West Brom season ticket sales increase for first time in five years

The Baggies have seen a five per cent increase this year, lifting the number of holders from just over 16,000 to slightly more than 17,000.

The jump has been heralded a success by chief executive Martin Goodman, who introduced an early-bird season ticket to arrest the slide.

Adult supporters who snapped up their seats early saved £19 in the Birmingham Road and Smethwick Ends and £24 in the East and West Stands.

Season tickets were taken off the market on the day of the last home game against Watford, and Goodman was happy with the results.

“The earlybird season ticket campaign was a success,” he said. “We are pleased with both the uptake and the average gates for the first few games of the season.”

Albion’s season ticket sales have been dwindling since the 2012/13 season, when there were 19,300 seats sold. But they tailed off dramatically last year when they fell from 17,925 to just over 16,000 with many supporters turning their backs on head coach Tony Pulis.

When Goodman introduced the earlybird prices he said he wanted to recover 50 per cent of those tickets, and thanks to cheaper prices and a top 10 finish last season, he has managed to do that.

It is hoped that an additional 1,000 half-season tickets will be sold when they go on sale in November, restoring the levels to around the 17,925 of two seasons ago.

Goodman added: “We had a great transfer window and we definitely saw an uptake at the start of the season. The numbers are determined by a variety of things.

“Performance on the pitch helps, we’ve done well this year, and the team is evolving. Attendances are driven by results and we had a good start with two wins.”

Average attendance so far this season is 24,316. Last season it was 23,876.

Despite the upturn, Goodman admitted the club was still some way off increasing the 26,850 capacity of The Hawthorns.

“If we filled The Hawthorns and got a waiting list in place, then we would look to do it in the future, but developing the ground is not in our plan at the moment,” he said.