[Albion] Possible return of fans to the Amex (incorporating the Q and A forum on 17th August)

[Beach Hut]

Going with 25-30% capacity is an enormous reduction. With all car parks and a P&R in use, plus staggered arrival and departure times, I don't the trains will be at all mobbed (assume SASTA run a 'normal' number).

The point is there is no way with a reduced crowd there will be a train every 10 minutes to and from Falmer, Railways have wasted enough time running empty trains during lock down.

 

[LamieRobertson]

If trains were seen as a problem- maybe they could restrict travel to car / cycling / walking only. With 25% capacity I guess enough people could come by those routes to take all the tickets.

The number of cars coming are limited by the amount of parking available, so I guess that would be maxed out plus more walkers and cyclists. Might need more cycle stands at the stadium.

What’s it like on trains for people travelling to work...assume that its well down due to WFH..but do any of them get near capacity..are their rules on how many are allowed on?

 

[Hotchilidog]

What’s it like on trains for people travelling to work...assume that its well down due to WFH..but do any of them get near capacity..are their rules on how many are allowed on?

The anecdotal evidence I have from friends who have had to travel to London for work, is that they are pretty empty still. Nowhere near normal commuting levels

 

[Guinness Boy]

The anecdotal evidence I have from friends who have had to travel to London for work, is that they are pretty empty still. Nowhere near normal commuting levels

I imagine even emptier in the school holidays? I had to go up to London in late June to help with an office move. Train and tube were pretty much empty. No problem social distancing.

 

[Hotchilidog]

I imagine even emptier in the school holidays? I had to go up to London in late June to help with an office move. Train and tube were pretty much empty. No problem social distancing.

I guess so. I have now used the trains twice for short journeys to the start point for hikes at the weekend and they were sparsely populated and at least on my journeys fully masked. It made me feel slightly less awkward travelling on them

 

[Peter Grummit]

I wouldn’t be surprised to see all concourse catering outlets closed, certainly in the initial phase. Seems a bit daft to take risks with the fan restart and queues of any kind seem best avoided. Ive missed my pre match Harveys but seems sensible to also minimize toilet trips. We haven’t decided when we will feel safe returning so look forward to hearing the club’s thinking on these issues.

I think that would also remove a lot of staff H+S issues - staff numbers would need to be drastically reduced in the kiosks if they were open. Plus, stock numbers very hard to predict, wastage risk etc. If people can't manage 2 hours without refreshments, then bring your own. Relaxation of bottle tops protocol would seem to be a sensible risk trade-off.

 

[Bozza]

I guess so. I have now used the trains twice for short journeys to the start point for hikes at the weekend and they were sparsely populated and at least on my journeys fully masked. It made me feel slightly less awkward travelling on them

I was on the last Worthing-bound train from Brighton on Friday night, just after midnight. I was one of very few people wearing a mask, but I appreciate that particular service may not be typical!

 

[WilburySeagull]

There is definitely room on Sussex and Brighton campuses for a few hundred more cars. Given Unis are going to be losing a lot of money due to overseas students not coming this year I'm sure they'd be happy to earn some extra cash. Make it that to use the car park you must be car sharing and that would help. Other consideration could be parking in Stanmer Park on the grass by the entrance. Gets used for festivals every year and events so there is a precedent of being used and it's just grass so not much to get damaged.

Whilst I agree with a lot of this car sharing outside a household goes against current advice

 

[Is it PotG?]

TV for me, 'til the vaccine.

Masks, travel and a diluted atmosphere with a third empty stadium holds no appeal whatsoever.

 

[Hazwaz]

How about using Seagulls coaches @60% capacity to arrive at a pre- booked time and fans escorted like an away day aka Wembley last year.Drinks etc could be pre booked and picked up in designated areas.Adjustable screens around certain seating?
Just ideas

 

[Hotchilidog]

I was on the last Worthing-bound train from Brighton on Friday night, just after midnight. I was one of very few people wearing a mask, but I appreciate that particular service may not be typical!

That would really annoy me...

I travelled to Southease and then this weekend Hassocks with a return from Lewes. So hardly the most boisterous services.

 

[A1X]

No singing? So it's just the East Stand which is being allowed back then?

 

[LamieRobertson]

TV for me, 'til the vaccine.

Masks, travel and a diluted atmosphere with a third empty stadium holds no appeal whatsoever.

That’s if the game gets screened...as I understand it there are currently no plans to show every single game as in project restart...although I guess there will always b the dodgy stream

 

[Springal]

How about using Seagulls coaches @60% capacity to arrive at a pre- booked time and fans escorted like an away day aka Wembley last year.Drinks etc could be pre booked and picked up in designated areas.Adjustable screens around certain seating?
Just ideas

They are already pretty expensive - if you operate at 60% capacity that price goes up even more and they'll need to source even more coaches (not impossible given how many spares will be around I guess)

 

[Hotchilidog]

How about using Seagulls coaches @60% capacity to arrive at a pre- booked time and fans escorted like an away day aka Wembley last year.Drinks etc could be pre booked and picked up in designated areas.Adjustable screens around certain seating?
Just ideas

Seagulls Travel could also be part of the mix, not an unreasonable suggestion if the economics supported it. Pre-ordering or app based ordering of refreshments is also another possibility given the Amex wi-fi which should not be overloaded with a 25/30% capacity

 

[Rugrat]

What’s it like on trains for people travelling to work...assume that its well down due to WFH..but do any of them get near capacity..are their rules on how many are allowed on?

I came down on a 5.00 Thameslink from London Bridge about 10 days ago and there were no more than 7 or 8 in our carriage

 

[Peter Grummit]

The transport for me is the big issue. I can't be arsed to pick the bones out of whatever disagreement seems to have already happened around this, but train over-crowding is the obvious issue and, as I wrote when we were discussing this months back, it feels somewhat perverse that our reliance on public transport options could very well be a burden in Covid-world.

There are three mitigations however...

- Reduced capacity. At 25%, that's quite a reduction in demand on the trains.

- Parking. There must be pretty decent capacity across the University car parks, The Bridge and Bennett's Field that could absorb a fair few thousand people. Depending on how ticket allocations work, you could almost make a case for car park priority going to families/bubbles of 3/4+ people so that car parking is optimally utilised in terms of number of fans that use this transport option, reducing the demand on trains and buses.

- Phased arrivals - the least attractive mitigation. Who wants to turn up, say, 2 hours before the game? Beyond that, phased departures are difficult to implement, particularly if there is limited/no concourse options.

Two supplementary ideas on transport mitigation:

- Is there an expanded, safe drop-off location that could be set up?
- If those attending were required to give advance notice of how they intend to travel, this would give the Club and transport operators more certainty in their planning and safety precautions.

 

[Guinness Boy]

That would really annoy me...

I travelled to Southease and then this weekend Hassocks with a return from Lewes. So hardly the most boisterous services.

I know I'm going to sound like a miserable old Victor Meldrew but "these young people" going for a drink don't seem to give a shit.

Went out with family for a meal and drink in Hove the Friday before last. Bus back was full of under 30s, not one of them in a mask, and that was only 9pm. The bus driver just shrugged.

 

[dazzer6666]

The anecdotal evidence I have from friends who have had to travel to London for work, is that they are pretty empty still. Nowhere near normal commuting levels

Same - I don't know a single commuting pal that's actually going to London other than for the occasional day.

 

[WilburySeagull]

I dont get the relevance of how empty trains are at the moment. We are talking about a completely different scenario which particularly for the journey home might involve several thousand fans wanting to get a train at the same time. There clearly needs to be a plan to deal with that vastly different situation.