Telegraph:
The Glazer family have agreed to review their controversial Manchester United business plan, which originally forecast a 54 per cent rise in ticket prices by 2010, according to the club's chief executive, David Gill.
Though United came under fire yesterday for announcing a 12.3 per cent hike in the price of an average season ticket from next season, Gill said the club's American owners were prepared to take a more "sensible" approach to future rises.
In an interview with BBC Radio5 Live for a special programme, In Search of the Glazers, to be broadcast at 7pm tonight, Gill reiterated that there were no plans to sell the naming rights for Old Trafford. "There's no value there," he said.
Gill added: "We did have concerns and we now have in place the business plan which was in place when they took over - so now it's the old business plan. We don't have to reconcile it with the new one. They have demonstrated a willingness to listen to us. We had concerns and we articulated them publicly, as we had to.
"We are going to do a new, long-term business plan. The debt is serviceable and with the stadium expansion and sponsorship deals, we believe we are in good shape to that effect."
Yesterday's ticket rises will lead to fresh criticism from supporters' groups opposed to the takeover. But Gill added: "You always get grumbles about ticketing. We have had flak before when we were a plc when we put up prices.
"Manchester United have always had sensible ticket pricing policies, making sure there's a wide range of tickets available between the cheapest and the most expensive seats. But the pricing has to reflect the demand and the fantastic facility. Yes, prices will go up, but they will go up in a sensible fashion.
"We're not going to rename Old Trafford.
"We can go on record and say that won't happen. I don't think there's value there and it's not something we, or they (the Glazers), want to do."
Gill reported by PA:
"There are funds there and if you are investing in the product - the stadium, the training grounds, the players - then you're going to get return.
"On the football side, the Glazers have been very supportive, for example buying Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic in January.
"I spoke to Joel (Glazer) and said, 'these are the players the manager is interested in' and he just said 'go do it'.
"They are prepared to take a long-term view on things - they're prepared to invest in order to get a return in years to come.
"The debt within the club is serviceable and, what with stadium expansion and sponsorship deals, our income streams are in good shape."
About TV rights:
"The appropriate live television rights will continue to be held by the FA and UEFA. But we seek to use the secondary rights we get back in the most appropriate way. They are put onto our MUTV station, and onto our mobile service. When we set up MUTV, that was set up in a very demarcated way. Now we have various platforms and have to look at ways of marketing what is compelling viewing. We want to give our fans around the world access to our unique assets, products and services. We want to create a situation where a player will do an interview and all our platforms will use it. We want to keep fans around the world, so we have to make sure the Manchester United message is there whenever, and however, they want it."