From LFW report:- and several turned away altogether by several accounts, thanks to the heavy-handed application of the draconian rules the club is enforcing to try and press through its policy of having the part of the ground where the most vociferous support used to gather rebadged and used as some sort of crèche. The idea behind Phil Beard’s controversial plan is to build QPR support for the future, but how alienating existing fans, turning them away at the turnstiles despite possession of fully paid for tickets, destroying the atmosphere at home games, and having scores of empty seats right behind the goal for the players and TV viewers to see is doing that is beyond me Ticketed Rs being turned away from lower loft...can some one fill me in???
Yes this is true. Absolutley disgusting. When we arrived the stewards outside the gates explained that from the next home game fans will be refused entry to the Lower Loft if you do not have a child (or under 21) with you. If they can't attend you have to e-mail the club before the game and they say they will re-allocate your ticket to somewhere else in the ground! But what are you supposed to do if your kid is ill on the day of the game, or decides not to come at the last minute. It made several people very very angry and I believe some were even turned away for the game on Saturday. Its a disgusting way to treat loyal fans and will leave lots of empty seats. They have already ruined the atmosphere in the Lower Loft which should be the traditional home end creating the noise! Actually, at the open day a few weeks ago, families were sat in the Lower School end, but when the players started practicing shooting the club moved the families for fears that the kids would get hit by stray shots - so what is the difference between that and them sitting in the Lower Loft. The club haven't got a clue.
I cant tell you in written words how angry I am over this. Not on a public forum anyway. As a season ticket holder in the Lower Loft, (actually 4 season tickets including an U16), I have been told that if I want to attend a game without the U16 present (and its a fully paid ticket, not a club giveaway ticket), I have to move seats in advance. So I have bought 4 season tickets in an area of the ground that I qualify to sit in by their stupid rules, but I need to move. I would have thought that one of the benefits of paying for a ST in advance should be that I get to sit where I want to sit, in MY seat. So it would appear that the U16's attendance is mandatory if I, my wife and adult son want to attend without him, when he cant go. So much for loyalty to the fans who pay for season tickets. All in aid of Mr Beards utopian world of the Family Stand. Well it doesn't seem like much of a Family Stand to my family. For the first time ever, I feel like returning my season tickets for a refund, and I've been going for 51 years. Thanks Rangers, great PR!!!
There were loads of empty seats on Saturday, and its our home end for gods sake. A lot of people got turned away before they relented and let others in with a warning for the next game. Its unbelievable that you buy a ticket and its MANDATORY to attend every game. It seems like the club have no one with common sense. I'm seriously thinking about returning our season tickets if they don't give up on this. I just want what I've paid for. MY SEATS. I'll just go to away games instead and save some money.
We can try but I've written 3 times myself (to one Mr P.Beard) about the stupidity of how the Family Stand was implemented (not questioning it though in principle), never received a single reply, so don't hold your breath.
How can this work, if you have a 16 yr old that may want to meet up with his mates first but meet you in there do you have to wait around until he is there with you? Whats the legalities of this as well if the terms and conditions only said you had to buy junior ticket but didnt specifically say they had to be with you then they cannot enforce.
A similar problem will arise for me. Mrs Nines won't allow my two girls to attend night matches if they have school the next morning. So this means that according to the new enforcement of the aforementioned rule that I won't be able to go either. From what I can gather, the club want you to inform them if the above situation arises so that they can sell your tickets that you've paid for to a third party.
Surely we need to pull all these cases together We need to talk to the other boards, and get them to do this too Canvas outside the ground next match...get further documentation Get a petition up Warn the club...we are going to do it....and see how quickly they back down....
You should all meet up 15 minutes before the game just outside and walk in together putting the children all together "in one pile" saying "my son/daughter is over there...." giving them collective sh*t if anyone struggles to get in. Mob rule will lead to common sense prevailing on this one I fancy
More amusingly we all took a child to the Wycombe pre season friendly a few seasons back. We all went in the family area. Maybe 8 dads and 8 children One mate of mine, aged 50 was worried he didn't have a child to get in with so we lent him one (at a very reasonable rate) We got in the ground & sat down - my mate relieved He turned round and 2 rows behind he saw his 80 year old dad !
By George I think I've got it. At the next match L'pool or Man City. Everyone with kids in the lower loft ...that is to say the whole of the lower loft, asks to be relocated in the ground , because their kid isn't coming....but ask for the full compliment of tickets (may need to at least threaten to upgrade the kids ticket) That will lay the lower loft a waste land....and cost the club 1000 tickets at 40 quid .......40,000 quid. Would they go through with it!!!!!
Just seen this tweet from Ian Taylor: Perfect timing! I hope if Roller is attending that he can bring this up (if someone doesn't bring it up before him!). It certainly needs addressing quickly - the club are unfortunately showing little regard for regular fans it seems which is a real shame. We are told the fans are the key to the club, but in this instance that is not being shown. The club had warnings from many, including myself when the family stand was put in without consultation that it would ruin the LL atmosphere. They ignored this, turfed out loyal fans, and the atmosphere has not been the same since. And now a further kick in the teeth with this rule. The family stand should never have been put in the Loft end.
Firstly, can I say that I really feel for Sussex & all other supporters that could be affected by this unreasonable stance that the club are taking. I has seen rumours of this after the Hull game but couldn't take it seriously. As a matter of interest, if the club are reselling your seats in the Lower Loft on a match to match basis, are they only selling to parties that have a child as a member of their party? Would we have enough people purchasing these tickets if this is the case? Also, where are they looking to rehouse supporters whose children can't make a match? I would be very upset if I had to settle for a bronze seat (without compensation) or in the Lower School End. Lastly, was this made clear to you when you renewed or purchased your tickets this season? If not, the club would be guilty of mis-selling.
This is an absolute outrage!! Beard seems useful for very little! There were plenty of empty seats all over the ground it seemed to me. There were lots empty around us in the upper loft and the corner of P block seemed a lot emptier than normal. 16,100 was a terrible turn out, with what looked like around 1k away fans.
Hope the club sort this out, absolutely ridiculous to turn fans away and makes you wonder who's making these decisions.
