Text at top (next game etc)

Next Game: Brentwood In The FA Trophy At Edgar Street On Saturday 16th November At 3.00pm

Monday, July 15, 2024

Club update on new security firm after 'teething issues' at West Brom friendly

Hereford's chairman and general manager have opened up on the new security firm at Edgar Street.

Birmingham-based RG8 Facilities Management has been appointed to "complement" existing stewards at Edgar Street as the club struggled to find enough qualified people to do it themselves.

In one of their regular conversations posted on the club's YouTube channel, chairman Chris Ammonds and general manager Jamie Griffiths spoke about the "teething issues" at Saturday's pre-season friendly against West Bromwich Albion under-21s.

Griffiths said the three pre-season friendlies would be a learning curve and they hoped teething issues would be resolved and smoothed over quickly.

Ammonds said there was some miscommunication and apologised after fans were moved from the wall at the front of the Meadow End. He said fans are allowed to lean there to watch the game, with the area particularly popular with children.

After complaints that the new team were heavy-handed and enforced rules differently from last season, Ammonds said the club have got to get stewarding right to avoid legal challenges and a £750,000 court fine.

Last season, he said the stewarding had been managed by one of the club's director's Darren Ball - but it has been increasingly hard to find people with the right qualifications and experience.

He said RG8 will be able to complement the local, existing stewards and "professionalise" the club, but the club don't pay for stewards they don't need because that would be "madness".

Some fans also criticised the number of stewards, but Ammonds suggested they were just more prominent than previous pre-season friendlies.

Griffiths said 12 stewards are needed just for the Merton Stand, plus a senior steward and a certain number of mobile stewards dependent on crowd size.

He also said the Meadow End needs the same number of stewards regardless of whether 100 or 1,500 fans are there as they have to cover the fire exits and gates.

There are six stewards just to open it, plus senior stewards, and then the mobile stewards which fluctuate depending on crowd size.

He said there were 18 stewards on Saturday - 10 of which were stewards from last season, with 16 kept in total.

He said the new company will ensure the club complies with all the rules they need to, and put any old stewards through the needed qualification.

For a league game, he said 42 members of the security team will be needed - or at least seven more if the away terrace is opened.

Griffiths also said the club will listen to fans, as will the new company.