STATEMENT FROM PORT VALE CHAIRMAN

[retford rover]

tHE VALE SOCIAL CLUB WILL BE AWAY FANS ONLY .

Port Vale chairman Norman Smurthwaite has made the following statement...

"Due to the impending sale of the Co-Operative building next door to our stadium, the Co-op understandably decided not to extend Port Vale’s use of its car park on match days.

In view of the lost income to the Club, the Club undertook to make some operational changes which effectively was to have home fans only parking on the Hamil Road car park, with home and away fans using Vale Social (formerly known as Tommy Cheadles) on match days.

Regrettably the police in reviewing the operational changes above, and the Club being unable to agree with the police categories for the coming season, Mr Matthew Ellis, the Crime and Police Commissioner, requested that a Safety Advisory Group meeting be called for them to arbitrate what course of action, if any, should be taken in view of their concerns regarding public safety.

The initial category of the Doncaster game on Saturday was one of a low risk but, due to the proposed changes to match day  operations by the Club, as referred to above, it was stated in the SAG meeting “it is the view of Staffordshire Police that the admission of spectators to Vale Park during the Port Vale versus Doncaster Rovers football  fixture due to take place on the 22nd August 2015 and the Port Vale versus  Millwall fixture due to take place on the 5th September 2015 will involve a risk to them so serious that, unless steps are taken to reduce the identified risk to a reasonable level, the admission of spectators to the ground ought to be prohibited or restricted”.

Certain proposals to reduce the risk element and, in turn, the policing costs to the Club were put forward by Staffordshire Police and reinforced by Matthew Ellis.  These included putting a double skinned high security anti-climb mesh fence system across the Hamil Road car park between the Club shop and Gate B and the same fence along the full perimeter wall of Hamil Road, up towards High Lane, that Vale Social (Tommy Cheadles) was to operate as an away only licensed premises on match days and that, on games designated by the police, the Hamil Road car park be used solely for the use of away spectator parking of coaches, mini buses etc. 

The sole intention of the Club’s decisions was to manage the stadium footprint and to protect its commercial income following the loss of revenue from the Co-op car park. The Club did not consider that at any point would there be any compromise or reduction of the safety requirements to any spectators, staff or third party agencies visiting Vale Park.  Regrettably due to the powers that the police hold, certain concessions have had to be agreed in order for games to be allowed to continue without any prohibition notice or any other relevant action and these concessions are as follows:

•    There has now been the a fence installed on the Hamil Road car park from the Club Shop to the boundary wall.
•    For the Doncaster Rovers game and other games to be advised during the course of the season the Hamil Road car park, segregated by the new fence, will be used for away spectators mini buses and coaches to park.
•    Vale Social on designated games, starting tomorrow with the game against Doncaster Rovers, will be an away fan venue only.

I would like to thank the senior management of Stoke City Council for its advice and support along with the Clubs senior safety team and Club Secretary for their continual professional conduct in dealing with what has been a very challenging few weeks.

I ask you, our fans, to understand and accept the changes that I have had to implement on match days and personally request that you enjoy the game tomorrow and it be remembered for what happens on the pitch."

Norman Smurthwaite
Chairman


Read more at http://www.port-vale.co.uk/news/article/chairmans-statement-2636216.aspx#PXcZDf8GggiWEbb5.99

[Askern_reds]

does he mean the club were you av to pay to get in and be surrounded by gorillas? stuff Ya club , about time we started doing what every other club are doing,

[podrover73]

does he mean the club were you av to pay to get in and be surrounded by gorillas? stuff Ya club , about time we started doing what every other club are doing,

Judging by the way this was going earlier in the week DRFC supporters were going to be inconvenienced because they were not going to be allowed anywhere near the club or any pub within the area.

As it is the Vale fans are now in a losing position as the club has been forced to allow the Rovers fans into their social club , how would you feel about that ?
 The point you make about last season being surrounded by gorillas , do you mean the over th etop police prescence or the Stewards ?

We have Stewards outside the Belle Vue bar also


 

[Askern_reds]

yes we av but how many? and yes the policeing and the amount of stewards was way over the top, and the police made us park at ground and use that club we had no choice so that's not different

[The Red Baron]

There seems to be a lot of local politics involved here. What I don't understand is how our game can suddenly go from being low-risk to high-risk in such a short time? Either the police have specific intelligence that something is going to kick off, or (more likely) someone locally is trying to make things difficult for the club.