CLUB'S PLEA FOR FANS TO REDUCE COSTS

3 November 2005

The cost of policing football matches at the new Liberty Stadium is the equivalent of two new players a season for Swansea City, it emerged today. Fans are now being asked to do their bit to keep the cost of patrolling games down amid fears that the club could be forced to spend an extra £50,000 on security fencing.

The club is already handing over £5,000 a game to the police to cover the cost of watching over the crowds - the equivalent of £100,000 every season.

Now Swans bosses have issued a plea to their supporters asking them to be on their best behaviour.The fans' own goal is infuriating them.

Huw Jenkins, the club's chairman, said he would rather be spending the money on new players.

But he warned that the price of security could go up unless fans did their bit to help prevent trouble.

He said: "At the Vetch Field, we had what can only be described as natural segregation of fans because of the close proximity of the houses and streets in the area.

"Now we have a totally different set-up and one that's a little more difficult to manage.

"This season's policing costs so far are roughly £5,000 per game and throughout the season this will equate to over £100,000.

"A large proportion of this cost relates to the policing of a few hundred away fans to and from the stadium for each game. These costs could perhaps be reduced if we had the help and cooperation of our supporters in allowing the away-fans to quickly leave the stadium.

"While inside the stadium we certainly want to generate an intimidating but trouble-free atmosphere for the visiting fans - outside the stadium we need the help of our fans.

"Swansea City Football Club does not want to spend extra money on external fencing which could cost us £50,000.

"Also, if the policing charges continue to rise at such a high level, there can be no doubt the club will be asked to pay more into stadium managers StadCo to offset some of these charges.

"Please help us to minimise these extra costs with our new stadium which in turn will allow us to spend more money on our playing squad."