Limited attendance

[StarterForTen]

I do some work with the EFL and they told me that the Government is now pushing hard to get crowds back into stadia with a late September/early October timeline. But 1m+ social distancing will likely be required and staggered entry and exits too. That could mean arriving an hour before the game for some and not leaving until an hour after it for others.

It might be done block by block.

 

[RamNut]

22 hours ago, ilkleyram said:

I'm over 60, in good health and if Pride Park is open then I'm going. 

It's numbers for me.  I'm not that much more likely to catch Covid than I am seasonal flu during the winter.  Both can be fatal, both are not always and the odds are heavily stacked in favour of surviving, not that you want to catch either.  I'm prepared to take the risk, because I judge the risk of me catching it and then dying to be low.

I’m not sure whether I admire your confidence or whether to be bemused. COVID-19 is in another league to flu. And as a 60 year old male you are in a higher risk group. Not sure why some people have their health destroyed or die, whilst others recover without any ill effects, and hopefully you won’t get it, but you are not immune. 
 

[RoyMac5]

1 hour ago, Mucker1884 said:

Oh for the days of weeping sores, pus covered flesh, and maybe even the odd extremity falling off!  Life was so much simpler back in The Good Old Days!   

Unless your name was Typhoid Mary!

[Dethorn]

On 05/07/2020 at 08:51, MackworthRamIsGod said:

The more I see pictures of the streets of London absolutely rammed with people drinking, rammed beaches, underground trains rammed I dont see how sitting in a football ground is any more risky? Obviously in an ideal world during a pandemic none of the above would be happening, but we are a nation of idiots.

I can see face coverings being mandatory to attend football. 

spread of covid affected by two things

1) How dense is the population 

and

2) How dense is the population

[Patrick Rams]

People worried about catching the virus in an outdoor setting...a consultant virologist from Cambridge University ( in relation to crowded beaches) stated the chance of catching the virus in such an outdoor setting is'vanishingly small'! That's his exact words.So in my opinion there's very little reason why fans cannot be allowed back into stadiums even if it's in a limited way..say a third capacity to begin with.

[CornwallRam]

Social distancing is already very relaxed. If the virus is going to spread during warm weather (apparently virtually all viruses of this type spread more quickly when it gets cold), it will be doing so now. By September there will be either a really significant 2nd wave and no one will be allowed in, or there'll be no need to worry (until December anyway) and we can all just pile in as normal.

[ramsbottom]

The rudimentary pics demonstrate how you could possibly do the seating.  Every other row cordoned off, the 2 or 3 seats at either end of the row cordoned off for fans to use the stairs, a gap in-between groups.  

I'd guess you would have to prioritise groups willing to sit together in more than say 3 people to make a row worthwhile?  Either that or have very strict times for when certain blocks enter the ground, and insist they take their seats in a certain order to avoid passing each other.  

You could remove a few seats from the cordoned off rows to allow folks to step up or down on to their row, in case they needed the loo during the game.

As for loos, providing there's room to queue, they do have an entrance & and exit so you could say no more than 2/3 at a time.

Of course, would all of that be worthwhile or cost effective for the club??

[jono]

I am sure the softwear exists to make season tickets "work" on a match by match basis with emails and texts telling you your ticket is live for this game - odd and even seat numbers maybe ? They did that with car registration numbers in a number of European cities. 

No away fans - ST only alternate matches, you could operate at 40/50% capacity, maintain social distancing at least at the level of going to the shops and certainly better than public transport .. masks .. nope .. just wouldn't work at a footy game ( the crowd was curiously muffled today )

Its doable .. but what about pricing ? how do you make the sums add up ? 

[Sparkle]

On 05/07/2020 at 08:50, Sparkle said:

I genuinely believe grounds could be opened to season ticket holders only based on 

half to two thirds capacity basis 

no away fans 

outdoor stadiums 

wearing a face covering ( or you get banned ) 

biggest problem are the drinking establishments before games usually 

if you can get on a tube in London like a sewer rat every day you can certainly spend 90 minutes watching football in the outdoors if you are self aware regarding the virus.

it would be a start and would mean survival for a lot of clubs and how could the government object especially if 15-20,000 are spaced out in a 32,000 stadium in our case   

Just a follow up thought - concourses probably would need to be closed bar the toilets 

[sage]

1 minute ago, Sparkle said:

Just a follow up thought - concourses probably would need to be closed bar the toilets 

I think 50% of outlets could be open. More space for queueing. Plastic screens on the till area. 

 

[Tamworthram]

40 minutes ago, jono said:

I am sure the softwear exists to make season tickets "work" on a match by match basis with emails and texts telling you your ticket is live for this game - odd and even seat numbers maybe ? They did that with car registration numbers in a number of European cities. 

No away fans - ST only alternate matches, you could operate at 40/50% capacity, maintain social distancing at least at the level of going to the shops and certainly better than public transport .. masks .. nope .. just wouldn't work at a footy game ( the crowd was curiously muffled today )

Its doable .. but what about pricing ? how do you make the sums add up ? 

Seems very sensible. The only thing I'd change is face coverings whilst in a covered area such as the concourse. That would of course mean no food or drink sales inside the stadium, I'm sure we could all survive without buying an over priced drink and something to eat at half time, but beverages could still be purchased and consumed outside the ground. 

[Sparkle]

3 minutes ago, sage said:

I think 50% of outlets could be open. More space for queueing. Plastic screens on the till area. 

 

It’s the queuing that would be the major problem I think 

[Sparkle]

3 minutes ago, Tamworthram said:

Seems very sensible. The only thing I'd change is face coverings whilst in a covered area such as the concourse. That would of course mean no food or drink sales inside the stadium, I'm sure we could all survive without buying an over priced drink and something to eat at half time, but beverages could still be purchased and consumed outside the ground. 

I have been trailing this system for years 

[Tamworthram]

5 minutes ago, Sparkle said:

I have been trailing this system for years 

You and me both. I'm better off financially than I would be and so far have not suffered any ill effects from going without. 

[Tamworthram]

12 minutes ago, sage said:

I think 50% of outlets could be open. More space for queueing. Plastic screens on the till area. 

 

The benefits gained from having more space for queuing would be lost to an extent by having longer queues due to reduced number of outlets though. 

I think no outlets inside the stadium would be preferable. It would make entering the stadium and visiting the toilets less crowded and possibly encourage people to take their seats earlier. 

[atherstoneram]

 No matter how people go on about schools reopening and fans being allowed back into grounds, they are Two entirely separate issues. A friend of mine is a school governor and what the government are saying regarding kids going back to school in the numbers suggested is a logistical nightmare as regards separation.

Someone posted earlier about how good people had behaved when the pubs reopened this weekend,that doesn't appear to be the case from the news i have seen.

I think the clubs will be concentrating at getting the sponsors back into the executive boxes so they don't lose that lucrative sponsorship before ordinary fans are allowed back

[sage]

23 minutes ago, Tamworthram said:

The benefits gained from having more space for queuing would be lost to an extent by having longer queues due to reduced number of outlets though. 

I think no outlets inside the stadium would be preferable. It would make entering the stadium and visiting the toilets less crowded and possibly encourage people to take their seats earlier. 

You have to think we would be talking about a one third capacity. Maybe 50% less staff and spaces for people to stand on when queueing 

The club will be desperate to make money where they can.

 

[Tamworthram]

1 minute ago, sage said:

You have to think we would be talking about a one third capacity. Maybe 50% less staff and spaces for people to stand on when queueing 

Yep. So no queues at all for food and drink inside the stadium for food and drink sounds like the best thing even with a reduced capacity. 

[Mucker1884]

1 hour ago, jono said:

I am sure the softwear exists to make season tickets "work" on a match by match basis with emails and texts telling you your ticket is live for this game - odd and even seat numbers maybe ? They did that with car registration numbers in a number of European cities. 

No away fans - ST only alternate matches, you could operate at 40/50% capacity, maintain social distancing at least at the level of going to the shops and certainly better than public transport .. masks .. nope .. just wouldn't work at a footy game ( the crowd was curiously muffled today )

Its doable .. but what about pricing ? how do you make the sums add up ? 

Cue the cries of "We all agreeeee... Odd seats are louder than evens" !  ?

[MackworthRamIsGod]

9 hours ago, G STAR RAM said:

If there is going to be a second wave, why hasnt it materialised after the 'protests' where there was no social distancing?

Not saying there wont be a second wave but if there is it would appear a lack of social distancing wont be the driving factor.

I'm no expert, just my understanding from a report I read at the very beginning of all this stuff. The report I read was one done by scientists on behalf of the government and was originally what helped the government make their decisions, until they abandoned it..

Anyway, the report said they expected Covid-19 to die off slightly as the warmer weather hit, a bit like the flu bug or common cold, whether it was sunlight or heat that helped to reduce it, it would be a big factor in summer. So as much as the pictures of people on beaches made everyone angry, including me, actually those on the beaches in the sunshine were probably just as safe as those of us socially distancing at home.

The report also said we should then expect Covid-19 to pick up again in the winter, just like Flu and Colds; and until a vaccine was found the only way we could truly combat it was to lockdown, ease for a bit, lockdown, ease, rinse and repeat until a vaccine was developed.

Assuming the report is correct (it hasnt been wrong yet), then this current easing is purely about topping up the money pot during what is quite clearly a leaner spell in terms of the pandemic ready for what could be a pretty heavy 2nd wave.

If we arent knee deep in a 2nd wave and locked down at Christmas time I would be very surprised, but very very bloody happy!