With the deadline for Season Ticket holders to confirm whether they would like to attend games at St Mary’s in December and January having passed, the club can now outline the process for selecting which fans will be welcomed back for our fixture against Sheffield United on Sunday 13th December.
The information gathered from Season Ticket holders has allowed the club to be efficient in allocating seats for each game, as well as being able to react to any changes in government guidance or capacity restrictions.
The club has developed the processes to allow fans to return to St Mary’s based on government advice – we are aware that this can change at short notice and will update fans if there are any developments.
You’ll find information below on how the selection process works for each match, the next steps that will be taken by the club, and details of information supporters can expect to receive ahead of the game against Sheffield United.
The Selection Process
The club has listened to views from fan groups regarding the fairest process for selecting which Season Ticket holders* are able to attend reduced capacity games at St Mary’s.
The consensus from these fan groups is that the club should look to recognise the dedication of fans, giving priority to long-standing Season Ticket holders that have attended the majority of matches in recent seasons, both home and away, while also ensuring there is a fair opportunity for all Season Ticket holders, including Seasonal Hospitality guests, to attend games.
Based on this criteria, there will be small groups who will be invited to attend either each home game, or alternate home games, with the remaining tickets available to general admission Season Ticket holders through a ballot of the 10,000 eligible supporters who have confirmed they would like to attend matches.
Following the ballot, general admission Season Ticket holders that are selected to attend the Sheffield United match will then not be considered for selection for upcoming matches in future ballots until all Season Ticket holders that would like to attend matches have done so. This does not apply to the small groups attending either each home game, or alternate home games.
Season Ticket holders that are not selected or have confirmed to the club that they do not wish to be considered for selection shall receive a pro rata refund for the game.
The club will also have a limited number of tickets for our Seasonal Hospitality guests, including tickets that fulfil contractual obligations to our partners.
We would like to thank all of our partners for returning either all or the majority of their tickets to the ballot to enable more Season Ticket holders to attend matches, sharing the club’s view that we should recognise the dedication of our fans.
The allocation of the 2,000 tickets available will therefore be split as follows:
- 80% general admission Season Ticket holders, including:
- 62 fans that have held their Season Ticket for over six years and attended every match home and away last season
- 176 fans that have held their Season Ticket for over four years, attending at least 95% of home games and 66% of away games last season
- 1,319 Season Ticket holders to be selected through the ballot
- 20% Seasonal Hospitality guests and club partners, including:
- 241 guests that have held their box or lounge tickets for over six years continuously, with remaining spaces selected through a ballot
Refunds for the Manchester United and Sheffield United matches will be completed shortly. If you have already had your refund, this will not affect your chances of being selected for the Sheffield United match. Instead, if you are selected, the refund will be applied to a future fixture.
The club understands that there will be fans disappointed by missing out on the ballot for each fixture but, after internal discussions and fan consultation, we feel this is the fairest way to proceed under the current capacity restrictions and are doing everything possible to allow for as many fans back St Mary’s as we can.
What happens next?
Those supporters that are successful in the ballot will have their seats allocated and will receive an email with information about their tickets by Tuesday 8th December.
Due to restrictions on which parts of St Mary’s we are able to open, we cannot guarantee that Season Ticket holders will be in their chosen seats, but we will endeavour to assign seats that are at a similar height and proximity to exits where possible.
All Season Ticket holders will receive an email to confirm that the seat assigning process has been completed.
If I am successful, what will I receive?
Before the match against Sheffield United on Sunday 13th December, Season Ticket holders that are assigned tickets will receive further information about the processes that have been put in place to ensure a safe matchday experience for all fans. This will include:
- Details on how to download your tickets to a mobile device or print your tickets at home before arriving at St Mary’s
- Information on the matchday layout at St Mary’s, including the specific entrance you will need to enter through and your designated entry time
- A Covid-19 questionnaire that is mandatory for all supporters attending to fill out in order to be admitted entry
- A link to the Code of Conduct that all supporters attending must abide by when attending matches at St Mary’s
- Details on what will happen on a matchday and what provisions are in place for supporters
The process for assigning tickets for the game against Manchester City on Saturday 19th December will commence shortly after the Sheffield United match.
We would like to thank our supporters for their continued support, and we look forward to safely welcoming fans back to St Marys.
*Please note, any Season Ticket holders that are registered with a postcode in tier 3 at the time of this or any future ballot will not considered for selection to ensure we adhere with government guidelines.
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