I was in the NW corner and I can confirm there was plenty of space in my end of the West Stand.

I was also in the north west side of the west stand, it was crowded but birthing bad and certainly not to many where I was stood.

Pretty much agree with this. There were undoubtedly some people who moved over, however this will not have unduly affected the terrace capacity, as it was operating at a reduced capacity for the friendly anyway. The fact some people were suspected of switching stands will be however frowned upon by the authorities and gives them a stick with which to beat Saints with, so to speak.

The big determinant IMO will have been the inability of the stewards on the night to ensure that spectators were evenly distributed throughout the west Terrace.
The South West corner was a proper full terrace, but the North West was pretty empty.
Therefore i would imagine the safety authorities would look at the potential on a full capacity game, for the South West corner to get dangerously overcrowded. As a result they have taken the decision to cut capacity, until such time as is shown that the stewards are not allowing fans to overly crowd a section, and at the same time spectators have decided to spread out more evenly across the stand.

Those terraces by the way should be able to hold legally nearly 5000 people if maxed out, however the club went with initial stated capacities of approximately 80% of said values eg 3800 per terrace. I would imagine for the Widnes friendly this capacity was set even lower, probably only 3000. The fact this caused perceived issues will be in part why they are not allowing the full 3800 in for the Salford game.

As an onlooker from the North stand on the night of the Widnes match, i looked to see if people were crowding onto the concourses, as happened at the HJ during their first games, and nothing like that happened. Everyone was stood behind barriers. Hence afterwards i was surprised to read about people being moved away from the terrace.

The popular side at Knowsley road was often more crowded than we saw at the Widnes game.

It's going to be an absolute nightmare getting tickets for the Wigan game. Wigan will want 5000 for a start that leaves just 2 or 3 thou for sale to Saints fans (depending on the safety cert number allowed).

For the first time there might be a lucrative tout market for tickets. I reckon they'll be going fo 100 quid easy.

They can want all they like,but they'll get what we allow em.

Hopefully not, but there might be a distinct possibly that the East Stand could be reduced if they don,t resolve the situation quickly in the West Stand, this probably effecting the Wigan and Wire games.
Who would have thought it, if we go over 10 000 season ticket holders and with advanced match tickets, this might leave a very limited no of tickets for walk ups or tickets on the night.

does the east stand hold 5000? doubt it, they can have 3000 to start with and thats being generous!

That all?

They brought 7000+ to Knowsley Road every time





Give them 3.5k and no more.

It appears we are being charged the full £23.50.

Are you? I'm surprised, I must confess.

To be fair, I don't see why Saints should be out of pocket by giving up a whole stand to a team that doesn't bring any supporters, or through having to sell tickets to away fans for cheaper than they would to home fans (given this is a likely sell-out).

From what I can see all adult tickets for your Cas game this weekend are £22 so it's not much difference.

£20 if you buy on the day so a difference of 17.5% to the Salford price.

No my mates and I have never ever been to Knowsley road or any other Salford fan for that matter in fact we have no idea where St Helens is, is it near Leeds by any chance?

So if the 400 (for example) Salford supporters decide not to come and watch it on t.v as a result of the price hike, do you think more than 400 Saints supporters will take their place?
Merely playing devils advocate, just for a change.

So you pay more if you but in advance than you do if you pay on the day? Random.

Clearly I meant there's little point giving up a full terrace our having to segregate a terrace for a team with a very small travelling support. But then I think you knew that.

Is it also reserved seating? If thats the case then it's a bit of a bummer as the group I go with like to stand and the back and create an atmosphere, can't see that happening If we're forced to sit down away from each other.

No. It's unreserved.

Finally got mine sorted today (because of my delay not Saints). I have been told that I can change both the tickets I bought for ones in the East Stand they have also let my brother-in-law have an East Stand ticket so we can all be together.

Although not ideal it's a satisfactory outcome to the matter. I must say Saints have dealt with the whole thing most professionally and everyone I have spoke to at the club have been apologetic, helpful and above all, professional.

There is nothing stopping Salford supporters buying East stand tickets from Saints at the lower price.

Excellent, simple, workable idea which would resolve 90% of the issues overnight for a very low cost.
I'm in the north stand and can't think of any good reason to allow people to wander into the east and west stands.

What were the percieved benifits for having this open access? It seems especially daft when the turnstyles won't let you in anywhere but near your place n any event.

Except they may find themselves moved on when they get to the ground (and possibly charged extra) because this has all come about as a result of health and safety rather than a whim of Saints.

The idea was to provide a chance to hang out with people you know who may be elsewhere in the stadium. The idea wasn't to swap stands like at Knowsley Road, just to have a nice relaxed atmosphere. It's a great idea I think.

The Idea is fine, but if don't work practically we can either throw our hands up and moan about fans, or try practical solutions.

Like I said for some games this open access idea could work as the capacity will be lowered simply by attendance. In fact there is no need to worry about the attendance, if they sell over a limit the gates are shut, if they sell below that limit the gates are open.

That way the attendance governs the access requirements rather than the access having to be guessed prior to each game.

Why would you need to give us the full stand? Can't ever remember being segregated at Knowsley Rd. Could have given us 500 in the terrace and sold the rest to Saints fans. Will now get the added problem of Salford fans standing in a seated area as well.

Nothing to stop you buying tickets in the East terrace direct from Saints if you feel so inclined to stand up.

Very true all tickets on sale on the Saints website.