On This Day (10 May 1975): Sunderland Fans Count The Cost Of Their Support

Written by secretary Ron Linney, Sunderland’s renewal plea read:

It is regretted that due to increases in costs generally, it has been necessary to increase the prices of season tickets by approximately 12.5 per cent for next season.

I am sure you will agree that this increase is much less than the rate of inflation.

A flat £3 uplift across all season tickets had been set the year before and had not seemed to negatively impact league attendances during a prolonged spell in the second tier, with the 1974/1975 average of just under 30,000 being around 5,000 more than 1973/1974.

Improved results had had a bearing of this of course, whereas anybody signing up before the May 31 deadline in 1975 was certainly about to get their money’s worth again, with the Lads remaining unbeaten at Roker Park in Division Two as they went on to secure the title and a long-awaited return to the top flight.

However, whilst the 1975 increases were relatively easy to stomach, promotion prompted a less palatable hike ahead of 1976/1977.

This time, supporters had to wait until the end of May for confirmation after the initial announcement of a 33% increase in season ticket prices prompted such a backlash that the club was referred to the Price Commission by a local union leader, Bill Porter, who just so happened to be a Newcastle United fan.

The story, rather than being confined to the sports pages, was even covered by the Chronicle’s Industrial Reporter Paul Nunn, who told readers that the matter was decided in Sunderland’s favour after the commission ruled that because the club were “in a loss-making situation” they weren’t subject to price increase limits and had not infringed the Price Code in any way.

Sunderland were advised, however, that if ticket revenues did result in profits, they would be investigated again to determine whether the directors had remained within allowable-cost conditions.

At the time, they were trying to counter act a loss of £222,772 in the year to May 31 1975 that was thought to have been largely down to a loss on transfers but also a trading deficit of £34,860; the previous year had seen a profit of £181,314.

Mr Porter, clearly unhappy with the ruling, described the increase as “deplorable”, yet John Phillips, Sunderland’s assistant secretary, confirmed that the club “Had received a letter from the Price Commission which states that, on the evidence contained in our letter to them, it would appear there has been no contravention of the Price Code. “We understand that the matter is now closed.”