Jersey Bulls confirm a decision has been made to play a home game at League One club Wycombe Wanderers due to a stadium closure.
The island side won’t be able to play at the Springfield Stadium in St Helier due to work to move fencing which will bring it up to standard should the third-placed Bulls win promotion this season.
Three home games – on 19th, 26th and 30th of March – will be played in the United Kingdom – with the club issuing a statement at the weekend.
🚨NEWS UPDATE 🚨
We hope to continue to push the boundaries as a new history-making club by continuing the charge with three “home” games on the mainland at three excellent grounds 🤩
Read more below.https://t.co/TFdmyTL2Dw
— JerseyBullsFC (@JerseyBullsFC) March 6, 2022
JERSEY BULLS STATEMENT:
We have arranged some exciting neutral grounds for what would have been our home games in March, including Wycombe Wanderers’ Adams Park. Despite our home stadium Springfield being out of action for ground upgrade works, we have – as always – been working hard behind the scenes to find solutions.
We are a proud new history making club, and as such we continue to push the boundaries of expectation. We will continue the charge with three “home” games on the mainland at three excellent grounds.
Rescheduled Matches (new dates & locations shown)
19th March
vs Banstead Athletic
Adams Park – home of Wycombe Wanderers
3pm Kick off
Nearest Airport – Heathrow
26th March
vs Colliers Wood United FC
Jubilee Field, home of Three Bridges FC
2pm Kick off
Nearest Airport Gatwick
30th March
vs Balham FC
The Racecourse Ground, home of Ascot United
7.45pm Kick off
These changes, whilst very exciting, remain a huge blow to everyone involved with the club, especially our season ticket holders and supporters. Not only do we as a club rely on our gate receipts as an essential part of our income, but the matchday home crowd gives the team that 12th player effect boost – every time.
We are delighted to be able to offer every season ticket holder a choice between a free streaming pass for these fixtures ensuring that they can watch the Bulls regardless of the changes. Alternatively, season ticket holders could select to have a complementary lunch at Springfield Stadium for the two Saturday matchdays, with the game being streamed live to the venue. Lunch spots are limited and will be assigned on a first come first serve basis. Please email the club to reserve your free spot, only available to season ticket holders and additional spaces will only be offered to non-season ticket holders afterwards.
Needless to say, should any season ticket holder travel to any of the three “home” games in England then you will of course receive free entry to the ground. If you have purchased a ticket for any of these games or a season ticket holder the club will write to you directly.
Whilst nothing compares to having our fans cheering us on in person, we hope you will take advantage of these opportunities to support the team.
We are a 100% voluntary club and as such any changes to revenue have a big impact. If anyone would like to add a donation to their free streaming pass when registering or donate an additional amount at the checkout, we would be extremely grateful, but there is no pressure to do so.
We appreciate that our proposed solutions might not work for all season ticket holders and anyone not wanting to take up the offers can apply to have a pro-rated discount applied to their season ticket next season.
Finally we would like thank our friends at Wycombe Wanderers, Three Bridges and Ascot United for making their grounds available to be our one-time home and for the opposition with their flexibility and cooperation.
Thank you for your ongoing support of Jersey Bulls FC
#backthebulls
WYCOMBE STATEMENT:
Wycombe Wanderers are pleased to confirm that its Adams Park home will host a league fixture between Jersey Bulls and Banstead Athletic on Saturday 19th March, kicking off at 3pm.
The Bulls – the southernmost side in English football – are upgrading their Springfield Stadium and therefore needed to seek alternative venues for three matches, with the Wanderers connection being made by lifelong Chairboys supporter and Jersey Bulls board member Simon Webster.
Tickets are now on sale here; please note that only the Family Stand will be open at this stage, subject to further demand.
You can book parkling online here. The system requires you to choose a specific space, but on the day the bays will be unreserved and you will be able to park anywhere.
Simon, the founder and CEO of SHUFL Capital – the shirt sponsor of the Bulls – said: “Adams Park is very special to me, having stood on the terraces in my school uniform as a teenager, through to being a box holder for the last five years and recently even seeing SHUFL Capital sit on “the shoulders of giants” when we were the sleeve sponsor for Wycombe’s historic Carabao Cup match at Manchester City last year.
“I am hugely supportive of the new ownership at Wycombe Wanderers and that this match is taking place is a testament to their commitment and long-term vision for the club. Facilitating non-league teams to play on a surface like Adams Park and to witness the professional set up the club has is fantastic. It will be a great occasion for me and for Jersey Bulls.”
Pete Couhig, CFO of Wycombe Wanderers, said: “Simon has been a fantastic supporter of Wycombe Wanderers for many years, and it’s been great to see the on and off-field progress made by Jersey Bulls during his involvement with the club. When he asked if we could accommodate one of their league fixtures at Adams Park due to renovation works at their stadium, we were only too happy to help and we look forward to hosting Jersey Bulls’ players, staff and supporters at our proud home.
“We have a big game that day down at Portsmouth and I’m sure many Wycombe fans will be making the trip to Fratton Park, but I hope that those that can’t make it down there come along to Adams Park to support an up-and-coming non-league club on what I’m sure will be a prestigious occasion for them.”
Tickets are priced at £8 for adults, £6 for concessions (under 16 & over 65s) with under 5s going free and will be available to purchase shortly. Jersey Bulls hope to see record numbers of supporters travelling for this fixture, and will be providing additional assistance to fans by making transport to and from airports available, dependent on numbers.
Ian Horswell, CEO of Jersey Bulls, said: “This match has created not only an exciting opportunity for our squad to experience the exceptional and exhilarating playing conditions of a top tier EFL club, but the prospect of our club developing far reaching relationships with EFL clubs such as Wycombe Wanderers and others is a huge and worthwhile benefit.”
Jersey Bulls currently sit 3rd in the Combined Counties League Premier Division South table.
They have picked up 63 points from 27 games played, with Beckenham Town in second with 67 points from 27 and Walton & Hersham leading the way with 71 points from 30 games.
The Bulls’ Springfield Stadium in Saint Helier has a capacity of 2,000 (982 seated) and have the biggest average attendance in the league with 731, not bad for the 9th tier of English football.
Twitter users have reacted as Jersey Bulls confirm the decision to play a home game at League One club Wycombe due to stadium closure…
@BalhamFC: 🙄 we miss out on Springfield and @wwfcofficial Adams Park!
@robertfb_ftfc: There seems to be no mention of away fans that I can see, I would imagine any history making club wishing to push boundaries would consider all visitors to a game.
@matthutho: Presumably all the club’s knew about this a long time in advance so they or their fans didn’t pay for flights, hotels etc…
@SollyIan: The club that keeps on giving well done to them all who are doing lots behind the scene 🇯🇪🐂 👏👏👏👏👏 #BackTheBulls
@TimboATFC: Unlucky on those three clubs missing out on their jolly to the island!
@WreccleshamBag1: Do you make the rules up as you go along? And why like every other club can’t you do ground renovations pre season?
@lmcjersey: My child was supposed to walk out with you on the 19 March game – so disappointing for them ☹️
@StevenKelson: The Bulls having a home match at Wycombe Wonderers. Standard
Darren Lewin: I live in Blackpool but spent 3 years living in Guernsey and have been to most grounds in Jersey. Could these games not of been switched to tower or st Peters to save you all the extra cost
Joanne Walton-Calvert: Darren Lewin I think they tried everything, the ground has to have certain requirements and I presume they didn’t get the permission.
Jill Hawkins: I’ve booked to take my jersey born partner on the 26th to see them at home for the first time as we have been following on the mainland. He is gutted, but we understand xx
Sarah Trachy: Well done for sorting out neutral grounds. Back the Bulls!
Jack Turner: Liam Rexworthy Fancy a trip to Wycombe 😂
Allan Bailey: Y did they not work on Springfield in the summer nobhead States
Grant Talibard: Marvellous !!! Three bridges is a 25 minute train journey from where I live …. See you there 😃⚽️⚽️⚽️🇯🇪
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