Statistics released by West Midlands Police show that - of the West Midlands' football clubs - Aston Villa built up the biggest Policing bill during 2014/15, with the Villains shelling out £317,000, an increase of three per cent on the previous campaign.
The three professional clubs in the Black Country all showed a drop in policing costs last season. Wolverhampton Wanderers' bill was £213,900 compared with £231,400 the previous year.
West Bromwich Albion’s policing costs fell slightly from £214,700 to £213,900 and Walsall’s costs, which showed the biggest drop, fell by 30 per cent from £77,300 to £54,500.
The Express & Star report that each season an annual charging agreement is worked out between police and clubs to cover the costs of match-day policing. It is led by the Association of Chief Police Officers’ guidance for football deployment and cost recovery.
An agreement determines the areas of policing the clubs pay for, which usually includes inside grounds and land in the vicinity of the stadium under the control of the club.
Costs vary according to fixture – with extra officers drafted in to police certain games, such as local derby matches.
Walsall’s expenditure on police dropped partly due to the absence of the local derby against Wolves at the Banks’s Stadium, which took place when both sides were in League One in 2013/14.
SOURCE: EXPRESS & STAR/WEST MIDLANDS POLICE.