I have forfeited my season ticket for the remainder of 2020. I did mention what would happen to fans should limited number be allowed in
My initial plan was to wait on what the club was going to do over letting fans back in before I made a decision on what to do with my season ticket, however the season ticket dealine passed before the decision to allow some fans to attend . The letter I sent to the club follows and some of my concerns still apply -
I have taken the time to read the from the Wigan RL Chairman Ian Lenagan. In the letter it asks if we would like to contact the chairman personally regarding the content of the statement. I have a number of questions that I would like answering and would probably have more once I have been contacted regarding my 2020 membership.
My reasons for ongoing support and season ticket purchases are – The pleasure of watching my local team which has over the 50+ years provided me with countless memories the majority shared with my family and friends.
• One of the difficulties facing the club will be how to allocate seating should the current Covid 19 restrictions be eased and Wigan are allowed home games with limited spectators
• Limited attendance seat allocation. I would like to see what the clubs plans are before I make any comments.
• I attend with friends and would not enjoy the games if I located away from the group that I normally attend games with. Watching Wigan RL is as much a social event as a sporting one. There will be a lot of fans who have the same feelings
• Families attending- Could a stand or two if needed be allocated as the family stands as families will be allowed to sit together but if there is still need for social distancing between family groups allocated stands may make this easier.
• Some fans like to sit in a certain stand that may not be possible and could upset some. I would sit in any stand if that means I remain with my usual group of friends
• Games staged at neutral grounds – Personally I accept this is outside the clubs control and would not want any recompense
As previously stated I would have questions when I see what the club is proposing to season ticket holders. I do not envy the decisions that the club will have to make and I can foresee some fans not being happy and dependent on what the club proposes I may be one of the unhappy ones. If we are all in this together then that makes any decisions made more palatable to me I do not want to hear of groups that are given “golden tickets” and do not have the potential upheaval of other fans. This should be a transparent process that offers favours to all or none.
Personally I would have preferred the season to have been cancelled as that would have made the decisions a lot clearer for the club and fans. My overriding concerns are that all season ticket holders get a fair shout at any home games that have a reduced attendance.
I would like to have contact with the club once the plans for the 2020 season ticket holders is revealed to fans