As we move closer to the start of our exciting 2020/21 National League campaign, we’re all fully aware of the changes to the world we now live in and the changes to how we’ll be watching football for the foreseeable future due to Covid-19.
We’re constantly working with the Council and other parties to formulate our ‘Return to the Shay Stadium’ plan, not only to play but to understand the protocols for fans to watch football. There are strict formulas used to calculate stadia capacity and we’ll be working through the permutations to help us maximise the number of spectators permitted to attend, create atmosphere and not least vital finances for the Club.
We’ll be opening all three available stands, the seated East Stand and the standing North and South Stands, the North for visitors.
In the new climate we are required at this stage to make a number of critical decisions, here is a quick round-up of our initial actions:-
• The deadline to purchase season ticket(s) ‘outright’ will be midnight 7 September – click here to do so
• If you’re already in the process of paying for your season ticket via an ‘instalment plan’ the deadline to make your last payment will be 30 September as determined from the outset. Whether buying outright or via instalment – it’s essential we have a deadline, to ensure we’re aware of our committed number, so we can guarantee everyone access or a seat in the event of a worst-case scenario with further restricted capacity
• Season Ticket holders will be given priority entry to the Stadium
• Season Ticket holders will be given priority entry to away fixtures. Each member club will determine their own away capacity and each game will be determined on a match by match basis
• In the event of further reduced capacity Season Ticket holders will be given priority to all fixtures including the Emirates FA Cup and the Buildbase FA Trophy
• All Season Ticket Holders will have to decide whether they are standing or sitting probably up until the New Year
• All Season Ticket Holders who opt to sit will be contacted by the Club and will be given the choice of available seats, these seats will remain ‘theirs’ until the end of calendar year 2020 – we’ll then review in conjunction with government guidelines
• If you opt to stand then you will enter the South Stand and adhere to social distancing rules
• We will be working through plans for a ‘Family Household Bubble’ to allow Season Ticket holders from the same ‘Bubble’ the opportunity to sit together (pre-booked – in allocated seating)
• For the foreseeable future entry to the ground will be by ticket only – there will be no cash on the day turnstiles, which also supports the requirement for track & trace
• We’ll be looking at ticketing options – this will be driven by our final capacity number
• Once we have our final ‘Season Ticket number’ we’ll move to the next stage of working through this process – so please do not contact the Club, we’ll be in touch with you
• We’ll share a more detailed plan once we have completed discussions with all the relevant parties and gained sign off from the Council
We’re extremely positive and can’t wait to have you back at the Shay Stadium, cheering on the boys. We’ll keep you informed of our progress over the coming weeks and rest assured in these challenging times, we will be doing everything possible to make sure watching ‘the Shaymen’ is as easy as possible. We will need your understanding and decisions may change at short notice!
Purchase your season ticket here
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