Following the recent Government announcement that allowed supporters in Tier 2 areas to be allowed back into grounds, we are now hoping that following the Government review of the tier system on the 16th December, we may be able to welcome supporters back to the Mazuma Stadium.
We are now finalising our Covid-19 policies and subject to these being signed off by the Safety Advisory Group we will be in a position to stage our first game with supporters.
We have had to put in place numerous measures to ensure Covid-19 safety and we will be communicating these to supporters nearer the date of our first game, but the main points are:
•Hand sanitising stations around the stadium
• Turnstiles regularly sanitised
• One-way systems in place
• Gaps between supporters in the stands
• Ball sanitisers in use in all stands
• Staggered arrival and departure times
• Ground thoroughly cleaned between fixtures
• Socially distanced queues
• You will probably not be able to sit or stand in your usual seat or stand so that we can maximise capacity
• You will be asked to wear a mask at all times in the stadium unless exempt. Shouting and singing can increase the risk of spreading the infection, but we know that the passion and atmosphere at games makes it difficult to stop this happening, so wearing masks is the best way to prevent the spread of infection in this situation. Our first priority is to keep you all safe
• We will ask you to arrive earlier than normal, and within a particular time window, in order to ensure we can safely get supporters through all of the extra checks that will need to be in place without congestion at the turnstiles
Following the Safety at Sports Ground guidance and calculations, our maximum capacity will be 1558 in all four stands, as there will be no away supporters permitted in the stadium whilst capacity is limited below our normal attendance levels. Prior to this we will be holding a test event, at a league game, with a capacity of 600 season ticket holders only.
Our processes for handling those ticket holders are all in place and it makes a lot of sense to use that first game back to test out our systems with those fans that will be coming to every game. Further detailed information will be sent to all season ticket holders nearer the game.
We appreciate that we also have many very loyal supporters who can’t attend every game so don’t need a season ticket but are equally desperate to get back to watching live games as soon as we open.
We understand that many of you want to be there for the first game back and will be disappointed by this approach. Please be patient and understand just how much work is going to be involved in getting the stadium ready for the first game and just how important it is that the first fixture demonstrates a safe and enjoyable environment for live football. Achieving this is not just important for the fans but also for all of the staff and players too.
Due to the limited capacity we realise that we will have to put in place different priority schemes and so we have decided to launch a membership package with immediate effect and full details will be announced in the next couple of days.
Things have been and still remain very testing but we have to say that Morecambe Football Club staff and fans have been superb the whole way through this crisis and it’s during times like these that you realise just what a great club we have and hope that you will understand and bear with us as our focus is on bringing supporters back to The Mazuma Stadium in a safe and secure manner.