FAI reach agreement with Derry City on Brandywell ticket allocation for away fans
THE FAI has agreed a compromise with Derry City Football Club to accommodate a total of 190 away supporters for Friday night’s league clash with St Patrick’s Athletic at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium as work continues on the new North Stand.
League of Ireland clubs are required to offer visiting clubs a minimum of 10 percent of the capacity of the stadium for league games but Derry City were only able to offer 75 tickets for visiting Drogheda United fans on the opening night of the season due to the closure of part of the Southend Park stand.
With blocks A and B in the Southend Park stand out of bounds until further notice and those 400 seats removed, the allocation of tickets for away supporters will be limited until the opening of the new terrace, estimated to be completed at the end of July.
Demand for tickets for Friday’s clash with the Richmond Park club is significant with a large number of fans expected to stay overnight and watch Dublin play Derry in the Allianz Football League fixture at Celtic Park on Saturday.
The enforcement of a 10 per cent allocation for away supporters, however, would mean Derry would be taking away seats from season ticket holders – an option the club were unwilling to negotiate on.
Therefore Derry City and the FAI reached a compromise which will accommodate a total of 190 St Pat’s fans. Of those 190 places, 160 visiting spectators will be positioned in the terrace area at the Lone Moor Road end of the ground and 30 places will be designated in the Mark Farren Stand for officials and dignitaries including up to 25 for elderly or disabled supporters of the Inchicore outfit.
Pulse Security Management will ensure the safety of both sets of supporters who will be segregated in the standing terrace area with Derry fans expected to be positioned nearest the club merchandise shop.
The entire Southend Park stand will be used for home fans only and up to 80 seats will be made available for general sale online due to limited terrace tickets.
A similar system is likely to be implemented for the visit of Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians whose fans travel in large numbers and Derry City has already been in contact with individual clubs including Waterford, Galway and Dundalk to negotiate allocation of tickets for those upcoming fixtures.
Keep an eye on Derry City’s social media and website for further updates.
