News

CLUB STATEMENT: Return of home supporters for the 2020/21 season from May 17th

Anticipating a relaxation in the rules from the 17th May, we are expecting the news of fans returning to The EBB Stadium for our final 2 home games against Eastleigh FC on the 18th May (with the kick-off time expected to be changed from 19:00 to 19:45) & the home game on the 22nd May against Bromley FC with a 15:00 kick-off, we can inform fans on the protocols in place for these games 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
  • Summary

 

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, we are expecting to be allowed a crowd from the 17th May.

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, these 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

The EBB Lounge is now SOLD OUT with a limited capacity serving a full 3 course meal. To be added to a waitlist if a space becomes available, please email Commercial Manager Mark Butler at mark.butler@theshots.co.uk.

We are sorry but our other Bars and Hospitality Lounges which will NOT be able to open, along with our outside catering such as the burger vans and the Hotshots Cafe. We feel it is safer to remain closed and as queueing is not viable with the current restrictions.

Supporters are welcome to bring in their own refreshments. We also ask that you only bring plastic bottles to the ground and NO glass or cans whatsoever under any circumstances. Alcohol is also not permitted.

 

3. Ticketing

With limited seating and the need to maximise the seating combinations our ticketing system will automatically socially distance seats to maximise the amount of seats available. We are required to leave a two seat gap and remove every other row and aisle seats. Those coming in a bubble will be able to sit together in a maximum of 6 people. 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.

 

Season Ticket Holders:

We have automatically deferred every Season Ticket Holders ticket to next season including those that attended the two games in December using their Season Ticket credits. We are therefore asking Season Ticket holders to pay for our upcoming two games so that everyone has a full Season Ticket next year.

We are giving Season Ticket holders a 24-hour priority window to purchase tickets for both games, this will be from 10am Monday 10th May until 10am Tuesday 11th May when tickets will go on general sale.

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.

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 23.59 on Monday 17th May for our game vs Eastleigh FC & 12.00 on Friday 21st May for our game vs Bromley FC.

(PLEASE NOTE THERE ARE NO AWAY FANS.)

 

SEASON TICKET HOLDERS PLEASE NOTE – All games will be ticket only and must be purchased in advance online in order to comply with Track and Trace requirements. No tickets will be available on the day. 

 

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 live-streamed 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 our stream is £11.99 and more information can be found HERE, along with a link to our live-streaming website HERE.

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. As we feel it’s the safest decision at this moment in time and we look forward to having it back open in the future.

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. We will also NOT be doing the 50/50 draws or our Golden Goal game as we want to keep the Health & Safety of all those at the Stadium top priority.

 

8. Media Access

The current Covid guidelines 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.

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 live-stream 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.

 

9. Summary

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.

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.

We will provide communication and detailed information directly to supporters and 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.