[Official Site] BRISTOL ROVERS (A) UPDATE

BRISTOL ROVERS (A) UPDATE
Club News

Due to renovation works currently underway at the Memorial Stadium, our away allocation for the fixture will be reduced.

Continue reading on the official site...

 

Stinker is that following. Nowhere near enough.

 

At least it’s on….

 

No disabled or accessible seating available? Wow

 

Tinpot

 

That’s pathetic. Going to be a lot disappointed….

 

Luke Thomas’s dad has some questions to answer…

 

Make sure we do the same at Oakwell. ‍♂️

Although doubt they would bring that many anyway.

 

Absolute sheite that. One of the best cities to visit for an away day too, highly doubt I'll be able to get one

 

Doesn't this break the rule that the away side should get 2,000 or 10% of the capacity, whichever is the lower figure (as well as potentially discriminating)?

 

It breaches the EFLs disabled supporters rules, the general ticketing rules which state 100 covered seats must be available (I believe) oh and also it's breaking planning permission laws.

What I want to know is how can a stadium without legal planning permission obtain a safety certificate?

 

And a building site at one end - seems there may be differing standards being applied between the Barnsley and Bristol SAGs!

 

Well looks like BFC have just accepted it judging by the article also.

 

Given Forest Green had a bizarre stand with exactly 100 covered seats I would imagine that is correct

 

This seems to contravene many regulations regarding seating and access to disabled supporters, which leads me to believe Barnsley FC must have agreed to this.

To be fair we wouldn’t have wanted another home game so early when we don’t know how we’re going to go, and we also wouldn’t want a postponement, so what other option is there?

Bristol Rovers should be expected to provide the EFL mandated minimum though.

 

Looks like we did refuse to reverse the fixture but have agreed to the woeful ticketing arrangements - from the Bristol Rovers site:

Bristol Rovers Football Club can today confirm that due to issues outside of the club’s control, the new South Stand development will not be ready for the start of the season.

As many of you will be aware, the club has pursued an ambitious plan to improve the facilities at the Mem and increase the number of seats heading into this season. This is following the recent reductions in the capacity of the terrace areas and a desire to increase the number of standard and disabled seating options, whilst getting the capacity back up to previous levels.

Prior to the release of the fixtures, the club requested through the appropriate EFL channels that the first two matches of the season be away from home. Unfortunately, this request was not possible due to fixture sequencing and compilation rules.

Upon the release of the fixtures, we asked Barnsley to consider a reversal, they ultimately determined that they were not able to agree as it would disrupt their own fixture schedule, which is a decision they are entitled to take under the regulations.

Following this, we have been in discussions with the EFL to assess our options. This included looking into the possibility for a postponement whilst also reviewing the processes required to facilitate supporters attending the game safely. However, the EFL has informed us that if the Club was unable to fulfil this or any other fixture, it would result in an investigation under the Regulations. As a club, this isn’t a risk that we were prepared to take, despite the mitigating circumstances in this instance.

We appreciate that time is now tight before the game so our team will be looking to contact all those currently with season tickets in the affected areas to discuss their specific requirements to see if we can move you to another part of the ground for this fixture. This process will start immediately, and we urge all supporters involved to remain patient whilst our team attempt to find a solution for you.

Sadly, away supporters for this fixture will be limited to 500 terrace tickets, with no disabled or accessible seating available. This stance has been accepted by Barnsley, our visitors.

We would like to apologise to both our supporters and those looking to attend from Barnsley for all of the inconvenience.

Moving forward we will continue to review the situation on a match-by-match basis and update supporters as early as possible as to the plans for each fixture.

The club is continuing to work with local residents and the local planning authority regarding this application. Following some delays, the planning application has been registered by the council and is currently being assessed. You can review this detail and have your say on the planning portal here.

 

Not much better than a non-league ground anyway. Poor start to their season and it’s a shame we can’t give them the same when they come to us.

 

Don’t think we had much other option really.

The finger has to be pointed at Rovers though - they clearly haven’t planned for these works with a long enough timescale. Planning takes months these days, due to red-tape and minimal staff.