Yahoo Finance AFC Wimbledon offer 25-year season tickets to help pay bridging loan for Plough Lane
AFC Wimbledon are hoping to sell 500 25-year season tickets to help pay off a bridging loan they took out to return to Plough Lane.
The new season tickets, which went on sale on Thursday, cost around £10,000 each and the money raised will predominately be used to pay off a £4.1million bridging loan the Dons took out from external lender MSP Capital to guarantee their new stadium would be completed.
The club are aiming to sell 500 of the season tickets, as that would allow the loan to be repaid in full, but even 200 sales would pay off a large chunk of the £4m owed.
Dons fans have dug deep in the past, raising money for their move back to their spiritual home with the Plough Lane Bond, a crowdfunding scheme and the sale of their old Kingsmeadow stadium to Chelsea.
Like every club, they have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic but non-refundable season tickets and debentures bought by supporters last year have helped ease cash losses this season, which are around £1m.
The 25-year season ticket can be passed on in a fan’s will or transferred to somebody else that they nominate if they are unable to come to games. The club will honour this for the term of the ticket.
“The bridging loan is secured against Plough Lane and we have to pay it back by next April,” explained Chair of the Dons Trust finance committee, David Rey.
“The 25-year season tickets are the best potential route to refinancing a very expensive loan - without jeopardising the ownership of the club and the stadium. Quite frankly, they are the best option to us right now.
“If the scheme is a success, it would give the club a solid financial foundation upon which to build for the future at Plough Lane.”
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