I think allowing supporters back to stadiums, with controlled restrictions is certainly achievable.
I was chatting to one of our customers at work who is a Director at a non league club in the Midlands (below National League level) who generally get around 300 attending in a stadium that could hold around 1500 in normal conditions.
With most of the supporters regulars who have the interests of the club very much at heart, with good communications and common sense then it would clearly be feasible to allow supporters to attend (this is on the presumption that there is no spike in figures and that by the time the new season starts the country is further down the road to a return to normality).
Looking at some of our more local clubs, again with a little thought, planning and self discipline by the supporters, it’s hard to see why Kidderminster, Stourbridge and Halesowen should not allow supporters back.
Clearly it’s a lot more problematic with clubs who generally run with attendances in excess of 60%+ capacity in all seater stadiums but again not impossible.
Away support is likely to be on hold for a season at least so in our case that allows the whole of the Smethwick End to be opened up.
In addition a proportion of supporters attend with other members of their household so no issues with social distancing from that perspective.
So with some positive thinking, planning, clear communication and supporters buying into the concept and being prepared to stick to the guidelines set out for attending, it’s very much achievable in my view.
Of course it will take organisation, and being prepared to sit in seats allocated (not necessarily your usual seat or with your friends) and initially on a rota basis but hard to see why we can’t play with a few thousand in attendance for each home game.
In terms of food and drink, then all outlets should be closed and in terms of toilets, stewarding in place and in one entrance and out the other (so to speak).
Clearly not ideal but surely not impossible with around 7000 spread over 4 stands, and obviously having your usual 6 pints pre match may need to be put on hold!!
I take the point that it will take a lot of hard work by the admin and ticket office staff but it’s not like we’re asking them to do the impossible and, not being disrespectful but they can’t really be rushed off their feet at present and it’s not rocket science, it’s simply allowing a proportion of our support who want to attend to do just that, and for those who prefer to wait until normality returns then that’s fine as well and a personal choice for those who feel that they may be vulnerable.
Fingers crossed, presuming the new season starts a few months later than normal, restrictions may be considerably eased by then but acknowledge it’s a situation that can change for better or worse quite quickly.
I just feel that if we want the game to survive at all levels we need to take a “can do†proactive viewpoint. We've all seen the Bundesliga on TV, do we want that situation for possibly several months or a whole season?
All of the logistical issues from ticketing to other practicalities could be addressed with a positive forward thinking plan in my opinion.