Due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, football clubs across Scotland were today invited to take part in a series of conference calls with the football authorities. We as a Board took part in the Championship conference call.
Following the discussions, the situation isn’t much clearer, other than that this will not be a short term issue and that there is no quick fix. We still have no idea when football will restart and although UEFA have suggested games will resume in June, there is nothing to suggest that this will be possible.
It is an unprecedented situation we find ourselves in as a nation; it is one that is fast moving and changing by the minute and all we can do is listen to the advice we are being given and act accordingly.
Our priority has to be the well-being of our staff and supporters while we continue to do what we feel is best for the football club, with the aim of keeping it on a sound footing and looking at its long term survival.
With the uncertainty of what is happening in the game as a whole it leaves a number of unanswered questions and problems to overcome. We are still unclear if the season will finish or when it will restart and we have no idea what league we will be in.
Therefore, due to the issues outlined above, we are not in a position to start selling season tickets.
We understand supporters are looking for ways of generating income whist we are without matches. It is difficult times for everyone and all we can suggest is that other than donations, people can take part in the schemes that we currently run, like the lottery or our annual shirt draw that we are about to launch. People could club together and purchase entries, that way supporters have the chance of getting something back in return for their money. We are also currently offering people the chance to win one of our very limited edition watches. And we are selling our current Macron stock and hugely reduced prices. All replica tops are now half price with the other items selling at 30% discount. These items are available both in store and online.
With it highly likely that the Arena facilities will be forced to close in the very near future, we encourage supporters who wish to purchase items in person to do so soon.
Following the announcement that players from other Championship sides were showing signs of the Covid 19 virus we took the decision to give the management and players two weeks off, as we need to reduce the risk where possible.
As we remain in limbo, today’s call was the first of what will be regular communication with Clubs across Scotland and we will issue any further updates in due course.