Archived News from July 2009
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STAGS TRY TO SAVE ON STEWARDING COSTS
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Seats switch will boost Stags' budget
CHAD video interview with Andy Perry --> http://www.chad.co.uk/stags/Seats-switch-will-boost-Stags39.5438740.jp CHAD.co.uk, 08 July 2009, By John Lomas MANSFIELD Town have decided to cut back on stewarding costs next season as they try to throw all available funds into their promotion dream. That will mean certain section of the stands will be closed off unless the potential size of crowd demands they re-open them. A small number of season ticket holders will be forced to move seats but the club are hoping they will back the decision and see the bigger picture as boss David Holdsworth this week signed his 11th new player in Kyle Nix. Chairman Andy Perry explained: "It was well know last season we were concerned about our stewarding costs - we even discussed it on Sky. And we said we would have to tighten up our budget. "This is not just about season ticket sales. We were very pleased with season ticket sales or we would not have gone for the £195 offer. "But we don't want to cut the gaffer's budget and we feel stewarding is one area we can make big savings. "We spoke to the Safety Advisory group and decided to make some alterations to some of the stadium seating. In doing so, safety remained the paramount factor - especially with allowing U13s in for free this season. We want them to have a good match day experience here. "Basically we are tightening everyone in to be able to cut the number of stewards needed and potentially this will save us £25,000 over the season." He added: "I am mindful that we will upset some people who need to move - I am a football fan myself. But I hope they are mindful that everything we do here is about the whole and not the few. "The seats can always be used if we have a big match in the FA Cup like Machester United or Chelsea when the bigger crowd would cover the cost of extra stewarding. "Tightening people in may also help the atmosphere here. Remember last season against York when everyone was in the top tier after the snow, the noise was booming off the roof. "Promotion is the top of our agenda, with a good Cup run as well. Cutting the playing budget would not be condusive to wanting to move forward." Stags have had to be very careful where to draw the lines acros the stands as safety rules dictate fans must not be more than 14 seats away from exit stairs. Perry added a plea for people to repect the decisions and said: "We want fans to help us and buy into what we are doing. "So please don't give the stewards grief by saying you want to sit the other side of the red tape or climbing over it. That is not going to work with this football club. We are trying to do our best. "These decisions were not taken lightly but with everyone's help we can move forward and be a success. "The optimism is fantastic. It is everything we wanted to do with this club and what we dreamed of. Fans are supporting on the field and off with the other events were are putting on." Any existing season ticket holder who has renewed their ticket and is affected by this will be moved along the same row into the nearest adjacent block. -------------------------- |
Latest | July 2009