Listed

30/11/2020

Return of fans in Tier 2 areas - requests for the club

MUST has worked with the club since the start of the first lockdown to push for fair policies - especially regarding ticketing - in this new landscape for fans.

We have previously published our asks of the club (Next season: What MUST proposed to the Club following fan consultation) and many of these principles around price and fair access for season ticket holders remain the same even though the situation has moved on and fans return has been both delayed and scaled back.

In reality, the very earliest change now is going to be the allowance of 2000 supporters for the home game versus Leeds on 20th December. We know the club is planning for this in case Trafford or the wider Greater Manchester area is placed into tier 2 measures on December 16th.

Our asks for this are:

That the club is transparent about its ticketing process for this game given the very limited number of tickets
That there is clear information on the changes to matchday experience, the limitations and restrictions on supported and the safety measures which will be in place
That season ticket holders are given, at the very least, the same percentage of tickets that they have usually (as opposed to any extra disproportionate gains for executive club members and/ or sponsors)
That season ticket holders then also benefit from the percentage of tickets saved by the absence of an away section (and we presume member tickets too)
That all tickets for season tickets holders are priced at no more than £28 (or regular concession price where lower) so that no supporter pays more than their usual ticket price

We are aware supporters aren’t yet sure whether money will be separately debited from their payment cards or deducted from money the club already holds. It is our understanding that, mainly because any supporter has been able to ask for the held money back and so different supporters have different situations, the only logistical way is for a new debit to be taken. This is the same for fans who didn’t renew (as there was no renewal deadline) versus those who paid in full and either asked later for full refunds or are receiving money back on a game by game basis.

We know fans have very different views on whether going to a socially distanced crowd of 2000 people is worth doing. This is a personal decision but we anticipate demand will hugely exceed supply so a fair system is needed.