First steps for the return of fans to the Global Energy Stadium underway.

Ross County FC can confirm that following the advice and guidance from the Scottish Government and Football Authorities, we have now started to undertake the review and planning for the return of fans to the Global Energy Stadium.

This is an extremely complex undertaking as we are following strict instructions and rule provision from the authorities which restricts the decision-making power that would naturally lie within the club as to access & egress to the stadium and numbers of supporters that will be granted entry. However, we are also very thankful to the authorities for helping us in this planning and providing a clear mandate for what is required to initiate this process.

Prior to this statement, the Scottish Government had already provided an outlined date in mid-September for test events with crowds in Scotland. We can confirm that we, Ross County, have put ourselves forward as a test venue. There is no doubt that given our clubs ability to react to the pandemic in the beginning and diligent and extensive work carried out by our Operational team, that we feel we have a group of staff with the capability to deliver a return for fans to our stadium in a safe and secure environment.

In the beginning, we will be purely planning around access for season ticket holders, however numbers with access to the stadium will be directed to us and not dictated by our own club staff. This will undoubtedly put us in a position where we will have to make some challenging decisions in regard to who will gain access to matches and when, which we will deliver more information in due course. However, please be assured we are working as hard as we possibly can to make sure the stadium is secure and that we can comply with the guidance being given to us for the safest but most efficient return to stadiums for our fans.

In the interim, we understand that within our Season Ticket Holders we have family groups and multiple people from the same household who attend matches together. To ensure that we can best possible plan for the return of our fans to the stadium, we ask ONE PERSON from a family group/household group to fill out the questionnaire below so that we can try to keep all groups together when access is granted. This will also help to give us a better idea of how many people attend games individually, in couples, or groups of 3, 4 or more people. For example – if 4 people from the same household/family/group come to matches together only 1 person from that household/family/group should fill out the below questionnaire to ensure there is no duplication. It should be noted that this is not an official registration process for specific bubbles or ticket priority but a valuable exercise in the club’s strategy ahead of the potential return of fans. Additionally Season Ticket Holders will not get their own seats in the early stages but will be allocated from the number of seats we are allowed to use in line with strict social distancing and any prevailing guidance.

During this process there will be a heavy reliance on club staff who are working extremely hard to deliver on the information and instructions being directed to the club in how this will work. We kindly ask for patience and understanding and should anybody have any questions please contact us directly via email on info@rosscountyfootballclub.co.uk