Towards the end of February after an encouraging run of results, we were all looking ahead to the final, exciting throes of the 2019-20 season, having hit a great run of form and preparing to meet the challenge of retaining our place in the Championship head-on.
Fast forward just a couple of weeks, and suddenly we all find ourselves facing a new, unprecedented and unpredictable challenge in the form of the global Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic.
How quickly things can change.
There is no doubt that this challenge is one of the most significant that many of us will have faced in our lifetime, both personally and professionally. It goes without saying that this creates worry and anxiety, but it is worth remembering that as a Club, and as a wider family we have faced and overcome many difficult challenges in the past, together.
Whether we fight dinosaurs, parasites or viruses, we, as a Club are great survivors!
As such I would like to reassure you that everyone at Luton Town is completely focussed on doing what we can to protect our players, staff and you, our loyal supporters. We are working tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure that we are in the best possible shape when this crisis fades, and we are able to start returning to a new normal – whatever that may look like – at the earliest opportunity for all.
And so, we turn our attention to season tickets for the 2020-21 campaign.
This season, we hit our cap of 7,000 season tickets for the first time - a credit to our wonderful home support. Unfortunately, as a result there were many, many people on our waiting list. Before the Coronavirus hit, Kenilworth Road hadn’t seen an unsold seat this league season which is an amazing achievement – credit to you all. And such is your loyalty, we're confident we will see the same turnout next season too.
To recognise your commitment as a season ticket holder we are retaining the five year loyalty (orange) and two year loyalty (blue) schedule, whichever league we find ourselves competing in next season. This will enable you to continue to build up your loyalty discount over the coming years which currently offers a saving of up to £50 and will start building your credits as we look forward to a Power Court relocation in the future.
The good news is that we are freezing prices for all season ticket holders who renew their seats before our 2019-20 league status is known. ‘Earlybird’ season ticket holders who move into a new loyalty bracket will actually pay less than last season!
Ticket holders who would prefer to wait until next year’s league status is known can still purchase a ‘Primetime’ season ticket and retain their loyalty discount at a higher tariff if we remain in the Championship.
If season tickets do become available, we will fulfil our promise to contact supporters on our waiting list before seats are released for general sale. You can still add your name to the waiting list by contacting the ticket office before 13th April. The full 2020-21 price matrix and the sales process can be seen on pages three and four of this brochure.
I make no apology to appeal to you that your commitment to buy your season ticket now will be more valuable than in any other season. With so much income lost through the inevitable loss of fixtures, events and all other income, we need cash to ensure that our Club is in the fittest shape when we all return together. It is with this in mind that we will be restructuring the Diamond package to allow you to become a member of a unique, one-off club intended to help the Club with cash during this unprecedented period of difficulty.
These are extraordinary times with many challenges still to come. Football is a passion for us all – with the excitement it brings to our lives each week. But it is not just the game that keeps us coming back to Kenilworth Road season after season. We are friends. We are family, and we are community. Nothing is more important.
We will fulfill this season's fixtures and soon after, look forward with optimism to the new season. Competitively, we will be in a stronger position than before. But with football being the most important unimportant product of our society it is vital we start the new season with a renewed vengeance and with greater ambition than ever.
Stay safe Hatters!
Gary
