Coventry City owner Doug King has defended the club’s decision to raise ticket prices for premium games, including their derby clash against West Bromwich Albion later this month.
The Sky Blues hit the news recently when they released their ticket prices for away fans for the visit of West Brom. It was revealed that an adult would be charged £45 for the privilege of travelling to the CBS Arena, whilst an under 18 was set at a staggering £35. For context, a child’s season ticket at The Hawthorns costs £49.
This prompted backlash on social media, with many calling for Baggies fans to boycott the fixture. It has been claimed that Coventry are cashing in on their league position, which currently sees them top the Championship.
Coventry charging kids £35 a ticket is absolutely insane. To put that into context, a child’s SEASON ticket at West Brom costs £49. #WBA #PUSB https://t.co/Q1OrhDXi23
— The Real EFL (@RealEFLSocial) October 29, 2025
Price Hike On Last Season
West Brom aren’t the only team that have been hit with this price increase. It has also been confirmed that Swansea City fans will be hit with the same fee when they travel to the West Midlands on Boxing Day.
This has left both teams with a huge increase on last season’s trip to the same venue. WBA fans were charged £37 for adults and £25 for under 18s in April, whilst Swansea had to fork out £30 and £20 respectively.
Meanwhile, Coventry travel to second placed Middlesbrough later this month in arguably the biggest fixture in the Championship so far this season. Boro have already allocated their prices as far lower than those on offer at the league leaders, with adults set at £29 and under 18s at just £15.
Hey, Coventry. Think it’s time we had a chat… https://t.co/GXJJZPa61t pic.twitter.com/Hv30v4WplO
— The Real EFL (@RealEFLSocial) October 31, 2025
King Defends Decision
With the Premier League capping away ticket prices at £30, it’s unsurprising that these fixtures have come under scrutiny. Despite that, owner Doug King has doubled down on his decision. Speaking to BBC CWR, he said:
“We think local derbies are great experiences – Leicester, Birmingham, West Bromwich Albion… We think our local derby partners are big games.
“Boxing Day is a critical game and has a lot of history. We always have a huge turnout and we need to optimise where we can optimise.
“When we need to discount and get people there on a cold midweek game in January, we’ll do the same.”
Should Coventry continue their rich vein of form and earn promotion to the Premier League, they will be hit with the same price cap as the other 19 teams in the division. King addressed that situation too, pointing out that those in the top tier are supplemented by the huge broadcasting rights:
“People say the Premier League is capped at £30 but I say, ‘Yeah but the Premier League has got £120m broadcast revenue and I’ve got a pittance’.
“We’re not printing money in the Championship.”
Coventry face a huge week on the pitch starting with tonight’s visit of Sheffield United. They then travel to Staffordshire on Saturday to face fellow promotion contenders Stoke City at the bet365 Stadium.
