STATEMENT | Season Tickets

Club Website, Jun 12, 2020

The Board of Directors of Southport Football Club would like to put on record their disappointment in a contact received by the club from the Southport & Formby Champion on Thursday 11 June. This was in relation to concerns of an “anonymous fan” in respect of season tickets for the forthcoming season, and the Champion’s suggestion that they intend to run a story in respect of same.

The issues that said fan raises with the Champion have, we believe, already been dealt with in a number of interviews with club officials over the last three months. They comprise of:

1. There is no early bird option for Season 2020/21, and that when compared to an early bird season ticket in 2019/20 (which cost £180), the full season ticket price for 2020/21 is now £45 more.
2. The fan has not been offered a refund on the matches missed towards the curtailment of the season in March.
3. The last concern that the fan raises is in relation to purchasing a season ticket when there is not any guarantee he will be able to attend any matches. We presume that this means because the season does not start, rather than him personally not being able to attend matches!

We believe that the club is more transparent and open to fans questions than it has ever been, as evidenced in the media team interviews with the Board and prominent members of staff around the club that have taken place throughout the last three months of uncertainty.

Accordingly, in this respect we will answer the questions raised publicly, and would again express our disappointment that the fan did not feel able to approach the club directly, or by way of our Walkabout Wednesday, when both Director Ian Kyle and Secretary James Tedford make themselves available and are happy to answer questions of all and any nature

1.“He told me that the early bird option for the 2019/20 Season was £180 , yet he is now having to pay £225 for next season”

When it became apparent that the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus would prevent the club from proceeding with the early bird scheme, we went through a lengthy period of consultation which culminated in a fans survey seeking opinion to replace the early bird season ticket with a membership scheme. In total 332 responses were received and 79.22% were in support of this, with over 60% stating their preference to pay £20 pcm for the membership.

The cost per match for 21 home games at £180 (season 2019/20) is £8.57 compared to £10.71 on the £225 season ticket price on 2020/21 – an increase of £2.14 and a saving of £4.29  per game compared to paying on the day. The increase reduces the free matches from 7 in 2019/20 to 6 in 2020/21, and brings this in line with most clubs within our league, which the club did research before finalising the price. In addition, the 2020/21 season ticket will come with benefits, including but not limited to, reduction on shop purchase and reduced upgrade to hospitality. These benefits were not included in the 2019/20 season ticket. It should also be noted that over the last 12 months the club has undergone an extensive project of improvement aimed at bettering the matchday experience for our fans, including upgrades to the pitch, toilets (inside and out), and of course the main stand.

2,“He also told me he hasn’t been offered a refund for missed home matches”

We would find it difficult to arrive at a refund figure given that the anonymous fan has already saved £60 on the matches played compared with paying on the day. We will of course have to assess the situation and the effect any reimbursements would have on the club from a financial perspective and the club’s survival should the fans seek same, although to be fair this fan is only the third season ticket holder, to date, to enquire about a refund. The other two, after raising the question with the club, did not pursue a refund. This is testament to the loyalty shown by the large majority of our fans, for which the Board are of course extremely grateful during these difficult times.

3 “He’s concerned about buying a season ticket for next season without any guarantees he will be able to attend” 

In a media release on the clubs social media channels, Secretary  James Tedford  discussed that although the club has released the pricing scheme for season 2020/21, these tickets will only go on sale once we are confident that fans can attend and 21 matches will be played at home.  The club will revisit the price of the ticket for 2020/21 should we be unable to guarantee both.

We, as a Board wish to make clear again that, since the National League North was curtailed on Monday 16 March, the club has received fantastic support from our fanbase, continued to work within the community helping those at need at this difficult time, and made ourselves available to answer questions whenever called upon to do so. It is therefore extremely disappointing that this anonymous fan has decided, we believe, to go to the media to raise these issues .

We have suggested to the Champion that they put us in contact with this anonymous fan so that we can answer any further questions that they may have. It goes without saying that we are happy to continue to answer the queries of any of our fans who contact us direct as we appreciate that this is a time of unprecedented uncertainty.

In the meantime, we are happy that we are moving forward in as strong a manner as possible. The pitch looks fantastic, the toilets which have attracted complaint for as long as we can remember have had a much needed make over, we have made a number of great signings in the last two weeks to add to an already strong squad of players and, like everyone, we are eager for football to once again get underway.

We look forward to seeing you all back at The Pure Stadium as soon as is possible!