Town have confirmed that Saturday's home game against Hull City has been postponed for safety reasons.

The pitch is expected to be playable but areas inside and around the ground are dangerous with further bad weather forecast for later today and freezing temperatures continuing at the weekend. The game will now be played on Tuesday 13th March (KO 7.45pm).

Speaking yesterday before the final decision to postpone was made at a meeting this morning, the club's stadium manager Greg Pillinger outlined the concerns.

""“The safety of the supporters is priority and if we can’t guarantee that with the conditions, then the game can’t go ahead," he told the club site

“All the concourses and seating need to be safe for the public to view the match along with the perimeter of the stadium and routes to and from bus stops, car parks and the railway station. This has involved consultation with the local authorities.

TICKETS: Supporters who purchased a match ticket for Saturday can use that ticket for the rearranged fixture.

Those who purchased a ticket but are unable to make the new date can get a refund providing they request a cancellation before the match on 13th March kicks off. #itfc– Ipswich Town FC (@Official_ITFC) March 2, 2018

“Likewise the police and the Highways Authority have been consulted for their views on the major road networks leading to and from Portman Road.

“Importantly, our own matchday staff, both stewards, catering and corporate, all need to be able to get to the stadium safely and in the correct numbers, in particular the stewards to ensure we meet the minimum numbers to adhere to the Safety Certificate."" So, there is much more to it than getting the pitch playable.”

Manager Mick McCarthy's scheduled pre-match press conference will now not be taking place at 1pm.

Saturday's U18s and U16s matches at Bristol City have also been postponed, while all academy PDP trials and training sessions were also victims of the weather and have been rescheduled for next week.

'The safety of fans is our priority' says Club Secretary Stuart Hayton @Official_ITFC after the club postpone their game this weekend. Groundsmen are working hard to clear the snow. pic.twitter.com/VbCMIygbBH– BBC Look East (@BBCLookEast) March 2, 2018

Tonight's Ex-Players' Association Hall of Fame Dinner has also been postponed and rearranged for Friday 4th May, while Tuesday's Legends of Darts event was called off and will now take place on Wednesday 18th April.

Portman Road's last postponed first team fixture was the game against Watford on Boxing Day 2010 which was surprisingly called off 90 minutes before kick-off due to a frozen area of the pitch.

The Middlesbrough match in February 2012 was abandoned after 37 minutes with the score 0-0 as sections of the pitch had become frozen.

Photos: ITFC

Essexnblue added 09:44 - Mar 4 I no its a bit late, but why couldn't the game be played on Sunday, rugby have moved all of the postponed games from Saturday to Sunday. Stats say that our Sunday games although they may be few and far between are just as well supported. In Essex we have gone from a foot of snow to slush in 24 hours, just no thought on doing something different from the dinosaurs that run ITFC.

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BlueMachines added 12:39 - Mar 4 I like the idea Essexnblue but I guess they can't guarantee that staff will just be able to move their plans at such short notice.
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