Statement By Directors – Crowd Admission Period

The Board of Directors regrets the problems of crowd entry and segregation that arose at the Clyde v St.Mirren match on Friday of last week and the inconvenience and discomfort that they occasioned to spectators. The Board has been giving consideration to the circumstances that arose and to the complaints that have been received.

The Directors observed the problems as they were happening and they have considered the reports they obtained from the Security Company and the various staff that were on duty on the occasion.

The total number of spectators attending the match was 1811, all of whom were accommodated in the main stand of Broadwood Stadium which has a capacity of 3,500. The crowd attendance was therefore only fractionally more than half of the stand’s capacity. All of the six turnstiles in the stand were in operation from one hour before the scheduled match kick-off time of 7.30pm.

The principal problem appeared to be that the majority of the spectators arrived very late at the stadium and the turnstiles could not cope with their numbers before kick-off. Admission numbers are monitored from the time the gates are opened. On this occasion at 7.05pm only 152 people had sought admission. By 7.20pm the number had risen to 900. In the last 10 minutes or so prior to the scheduled start of the match over 900 people arrived, seeking virtually immediate admission.

The turnstile provision of the main stand, in common with the others, was designed in accordance with the codes of practice that relate to them and to the capacity of the stand. It has to be acknowledged, however, that crowd segregation and the dedication of turnstiles to senior citizens and students and combined parent and child admissions affect the distribution of gates available to the various categories of spectators. The Directors have reached the opinion that some reallocation of turnstile use would be beneficial.

It has been decided, therefore, that to minimise admission waiting times the turnstiles lying to left of the main entrance, that is turnstiles A, B and C, will be utilised for admission of visiting club supporters and turnstiles D, E and F, to the right of the main entrance, by the home support. Turnstiles B and E will be dedicated to the use of concessionary admissions while season ticket holders will be able to use any of the 3 home turnstiles.

It is hoped that some increase, now intended, in the segregated area for use by visiting spectators will enable ease of maintenance of segregation.

Another complaint received from both sets of supporters was that they had been abused and intimidated by some opposing supporters. The Directors are unaware of the validity of this charge but they hope that all our supporters will ensure that that no such incident will occur in the future. If such practices do occur the Club will take firm action against any identified culprit/s. Let’s make sure everyone can enjoy Clyde matches and the sport to which we are all devoted.

PLEASE HELP US BY TURNING UP IN GOOD TIME. THE PRE-MATCH ENTERTAINMENT NOW PROVIDED IS BEING WELL RECEIVED AND DESERVES YOUR PRESENCE.

November 2003