Access for home fans

[GetIntoEm]

Hardly anyone said that. What most people did say was the congestion will be far worse, which it was. The ground was getting on for half empty by the time the referee blew the full time whistle. After a huge win our players appreciations to the crowd/vice versa were to sparsely populated stands. All in the name of improving the match experience. The club should have been looking into why we have a big problem with early leavers, not making decisions that just encourage it.

I saw someone talking to the police after the game, behind the huge crowds waiting to go to through a narrow pinch point. They were in agreement that the changes made no sense.

I go out that way already anyway as usually go to the park view after the game, and it didn't seem any different to what it normally does. That hate is about 30ft wide, not 6ft as reported here.

Weird about the police though as they will have been consulted through the SAG, probably wanted to just placate a moaner

[Leisure]

Can we use Ormerod Yard tonight?

[Claretfanatic1982]

As the father of autistic kids, I’m incredibly impressed with the thought going into the accessible stands, too.

It is a great initiative but we even had some supporters complaining about this.

[KlyBfc]

Hardly anyone said that. What most people did say was the congestion will be far worse, which it was. The ground was getting on for half empty by the time the referee blew the full time whistle. After a huge win our players appreciations to the crowd/vice versa were to sparsely populated stands. All in the name of improving the match experience. The club should have been looking into why we have a big problem with early leavers, not making decisions that just encourage it.

I saw someone talking to the police after the game, behind the huge crowds waiting to go to through a narrow pinch point. They were in agreement that the changes made no sense.

As we walked round a number of police were squeezing through in the opposite direction to the way to we (the crowd) were going. A few people shouted stuff at them, to which they didn’t respond but they clearly weren’t over impressed with having to struggle through the congestion.

As someone else has also already mentioned, it’s not so much about the changes it’s about when they were announced. As a group in the part of the ground most effected by the access changes, if they had been announed prior to the ability to change season ticket seats then fine, it would have been up to us then if we wanted to stay or move seats.

[nil_desperandum]

I go out that way already anyway as usually go to the park view after the game, and it didn't seem any different to what it normally does. That hate is about 30ft wide, not 6ft as reported here.

I stand to be corrected but I think people have reported it to be about 6 / 7 METRES not feet. Still rather less than the 30 feet you mention but not worth arguing over.
tbh - I think that the "gate of death" has been blown out of proportion by some people. Obviously, it will be more difficult to pass through than previously because of the significantly greater numbers. There have been incidents and accidents at this pinch point before, so the chances are that the number will increase. By far the greatest impact of this change - which the majority agree to be significant, is the serious issue facing those who are disabled or who have mobility issues.
I don't think that you have acknowledged this in any of your posts.
We were relatively unaffected on Saturday. We park as near to the ground (Bob Lord Stand) as possible with a Blue Badge. I would say it's just over a 5 minute walk for me, but it takes us over 15 minutes due to my fellow supporters disability. (No real change to previously)
If we had to walk round three sides of the ground - which is the only option for some now, I don't think it would be walkable for us.

[Woosh Deakin]

So in a nutshell, to surmise the 600 and odd posts.....

It's a tad more populated on the way out of the ground, but most of the wailing and gnashing of teeth for ten pages was completely unnecessary and maybe slightly over the top?

[nil_desperandum]

So in a nutshell, to surmise the 600 and odd posts.....

It's a tad more populated on the way out of the ground, but most of the wailing and gnashing of teeth for ten pages was completely unnecessary and maybe slightly over the top?

Yes, that in a nutshell, if you choose to disregard the disabled and most vulnerable.

[Procrastinate B]

It is a great initiative but we even had some supporters complaining about this.

Blimey.

[manuelbenny]

My dad never went on against Sunderland due to these daft changes. It took him all his time to navigate Ormerod Yard due to serious, grade 4 arthritis in his knee.

The best thing is he could cycle to the Turf as it's low impact but there's no cycle stations....even though we have this fantastic "town to turf"... but all Pace and co are bothered about is cheering the players off the coach, trying to stop people using the cricket club

....and let's not get started on the lousy, tinpot goal music which bismirches our history and proud tradition.

[Goody1975]

Some posters may have over egged the situation but they are no worse than the posters on here who populate the thread with their condescending and dismissive attitude.

Just because it doesn't affect you, doesn't mean it's not a big issue for others

[Rick_Muller]

there were absolutely no problems at the game

quite right too, well except for the hundreds of fans trying to access the CFS with valid tickets and being told to go to the ticket office to resolve it and then return to the turnstiles and try a paper ticket printed at the ticket office for that to fail too which results in the stewards just letting fans in through via the exit gate because the turnstiles didn't work - yeah, no problems at all

[Enola Gay]

....and let's not get started on the lousy, tinpot goal music which bismirches our history and proud tradition.

Overreaction much?

[Orangebernard]

I’ve asked this same question a couple of times before but has anyone seen anything from the club explaining why it has been necessary to switch home and away fans in the CFS? We have been given some corporate waffle about enhancing experiences but what is the real reason? Does anyone outside of the boardroom actually know? People are arguing with each other and others were rightly worrying about the consequences so the way I see it is it has caused and continues to cause people aggravation but for what reason?

[theboydonegood]

Personally i think there is a fair bit of forward planning going on. Will now be easier to close the Cricket field stand for redevelopment and put a reduced number of away supporters in the north lower..... then they may never move back to the new stand.

Tbdg

[Orangebernard]

Personally i think there is a fair bit of forward planning going on. Will now be easier to close the Cricket field stand for redevelopment and put a reduced number of away supporters in the north lower..... then they may never move back to the new stand.

Tbdg

That’s an interesting thought which I hadn’t considered. Do you think that our current board will actually be the ones to spend the money redeveloping the CFS, I have my doubts.

[ClaretPete001]

I honestly don't get it. The club changed people's seating arrangements without notice, which will likely prove to have exactly the opposite affect of those cited by the club. In addition, it does cause problems for people who are older, disabled or have other issues, which mean they are vulnerable in crowds.

One PL season, I think it could possibly have been Lee Hoos (but could stand corrected) decided to give the CSF to away supporters, which meant that in many games Burnley supporters were competing with over 4,000 away fans singing above the players dressing rooms.

His rationale was that “We have to have an otherwise full stadium in terms of home support, as we don’t want to dissipate that support and leave gaps elsewhere." “We want to do everything we can to help the manager and the players, and if we can do it, we will try".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUy9cS5ibco - how is this helping the Burnley players?

[randomclaret2]

Can we use Ormerod Yard tonight?

Burnley Police have tweeted that its Away fans only again

[Barry_Chuckle]

Will now be easier to close the Cricket field stand for redevelopment and put a reduced number of away supporters in the north lower.

What has made it easier?
There were home and away supporters in there both before and after the seat swapover, so nothings changed other than the home fans no have an inferior view to the one they had previously.

[The Shire Claret]

Some posters may have over egged the situation but they are no worse than the posters on here who populate the thread with their condescending and dismissive attitude.

Just because it doesn't affect you, doesn't mean it's not a big issue for others

I absolutely agree with you but it is also a good example of human nature in general with how people are glass half full and and glass half empty

Some people have a reason to be worried , especially those with mobility issues , but some people do like to moan for the sake of it and will ardly affect them at all...

works the same way for others that do dismiss the fans actually affected.

[claret wizard]

What has made it easier?
There were home and away supporters in there both before and after the seat swapover, so nothings changed other than the home fans no have an inferior view to the one they had previously.

My view is much better. Don't Chuckle your way into talking for me.

[theboydonegood]

What has made it easier?
There were home and away supporters in there both before and after the seat swapover, so nothings changed other than the home fans no have an inferior view to the one they had previously.

Erm. The away fans now enter at the opposite end of the stand. Which is now adjacent to the north lower entrances to the right of that stand.

Does that help?

Tbdg

[jlup1980]

Personally i think there is a fair bit of forward planning going on. Will now be easier to close the Cricket field stand for redevelopment and put a reduced number of away supporters in the north lower..... then they may never move back to the new stand.

Tbdg

I sit in the Jimmy Mac and I couldn't really understand the changeover of the CFS on Saturday. I thought similar to what you're saying. It would have made more sense to put away fans in the first block of the North Upper & Lower. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a longer term plan in the pipeline to enable us to have all of the CFS for home fans.

[GetIntoEm]

Yes, that in a nutshell, if you choose to disregard the disabled and most vulnerable.

Well if they were sensible they'd just stay in their seat for 10 minutes until the rush clears, similar to what happens on planes. It's not rocket science

[ŽižkovClaret]

My dad never went on against Sunderland due to these daft changes. It took him all his time to navigate Ormerod Yard due to serious, grade 4 arthritis in his knee.

The best thing is he could cycle to the Turf as it's low impact but there's no cycle stations....even though we have this fantastic "town to turf"... but all Pace and co are bothered about is cheering the players off the coach, trying to stop people using the cricket club

....and let's not get started on the lousy, tinpot goal music which bismirches our history and proud tradition.

Has he thought about a move into the accessible areas? I guess there could be a desire to stay within a group in existing area but if its that or dont go.....?

[appleton]

Where’s the similarities between those three disasters and having to leave through a sufficiently wide exit, albeit at a slightly slower pace?

Classless post.

I'm sorry for the delay in responding but I would simply point to the Wikipedia article "Crowd collapses and crushes."
All is fine until an exceptional set of circumstances precedes the disaster.
A protestant waif and stray from 1950's Glasgow dumped in a children's village in Bridge of Wier, I was a frequent visitor to Ibrox in the late 60's and could so easily have been there then.
I don't fancy fate catching up with me now.

[Yorkshirelad]

Well if they were sensible they'd just stay in their seat for 10 minutes until the rush clears, similar to what happens on planes. It's not rocket science

I presume you don’t have a relation with mobility issues.
You are quite correct on a plane people HAVE to wait behind everyone else to get off a plane. You are also quite correct they could wait 10 minutes to come out. But you have three levels all coming down onto the lower level and all waiting to go out. People want to get home just like everyone else.

Why shouldn’t changes be implemented for EVERYONE and not just got the able bodied supporters.

Remove the team coaches while the game is on make more exits rather than having just the one by the memorial area

One day we all could have mobility issues make it easier for us all.

[RicardoMontalban]

I'm sorry for the delay in responding but I would simply point to the Wikipedia article "Crowd collapses and crushes."
All is fine until an exceptional set of circumstances precedes the disaster.

I think the point is, for two of the examples you cited, Ibrox and Hillsborough, all was not fine. Ibrox, sadly, was no stranger to crowd tragedies and concerns around safety, and it was a similar story to Hillsborough.

[GetIntoEm]

I presume you don’t have a relation with mobility issues.
You are quite correct on a plane people HAVE to wait behind everyone else to get off a plane. You are also quite correct they could wait 10 minutes to come out. But you have three levels all coming down onto the lower level and all waiting to go out. People want to get home just like everyone else.

Why shouldn’t changes be implemented for EVERYONE and not just got the able bodied supporters.

Remove the team coaches while the game is on make more exits rather than having just the one by the memorial area

One day we all could have mobility issues make it easier for us all.

If you've got an idea that solves the problem for everyone id share it with everyone and the club, cos I can't think of one that would please everyone

[Orangebernard]

If you've got an idea that solves the problem for everyone id share it with everyone and the club, cos I can't think of one that would please everyone

Can I ask you why you think the club have switched the CFS around with very little notice and without providing an explanation? What do you think is the reason for the disruption and concern? I’m sure if the club had given definite reasons behind doing it maybe people would be more inclined to be more positive.

[The Shire Claret]

Can I ask you why you think the club have switched the CFS around with very little notice and without providing an explanation? What do you think is the reason for the disruption and concern? I’m sure if the club had given definite reasons behind doing it maybe people would be more inclined to be more positive.

I'm sure its going to have something to do with the new build they are doing in that corner .... it will be for home fans , not away fans

That was my thoughts anyway

[Orangebernard]

I'm sure its going to have something to do with the new build they are doing in that corner .... it will be for home fans , not away fans

That was my thoughts anyway

Yes I have no doubt that the intention is to build facilities in the corner of the BL and CFS but as far as I’m aware the planning permission hasn’t been approved and I’m not even certain they have submitted it yet, so why the rush for the Sunderland game? My thoughts are that the club are trying to get people onto the clubs footprint as early as they can so people are spending money with the club rather than local businesses. There’s nothing wrong with that in itself but it’s the way they are going about it is what concerns me. I think the switch had to be done in order for the club to have the ‘player arrival experience’ which involves driving the team buses down HPW which they couldn’t do if away fans coaches were parked there hence the switch. Plus the idea behind the player arrival experience is to try to get people onto the club footprint early spending money in the shop and fanzone. Also I don’t think it’s an unintentional consequence that the Cricket Club’s business is being adversely affected. So the way I see it , in the absence of any communication from the club is that this is purely driven by our boards desire to try to alter fan culture into more of an American ‘big game experience’ where fans are in and around the stadium for hours before kick off. Whether as Burnley fans we embrace it remains to be seen.

[nil_desperandum]

Well if they were sensible they'd just stay in their seat for 10 minutes until the rush clears, similar to what happens on planes. It's not rocket science

In your desperation to make your point, I’m afraid that you are not only coming across as selfish, and having no empathy for those less fortunate than yourself, you are now embarrassing yourself too with the ignorance of your most recent post
A sensible person might well stay behind until most people have gone, but how does this shorten the length of the walk.
If it’s too far to walk at 4.55 it’s still likely to be beyond your physical capability 15 minutes later
Numerous people have now pointed this out.
It seems quite clear that you have very little - if any - interaction with disabled people.Just accept that it’s fine for the majority, but a genuine problem for others.

[The Shire Claret]

Yes I have no doubt that the intention is to build facilities in the corner of the BL and CFS but as far as I’m aware the planning permission hasn’t been approved and I’m not even certain they have submitted it yet, so why the rush for the Sunderland game? My thoughts are that the club are trying to get people onto the clubs footprint as early as they can so people are spending money with the club rather than local businesses. There’s nothing wrong with that in itself but it’s the way they are going about it is what concerns me. I think the switch had to be done in order for the club to have the ‘player arrival experience’ which involves driving the team buses down HPW which they couldn’t do if away fans coaches were parked there hence the switch. Plus the idea behind the player arrival experience is to try to get people onto the club footprint early spending money in the shop and fanzone. Also I don’t think it’s an unintentional consequence that the Cricket Club’s business is being adversely affected. So the way I see it , in the absence of any communication from the club is that this is purely driven by our boards desire to try to alter fan culture into more of an American ‘big game experience’ where fans are in and around the stadium for hours before kick off. Whether as Burnley fans we embrace it remains to be seen.

Burnley Fans with kids and grandkids will most likley embrace it. The kids being able to see the players come off the team bus is an experience in itself and one I even wanted to be able to do as a kid.

People don't like change

I certainly don't like many of the changes ... mainly the price increases .... but I personally do feel like this has all mainly been with the best intentions in the long term

[dougcollins]

I'll get used to the long walk, I've no choice, but it'll never be a 'better' experience.

I'm sure the away fans are loving it.

Making the ground a fortress, with a hostile (passively, of course) atmosphere doesn't start by making the away fans as comfortable as possible.

[manuelbenny]

Overreaction much?

Overreaction? Absolutely not. Nothing better than celebrating a goal but now we are drowned out by that stupid Norwich City crap.

[The Shire Claret]

Overreaction? Absolutely not. Nothing better than celebrating a goal but now we are drowned out by that stupid Norwich City crap.

I hate the goal music ... hate it

But lets not kid ourselves that it's new .... we've been doing it on and off for 20 years or so

[Procrastinate B]

I still maintain the movement of the away fans is being done to make a future replacement stand home fans only, with away supporters in ‘that end’ of the north stand. With this arrangement in place, things will already be ‘normal’ by that time.

The CFS demolition will draw even closer if we manage to stay up.

I know ALK have their detractors here, but they won’t have done this for no reason.

[MT03ALG]

In the past I usually parked on the Tennis Court Car Park and walked down the side of the CC to my seat in the JHU Upper, sometimes calling in at the CC before and/or after the game. On Saturday I arrived at 12 noon and parked on the street behind the JM Stand. I then spent 2 hours in the Park View. I decided against this time consuming pastime by not going to the game tonight. I wonder what the attendance will be.

[Enola Gay]

Overreaction? Absolutely not. Nothing better than celebrating a goal but now we are drowned out by that stupid Norwich City crap.

The 'overreaction' was mainly a reaction to goal music somehow being an affront to our history. As said elsewhere we've done it plenty of times before with (as far as I remember) none of the whining.

The goal music on Saturday, for example, was so intrusive that I couldn't even tell you what it was.

[Bosscat]

In the past I usually parked on the Tennis Court Car Park and walked down the side of the CC to my seat in the JHU Upper, sometimes calling in at the CC before and/or after the game. On Saturday I arrived at 12 noon and parked on the street behind the JM Stand. I then spent 2 hours in the Park View. I decided against this time consuming pastime by not going to the game tonight. I wonder what the attendance will be.

I parked on the Tennis Club on Saturday, and walked down Holcombe Drive and Memorial Garden, I left the match 10 minutes after the whistle after the game and back out via Memorial Garden ... will be doing the same tonight. OK its a bit hard work getting to the narrow gate to access the Memorial Garden (A new Larger gate required) but was home only 10 minutes later than normal.

All my worries before this was about parking and where the closure was on Belvedere Rd ... these were eased when I found out it was below the Cricket Club, and so nothings really changed except a walk of 5 minutes more to get into/away from TM.

[ŽižkovClaret]

I parked on the Tennis Club on Saturday, and walked down Holcombe Drive and Memorial Garden, I left the match 10 minutes after the whistle after the game and back out via Memorial Garden ... will be doing the same tonight. OK its a bit hard work getting to the narrow gate to access the Memorial Garden (A new Larger gate required) but was home only 10 minutes later than normal.

All my worries before this was about parking and where the closure was on Belvedere Rd ... these were eased when I found out it was below the Cricket Club, and so nothings really changed except a walk of 5 minutes more to get into/away from TM.

It is little details like that gate not being replaced with a larger gap and/or an extra exit route, even just for emergencies, not being knocked through that suggests a lack of thorough thought and consideration.

Suppose someone sets off some sort of banger style fireworks or pyro in the crowd as it snakes its way out past the club shop. people could get hurt in a crush

[ClaretTony]

Can we use Ormerod Yard tonight?

No it is closed for home fans for all games

[jrgbfc]

You'd think they could show a bit of common sense for low profile games like tonight.

[Quickenthetempo]

What did they do to separate away fans and the longside area?
Did they block it off?

[Bosscat]

What did they do to separate away fans and the longside area?
Did they block it off?

Fence floor to roof

[Bosscat]

Managed to find a spot on Holcome Drive tonight ... Takes me back a few years parking on here

[appleton]

The crowd density was fine when I left early. Looks okay in the posted pictures of full time I ve never noticed fire risks, but I m not an expert.
Please let's all take it easy and don't shove our way out to keep the crowd density safe for all.

[Bosscat]

Just been chatting with our Chairman outside the JHU ... asked about a bigger gate to Memorial Garden and he agreed saying its on the agenda ...