Chairman and CEO Mark Ashton has sought to allay season ticket holders’ concerns regarding the planned new rules regarding non-attendance.
In his recent TownTV video tour of Portman Road, Ashton said the club is looking at addressing around 10 per cent of season ticket holders not attending matches with 6,000 fans having joined the waiting list which was launched in October.
Ashton was asked about the situation at Tuesday’s PLC AGM where he outlined the club’s thinking in further detail with the aim to get season ticket holders to put their seat on the club’s resale platform, which was launched towards the end of the 2023/24 campaign, if they’re not going to attend a match.
"We wouldn’t do anything mid-season and we would set the terms and conditions next season, so when you buy the season ticket you can understand what you’re buying into,” he said.
"All we’re saying is this, and I’d rather be open and honest with you rather than throwing the rules at you and say ‘that’s it, get on with it, take it or leave it’. We don’t do that, some clubs do, we don’t, we try and communicate.
"But we’ve current rate of around 10 per cent of season ticket holders who are not attending games.
"All we’re saying is that if you’re not going to attend a game, put it on the platform. If you put it on the platform, whether it resells or not, you’re not going to lose it. That’s all we’re asking. I don’t think that’s too much to ask.
"We’re not saying to you, ‘right, you don’t come, you’re out’. That’s not what we’ve said.”
Pressed further on how his previous comments had been interpreted, he added: "I’ve been here for four years, I don’t think I’ve let you down yet. Trust me to do the right thing, the right thing by the club and its fans. I try my best and it’s an issue we’ve got to address.
"We haven’t even discussed in detail what this could look like but my thought process is that we’ve got to be more effective as a club at providing a resell platform.
"And all we’re saying is that if you can’t come, for whatever reason, put it on the platform. If it doesn’t sell, you’ve done all you can do. You’re not going to get penalised for that. That’s all we’re asking.”