Northampton Town have released information to 2020/21 season ticket holders.
In a letter/email to season ticket holders, Chairman Kelvin Thomas explained the options available to season ticket holders and the challenges faced by the club.
The document shown here explains the full range of options open to season ticket holders, who have the option to donate any refund/credit due back to the club, or take a refund or a credit to the value of approx 40% of the price paid.
As a thank you to those who choose to donate their season ticket refund/credit to the club, their names will be embroidered in to the fabric of a special 125th anniversary shirt (shown above) that the club will wear to mark the milestone birthday next March. These supporters will also have access to a special ProudToBe website.
Full details are on the attached but the headline points are:
DONATION
Name embroidered in to the club's 125th anniversary shirt.
Access to ProudToBe.uk tribute website (details to follow).
Under 7s (free season tickets) automatically included.
Should supporters wish to claim a credit or refund, the following options apply:
CREDIT
Supporters can apply a credit of approx 40% off the cost of a 2021/22 season ticket.
40% is the difference between the value of iFollow and the cost of an adult West Stand season ticket.
Please see attached document for full details for each category of season ticket.
REFUND
As above, but supporters can apply for a refund of approx 40% of the price paid for a 2020/21 season ticket.
Please see attached document for full details for each category of season ticket.
Note:
2020/21 car parking will be rolled over to 2021/22.
Supporters have until 30 April to decide upon their donation, credit or refund.
The club will not be making any adjustment for the one game most season ticket holders had the opportunity to attend in December and will continue to make all matchday programmes available as free downloads from the club website for the rest of the season.
EMAIL/LETTER BEING SENT TO SEASON TICKET HOLDERS FROM KELVIN THOMAS
We are writing to thank you for your support, and to update you on our plans.
This has been a very difficult year for all football clubs. When season tickets went on sale last summer, I think we all knew or expected that part of the season would be played behind closed doors. What none of us could have predicted however, was how long that period would go on for, or that when season ticket holders were permitted to return that restrictions would be required again. Indeed, it was just last week when the Prime Minister announced that supporters would not be able to return to outdoor sports stadiums until May 17th, which effectively means the start of next season, or at least pre-season, for us.
Now that is confirmed, we have the clarity that we stated we needed in previous updates. This enables us to communicate to you the range of options for those who purchased a 2020/21 season ticket that we have been working on for some time. These options are detailed on the attached.
Of course it goes without saying that no system that we put in place will be perfect. We could never have foreseen that it would not be possible to admit our season ticket holders to all but two league matches and with season ticket holders accessing matches instead via iFollow. This is a complex and unforeseen situation that we are having to react to and come up with something we believe is as fair as possible to all supporters and all circumstances while also balancing the need to protect the future of the club. On a recent podcast Q&A that you may have heard, I stated that the club’s income could potentially be as much as £3m down as a result of COVID and there is no single or easy solution to that. To help the club through this challenging period requires a combination of factors and as owners we have, and will continue to financially support the club.
I should also offer a big thank you to those supporters from the Trust, Sixfields Travel, It's All Cobblers To Me, The Shoe Army and other supporters who gave up their time to offer us feedback on these plans. We very much appreciate those involved doing so.
The exciting and unique benefit for those who choose to donate any refund or credit to the club, is that they will have their name woven into the fabric of our special 125th anniversary shirt. This shirt, which is shown on the attached document, is based on the club's first ever kit from 1897, will be worn on a one off occasion to mark the club’s 125th birthday in March 2022. This shirt will be available in the club store, meaning their name will forever be part of the club’s history as our way of saying thank you to them for helping the club through the Covid-19 pandemic.
We will also be launching a ProudToBe web site in the weeks ahead to allow anyone who donates their credit or refund to the club to feature in a digital wall of thanks. More details on that will follow.
We know that in these challenging times not everybody wants to or can afford to donate their money, and so the refund or credit options are available to those who wish to take them.
As I mentioned above, the attached is not a perfect solution and we understand there may be some who are seen to benefit more than others, however we feel this is a fair and simplistic approach that balances the factors the club must consider.
We should also say at this point, that all car parking passes will roll over to next season. No action is required.
Once again, we cannot thank our season ticket holders enough. Many have already come forward to say they don’t want to claim a refund and we are so grateful to each and every season ticket holder who has said that. Your support is vital to the club and it is a huge help and I think the ability for us to offer such a lasting memento in the club's history is wonderful.
Thank you again for your support.
Kelvin Thomas
Chairman