The Club has reluctantly implemented a deadline for fans to book subsidised coach travel to Wembley following the confirmation that Spennymoor Town Council have turned down the opportunity to support the drive.
Moors launched our ‘Back The Fans, Fill The Stands’ campaign last week after the Club made history by becoming one of the first teams outside non-league’s top tier to reach the Isuzu FA Trophy Final.
Since the dramatic penalty shootout win over Rochdale at the beginning of April, a wave of excitement has spread across the area and already over 3,200 tickets have been snapped up for the Final – and almost 400 has taken advantage of our subsidised coach travel.
‘Back The Fans, Fill The Stands’ was conceived in the hope that local businesses, organisations and the local Council would come together to back the Club’s incredible run to Wembley to help keep the price of travel for supporters at a hugely discounted £30 return.
However, while there has been some support from local companies and individuals, it was confirmed on Tuesday evening that Spennymoor Town Council have decided against supporting the campaign.
“We were hopeful of providing subsidised travel for fans in similar to numbers that attended the FA Vase final in 2013,” explained Moors’ Managing Director, Ian Geldard.
“Fans filled 16 coaches back then and, without good support of the Back The Fans, Fill The Stands campaign, would have created a £16,000 cost to the Club, which we can’t afford to put up on our own.
“Whilst we are extremely grateful for the pockets of support we have received, the appeal hasn’t reached anywhere near the amount needed to cover the gap, even for the 400 fans we’ve already booked.
“Therefore, we have had to take the difficult decision to limit the numbers we can apply the subsidy to, and we hope that our supporters can understand.”
The Club will continue to take bookings at the subsidised rate up until 5pm on Friday 25th April, after which the price for each booking on the coaches will increase to £45.
“It is disappointing that the Town Council have chosen not to support the appeal, but it’s not surprising,” added Geldard.
“Our Chairman, Brad Groves, has been very clear recently that change needs to come at the Town Hall. We have huge aspirations as a Club, but these cannot be realised without the supporting and backing of the local authorities.”
Click here to book your coach travel to the FA Trophy Final on Sunday 11th May.
