As you are aware, alongside the latest government and EFL advice, we can announce that we can welcome back 2,000 supporters to the County Ground from 12th December 2020.
During the last few months, the club has been working tirelessly to prepare itself for the return of fans. We had hoped that we would be able to safely welcome back all our season ticket holders in socially distanced seats, but due to the restrictions in place, issuing tickets whilst we are in Tier 2 will require a ballot for each fixture.
This ballot will only be open to 2020/21 Season Ticket holders.
How will it work?
We understand that some 2020/21 season ticket holders may live in Tier 3 locations, be part of the vulnerable group, are shielding or simply do not wish to attend matches in the current situation.
Therefore, we are asking season ticket supporters who would like to attend any of the matches whilst in reduced capacity to APPLY for tickets via the online ticket website.
Once logged in (using your club account linked to your season ticket) you can then select the relevant matches that you wish to apply for and submit your application. We have put together a step-by-step guide of how to apply for tickets which you can read here.
If you have NOT set up a club account, all the details of how to do so are here – please ensure you link to the client reference number used for your 2020/21 season ticket.
Due to government restrictions and to keep our supporters safe, we are only able to issue tickets to supporters who’s registered address is within Tier 1 and Tier 2 locations. As such any supporters wishing to apply from Tier 3 locations will be unfortunately unable to enter the ballot until these postcodes are downgraded to Tier 1 or Tier 2.
It will be 1 ticket application per season ticket holder. For those who have family tickets, multiple tickets under the same name or applying within their own bubbles (providing they are eligible and max 6) you can apply for the relevant amount of tickets using the ‘my network’ function on your account and if successful you will be placed into social distanced seating plans. Once logged in, you can add someone to your network, if they are not already, by selecting the account management tab, my network and then input their name and client reference number.
Please bear in mind that if you are applying as a group, then in order to ensure any bubbles are kept together and there is no mixing of bubbles, then you will either all be successful or none.
For any season ticket holders who do not use online ticketing or for wheelchair accessibility users, they can apply to enter the ballot by sending an email or getting a friend or relative to do so to queries@swindontownfc.co.uk. Please include your client reference number, fixture and your preferences of stand. The ticket office still remains closed, so please do not travel to the ground.
Is there a deadline?
Applications will open well in advance of the fixture so if you are interested in attending then please submit your application in good time. In order to allow for STFC to run the ballot and issue tickets to supporters, the ballot for each game will close 7 days prior to kick off (this is subject to change due to midweek games, keep an eye on social media for updates)
To allow additional time to apply for our first fixture on the 12th, the ballot will close at 1pm on Tuesday 8th December for Fleetwood Town.
Any applications submitted after this cut off will not be included in the ballot for that game.
Can I select my seat?
Due to the limited capacity we will only be opening the Don Rogers / Nationwide stand and the Town End stand. This is also in place to keep the Arkells stand as the designated red zone where players, medical staff and officials are located.
Therefore, when applying for tickets, supporters will not be able to select specific seats but will be given options of preference of tickets, so for example you can select your first choice as the Don Rogers stand and your second choice the Town End stand.
Once selected and if successful, supporters will be automatically placed into socially distanced seating plans that will include bubbles and groupings so if you apply as a pair then you will be placed into 2 seats together in your own bubble and so on. Unfortunately, we are unable to accommodate individual seating requests
How do I know if I have been successful?
To clarify the ballot is operated automatically by Ticketmaster and the club have no control of who is successful. Although we hope that all 2020/21 season ticket holders will be able to attend a similar amount of games throughout the remainder of the current season and we will aim for supporters who have been unsuccessful in one ballot, to be at the top of the next ballot.
If you have been successful in the ballot for the game, you will receive an email with your E Ticket / QR code which you can print at home or bring on your mobile device / add to your mobile wallet to use to gain admission to the ground in the normal way.
Any supporter who is successful in the ballot but does not hold an email with us will be posted a paper ticket for the game. Due to processing paper tickets, there will be a delay between the ballot being drawn and supporters receiving their ticket. There will be no ticket collections on a matchday.
Please note, due to the logistical challenges and short timescales between each game, the club will not be able to facilitate individual seating requests. Once a ticket is issued this cannot be amended or relocated.
For any supporters who are issued a ticket but subsequently can no longer attend, we ask to please contact the ticket office so that we can issue the seat to another supporter who was unsuccessful in the ballot.
Additional Guidance
In order to comply with NHS Track and Trace and government guidance, supporters will be required to bring identification with them and will be checked on entry to the stadium perimeter so that we can continue to keep everyone safe. You can read all the information on our supporter code of conduct on our website
We can also confirm that the iFollow streaming service that season ticket holders have had automatic access to or received codes for will continue, so any supporters who are unsuccessful or did not enter the ballot can continue to follow STFC. Any non-season ticket holders can still purchase match passes for £10 per game in the normal way.
We hope that supporters can understand and be patient whilst we work through these unprecedented times and we look forward to welcoming you all back to the County Ground safely.
