How Brighton plan to let fans return to the Amex safely

Brighton & Hove Albion have held an online question and answer session with fans in which they conveyed how supporters might be allowed to return to the Amex safely for the 2020-21 season.

Paul Barber and head of supporter services Jenny Gower led the session alongside Paul Camillin, whose chin kicked off the meeting thanks to an unintentional close up.

Once Paul’s face had been taken out of shot, it became very clear that a lot of thought has gone into the process of reopening the stadium.

For our money, trying to please 23,000 odd season ticket holders and thousands of other Albion fans is something of an impossible task. The club appear to have done as good a job out of it as they can, especially as this is something of a unique situation.

You will always get Brighton supporters who complain or think they are more entitled to attend than others. What the Albion have done is be open with season ticket holders about the challenges they face and tried to explain the process.

No other Premier League club have held such a dialogue with supporters. We even got a potential spoiler as to the first game of the season when Ms Gower talked about fans getting tickets for Sheffield United at home on the same day that a “leaked Premier League” fixture list suggested Brighton would host the Blades on the opening day of the campaign.

Of course, the allowance of supporters attending matches could change on a week-by-week basis depending on what happens with the spread of coronavirus, especially if there is a second wave once winter arrives. What the Albion are planning now could be redundant in three months time.

Here are some of the the key points that were discussed regarding Brighton fans returning to the Amex.

Reduced capacity and deciding who gets a ticket
The Amex would reopen with a reduced capacity with a maximum of 30% of the stadium being opened to begin with. Attendees would be decided via a random ballot of season ticket holders, meaning that some supporters could be lucky enough to win tickets for virtually every game and others may see Brighton kick a ball on only one or two occasions.

Loyalty points, attendance at Gillingham or owning a rosette from the 1983 FA Cup Final makes no differences to your chances of getting a ticket. When Brighton say the fans who can return to the Amex will be selected at random, they mean it.

You would not be guaranteed your own seat because of the need to socially distance, but the club would try and place you in the same stand as your season ticket. Every other row will be blocked off and there will be gaps left between seats.

To ensure that you can attend with friends and family, you will be able to join a group with up to five other season ticket holders who you will enter ballots with.

Every season ticket holder will be entered into every draw, although you can nominate up to six matches which you wish to miss altogether.

If you win a ticket for a match which you cannot or do not want to attend, then you can put it up for sale on the ticket exchange. This will be the only way to move your ticket to another supporter as track and trace means any tickets secured in the ballot will be non-transferable.

Supporters will have to provide photo ID to prove that they are the rightful owner of a ticket before entering the stadium.

The only supporters who can withdraw completely from the ballot are those who can prove that they are vulnerable or shielding. Their ticket and payments will be deferred until the 2020-21 season.

That was arguably the most contentious part of the entire plan. There may be Brighton fans who are anxious or worried about the situation and have no desire to go to any events until the world has a better grip on the virus.

Some supporters will also have no interest in attending matches with 21,000 empty seats and at which singing could be banned. It hardly sounds like a fun, authentic football experience.

Which makes it strange that the Albion have not offered all supporters the chance to opt out completely. They appear to be creating more work for themselves by forcing fans who do not feel comfortable attending into listing their tickets on the exchange every time they are successful in the ballot.

And the idea of fans who do not wish to attend selling their tickets on only works if there is enough demand. Should thousands of fans not want to return to the Amex to watch Brighton under the new conditions, then tickets might not sell through the exchange, leaving supporters who do not want to go to games no choice but to pay for a product they do not want.

Season ticket payments
Direct debit payments for 2020-21 season tickets will be paused after six payments, which by our maths means that September will be the final month to pay.

The money that has been paid so far will then go into a ‘credit balance’. The cost of each matchday ticket that you successfully win in the ballot will be taken from this credit balance over the course of the 2020-21 season. Tickets will be priced at 1/19th of the overall cost of your season ticket.

Any supporters who have credit left in their balance come the end of the campaign will either see that money deducted off their 2021-22 season ticket or receive it as some sort of refund.

Masks and singing
The club expect that masks will have to be worn inside the Amex. When asked about the prospect of singing being banned as has been suggested in the media in recent days, Barber said that was a matter for the government.

It was quite a professional answer given we would have been tempted to point out that there has hardly been any singing at the Amex since 2018, so a ban would make sod all difference.

Away fans and loyalty points
Barber said that questions surrounding away fans were difficult to answer as it is very much guided by the government. Given the absolute pigs ear that Boris Johnson and co have made of virtually everything Covid-related since the end of March, that was hardly a statement to fill anyone with confidence.

Loyalty points will be paused until such a time as they can start being awarded again fairly. Which is good news in terms of no more Wednesday night trips to West Bromwich Albion in deepest, darkest February for the sake of 15 loyalty points.

Live streaming of games
Brighton fans who are unable to return to the Amex and do not have access to Sky or BT Sports may struggle to watch matches live. Barber confirmed that there are no plans currently to stream games due to the broadcasting deals and the vast sums paid by the two rights holders.

Although both Sky and BT made the final nine matches of the 2019-20 season available for free, at this moment in time it seems unlikely that they would do so again.

Watching the Albion accompanied by over-the-top Chinese commentary via a dodgy stream from Shanghai looks set to become the new normal.

Transport to and from the Amex
One of the major concerns that Brighton fans might have about making a return to the Amex surrounds getting to and from the stadium. The fact that the venue relies so heavily on public transport is problematic – how can you socially distance even 9,000 supporters travelling to Falmer on six carriage trains and park and ride buses?

There was not much information on how the Albion planned on managing this. Barber said it would be down to transport providers, who Brighton would be in dialogue with. The club were also looking into increasing the amount of parking available.

Food and drink
The Athletic reported over the weekend that Brighton, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur have been pushing for a change in legislation to allow supporters to drink beer in their seats.

Barber confirmed that it is something the Albion are keen to see introduced, but the chances of the government agreeing are low. Which is just as well from a WeAreBrighton.com point of view as the last thing we need on a matchday is an additional 90 minutes access to beer.

One workaround might be to allow supporters to take alcohol back to their seats after matches. Loitering on the concourse would no longer be allowed.

An increase in the number of outlets outside the stadium could help to cut the amount of people inside and a reduced menu will be introduced to speed up service. There was no confirmation as to whether £3.20 bags of Starbust would survive the cull.

Bottle lids
Thankfully, the question we all wanted answering was covered – would bottle tops still be banned? Barber’s answer was a resounding yes. Coronavirus has not changed Brighton’s views that a bottle of Fanta with a lid on is more dangerous than a nuclear weapon.