The Managing Director of Glasgow Clan, Gareth Chalmers has spoken about his club’s reaction to new Covid-19 rules.
The Scottish outfit have been hit hard by the restrictions and have seen a lot of their games postponed.
They currently sit rock-bottom of the EIHL table with just five wins so far.
Shockingly they have only played 15 games, compared to most other teams who have played 20 or more.
This has meant many fans haven’t seen their team play live in a while.
The Problem
The Scottish Government’s new restrictions implemented from Boxing Day further exacerbated this issue.
Chalmers spoke recently about this saying: “When the First Minister made that announcement it came as a bit of a surprise to Sports Scotland.
“Our staff were preparing to go on holiday and it left us scrambling around a little bit, very frustrating, very last minute”.
Under these new rules seated, indoor events are limited to just 200 people.
The Solution
The Clan released a statement addressing this, saying: “Due to Scottish Government restrictions, the next 3 home games (Tuesday 11th January vs Manchester, Wednesday 12th January vs Cardiff and Friday 14th January vs Nottingham) will be limited to 200 fans per game”.
With this news they’ve said season tickets will not be valid for these three games.
Tickets for the games will be released on general sale on a first come, first served basis.
The tickets will cost £20 + booking fees and facilities costs.
The club have said they’ll be contacting their season ticket holders with details about a free webcasting service.
Glasgow Clan will be launching this from their next game against Manchester Storm.
For non-season ticket holders this will cost £15.
Further on in their statement the club have said: “As we are currently still waiting for confirmation of if and what compensation package will be available from the Scottish Government, this has left the club in a very difficult situation in terms of financial planning”.
This has garnered a strong response from fans.
The Reaction
Some believing it unfair on season ticket holders.
Others understanding the financial situation the club faces.
And others are threatening to stop their support of the club altogether.
It is a difficult time for the Clan who are losing lots in matchday funds.
Chalmers said it was into the hundreds of thousands lost in revenue over the Christmas period alone.
A free webcast for season ticket holders, has done little to appease the angry fans but as others have said, what more can they do?
The Clan are next in action against Manchester Storm in the first of three home games this week.
