Saints confirm St Mary's cuts (From This is Hampshire)

Saints confirm St Mary's cuts

8:00am Friday 13th June 2008

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Saints have announced a raft of cost cutting measures that include closing three corners of their St Mary's ground, axing subsided bus transport for fans and opening the stadium later on matchdays in a bid to save £250,000 a year.

Football board chairman Michael Wilde has confirmed the plans and admits they may not prove popular but says they are necessary as the club looks to scale back costs and live within its means.

Around 700 season ticket holders will have to be moved as blocks 1-3, 12-14 and 36-39 are closed leaving the Chapel/Kinglsand which houses the JSaints and family sections as the only corner of the ground open unless there is a big demand for tickets.

The club are also set to asks the City Council for their approval to suspend the inclusion of subsidised bus travel in the club's transport plan.

Saints say this was originally included on the basis of anticipated gates of 30,000, but is no longer justified either on transport or cost grounds at the current gate levels. The dedicated shuttle bus service linking the stadium with central station and the ferry terminals will also be reduced for the same reasons.

The stadium is also set to open at 1.45pm on matchdays with a 3pm kick-off rather than 1.30pm.

Michael Wilde said: "We deeply regret having to take these measures but unfortunately they have been forced upon us by the financial situation we find ourselves in.

"That means we now have to take some unpleasant and unpalatable actions to get the finances back on track and to retain the support of our funders.

"We know this will impact on supporter amenity. There is no point trying to pretend otherwise and we do apologise to all those fans that are affected - particularly to those having to switch seats.

"Around 700 supporters have renewed in those corner sections, and they will be able to swap their seats for any other available seats in the stadium. If we have a fixture that looks to exceed the revised capacity of the ground, say a big Cup game, then we will re-open the quadrants for that fixture.

"If that happens then displaced season ticket holders will have first choice of going back to their original seat for that game.

"Everyone affected was written to yesterday to try and explain the situation and we ask for their understanding.

"Similarly we apologise to all those who might be inconvenienced by the proposal to suspend subsidised bus travel which, at present, is a large and unaffordable expense to the club."

He added: "It is not something we have done lightly but these measures will provide a significant and vital saving.

"Hopefully, supporters will understand the need for such measures at the present time and will support our endeavours to create a financially sustainable club.

"This is, without doubt, a crucial period for us, and it is important that we all do whatever we can to guide our football club through its present difficulties.

"If we deliver the quality of football that everyone wants and gates improve, then all of these changes can be reversed in the future. We will therefore be keeping these measures under constant review throughout the coming season."

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