Welcoming sports fans back to Calderdale's Shay Stadium this weekend

Both Calderdale’s major sports clubs have home games this weekend and this week supporters have been able to buy tickets.

On Saturday, May 29, FC Halifax Town are at home to Chesterfield in football’s National League while Sunday, May 30, finds Halifax Panthers entertaining Featherstone Roses at the Shaw Hill, Halifax, ground, which is owned by Calderdale Council.

Calderdale Council’s Cabinet member for Public Services and Communities, Coun Jenny Lynn (Lab, Park) said it was great to see sport back at the Shay.

“We’re looking forward to safely welcoming fans back to the Shay Stadium and we’ve been working with both the football and rugby clubs to develop plans to safely allow spectators to return to the stadium, in line with government guidance.

“Detailed information about tickets sales is being communicated by the clubs, but tickets for upcoming games at the Shay will be advance purchase only and social distancing must be maintained.

“Crowds will initially be limited to home fans only, but the sporting clubs will use experiences from these early events to adapt measures as necessary going forward.

“We want fans to have a safe and enjoyable visit to the Shay and we’ll continue to work with the football and rugby clubs to maintain safety measures on upcoming matchdays,” she said.

The clubs are dealing with the ticketing, and overall capacity for each game depends on the size of “bubble” bookings with the numbers of spectators able to be present dependant upon the number of people wanting to attend, the need for social distancing and the amount of households where two or more people attend in a bubble.

Tickets for FC Halifax Town’s match have gone on general sale this week for home fans only on a “first come, first served” basis with supporters able to purchase a maximum of two tickets per person.

They will need to bring with them photo ID, along with an original utility, bank or credit card bill and the same identification will then be checked again on the day of the game when entering through the turnstile with “general sale” tickets.

With reduced capacity and social distancing measures, Halifax Panthers is encouraging members of the same family and friends “bubble” to book at the same time on a single order which will enable the club to leave less seats empty around each bubble.

All bookings will need to include the name of each guest on your booking for track and trace purposes, says the club.

Full details are available on the websites of the respective clubs.