West Brom reduce season ticket prices by 5% with new early bird offering

Supporters wishing to sit in the East Stand and Halford's Lane will save £24 if they buy their seats before Saturday, June 3, while those behind the goals in the Birmingham Road and Smethwick Ends can save £19.

Fans who buy a season ticket after that date you will pay the same price as last year.

It means the cheapest adult season ticket for 2017/18 is £380, which is down from last year's £399 and equates to exactly £20 per game.

Those who pay in monthly instalments will see a 10 per cent decrease with the early-bird prices.

Chief Executive Martin Goodman, who joined the Baggies at the start of January, is hoping it will help address the downturn in sales that saw around 2,000 regulars leave last year.

He has also introduced a new under-11 season ticket for Halford's Lane worth £45, and will be creating a family area in that stand in a bid to grow the next generation of supporters.

Goodman has also removed the £10 charge for purchases over the phone or via the ticket office.

"It’s really important that we don’t see blue seats," he said. "Last year we saw a fall-off and it wasn’t the first year. It’s been dwindling for five years.

"I’d like to see us make up at least 50 per cent of what we lost last year which would be an additional 1,000 season ticket holders. I’d love us to do far more, but it’s small steps."

Albion sold roughly 16,000 season tickets for this campaign, down from 17,925 the season before. But support has been dwindling since the 2012/13 season, when there were 19,300 seats sold.

"When season ticket holders don’t renew, there’s a lot of other things in the leisure sector for them to do," said Goodman. "Saturday becomes golfing day rather than going to the match with their mates.

"I don’t think we can discount the illegal broadcasts that come back into the locality. And there’s always the fact people have different views on how the team performs."

Plenty of disgruntled supporters unhappy with the style of football under Tony Pulis didn't renew last summer, but the Baggies are eighth at the moment, and Goodman hopes his early-bird pricing coupled with improved performances on the pitch will bring fans back in.

"This year they’ve not got that excuse," he said. "Out of the 16 home games this season, we’ve won 9, and we’re playing some entertaining football."

Goodman has also made it easier for those who pay by monthly instalments to be accepted to the 10-month plan.

"We’re making it cheaper for those who can’t afford it up front," he said. "When you borrow money on credit, it’s all about how much of a risk you carry, well I’ve switched the risk from the finance company to the club, so in other words the hurdle is much lower to jump over to get credit.

"If you’ve got a marginal credit problem and you failed last year I would hope you’d get over it this year.

"The one thing we can’t help is if you’ve been bankrupt, certain people will never get over that hurdle."