Planet Swans Archives|
Vetch Capacity Slashed |
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The committee have told the club that the capacity for the North Bank must be reduced from 5,358 to 3,750 and the West Terrace from 3,388 to 2,371 following instances from supporters at recent games. The cuts will take effect from the Macclesfield game next Tuesday night and may remain in force for the Huddersfield game the following Saturday. The Safety Advisory committee is made up of the City Council, South Wales Police, Mid & West Wales Fire Service, West Wales Ambulance NHS Trust and the Football Licensing Authority. They have representatives present at each home match and will report any problems that they feel need addressing to guarantee the safety of the spectators on match days. The problem that has led to this reduction is supporters standing in gangways and yellow painted areas. Despite requests from stewards to move, these have gone unheeded and as such the committee have asked that the capacity is reduced accordingly. The change will come into place next Tuesday and if supporters conform with keeping away from these areas then the committee may increase the capacity back to it’s original level for the Huddersfield game. Macclesfield supporters next week will be housed in the family stand meaning that the West Terrace will be available for Swans fans. However, Huddersfield are expected to bring up to 1,000 supporters to the Vetch a week on Saturday and therefore will be allocated the West Terrace for their support. Swans fans will have access to the family stand on the day. Due to this decreased attendance being greater for the Huddersfield game the club have now made this an all-ticket fixture for us. Capacity at the moment for this game for Swans fans will be around 8,000 with around 25% of that figure already being allocated to season ticket holders. Depending on behaviour at the Macclesfield game, further tickets may be released next week. Tickets for the game will go on sale in the club shop on Thursday with trust members being able to purchase on production of their membership card. Season ticket holders will also be allowed to buy a ticket as a gesture of goodwill. They will not need to buy one for their own use – the voucher will suffice. The Bring A Friend for free scheme for season ticket holders will not be available for either game next week due to the reduction in capacity. Swans director David Morgan said "Stewards are there to secure the safety of the supporters. In recent matches fans have not heeded the requests to move and this has led to the safety committee taking action. Stewarding has now been increased and strengthened for recent matches. We don’t want to do anything to change the atmosphere that our fans generate and our crowd is the envy of most other clubs. All that we ask is that fans carry out the instructions of stewards before it causes a possible financial loss for the club. "We are sure that now fans understand the rules that govern the ground and the possible implications that they will now do as requested and keep off the yellow areas" |
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