Forest sorry for City Ground dirt
SEASON TICKET HOLDER’S FRUSTRATION
NOTTINGHAM Forest have apologised for the dirty state of the City Ground.
Fans have been tweeting pictures of untidy sections of the stadium – saying the stadium was in need of a thorough clean.
One supporter, who has contacted the club about the issue, told the Post she’d spotted bird droppings on the floor near her seat and that there was also a problem with cobwebs.
Emma George paid £365 for her season card in the lower tier of the Bridgford Stand and described the situation as “embarrassing”.
“You just expect a bit of pride in the ground,” she said.
Forest have apologised and said they are working with a cleaning company to improve standards.
In a statement, the club said: “The club has received a small number of complaints from supporters about seats being dirty upon their return to the City Ground.
“Even one complaint in this regard is too many and we apologise unreservedly to any supporters who have suffered from this issue.
“The club employs a specialist third-party cleaning company to keep the stadium clean and, clearly, some seats were not cleaned properly, nor identified in the processes to review the cleaning.
“We are working with the cleaning company concerned to continually assess and improve the cleaning processes to minimise the risk of this happening in future.
“If any supporter has a problem with their seat, please report it to the ticket office so that immediate action can be taken.
“With the second highest average attendance in the Championship, the club is extremely thankful for the fantastic support we have received since lockdown.”
The club faces unique challenges with its riverside location because wildlife, such as pigeons, also use the City Ground as home.
Pigeons are usually disturbed by the presence of fans.
But due to the extended absence of supporters during the pandemic, pigeons settled despite the best efforts of pest control during lockdown.
Miss George tweeted photos showing what appears to be bird mess where she, her partner Reiss Lane, 29, and their friends sit together.
She said: “It’s for everyone, if that makes sense.
“Fans all want to go to a ground and not have to put up with facilities that are not Championship level.”
The 25-year-old, who lives in Ilkeston and works in logistics, said she first noticed the problem at the Bournemouth game on August 14.
Miss George, who has been a season ticket holder for more than 10 years, said she and her friends were frustrated. “We are paying nighon £400. You just expect a bit of pride in the ground,” said Miss George. “We have got an illustrious history, we’re a big club for the level that we’re at – it’s embarrassing, isn’t it, really?” Since posting the photos online
We are paying nigh-on £400. You just expect a bit of pride in the ground. It’s embarrassing Emma George
on Sunday, Miss George has received a string of replies.
She explained she’d contacted the Forest ticket office last month about the state of the ground, in the hope the message would be passed on to the relevant department.
She asked for the ground to the cleaned, referring in the email to “the general untidiness”, the “bird poo where we sit” and cobwebs.
At the time of writing, Forest were bottom of the Championship following a poor start to the season which saw the club pick up just one point in six league matches. They were playing Middlesbrough last night.