Town received 17,500 season ticket applications before last Friday's Early Bird deadline. With further sales expected between now and the beginning of the new season, especially if the Blues are promoted, the club could be heading for a record total.

Town have 18,400 season ticket holders for the current season, their highest ever total and a massive improvement on 1996/97 when the figure was only 3,000.

The club have capped season tickets at 24,000 for this season and, if in the Premiership, will reintroduce the ballot scheme used in 2000/01 and 2001/02.

Away fans will get a larger ticket allocation in the Premiership with part of the lower Greene King Stand given over to them, the same area used by West Ham fans in last season's play-off semi-final.

Town are also on course for their second highest average home crowd this season. The current average attendance for 2004/05 stands at 25,534 with one game left to go, against Crewe on April 30th.

This figure is surpassed only by the 26,668 achieved in 1976/77, although ground developments and crowd regulation have had a great bearing on Portman Road's capacity in the years between the two totals.

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