CITY hope their new membership scheme will bring fans closer to the club.

Season tickets go on sale from today after owners Edin Rahic and Stefan Rupp unveiled another cut-price Valley Parade offer for next term.

They have also introduced a three-tier membership package offering discounts, VIP invitations and other deals.

Chief operating officer James Mason said: "We've had three years of the £149 prices, which we were incredibly proud to offer.

"With any season-ticket campaign, you need to revitalise things. We've tried to do that while keeping prices affordable, as well as also introducing a membership campaign.

"A full adult price of £169 comes with a free level of membership that would cost £24 to a non season-ticket holder.

"Depending on how positively you want to view this, you could argue the season ticket is therefore actually £145.

"Hopefully fans will use these benefits to their advantage. The more they spend with the club, the cheaper their season ticket will actually become.

"Every pound you spend going forward should help us develop both on and off the field."

A new ticketing website will also go live from today – something that City have been looking to introduce since issues with sales during the cup runs.

Mason said: "It has held the club back in a number of ways over many seasons. This has been introduced at significant cost but we hope it will revolutionise the way fans buy tickets going forward.

"I would ask people to be patient because we know, as with anything new, there may be teething problems. But we have a full support service that should ease the transition from the old system to the new one.

"The easiest thing for any club to do is put their prices up. By doing so the danger is haemorrhaging thousands of fans in the process.

"That's not what we're about and we don't want to diminish the legacy we've built up in the last few years.

"It was implemented by the previous ownership and I think now, under Stefan and Edin, we're seeing a new level of memberships which will hopefully bring fans closer to the club."

New data protection rules come into effect later this year and City are asking supporters to update existing details on the club's register.

SEASON-TICKET PRICES

EARLY BIRD (March 7-April 6)

Adults £169, senior citizens & students £149, juniors £99 and under-11s £19.

GENERAL SALE (April 6-May 4)

Adults £199, senior citizens & students £179, juniors £129 and under-11s £49.

GENERAL SALE (May 4 onwards)

Adults £299, senior citizens & students £279, juniors £229 and under-11s £149.

A 'webflexi' alternative costs £75 and holders pay half-price admission for each game.

Suite upgrades are available for £124 adults, senior citizens and students and £62 for juniors and under-11s.

Fans who buy their season ticket before Tuesday, March 20 will be entered into a prize draw to win their season ticket for free.