News and Views
Reading In Tier 2: Two Thousand Fans Allowed
26 November 2020
By Hob Nob Anyone?
Reading Borough Council has been placed in tier 2 (high alert) from 2nd December after the government national restrictions come to an end on that date. This means that Reading Football Club will be able to allow 2,000 fans to watch upcoming home fixtures.
The first game that fans will be able to attend this season will be the home game against Nottingham Forest on Saturday 5 December. With well over 2,000 fans having paid their retainers for reserved season tickets, the club will have to work out which will be given the chance to watch the team for the first time at home since March 2020.
Discussion On This Story:
RoyalBlue
I wish our club and all the others the best of luck in working out how all of this will operate. Typical of the Government to give them so little prior warning. From what I understand they're not even publishing details of the new tiers until Thursday so clubs won't know whether they're allowed 4,000, 2,000 or sod all fans until then!
Zip
Agreed it’s a nightmare for clubs. How do they work out who can go to the games and what then happens if some fans decide they don’t want to go. Do they still have to pay for that proportion of their season tickets?
The numbers allowed through the turnstiles will barely make it profitable to open up stadia.
Hound
I think most clubs have had plans in place for a while of some sort. I hope so anyway or else it’ll be mayhem
Guessing with us we’ve prob not sold too many more than 4K season tickets so maybe a bit easier. It will only be open to them. Big teams who might have sold a load more might have some interesting decisions to make
Guessing with us we’ve prob not sold too many more than 4K season tickets so maybe a bit easier. It will only be open to them. Big teams who might have sold a load more might have some interesting decisions to make
Hound
The initial payment gives you priority to purchase matches that are played at reduced capacity and at a pro-rata price which could save you up to £7 per match (A Season Ticket holder in Club 1871 will pay £13 per match, but a Member or a 2019/20 Season Ticket Holder who does not renew will pay £20 per match). It also serves as a down payment on the balance of your Season Ticket if full capacity resumes during the 2020/21 season and reserves your normal Season Ticket seat for you, in relation to future full-capacity matches.
Not sure how they'll do it but sounds like they have something in place
Anonymous
I won't go back until everyone can go back. Certainly dead against a particular stand or section of people going back before anyone else. The only fair way to do match tickets in the current climate is to offer season ticket holders with the most amount of Royalty points first refusal and then work backwards.
Anonymous
I think this is what they'll do, tbf. That or there will be some sort of ballot where once you get a ticket, you can't enter again for like 3 matches or something.
I guess the only difficult thing would be families looking to go as one may have way more points than the other.
This is the an issue I would have. I go to football with my son, it is what we have done for the past 5 years together so there is no way I am leaving him at home because he doesn't have as many points as me.
I guess they could do a random ballot deal like you say. The people who want to go to a game are entered and get 2 tickets if selected so they can bring a family member or friend.
Hendo
I think this is what they'll do, tbf. That or there will be some sort of ballot where once you get a ticket, you can't enter again for like 3 matches or something.
I guess the only difficult thing would be families looking to go as one may have way more points than the other.
This is the an issue I would have. I go to football with my son, it is what we have done for the past 5 years together so there is no way I am leaving him at home because he doesn't have as many points as me.
I guess they could do a random ballot deal like you say. The people who want to go to a game are entered and get 2 tickets if selected so they can bring a family member or friend.
Yeah I don't have that issue as I usually just go by myself now, but I can see how it would be a big sticking point.
gazzer, loyal royal
As far as I’m aware the club were ready to go in October before the government stopped it so there shouldn’t be too much difference. I’ll certainly give it a go if I can get a ticket and then make my mind up if I want to go again after. Easier for me though as I don’t use public transport to get to the ground in normal circumstances so not really a lot has changed in my routine
Anonymous
Surely Club 1871 should be given priority considering they are our most ardent fans? Maybe let them all in and then any tickets left over raffle them off on the C1871 twitter page with all proceeds going to new C1871 banners and flags?
No. The people who have been there the longest should get first dibs. Why should the 90 year old man in the West Stand miss out just because he doesn't jump around and sing? He loves the club just as much as anyone.
boycey
Surely Club 1871 should be given priority considering they are our most ardent fans? Maybe let them all in and then any tickets left over raffle them off on the C1871 twitter page with all proceeds going to new C1871 banners and flags?
No. The people who have been there the longest should get first dibs. Why should the 90 year old man in the West Stand miss out just because he doesn't jump around and sing? He loves the club just as much as anyone.
Encouraging a 90 year old man into a high risk covid situation is far from ideal.
Give all tickets to the youngsters in C1871. Its the safest way to go.
tidus_mi2
No. The people who have been there the longest should get first dibs. Why should the 90 year old man in the West Stand miss out just because he doesn't jump around and sing? He loves the club just as much as anyone.
Encouraging a 90 year old man into a high risk covid situation is far from ideal.
Give all tickets to the youngsters in C1871. Its the safest way to go.
Right, and me, my dad and my nephew who have been going for a long time at this point miss out because we choose to be in the East Stand.
muirinho
Yeah, we'll have to see what happens, but I think it's fairly likely that not everybody who is offered a ticket will take them up. I go by public transport to the game, and my other half is officially "vulnerable", so I won't be going, even though I think it's reasonably likely I'd be offered one.
It does mean that if the stadium is opened up full capacity, but before a vaccine has been rolled out, I'd probably lose my "retainer" fee, but it wasn't that huge amount in the first place - and also, surely, even this government wouldn't go full capacity on football before the vaccine.
muirinho
Surely Club 1871 should be given priority considering they are our most ardent fans? Maybe let them all in and then any tickets left over raffle them off on the C1871 twitter page with all proceeds going to new C1871 banners and flags?
You're stirring aren't you?
Actually they'd probably be discouraging chanting etc, so they'd want to be offering to Upper West first, as representatives of our most sedate fans.
Hendo
Surely Club 1871 should be given priority considering they are our most ardent fans? Maybe let them all in and then any tickets left over raffle them off on the C1871 twitter page with all proceeds going to new C1871 banners and flags?
You're stirring aren't you?
Actually they'd probably be discouraging chanting etc, so they'd want to be offering to Upper West first, as representatives of our most sedate fans.
Read that post and this GIF came immediately to mind...
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