Study: How much does your love cost?

The results of the study, released last night, also reveal Wolves to offer some of the best value in the Championship, despite the most expensive season ticket at Molineux being higher than that at the Hawthorns.

Albion

Albion supporters saw an increase in most categories compared to last year, most notably the price of the most expensive season ticket, which jumped from £449 to £509.

The cost of the cheapest season tickets also increased from £349 to £399 but the BBC's statistics show the majority of home season tickets were purchased in this price bracket.

Other increases saw 20p added to the price of tea and a pie, which now set fans back £2.20 and £3.20 respectively. The price of a matchday programme has also gone up, from £3 to £3.50, with the cost of an adult replica shirt going up by a fiver, to £49.99.

Albion froze the price of single matchday tickets this term, with the cheapest remaining at £25 and the most expensive £39. Most tickets are sold in the £25-30 price category.

The Hawthorns also remains a good place to visit for visiting supporters, with the Baggies offering the cheapest away ticket in the Premier League, priced at just £10.

Express & Star Albion columnist Neil Whitehouse reckons the price of watching football at The Hawthorns is "realistic

He added: "I do think, as season ticket holders, we get value for money and I think most supporters are quite comfortable with the prices.

"With the facilities and everything we have got, I don't think there can be too many complaints when it comes to home matches.

"Where things do start to get out of hand is at away games, where it does feel on some occasions as though you are being fleeced a little bit.

"The gates at Albion have been pretty steady for a few seasons now which would suggest the club have pitched their prices just about right.

"It is only when it comes to some of the top prices that people tend to hold back a little bit.

"But overall, the club seem to accept this area is not the most affluent and have set their ticket prices accordingly."

Villa

Villa continue to offer one of the cheapest season tickets in the Premier League at £335, with only Manchester City and Stoke having lower-priced offers.

At £615, however, the claret and blues' most expensive season ticket is the dearest in the West Midlands and the BBC's figures show the majority of season tickets at Villa Park are sold in the £501-600 price category.

It is a similar story with single-game tickets, where Villa's £23 ticket is second only to Leicester as the cheapest in the league.

The most expensive single matchday ticket remains frozen at £45, with the figures claiming the majority of tickets are sold in the £31-40 price category.

Supporters are paying the same for a cup of tea and a pie this season, with the price of both frozen at £2.10 and £3.30 respectively.

A matchday programme now sets supporters back £3.50, an increase of 50p on last year, while £2 has been added to the price of an adult replica shirt, which now costs £50.

For away fans, a trip to Villa is not cheap, with the cheapest ticket priced at £37.

Dave Woodhall, editor of Villa fanzine Heroes and Villains, said: "If there is such a thing as value in the Premier League, then Villa Park is probably it.

"Then again, I've been saying for some time I'd prefer to pay a lot more money to watch a much better team!

"You know it is going to be expensive to watch top-flight football but ultimately no-one is forcing you to pay it.

"I suppose there is an argument to say they have a captive audience and it is not like a supermarket, where you can just choose to go somewhere else.

"I think even the clubs are getting to the stage where they realise they are charging too much for some things."

Wolves

Supporters saw the cheapest season ticket at Molineux fall in price from £320 to £299 and though the cost of the most expensive jumped by £20 to £535, only six Championship clubs offer a cheaper adult season ticket than Wolves.

The figures show most season tickets were sold in £301-400 price category.

Elsewhere, while there was an increase of a £1 of the cheapest single matchday ticket to £24, Wolves' most expensive matchday ticket of £30 remains among the lowest in that category with only Rotherham, at £27, offering lower.

Supporters have noticed an increase in the cost of matchday refreshments, with the price of a pie jumping 60p to £3.60.

A cup of tea, meanwhile, has also gone from £1.80 to £2.20.

The price of a matchday programme has remained frozen at £3. Tickets for visiting supporters to Molineux are set at £28.

Express & Star Wolves columnist John Lalley reckons the prices at Wolves still represent good value for those season ticket holders who choose to use the early bird scheme.

He said: "Wolves are still one of the better-priced clubs in the Championship, though I'm not sure I would like to be a supporter who goes to just the occasional game.

"The refreshments at Molineux are ludicrously priced for what they are – though it is the same everywhere else.

"The big worry I suppose is if we get back into the Premier League and then the prices go through the roof again.

"When you look at other leagues, such as the Bundesliga, you wonder how they manage to keep ticket prices so low, while we still pay so much here.

"I remember going to my first game in 1960 when it cost ninepence to get on the terrace, a few years later, we wavered when the price went over.

Walsall

Despite increases in many categories, the BBC's study again rates Walsall as one of the cheaper days out in League One.

Yet, perhaps most notably, it omits an offer which allows juniors to watch the whole league season for free.

As one of the Saddlers' early-bird deals, under-18s are able to purchase a season ticket for £46, for which they receive £2 back for each of the 23 league games they attend.

In the BBC's study, the price of the cheapest season ticket at the Banks's is priced at £246.50, an increase of £6.50 on last year. The most expensive is £430.50, up £20.50 from a year ago.

The price of the cheapest single matchday ticket has also increased by a £1 to £19.50, though the most expensive ticket is now £25, compared to £27 last year.

There has also been an increase of 20p on a cup of tea and pie, with those items now priced at £2.20 and £3.20 respectively.

Steve Davies, secretary of the Walsall Supports Trust, believes the Saddlers offer great value for money.

"I think the ticket offers the club puts on are second to none," he said.

"Free football for kids is a massive statement from the board to encourage kids to come along, I think we are a shining example to all football clubs.

"The club also has an interim offer for youngsters at college – teenagers who are between education and full-time employment and that also makes a big difference.

"As a season-ticket holder I am more than happy with what I pay.

"There will always be people who complain and want tickets cheaper.

"But I went to Peterborough away last season and paid £26 for a ticket. Swindon away was £25.

"With my season ticket I am watching the same standard of football for around £11 a game w