CEO thanks Members as over 6,000 Championship tickets claimed

Since the window opened, over 6,000 tickets have been claimed by Members and Season Ticket holders in Priority Groups 1 and 2, with the Club due to contact the successful Members and Season Ticket holders in Priority Group 3 tomorrow.

The imminent return of live LV= Insurance County Championship cricket has created huge interest and Chief Executive, Simon Storey, thanked Members for their patience as the administration team continues to help Members and Season Ticket holders claim their tickets for the group stages.

“The administration team have been working incredibly hard to facilitate a safe return of crowds and allow as many Members as possible to claim their tickets to watch cricket at the earliest opportunity. COVID-19 continues to throw up significant challenges for the Club and the uncertainty around the Indian variant (9 cases of which have been discovered in Canterbury) is the latest hurdle to face us.

“Our two biggest challenges are the small number of covered stands at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence and limited parking. It is important to understand that we have to operate a bio-secure stadium for the participants and we are governed by elite sport guidelines. We have to make specific arrangements for managing large crowds and have been working with local Public Health officials, the Sports Ground Safety Association and the Safety Advisory Group at Canterbury City Council, which includes representatives of the local emergency services.

“Due to COVID restrictions and the demands of elite sport guidelines, we are unable to offer inside shelter beyond the existing seating areas. We have been advised by the Public Health authorities to remain prudent and exercise caution particularly where ventilation is limited. Whilst the Government are proceeding with moving to Step 3, they do stress caution. We are aware that, particularly in bad weather, things are far from ideal but these are extraordinary times. We have to ask those Members and stewards who are not based in one of the covered areas to rely on umbrellas and raincoats in this period of such changeable weather.

“We also are constrained by school term times for access to additional parking. We therefore worked with Canterbury City Council to schedule additional shuttle bus stops from the nearby Park & Ride facility, and for the second match, we have partnered with Simon Langton Girls Grammar School to offer parking for Spitfire Ground Parking Permit Holders. Both arrangements are costing the Club money at a time when we remain in the midst of massive financial challenges but we wanted to do our very best to provide alternative parking options for our  Members.

“As the COVID situation develops, we may be able to open up car parking at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence but given the current uncertainty around Step 4 of the Roadmap out of Lockdown planned for 21 June, it is impossible to guarantee this.

“I would like to reassure Members that everyone is working hard to make things as safe and comfortable as possible so that we are ready to welcome Members back to The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence in these extraordinary times and at a time when we are still only in Step 3 in the Roadmap out of Lockdown.”

The team will continue to support Members and Season Ticket holders with their enquiries in the coming days and are committed to ensuring that no-one in Priority 1 or Priority Group 2 who contacted us prior to the ballot deadline misses out.