Hull City Owner Allam Says Ticket Prices Will Not Drop Following EPL's Lucrative TV Deal

EPL side Hull City Owner Assem Allam said the club "will not use the money generated by the Premier League's new television rights deal to cut ticket prices," according to the BBC. The £5.14B ($7.7B) deal signed last Tuesday is "71% more than the last contract" and Hull, which got £60M from the current deal, "will get an increase on that." Allam: "The only way to reduce prices is to create more fans by increasing capacity. But you need money to build the stadium -- 10,000 seats will cost £20 million ($30.7M)." Hull's KC Stadium has a capacity of 25,586 with an "average gate this season of 23,117." Adult matchday ticket prices range from £16 ($25) -- the second cheapest in the Premier League -- up to £50 ($77). But Allam said that "all clubs should look at improving facilities and promoting club academies with the money they get under the new Premier League deal." He said, "If you have 23,000 happily paying what they pay now, to reduce it you are not helping others" (BBC, 2/15).