August 24, 2021 10.55 am This story is over 30 months old

Apology as Lincoln City fans stuck in turnstile queues miss kick-off

All turnstiles will now be open again

By Local Democracy Reporter

Lincoln City have apologised to supporters and made changes to the ticketing system after fans faced long queues in the opening home matches.

The football club introduced new systems for match day operations this season, in anticipation of a full capacity crowd at the LNER Stadium.

Within the new system, tickets in the Co-op Stand were allocated to specific turnstiles – designed to help with crowd flow and to move supporters through the concourses, while also complying with coronavirus safety guidelines.

Numerous supporters have voiced their frustrations at the system, which has seen fans left waiting in queues for much longer than before, even missing kick-off in some instances during their first two home matches of the season, against Fleetwood Town and Bolton Wanderers in League One.

Football clubs across the country have faced similar issues with new ticketing systems, as fans are welcomed back to the sport after 16 months behind closed doors due to COVID-19.

After supporters gave their feedback, Lincoln City conducted a full internal review and the club has apologised for not communicating the relevant changes to the fans before the season’s restart, vowing that issues outside the stadium have now been “immediately addressed”.

The club has now issued a summary of the changes that have been brought in, allowing for all turnstiles to be open, barriers belonging to Highways on Sincil Bank being opened on match day and additional entry points being made available.

As well as this, all ticket holders in the upper and lower sections of the Co-op Stand will be able to enter through any Co-op turnstile, the ticket office will be open fort walk-ins and phone enquiries between 10am and 5pm Monday to Friday, and the club will invest in more ticket office staff members.

e-Tickets will still display turnstile numbers, but this is only because the club have not had time to update the change with ticket partners.

The systems will be in place in time for Lincoln City’s opening match in the Papa John’s Trophy against Manchester United Under 21s on Tuesday night.

In a statement to supporters, a spokesperson for the Imps said: “The club will continue to work with our matchday workforce to support their knowledge and understanding of our new operations as they evolve.

“Finally, we will regularly review our matchday operations and welcome your feedback as we continue to strive to improve the matchday experience for everyone at LNER Stadium. Thank you for your patience and understanding.”