Following the exciting news of fans returning to the EBB Stadium from the 2nd December, we can inform fans on the latest developments moving forwards and we felt it’s best to order the several key points as follows:
- Fans back in the EBB Stadium
- Catering and Hospitality
- Ticketing
- Entry to The EBB Stadium
- Away Supporters
- Shots TV Live Streaming
- The Shots Programme (Hard Copy and Digital)/Shops on Matchdays
- Media Access
1. Fans back in the EBB Stadium
Given what the current Covid guidelines are and how we as a football club will look to stick to the current Covid guidelines put in place by the Government, (as we currently sit in a Tier 2 area), we can confirm that we will be allowing fans back into the ground from December 2.
However, for the fans that will be attending the game, we do ask you respect the rules we will have in place upon returning to the EBB Stadium, which are put in-line with current Covid guidelines and are in the best interest for all those in attendance of our home games.
As a result of the Covid guidelines in place at the moment, seating as you can imagine, however does prove slightly more difficult than terraces as social distancing restrictions require two out of three seats to be removed from use and each alternate row to also be taken out of use.
Because of this, it would be impossible to allocate more than a handful of the exact seats requested by those who have already purchased season tickets, this is unfortunate but impossible to avoid we have therefore decided that seats for each game can only be sold on a per game basis.
We will explain how seating allocations will work further down in this club statement so please go to point 4 for more information on this.
2. Catering and Hospitality
Unfortunately we will not be able to continue our regular hospitality services that would come with a ‘normal’ match-day, in order to stay in line with the updated Covid guidelines and we will always want to put the health & safety of our supporters first.
This includes all our Bars and Hospitality Lounges which will NOT be open, along with our outside catering such as the burger vans and the Hotshots Cafe as well which we feel is safer to remain closed, until we announce otherwise.
This is most likely to be when the Covid guidelines loosen or our Tier Level is lowered once the Government reassess this in a few weeks’ time.
Supporters are welcome to bring in their own refreshments however If you are bringing your own drinks to the ground, we also ask that you only bring plastic bottles to the ground and no glass or cans whatsoever under any circumstances.
3. Ticketing
Because of the limited seating and the need to maximise the seating combinations of those coming on their own or those coming in household bubbles each game will be sold on an individual basis with seats sold online as available and all games will be on a pay per game basis whether seats or terraces.
To show appreciation to our Season Ticket Holders who have supported the club by purchasing their season tickets for this season despite the disruption and uncertainty, we would like to offer those who will be attending our home games the following Two options which we leave down to the individual season ticket holders:
1.Season ticket holders can purchase each individual game they wish to attend using their Season Ticket as payment method, any games not used up on this basis will remain credited to their season ticket and can be used next season.
2.Season Ticket Holders may decide they would prefer to defer their season ticket in full to next season and pay individually for each game they attend this season.
But we must stress that due to the requirement for social distancing any seat purchases made this season whether by season ticket or individual payment will be for the best seat available at the time of purchase, no seats can be reserved in advance for all games.
However Season ticket holders regardless of which option they choose will be given a priority sales period to ensure that they get the first choice on seats and/or terrace spaces available.
Instructions on how the ticketing system will work will be announced in due course ahead of our first home game back against Dagenham & Redbridge on December 5.
The club is also conscious of the uncertainty of the times we are living through and we want to ensure that all our supporters whether season ticket holders or not feel comfortable and safe when they attend and in the case of our season ticket holders that they can make that choice without any concern that they may lose any part of the value of their ticket if they choose not to attend any game.
The club believes that the above options ensure that no supporter can lose anything regardless of their choice.
For non season ticket holders once remaining seats and terrace spaces go on general sale then these can be purchased online using normal payment methods. Ticket sales will close by midnight on Thursday for Saturday games and Midnight on Sunday for Tuesday games.
SEASON TICKET HOLDERS PLEASE NOTE
As all games until further notice are purchased online on a game by game basis each transaction will result in a “Print at home” ticket, physical season cards will not be required and therefore not issued by the club.
Please note that all games will be ticket only and must be purchased in advance online in order to comply with Track and Trace requirements
4. Entry to the EBB Stadium
As our games will be all ticket there will be no requirement to use specific turnstiles for individual areas, all High Street turnstiles will be used as “General Entry”At this moment in time, we will be incorporating the same ground regulations we had in place when fans were able to attend games as ‘normal’ last season, but if you need any more support or queries on this then please contact us at admin@theshots.co.uk or call us at 01252 320211.
5. Away Supporters
At this moment in time, away supporters will NOT be allowed back into the EBB Stadium following a meeting from the National League this week.
However, we will also be allowing the opportunity for away supporters to watch games at the EBB Stadium through our Livestreamed Programme Shots TV Live with more information available below.
6. Shots TV Live Streaming
As we find ourselves still able to continue our Shots TV Live programme to supporters of both home and away teams, we will continue to offer this to supporters who may not feel comfortable enough yet to attend the game in person or is unable to make the game because of limited numbers of spectators at this moment in time.
The price of the Shots TV Live Programme is still being discussed further as we seek to find the best option for everyone.
We of course, appreciate that we are looking into the price of the Streaming Service under difficult financial times for everyone.
But with fans being able to attend the games live and come back to the ground and with the current running costs remaining the same for the TV Show despite the return of fans, we want to give our fans the best match-day experience they can in these strange times whether they are able or unable to attend the game in person with restricted number of supporters at this moment in time.
7. The Shots Programme (Hard Copy and Digital)/Shops on Matchdays
As a result of the current Covid situation, we will NOT be opening the Programme Shop inside the ground at this moment in time, as we feel it’s the safest decision at this moment in time and we look forward to having it back open once things settle down in the future.
However, we will still be selling our The Shots Programme on match-days from the Front Office Shop externally but we will look into other areas we can sell the Programme around the ground once we confirm the safest and most appropriate way of doing this.At this moment in time, we will also NOT be doing the 50/50 draws nor our Golden Goal game as we want to keep the Health & Safety of all those at the Stadium the top priority when attending on matchdays.
8. Media Access
With the current Covid guidelines we have to stick to and as we start to welcome back our supporters to the ground, this will affect the number of media personnel we are able to hold and allow into the ground, meaning we will have to prioritise the home and away media, along with external media who cover both clubs as well.
Whilst we still allow external media to send us media requests to our home games, we would like to make it clear that we will need to restrict the number of media personnel we have attending our games to keep in-line with Covid Guidelines.
This could mean that not all media requests will be accepted and we sincerely apologise to those who are unable to attend but we need to make sure everything is kept as safe as possible at this moment in time.
However, there is still the option for those who we unfortunately have to turn away from covering the game at the EBB Stadium, to tune into our Livestream programme Shots TV Live to allow you to cover the game remotely instead.
If there is any further questions, then please contact our Media & Marketing Department at henry.port@theshots.co.uk or call us at the front office at 01252 320211.
We hope that supporters will welcome the opportunity to return to the EBB Stadium as much as we look forward to seeing you again however we must ensure that all supporters understand that we are not returning to pre-COVID-19 normal.
There will be restrictions in place, social distancing must be observed, Masks must be worn and people’s safety must be a priority.
Hopefully before the end of the season restrictions will become less and maybe some of the later games may be far more like the normal that we were used to.
Once again, whilst we completely understand it’s an exciting but new experience for all of us, we ask fans to be patient and respectful during an incredibly busy time for club staff, as we look to provide the best experience as possible.
We will provide communication and detailed information directly to supporters as soon as we are able to, which should be able to answer any questions you have as well.
We look forward to welcoming you back to EBB Stadium once again very soon.
