Porto fans note price rises in first Lugar Anual renewals | OneFootball

FC Porto began the season-ticket renewal period this Thursday and, with the first fans already able to complete the process, several complaints started to appear on social media about price increases for some season-ticket seats.

At the heart of the issue is mainly the new sector layout that the Dragons will apply at the Estádio do Dragão in 2026/27, a measure which, according to the club, is intended to ensure “greater consistency between price, location, visibility and comfort”. In practice, the former side stands, located at the start of the ‘curve’ between the central and upper stands, have been merged into the latter.

Previously, these seats were priced closer to the upper stand, even though they were aligned with the central stand. Now, sectors 4, 5, 13, 14, 20, 21, 29 and 30 have moved closer to the prices of the more central seats. In addition, prices are no longer the same for every seat and will now depend on location, with criteria such as proximity to the pitch and distance from the centre circle: seats in the front rows and farther from the halfway line will be cheaper. To soften the impact of the price difference, FC Porto has given account credits of between 35 and 70 euros to members who renew in those sectors.

But what exactly changed in the prices? In packages that include only league matches, the former side seats, which cost 235 euros, have gone up to “from 285 euros”, with credits applied depending on the seats concerned. In the upper stands and terraces, prices rose from 195 euros to 200 euros, although in the terraces there will also be variations depending on seat position: those closer to the front will be more expensive than those farther back.

In the case of the package that includes the 17 league matches and the league phase of UEFA competitions, also taking into account that FC Porto will play in the Champions League in 2026/27 rather than the Europa League last season, central stand seats have gone from a fixed price of 420 euros to “from 310 euros” (this also includes seats in the former side stands); upper stand seats have gone from 190 to 200 euros; and terrace seats from 215 to “from 225 euros”, with the same location-based pricing criteria also applying.

Among the cases that drew attention on social media throughout Thursday, one member with a seat in sector 17, in line with the halfway line in the east central stand, complained that the price had risen from 420 euros to 800 euros. This situation, like others similar to it, results from the redesign of the premium hospitality area created by the club in that section. Members in this situation who do not wish to pay the current price for that seat have two options: renew the seat with instalment payments, immediately paying 40% of the total amount, and then receive priority during the seat-change period, when they can choose a cheaper seat; or not renew the seat and also enter that second phase, benefiting from priority in choosing available seats, including those left vacant due to non-renewal.

Another issue raised on social media concerned the relocation of some seats — due to the expansion of the stand — to a lower area of the west central stand, behind the teams’ substitute benches and therefore with reduced visibility of the pitch. In this regard, it should be noted that the substitute benches at the Dragão will be lowered, with practical effects already in place for the new season.

The work, in fact, is already under way and will not only improve visibility for fans in the lower seats of the west central stand, thanks to that lowering, but will also unify into the same structure the two benches that existed until now, the main bench and the supplementary bench.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.