In these times of uncertainty Chesham United Football Club has been heartened by the over-whelming support of our players, management, sponsors and supporters as we look to bring the 2019/20 season to a close and begin preparations for the next campaign.
The commitment from supporters to helping out at summer working parties and purchasing season tickets for the new season has given everyone a lift, however the club is very conscious that there still remains a need to tidy-up some of the detail from last season, including recognising those supporters that kindly committed to a season ticket for the 2019/20 season and may feel aggrieved that the premature end to the season meant you got to see four games less than you would originally have expected.
As a Board we recognise the importance of supporters being seen to be treated fairly and after long discussions we would like to offer season ticket holders for 2019/20 a number of options.
I am sure it is no secret that match-day ticket sales and season ticket sales are a major part of the income needed to run the club, and it will be no surprise if I was to say that the money received this time last year for season tickets was spent on the many aspects of running the club some months ago, and is not just sitting in a bank account for the Board to spend at our leisure. We are still working to extremely tight financial restraints until such time as we can get fully up and running again, to which end I am hugely grateful to those supporters that have already been in touch to say that they are happy not to receive any refund for the games missed and have instead expressed a desire to help the club financially.
However, I appreciate that not everybody is in a position to do that. With four games remaining, the cost for those games on a adult season ticket, taking into account Early Bird sales as well, averages out to approximately £20. Therefore, as an option, we would like to offer 2019/20 Season Ticket holders a £20 discount (proportionate for concessions) off the cost of your 2020/21 season tickets. As with the airlines and holiday companies, this will at least enable the club to manage cash-flow in the short term and budget for the shortcomings going forward.
Naturally, we would be delighted to welcome any other season ticket holders who would like to confirm that they are happy to write-off the missed games as a donation. In the name of honesty and transparency, again you might not be surprised to hear that this will be our favoured option! It will help us to get ourselves back on track in preparing for what we hope will be another successful season; but we are certainly not going to force that decision or make things difficult for anyone who would prefer an alternative option.
We have also had some supporters request that we make a charitable donation on their behalf for the equivalent of the outstanding games – NHS work being a particularly poignant cause at the moment – and we are happy to do similar for others if that is your preference.
We would like to leave the decision with you, the supporter. At the moment we are still working remotely as a club giving us limited administration access and therefore I appreciate your patience as we look to deal with the queries. Unfortunately, we are not currently in the position to automatically send out discounts or refunds to everyone, but are happy to deal with individual requests.
When you come to renew your season ticket for 2020/21, if you would like to receive the discount as an existing season ticket holder, please state this request along with your application. For refunds or to request a charity donation, please contact secretary@cheshamunited.co.uk , or for any further questions contact myself at chairman@cheshamunited.co.uk.
Accepting this is not a perfect solution, these are far from perfect times, on behalf of the Board I would like to thank everyone for their loyalty, patience and support and please do feel free to contact me directly if you have any concerns about your season ticket purchase for either next season or last.
Peter Brown, Chairman
Chesham United Football Club
