It is hoped the Football League will give Pompey dispensation to reduce the allotted away allocation at Fratton Park this season…
Not that Mark Catlin expects this plea to prove successful.
A humongous 14,500 season tickets have been sold, which is awesome, but with the capacity at Fratton reduced the chance of selling more, in fact having too many match day tickets available, are slim.
Due to Football League rules Pompey, like all clubs, have to offer a specific amount of tickets to visiting clubs – as it stands the Blues are required to give up, well, offer at least, the entirety of the Milton End, 2,700 tickets.
There weren’t too many visiting club who brought more than 600, only five in fact, let alone half of the allocation to Fratton. ONLY three visiting clubs, Exeter, Luton and Plymouth actually managed to bring over a thousand.
A step up to League One facing a few more clubs who are better supported, on their travels, should see bigger numbers visiting Fratton but enough to justify the 2,700 allocation they could receive? Probably not, but rules are rules…
Mark Catlin has made an appeal to the Football League to cut that required allocation in half but the chief exec isn’t confident.
Catlin told the News: ‘I am still seeking clarification from the Football League as to whether they can give us dispensation, although it is highly unlikely. I doubt that will be the case, but it’s worth asking the question.’
It’s certainly worth asking as if you do not ask you will NEVER get, even if this is highly unlikely.
This, let’s face it, is further proof of how Fratton Park needs to be seriously looked at. Can we renovate the Old Girl to bring her up to scratch and increase capacity, whilst adding the sort of facilities NEEDED to generate extra revenue? I think the answer is yes.
But if not, as much as I’m not too keen on leaving Fratton – albeit the fact I’m not too keen on change as a rule – it could be another box ticked in the argument the Blues needs to move on from our spiritual home?
PLAY UP POMPEY
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