Sunderland season ticket concerns addressed as family receive positive update after renewal issue
Sunderland have been working through individual ticketing concerns after receiving extensive supporter feedback
Sunderland have moved to address another supporter concern around the club’s season ticket renewal process, with a positive outcome now found for Karen Jacques and her family.
The Echo reported last month that several supporters had raised concerns around moving between corporate and general admission seating, direct debit issues and the wider renewal process. Not every case has been resolved, but there has been clear movement in recent weeks, with Sunderland contacting supporters directly after individual situations were raised with the club. Mrs Jacques, 62, had previously spoken to The Echo about her family’s situation after concerns emerged around the lack of flexibility between corporate and general admission season tickets.
Her mother, Sylvia Pickard, discovered she could have been entitled to a free over-85s season ticket, having held a ticket for more than three years. However, because the family were in a corporate area, they said no reduction could initially be applied to the corporate price, with Mrs Jacques explaining at the time that her mother was facing a bill of “£2,000-plus” despite potentially being eligible for a free ticket elsewhere in the ground.
The family had felt they were left with little choice but to remain in their existing area because of fears over losing their season ticket entirely. The situation was particularly emotional given the family’s long association with Sunderland and Mrs Pickard’s loyalty to the club. After further discussions, the family have now accepted a solution, with Mrs Pickard and another family member moving into Block U1 for next season.
The club had initially offered two alternative options, including seats in the concourse area and two seats near the front. However, the family felt those were not suitable because of the number of stairs involved in one case and concerns over being exposed to bad weather in the other. Sunderland later came back with the offer of two seats in Block U1. The family visited the Stadium of Light to look at the seats and have now accepted them. Speaking to The Echo after the resolution was found, Mrs Jacques said: “On behalf of Mam and us all as a family, we are eventually happy they have sorted it out.
“However, they could have avoided all this if they had done something earlier when we first contacted them, which was before the tickets were released for sale to people on the waiting list, and then maybe they would have got seats together rather than in separate rows and not as many stairs for Mam to climb. So, for all it’s been resolved, it probably could have been dealt with better.”
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The update follows a similar outcome for long-serving supporter Steven Poppleton, who had also raised concerns after being unable to move from a premium area back into general admission following the death of his father, George. His case was highlighted by The Echo and raised by supporter group RAWA during discussions with Sunderland. Mr Poppleton later confirmed he had received a phone call from the club apologising for how his situation had been handled and offering his family general admission tickets for next season.
Sunderland had told RAWA it would review individual cases and contact fans directly, and the latest update suggests that process has led to positive movement in at least some situations. The Echo is also aware of other supporters who have received updates after raising concerns during the renewal process.