Brighton and Hove Albion charge more for a base-rate season ticket than any other Championship club, and also have the most expensive match day programmes.

The club also sells the league’s most pricey match-day pie, though fans have said they could not do without the award-winning snack.

The cheapest Albion season ticket costs £455 – £55 more expensive than the next baserate deal at Leeds United.

A spokesman for the Albion defended its pricing, saying: “We are providing one of the best match day experiences in the Championship here at the Amex.

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“We have cushioned seats in a fantastic, world-class venue.”

Liz Costa, vice chair of the Albion Supporters’ Club, agreed, arguing the Stadium was the most beautiful in the country and was better even than Wembley.

She said: “For ten years we had rubbish viewing facilities and we were paying rubbish money.

“We now have proper legroom and toilets. If you want perfection then you have to pay for it.”

The Amex stadium was completed in 2011 taking three years to build and costing £93m.

Jack Phillips, a 19-year-old English literature student at Sussex University, owns a season ticket to the West Stand Upper.

He said the standard of football and facilities over the past two seasons had made the ticket value for money and defended the £3.80 price of a steak and ale pie, saying: “It’s the best quality I’ve ever had on a football ground.”

Liz Costa said the pies were “not as expensive as the rubbish you get at Arsenal.”

The £3.50 matchday programme is the most expensive in the Championship, but was recently voted best in the football league.

Albion season tickets include the price of some matchday transport, but Ms Costa complained that when fans bought their tickets this March they were not told that the laid-on transport would include fewer bus routes than before.

A spokesman for the club fully accepted Ms Costa’s criticism.

'Splenid surroundings' by Bill Gardner

Watching footy at The Amex is a fantastic experience – and most fans are surely prepared to pay for the privilege.

Gone are the days of the windswept Withdean, a cheerless place with less atmosphere than the Moon.

Banished are the food vans doling out limp burgers and the rickety stands with no more leg room than a budget flight to Bulgaria.

Instead, fans now lounge in luxury with the delicious half-time prospect of a piping hot pie and an ice-cool pint.

And the team have responded to their splendid surroundings, banging in goal after goal in their quest for the Premier League.

The Amex is a sparkling stunner of a stadium, a shining symbol of a city and a football team both firmly on the up.

So let’s just accept one universal truth – you pay for what you get.