Swansea City are aware that supporters encountered access issues for last Saturday’s friendly match with Villarreal at the Liberty Stadium. As a result, the Stadium Management Company have issued the following statement: “Following the delays some supporters experienced in entering the Liberty Stadium for last Saturday’s home friendly against Villarreal, the Stadium Management Company has thoroughly reviewed the circumstances and arrangements which resulted in those delays. “In so doing it recognises and understands that supporters were frustrated by the delays and is seeking to ensure that they do not occur again. “Supporters have raised questions about the effectiveness of the new ticketing and access management system as well as the number of turnstiles open in some parts of the ground. “As with the installation of any system there were a number of small issues relating to the system itself. One of these related to how the ticketing system printed the barcode information on tickets. “There were also a small number of issues relating to the set-up on the system of access information relating to turnstiles. “Whilst checks had been made by the Company and Ticketmaster in advance of the game some teething problems still remained, and only became apparent as supporters began entering the Stadium. “Additionally whilst staff had been fully briefed and trained on the new equipment, again it takes a while for staff to adapt to new systems and technology. Despite a significant support team being present by Ticketmaster (the Stadium and Club’s new ticketing provider) it took some time to resolve the issues which developed. “With respect to the number of turnstiles open in certain parts of the Stadium it is recognised that this was an issue for many supporters last Saturday.“All of the issues which arose last Saturday can be resolved and steps have been taken to remedy them for future fixtures. “However the overriding reasons for the delays at the turnstiles were not related to one of these issues, it was a result of a combination of them all, and in some cases resource having to be diverted to issues as they arose. “Ultimately, however, the Stadium Management Company undertook steps to speed up the entry process which meant that the vast majority of supporters were admitted into the Stadium by kick-off which was also slightly delayed to reflect the needs of supporters who were queuing. “The Stadium Management Company and Swansea City FC have made a significant investment in the new ticketing and access management systems. “Ticketmaster are market leaders in the field and have extensive experience of delivery these solutions within a number of different environments including Premier League Stadia. “Both the Stadium Management Company and the Club are working with Ticketmaster to iron out any issues which developed on Saturday and will endeavour to reduce the impact on supporters for the next home fixture. “In doing so all parties would ask supporters to be patient in order that the teething problems that have been experienced can be ironed out over the course of the next few fixtures, and that supporters react positively to any communication coming from the Club with respect to ticketing and access management arrangements over the next few weeks.” Did I miss the word APOLOGISE in there?
teething problems with a new system....not a problem is it....**** happens sometimes and it was the first time it was used so don't go overboard and make a mountain out of a molehill...
