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Brentford Football Club have unveiled its plans to tackle the reality of the Corona Virus’ impact on the game, and its fans’ ability to attend matches at the new stadium this season, by offering season ticket refund and deferral options for the 20/21 and 21/22 seasons.

It had been hoped that a phased return to matches where fans could attend was possible, with trial events planned for September and October, however, the Government’s latest restrictions have seen those scrapped. In light of those developments, the club and fan representatives from BIAS have worked hard on a package of measures that not only tackle the reality of supporters having paid out for season tickets they can’t use, but also take into account the revenue stream needs of Brentford Football Club.

The game has a huge challenge in the coming months as it now faces the possibility of a whole season without gate receipt income, and many fear that many won’t survive this devastating situation… but equally, families and individuals have job-loss and wage-cut clouds hanging over them and, for many, having hundreds of pounds tied up in a season ticket they cannot use is unrealistic right now. There have been big job losses at Heathrow, where many of our fan-base work, and despite the Chancellor’s latest package of financial assistance, a lot of fans would want their money back.

Having read the club’s statement, which is reproduced in full below, there seems to be an option that should suit most, if not all, situations, and credit must be given to both the club and BIAS for seizing the nettle and making what must have been hard financial decisions.

I spoke this week on the Beesotted Pride of West London Podcast that, in my opinion at least, the Ollie Watkins transfer was a game-changer in many respects – having a £28m fee secured in this current climate was an exceptional piece of business – but it made it then impossible to justify holding on to fans’ money in totality for a season in the wilderness. The club have done the right thing and have listened to the fans before making their decisions.

Dave Lane

 

BRENTFORD FOOTBALL CLUB’S STATEMENT

Following the government announcements this week, our Sky Bet Championship games will continue to be played behind closed doors for the foreseeable future. As a Season Ticket Holder, we want to welcome you into our new home just as soon as we can this season so we will continue to work closely with the EFL and the government to find a way to achieve this safely and will keep you updated on any progress.

During these uncertain times, we need to act both to safeguard our Club over the coming months and at the same time provide a good range of options for Season Ticket Holders who we recognise may be facing very challenging financial circumstances right now. To this end, we have prepared a valuable package of benefits to encourage as many of you as possible to simply freeze your Season Ticket until we are able to welcome you to games again. The ‘freeze’ option offers continued access to The Bees via the EFL’s exclusive iFollow package for the rest of this year, priority access when the stadium re-opens to fans, and guarantees you the same Season Ticket price next season, even if our league status changes. There are also two refund options which are outlined below.

The three options for your 2020/21 Season Ticket are explained below and you have until Friday 2 October to let us know your decision. If you don’t action any of the options below before the above deadline, we will include you in the ‘Option 1’ group. Please read through all the options before you make your choice and, if you have any questions, please check our FAQs here ( https://www.brentfordfc.com/FAQs ) for more information. If you are still unsure, please email us at [email protected] with your query or call our Box Office team on 0333 005 8521 and they will be happy to assist you.

To give you sufficient time to consider your options and as a thank you for your ongoing support and patience this season, we can confirm that all Season Ticket Holders and Premium Seat Holders will be sent an iFollow code for our game against Preston North End. This will be the case whatever decision you take regarding your Season Ticket. This iFollow code will be sent on Wednesday next week.

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OPTION 1 – FREEZE YOUR SEASON TICKET

If you pick ‘Option 1’, your Season Ticket will be frozen and your money carried over to the 2021/22 season*. Your Season Ticket and seat will be fully reserved for 2021/22 until our Seat Hold Deadline next year.

Full benefits include:

  • iFollow access to watch all home and mid-week away Sky Bet Championship games until 31 December (including games broadcast on Sky Sports)
  • Priority access to our home league matches (this could be on a rotational basis) once we are allowed to have supporters in the stadium (subject to Government guidelines). The value of any matches attended will be deducted from the amount held for the 2021/22 Season Ticket with the remaining balance paid at renewal (see example below).
  • Priority access for Cup Tickets (subject to availability and Government guidelines)
  • No price increase on your Season Ticket for the 2021/22 Season** (regardless of our league status)
  • Exclusive Season Ticket Holder offers and events and a Welcome Packs*** with your Brentford CardFreeze your Season Ticket here >>> https://r1.surveysandforms.com/640e9df4445ff26636gx151581bdef64e1d1-2b461361e8314b284xiga80ec4a81d5f4521 )​Example for an Adult Season Ticket (Band B at £399)​
    £399 / 23 = £17.35 per match​
    If 5 matches attended: £17.35 x 5 =  £86.74​
    ​
    £86.74 to pay towards 2021/22 Season Ticket renewal*If full Season Ticket Holder capacity can be achieved before this, 2020/21 Season Tickets will be reactivated. In this case we will notify you when your Season Ticket will be reactivated so you can attend home league games. **The price will be held up to the Seat Hold Deadline. ***Your Welcome Pack will be sent in October.*****
    OPTION 2 – GET A PARTIAL REFUNDWith our partial refund option, you can claim a refund for 75 per cent of the value of your Season Ticket* with a 25 per cent deposit retained as a non-refundable deposit towards 2021/22 Season Ticket renewal. Your 2020/21 Season Ticket will be cancelled but your seat in the stadium** will be held for the 2021/22 season (up to the Seat Hold Deadline). Your deposit will be deducted from the cost of renewing your Season Ticket. 2021/22 Season Ticket prices are subject to change. (Please note – if you choose this option, you will not receive your 2020/21 Brentford Card).

    Subject to availability and government guidelines, you may get the opportunity to purchase tickets at the full matchday rate for reduced capacity games (after those in ‘Option 1’) and if and when games are played with full capacities.

    Get a partial refund here >>> https://r1.surveysandforms.com/640e9df4445ff26636gx151581bdef64e1d1-199da6eb7ae0351c4xkt38382eb90409515c )

    ​Example for an Adult Season Ticket (Band B at £399)​
    £399 x 25% = £99.75 | £399 – £99.75 = £299.25
    Your refund will be £299.25. Your £99.75 will be used to keep your seat and will be deducted from the cost of your Season Ticket renewal. The remaining balance to pay for the 21/22 season will be £299.25.

    *We will aim to pay all refunds by mid-November. **Seats will be held up to the Seat Hold deadline at which point the seat will be released if the remaining balance has not been paid.

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    OPTION 3 – GET A FULL REFUND

    If you opt for a full refund, your 2020/21 Season Ticket will be cancelled, your seat will be released and you will not receive your 2020/21 Brentford Card. You will have a short priority window to purchase a 2021/22 Season Ticket before they go on general sale, but the same seat will not be guaranteed.

    Subject to availability and government guidelines, you may get the opportunity to purchase tickets for reduced capacity games at full matchday rate (after those in ‘Option 1 and 2’) and if and when games are played with full capacities.

    Get a full refund here >>> https://r1.surveysandforms.com/640e9df4445ff26636gx151581bdef64e1d1-09d56be2d007e5094xifdae600733cbe3835 )

    Please make sure you choose one of the options above by Friday 2 October. If we don’t hear from you, we will assume that you want to stay as a Season Ticket Holder in ‘Option 1’.