Return to stadiums.

[silent majority]

A few weeks ago I mentioned the FSA were running a survey on supporters attitudes to returning this season. Here's the results of that;

https://thefsa.org.uk/news/survey-three-quarters-of-fans-will-be-straight-back-into-grounds-in-august/

[Padge_DRFC]

Half the fans surveyed were 55+. Which probably means the percentage of people saying they won't be going back is actually much lower in reality.

I'm sure I saw something on here saying the north end of the east stand would be social distanced section for people concerned?

[RoversAlias]

Two thirds of respondents were Season Ticket holders, which suggests to me that the headline figure may not be entirely representative of all football fans.

I would imagine most STH are very committed to their club, and to attending matches. Therefore it would take more for those people to feel like they aren't comfortable going to games, compared to those who attend less often or don't put down hundreds of pounds on their club every summer.

[wilts rover]

A quarter of fans not returning is a lot of money for a League 1 club. That's 1000-1500 adult tickets per match for Rovers. What's that over a season - that's without the bar and concourse sales.

[Bentley Bullet]

Let's not forget the covid stats were far worse when the survey was taken. I bet if it was carried out now the results would be far more positive.

[i_ateallthepies]

Two thirds of respondents were Season Ticket holders, which suggests to me that the headline figure may not be entirely representative of all football fans.

I would imagine most STH are very committed to their club, and to attending matches. Therefore it would take more for those people to feel like they aren't comfortable going to games, compared to those who attend less often or don't put down hundreds of pounds on their club every summer.

How on earth does being a season ticket holder influence a person's willingness to increase their risk to Covid?  You really are conflating two very different judgement calls there RA.

[silent majority]

Half the fans surveyed were 55+. Which probably means the percentage of people saying they won't be going back is actually much lower in reality.

I'm sure I saw something on here saying the north end of the east stand would be social distanced section for people concerned?

The club have space available in each stand to accommodate those who wish to move away from others. There's been a deliberate policy of not selling season tickets or match tickets in certain areas and the stewards are all au fait with those areas. If you need to, and its not obvious where to go, they'll point you in the right direction.

[silent majority]

Half the fans surveyed were 55+. Which probably means the percentage of people saying they won't be going back is actually much lower in reality.

I'm sure I saw something on here saying the north end of the east stand would be social distanced section for people concerned?

The club have space available in each stand to accommodate those who wish to move away from others. There's been a deliberate policy of not selling season tickets or match tickets in certain areas and the stewards are all au fait with those areas. If you need to, and its not obvious where to go, they'll point you in the right direction.

Just to add that there will be a lot more comms coming from the club this week about match day arrangements. For those who haven't been yet and are concerned about safety etc then I'm sure the comms may help.

[RoversAlias]

Two thirds of respondents were Season Ticket holders, which suggests to me that the headline figure may not be entirely representative of all football fans.

I would imagine most STH are very committed to their club, and to attending matches. Therefore it would take more for those people to feel like they aren't comfortable going to games, compared to those who attend less often or don't put down hundreds of pounds on their club every summer.

How on earth does being a season ticket holder influence a person's willingness to increase their risk to Covid?  You really are conflating two very different judgement calls there RA.

Maybe I haven't worded it too well, but I'm thinking about the fact that any STH this season has spent hundreds of pounds on a ticket knowing that Covid is still a thing, and may cause disruption. Therefore those people have already decided earlier in the year that their desire to get back to the game outweighs their level of apprehension or fear about attending.

When I bought my ST for 21/22, I was under no illusion that Covid would still be here and affecting things. I knew this and still wanted to put my money down with the intent of attending if I can. Others will have decided differently at that stage.

[wilts rover]

Let's not forget the covid stats were far worse when the survey was taken. I bet if it was carried out now the results would be far more positive.

Eh! There are more infections around now then when the survey was taken.

[Bentley Bullet]

The stats then suggested that the situation would be a lot worse now than it actually is.

[wilts rover]

The stats now suggest the public don't think the government are taking the right measures to control the pandemic - what's your point?

Is the UK Government currently taking the right measures to address the coronavirus pandemic? (2 Aug)

Yes: 40% (+11)
No: 42% (-11)
Don’t know: 18% (–)

https://twitter.com/RedfieldWilton/status/1422482760455831554

[drfchound]

To be fair wilts those stats show that 42% of people don’t think the government are doing the right thing.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Not a very well structured question that though is it?

We are going in the right direction and we have a choice about doing every day normal activities, including going to football matches. The risks associated with leading a 'normal life appear to be reducing with the positive psychological wellbeing improving.

[Bentley Bullet]

On the day the survey was put on the forum there were 33,998 cases. That figure rose for the next 5 days. The figures since have decreased daily with the exception of 3 occasions.