Row JJ at Cardiff on Saturday

[Mr Angry]

On saturday, fans who had tickets for row JJ (the very back row at Cardiff) were told by stewards that they couldn't sit in that row, as the row had to be kept free.

The steward next to me said this was always the case at the new stadium, and couldn't understand why the tickets had been sold.

The questions are:

1. Did Cardiff notify Reading that row JJ was always kept free?
2. If that row is always kept free, where were those tickets supplied to Reading for sale?

I can only assume that the answer to 1. was no, and that the answer to 2. is Cardiff cock up, but it would be good to know what the real situation was from the club. The reason it is important that less obliging fans than ours could have kicked off, or worse, with people trying to get to their seats late, then being told they couldn't sit in the seats they have tickets for could have caused safety issues.

[AthleticoSpizz]

question #3

where did the recipiants of JJ tickets end up sitting?.....in somebody else's seat?

[Dirk Gently]

I was told (rightly or wrongly!) that it was unreserved seating on Saturday - so ended up sitting somewhere else in the row I had tickets for.

[Aly Murty]

We were also told it was unreserved seating by the stewards. They actually stopped us going up the block where we were supposed to be as it was 'full' and so ended up sitting in a completely different section. Surely if it was unreserved, it should have been mentioned when they were bought?

[Dirk Gently]

Surely if it was unreserved, it should have been mentioned when they were bought?

That's often only decided on the day, once they know how many of an area are sold/un-sold. If we'd sold all our tickets it wouldn't have been unreserved.

Maybe if it was reserved seating they'd have had people in row JJ, but when they decide it's unreserved (and presumably has fewer stewards there) they decide to keep that row free to allow the lower number of stewards easier access across the area.

[Rex]

So scrabbling around for seats and the stewards not allowing us to sit in the empty back row, then for a number of us disrupting others while we tried to find any available seating seemed acceptable. Only after the game hat started did the stewards seemingly change their minds. That was an amazing decision considering the rear of the seating was just concrete and not cladding.

[North Somerset Royal]

Surely if it was unreserved, it should have been mentioned when they were bought?

That's often only decided on the day, once they know how many of an area are sold/un-sold. If we'd sold all our tickets it wouldn't have been unreserved.

Yes at Leicester my seat was in a "roped off" area and Stewards explained that as we had not sold sufficient seats to fill the area they had condensed seating into the central block to reduce number of stewards needed. Seems to be an increasing trend this season and personally I would prefer it if all away tickets were unreserved if only to avoid arguments with the inevitable guy who always seems to have missed the "sit anywhere" message, and has a ticket for the seat I am in and is determined to sit in it.

[No Fixed Abode]

Wasn't there plenty of room anyway?

[North Somerset Royal]

At the Walkers there were spare seats dotted about but latecomers had trouble finding two or more together. This did not go down well when the other side of the aisle there was a whole block of empty seats that the stewards would not let us sit in even though our tickets were for that area. At Cardiff there were 4 of us and we initially found seats together near the front. However it turned out that we were in the Family Area and a steward made us move just before the KO. By then it was fairly full and although my son and I found two seats together our friends had to sit elsewhere. My point is that if they made it clear in advance that seats are unreserved people who want to sit together could plan accordingly. I see that the tickets for Scunthorpe have printed across them that you must sit in the designated seats so it will be interesting to see what happens there although I doubt that many will make the long journey up the M1 on a Tuesday.

[Dirk Gently]

Again, it's usual not to decide whether to enforce reserved seasting until the day of the match - when the number of tickets sold is known.

This can, of course, come unstuck when unexpectedly large numbers of pay on the day people turn up!

[heathrow royal]

As i walked in at ten to 3 i heard the steward tell the people in front of me saying it was unreserved. TBF it was not a bad away end

[1871 Royal]

TBF it was not a bad away end

I was quite impressed as well! Good leg room, which is a must for me!

[Jerry St Clair]

I was told (rightly or wrongly!) that it was unreserved seating on Saturday - so ended up sitting somewhere else in the row I had tickets for.

Yep, me too.

I was on the left of the stand by the segregation, and about 10 mins into the game the stewards were suggesting that those who wanted to stand should move to the back row (though the back 3 or 4 rows all stood anyway). Nice of them to offer though.