Phil Hodgkinson issues the Club’s monthly Board Update
- An update from Huddersfield Town Chairman Phil Hodgkinson
- Details on 2021/22 Season Card sales
- Further updates on football preparations and the John Smith’s Stadium
I want to start our latest monthly update from the Board of Directors by thanking every single supporter who has bought their Season Card for the 2021/22 Sky Bet Championship campaign.
Following the initial renewal period and the period where fans were allowed to move seats, I’m delighted to be able to confirm that we’ve sold just over 12,500 Season Cards, which includes our seasonal hospitality guests, for the upcoming campaign. We’re overwhelmed by your level of support, as ever, and I’d like to thank every Town fan personally, on behalf of the Board and on behalf of everyone else at the Club.
We’ve sold hundreds more since Season Cards returned to sale on Monday, so I expect that figure to keep rising. Sales have undoubtedly been helped by the recent confirmation from the Prime Minister that capacities will be unrestricted for the start of next season, and we are now hard at work with the relevant authorities on preparing for the return of supporters after a long 18 months.
Of those sales, we have around 80 legacy Season Card holders in the Fantastic Media Stand Lower Tier. I’ve tasked our Ticket Office with contacting those supporters to see if they would like to move to a different stand, for no extra cost. I want to ensure that every one of you gets the best possible experience from your match day and I believe every other stand offers improvements in terms of being covered, having a covered concourse and improved catering facilities. We’re likely to contact you in the coming days to discuss your options if we haven’t already.
Echoing this, our commercial sales are also very encouraging. We are really pleased that so many companies and individuals have renewed their support for the Club and it is particularly pleasing to have so many new companies join us on our journey.
On match day experience and the John Smith’s Stadium, we are continuing at pace in trying to bring the Stadium operation under the control of the football club. As you might expect, there have been a couple of expected and unexpected hurdles to overcome, but the major parties involved still have the desire to make this happen.
I’m really excited at the plans we have drafted for when that deal has been concluded. Everything we are discussing aims to improve your match day experience, and I will share those plans with you – as well as ask for feedback from fans – once the arrangement has been reached.
As I’m sure you are, I’m getting more and more excited for the return of competitive football in front of fans. I was very happy that we brought in the players for the positions we targeted ahead of pre-season training, and things are going well on the training pitch under Carlos Corberán. We haven’t concluded our business yet, but – as I stated previously – it is as likely players will leave before any more signings are made at this stage. We’re working continuously on potential ins and outs and will update you we go.
Everyone’s target here is to put the best football team we can out on the pitch, whilst ensuring the Club is as sustainable as possible. Those goals have not changed, and we’re all working as hard as possible to move us up the table this coming season.
Thank you once again for your tremendous support. I cannot wait to see you all at the John Smith’s Stadium when we host Fulham on 14 August.
Phil Hodgkinson
Chairman
Huddersfield Town
