Supporters Trust at Reading [STAR] have spoken out on Saturday's matchday experience during a 2-0 victory over Fleetwood Town in the FA Cup, believing it 'left a lot to be desired.'
Under 3,700 supporters turned out at the Select Car Leasing Stadium for the First Round fixture, with only four blocks open to home supporters filling just half of the Sir John Madejski Stand.
One gate was open and supporters complained of long queues arriving into the match, with some missing kick-off despite the record-low crowd for a weekend kick-off at the stadium.
STAR took their points to the club, and the hierarchy named 'late arrival of fans' as a reason why supporter experience was under par.
Though the result was one we wanted, the matchday experience on Saturday left a lot to be desired. We took these complaints to the club and have some explanations and suggestions for improvement.
— Supporters’ Trust At Reading (@STARReading) November 6, 2024
The issues getting into the ground were due to a combination of low attendance…
"Though the result was one we wanted, the matchday experience on Saturday left a lot to be desired," a statement read. "We took these complaints to the club and have some explanations and suggestions for improvement.
"The issues getting into the ground were due to a combination of low attendance projections and unexpected late arrivals. By opening just one gate and going with reserved seating, the club were able to maximise efficiency and stadium costs by keeping fans close together. For example, if the whole East Stand was open, stewards need to do the whole stand, with reserved seating we can have stewards for the open areas.
"Unfortunately, the arrival times of fans caught the club off guard. Barely over a third of the total attendance was in the ground by 2.30pm - this is much lower than average - before a late surge of fans, many of which were in the SJM stand for the first time, caused the queues we saw before kick off.
"We know and appreciate how hard our staff are working to operate efficiently while our club’s financial status remains so fragile, but that cannot be at the expense of an experience that may cause people not to come back. In our view, the balance was slightly off on Saturday. We are confident this will be addressed in games of a similar status in the future."
Ticket prices, at £15 per adult, were also discussed.
The Football Association set a minimum of £10 per adult ticket for FA Cup ties, with both clubs agreeing in the build-up to the match.
Despite supporters naming this as a contributing factor behind the low turnout, STAR have backed the club for their 'exceptionally fair' pricing.
There’s loads of us outside Queueing to get in cause they’ve only opened 1 turnstile
— Lukey (@LukeB_RFC) November 2, 2024
"Our view is that the club priced their adult tickets exceptionally fairly. £15 represented some of the best value around the country on Saturday and shouldn’t go lower, but we have suggested lower prices for kids to drive interest in these fixtures. The club have agreed to consider this."
Still a bunch stuck outside
— league one (@urrrzzzz) November 2, 2024
Full details on Round Two, with non-league Harborough Town visiting the SCL Stadium later in the month, are yet to be confirmed.
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