Stadium capacity questions answered

To answer questions relating to the Technique Stadium capacity and the number of tickets available to purchase on a matchday, company secretary Pete Whiteley spoke to the club’s head of media & communications, Nick Johnson.

Pete said: “At the Technique Stadium there are 10,226 seats available on matchdays. Of these, 410 are the seats reserved for the lounges.

“Normally the front three rows in the Auto-Windcreens (North) Stand and Motan Colortonic (South) Stand are not sold for security and safety reason. This is a total of 516 seats. However, for lower-risk fixtures, some of these can be sold. For the West Bromwich Albion match, 172 were excluded from sale.

“Seats are set aside for staff and volunteers who work around the stadium including St John Ambulance and other medical staff, programme sellers, and Trust volunteers. Where the ball retrievers are youngsters, an extra ticket is provided for a parent or carer.

“With just the front rows and a minimum number of staff, 10,002 seats were available on the Saturday. Around 70 seats were also reserved for the two TV cameras among the fans and to accommodate TV staff.

“The remaining unsold seats were mainly on the wheelchair terraces where each space is two seats and around 40 were available. There were still almost 50 supporters with disabilities and their personal assistants using the terraces.

“The attendance is given as tickets issued. While most are of course sold, the number also includes the player complimentary tickets (50 for each team by FA Cup rules), scouts and match officials’ guests. There were also 60 members of the press seated in the press area on Saturday who were not counted in the attendance.

“For some matches the tickets sold include seats sold on Trust ticket offers and tickets issued as part of projects; this is not the case in the FA Cup.

“Of course, many in the stadium, there to work, are not allocated a seat. These include stewards, administration staff, those working in the lounges and up to 20 or so photographers.”