheapest tickets were at Burnley - the Lancashire side's most expensive this season was just £650.
Chelsea fans received notification of the price hike today and were quick to express their incredulity on social media.
‘That can't be right surely there's a typo in the email. How can they justify that?!’ tweeted one fan.
‘Insane,’ suggested another.
Years of sustained success at Chelsea has seen demand for tickets grow in last two decades
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Fans had been warned that the price would rise in the refurbished and rebranded section of the stadium.
Chelsea have fallen behind their Big Six rivals in terms of matchday revenue, says Kieran Maguire
The works were carried out prior to the 2021-22 season and fans were allowed to renew tickets for this term, but would have to accept the new price structure or move in 2022-23.
Now, Chelsea have written to fans.
‘As you will have seen, the concourse has been transformed to create a spacious area with lots of natural light,’ wrote Simon Hunter, head of venue and hospitality.
‘There are two new 360-degree bars with faster service and a new food hall serving an expanded range of high-quality food.
‘In the seating bowl we’ve introduced three big screens to ensure all seat
