West stand update

It may have been a misunderstanding on your sons or the telephone operators part. They stopped selling tickets online and over the telephone, but were available on the gate. The website actually said which turnstyles to use to do this. He was definitely able to buy a ticket on the gate...

As for sitting together... tough luck. If you wait until the last minute to get a ticket for whatever reason, you get what’s left over. Same at any event...

 

Not a sell out on our 3 sides that were open all the hype caused by fake news on here, close but no cigar.

 

It wasn't fake news it was shown on the stadium plans, the empty seats were probably STs that hadnt shown up.

 

You still got wazzacks turning up late sitting in any available seat me n' our lass had to move two pill ocks on sat in our seats and we're season ticket holders.

 

A couple of my mates got turned away from the turnstiles as they said they'd sold out and a few more were were trudging away from Oakwell at about 3.05pm. They accepted they'd left it too late but it does show that a few people did miss out. I didn't think it looked totally sold out but you're only guessing really from what you can see from your seats.
If we go up I would imagine maybe 50%of teams will have a good go at filling the restricted capacity of the North stand so we'd only really have the closed part of the West Stand to increase home capacity.

 

No they didn't. I was fortunate enough to be given a ticket yesterday by a fellow BBSer. If I hadn't I wouldn't have gone. There's no way I'm paying 25 quid to sit outside in the rain. The West Lower being the only place to buy tickets on the day. We have seats that are covered that weren't used that I would have paid for.

They did it earlier in the season too. I was all ready to go but they announced that the only place to pay on the gate was West stand lower. So I took my coat off and watched it on iplayer. Ridiculous thing that day was that the Ponty was only three quarters full.

 

No one give me a ticket.
Everybody hates me.

 

They must have sold out at some point. A work mate and his friends posted a photo of them in the away end.

 

Possibly more than you think Helen. I've regularly been in the position where I've not known til lunchtime if I could get to the game as I used to work Saturday mornings two hours away from the ground. I'm not sure I'd have risked travelling yesterday with the uncertainty that there would be seats available.
To extend that point, and I've said it before on here, the provision for fans turning up to pay at the turnstiles is terrible. For eight years I'd travel over if I managed to get finished from work in time. On every single occasion, big crowd or not, you get allocated a seat with a terrible view right at the front of the Ponty or up in the very top corner of the East Stand where you end up with neck ache from looking over your right shoulder most of the game. And virtually every one of those times I've looked at a gaping, half empty North stand with great views that I'm not allowed to sit in.
There may not be hundreds in this situation but there must be a fair few occasional supporters who have the same problem and are likely to remain occasional because they know they're going to get a crap seat if they do turn up.

 

There was quite a number of empty seats up in the family area. At least 15 near me so I’m not sure who had those tickets?

 

I suspect, along with other odd areas in the ground, that there will always be empty seats belonging to ST holders who cannot get to the game due to work, holidays etc. There were 3 or 4 seats spare close to me yesterday in the Ponty End. Obviously they'll show as "occupied" on the stadium plan when looking online.

 

The same empty seats that I see every home game in the west stand upper were empty again on Saturday, so no ST holders in them. There was also pockets of more than 2 together in the east stand upper and I'm not talking about the ones reserved for the people in the boxes. The fact remains that it wasn't a sell out and the club got it right.

 

Why can't they cordon off the North Stand and put some more home fans in there?

 

I agree with you, it only takes another 9 months like the previous 9 and we’d be looking at the premiership, West Stand would suddenly look embarrassing. You can scoff at that idea, but if the owners ambition fits their rhetoric then the reality would need to match the words, otherwise it’s just empty platitudes.

 

Don't you read what other people have posted. I had friends who were turned away from the home turnstiles and went in the away end instead.

 

I went the ticket office, at about 2.20 pm, to offer a spare ticket to them but they didn't want it as they said they were still selling tickets.

 

My guess is that a limit has been put on how many supporters can be accommodated in the West Stand due to poor access, very limited facilities, H & S Regulations etc.
It looks as if only about 50% of the available seats in the whole of the stand can be used.

And the club has decided that these supporters should all be together in one half of the Stand.

 

If we had the money, how about moving (Brick by brick?) The west stand and putting it next to the acadamy pitch.

Then, buy the houses on Grove Street (A new stand wouldn't get planning permission I suspect due to natural lighting into said houses), and build a replica of the East Stand lower only tier but with outdoor the exec boxes.