FANS FAQ

OUR RECENT Fans’ Forum at Loftus Road raised a number of key questions and queries, which the club promised its supporters it would respond to.

Below is a detailed response to the main talking points, as well as details outlining how you – the fans – can contact the club on an on-going basis.

The club has appointed a dedicated Customer Services Officer. Andy Rees can be contacted by e-mail – andyr@qpr.co.uk In addition, fans are able to keep abreast of club coverage via the official website (www.qpr.co.uk), our official Twitter feed (@OfficialQPR) and our Official Facebook page. The club recognises that the views of our loyal supporters are vitally important and the club are committed to holding regular Fans’ Forums and Fan Reps meetings.

We are aware that there are a large number of different fans groups and it may not always be easy to meet representatives from all groups. However, we are committed to restoring a good dialogue between the club and our fans and we will hold regular Fans’ Forums and Fan Reps meetings in order to update fans on key decisions.

A date for the next Fan Reps meetings will be announced in due course. A representative from each of the fan groups will be invited to attend.

We accept that the decision to make the Lower Loft a dedicated Family Stand meant that a number of loyal supporters were impacted by the need to move from their preferred seating areas. The club took additional steps at the beginning of the season to move a number of supporters who had not previously been asked to move and we accept this was not communicated in the most effective way. However, it is a decision the club stands by as it looks to encourage families and young fans to support the R’s. We recognise the passion and feeling generated by this decision and the club acknowledges that this could have been communicated better. The club is open to meeting representatives from fans groups impacted to discuss any alternative options. The upcoming Fan Reps meeting will be an ideal time to discuss this further.

Away supporters have been allocated the School End for many years, so this is not a new issue. There are some obligations regarding away supporters which the club has to meet – these include a minimum allocation of 3,000 tickets or 10 per-cent of the total capacity and a requirement to be able to effectively segregate the area (including dedicated turnstile access). This segregation requirement is a key constraint given the challenges around Lotus Road. The club will continue to look at ways to secure the maximum number of tickets we can for home fans.

We work with the home club and act under their instructions as to how to distribute our away allocation. We will always endeavour to make sure that away season ticket holders get the best possible allocation available at that time. If further tickets are released to us to sell we will not be able to relocate tickets already allocated.

The club make an assessment based on demand for tickets for away fixtures. As explained, for a number of fixtures earlier in the season the club incurred significant losses arising from unsold away tickets. We recognise the fantastic support the away fans give the team and will always look to support taking as many fans as possible to every away fixture.

A large number of football clubs and other sports have a relationship with Viagogo or Stubhub. Like other clubs we see it as an important benefit to our season ticket holders to be able to securely and safely sell a ticket to a match they are unable to attend. It should be noted that the club is not party to any of these transactions and they are between the ticket holder and the buyer. The terms and conditions of the tickets are clear and away supporters are prohibited in home fans areas. Any prospective buyer accepts these conditions and the club would request that if anyone is made aware of away supporters in a QPR area they immediately notify the Stewards who will deal with their ejection from the stadium. 

All tickets sold are fully traceable and accountable to individual purchasers with the vast majority sold only to season ticket holders or QPR members. Unauthorised selling of football tickets is illegal and we would take action against any individual we can prove is engaged in touting their tickets. In light of suggestions at the Fans’ Forum, we will step up our effort working with the police and investigate ticket touts operating in the area.

The issue regarding access to the Upper Loft revolves around our Safety Certificate and our obligations to the Council to be able to report numbers who have accessed the relevant areas of the stand via each section of turnstile. We are actively working with the Council to try to alleviate this and find a solution that will mean we can more proactively manage the queues to enter the Stadium and ensure that fans are not kept waiting unnecessarily.

The club will be discussing this and other events over the next few weeks and will inform fans of any decision via www.qpr.co.uk

The local community is the lifeblood of this football club and it seems clear from the feedback received that this is an area that needs addressing. We will be working closely with the trust and the football department to ensure positive changes are made.