Jeff Shi insists there’s a ‘big misconception’ from Wolves fans about tickets

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Wolves charged up to £45 for the first game fans were allowed back at Molineux, against Manchester United on Sunday.

That decision did not go down well with some fans and it was something which was put to Jeff Shi.

Shi and some other senior figures at Wolves have given a wide-reaching Q&A to the club’s website.

He insisted that there is a major misconception from fans that ticketing revenue doesn’t matter so much in the grand scheme of things.

“There is a big misconception from the fans. They think that the major revenue source comes from the broadcasting or whatever and so the ticketing revenue is not important. But that’s wrong.

“When we say the top six or big clubs we want to chase, we want to catch up, the biggest gap is not a broadcasting revenue, it’s the ticketing revenue.

“If you look at the price for Chelsea, for Spurs, for Man United, you can see the huge gap.”

General manager of commercial operations Vinny Clark added: “Jeff makes a great point. Across Europe, in the big five leagues, matchday revenue is around 16 per cent of a club’s revenue and people do sort of say it’s nothing.

“It couldn’t be further from the truth. Where you can really make a difference is in that commercial area; sponsorship, retail, ticketing. So it is important.”

Clark was also asked whether season tickets will go up in price and while he didn’t say they would imminently, it sounds like that’s the long term plan.

He spoke at length about raising ticket prices in line with other clubs at their level in the Premier League.

All the signs were that Wolves see this as a necessary next step in their progression as a club.

How will that go down with the fans during a pandemic? It remains to be seen.

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