Car parking and stewarding.

I have used the Uni Car Park a couple of times - the last time was Barnsley and we arrived at around 7.30pm (circumstances meant we were later then intended) and we drove straight in with no stewards checking tickets. Stewards were there - just standing off the road and not checking anything. Perhaps this is a regular thing and word has got around.

Since1982 said:

From what I have read on here, BF has always been nightmare. The issue on Monday was that the previously excellent Uni was equally dreadful. That is the issue the club need to address - what went wrong, what are the lessons to be learnt and how can it be avoided in the future. I'd be surprised if the answer didn't at least involve training stewards properly.

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No still can't see the comparison. I am not sure I have seen a SINGLE complaint from anyone about exiting the Uni car park. That is not because there were no hold ups (crossing the railway bridge is a shambles) or that there were no queues, to exit. It is just something that reasonable people accept. I don't suppose anyone queued for over an hour to get into Bennett's Field ?

CheeseRolls said:

No still can't see the comparison. I am not sure I have seen a SINGLE complaint from anyone about exiting the Uni car park. That is not because there were no hold ups (crossing the railway bridge is a shambles) or that there were no queues, to exit. It is just something that reasonable people accept. I don't suppose anyone queued for over an hour to get into Bennett's Field ?

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Sorry - what is the point you are trying to make? Mine was that simply BF has been a source of constant issues since the day the stadium opened whereas the Uni has worked very well - therefore something happened on Monday to change that and this is what the club need to review.

Since1982 said:

Sorry - what is the point you are trying to make? Mine was that simply BF has been a source of constant issues since the day the stadium opened whereas the Uni has worked very well - therefore something happened on Monday to change that and this is what the club need to review.

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Simply I agree the Uni was a mess on Monday night, but people complaining about the time it takes to exit BF are in my view being unrealistic.

CheeseRolls said:

Simply I agree the Uni was a mess on Monday night, but people complaining about the time it takes to exit BF are in my view being unrealistic.

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Got it. Sorry for being slow on the uptake.

I can accept it taking a while to get out of the car park because everyone is leaving at the same time. The big problem on Monday was the delays getting in, when people time their arrival to be anywhere between 5 minutes and 2 hours before KO. Personally, I usually aim to get to the University about 30-45 mins before KO.

Here's my email to Paul Barber and his response:

Dear Mr Barber,

I feel compelled to write to detail my experience last night at the university car park. Taking the advice from the helpful email sent by the club earlier in the day, we set out early so as to ensure arrival in time for the big game. Unfortunately there was a large hold up on the slip road (we travel from Eastbourne) and due to the traffic lights but being in our favour we were almost forty minutes in the queue until we reached the university.

We were directed by a steward to car park 1 which is the car park we usually park in. In view of this I did not anticipate any further problems. We would, with a brisk walk, still make the start of the match, something we had looked forward to and in particular my two young sons who were very excited at the real prospect of making it to the sixth round of the cup.

Upon entering car park 1 it became apparent that parking spaces were at a premium and soon, having driven to the far end, there was a large jam in the car park as the stewards continued to send people in, in spite of there being no spaces. We sat in a further jam for another twenty minutes and listened on the radio, our hearts sinking, as the game kicked off. Eventually we parked in car park 2 and then ran (I am middle aged and do not want to repeat the experience!) as much as we could. Even so we missed the first quarter of an hour which was very disappointing.

I would like to ask why no stewards were around to check on the parking situation further into car park 1 as usually there are many and they do a very good job? Also, why was car park 2 closed when for one thing it is nearer the ground and secondly there was obviously a problem building up? After the game incidentally, I noticed many cars parked in undesignated spaces. Did the club oversell tickets?

My brother and I along with my two boys have always bought the uni season ticket and up till now have been extremely satisfied with the facilities and the service on offer. However I would appreciate your assurance that this kind of cock-up will not be repeated. I sincerely hope that these problems will not happen at league games.

Finally, I understand that the current travel situation coupled with the difficult weather we've experienced are well beyond the club's control. Brighton do an excellent job in getting people to and from the Amex which is not the easiest place to get to. I would like to thank you personally for your efforts in helping the club I've loved since I first went on Boxing day1973, to become a better and bigger club.*

Kind regards,
Green Cross Code Man

Dear Green Cross Code Man

Thank you for your e-mail.

I am very sorry that you experienced a delay to your journey and to
accessing the university car park last night.

There were a number of travel-related issues. The extreme weather
conditions caused train services to be massively disrupted leading to more
people choosing to use their cars than normal. There was both flooding and
an accident on the A27 and a broken down bus (not one of ours) caused
delays for some people entering the university car park.

Our car parks were indeed very busy - compared to a typical match day (we
have less spaces available to us for evening matches) but they were not
completely full or indeed oversold. Unfortunately, it does appear that one
or two of our stewards provided information to supporters that was
incorrect and which clearly did not help an already difficult evening.

The vast majority of fans were inside the stadium for kick-off. We can
tell this from our stadium access system. Unfortunately, and as you
readily appreciate, the movement of between 20-30,000 people towards a
football stadium in rush hour and during a period of extreme weather
conditions where train travel disruption and increased car movements are
compounded by accidents and break downs are a (thankfully) rare but very
unfortunate combination of circumstances. I am afraid that the delays some
people experienced last night were entirely outside of our control.

The club did everything in its power to communicate the likely transport
issues (that we were aware of) well in advance of last night¹s game, to
provide advice to supporters travelling to the game, and to minimise any
issues on the night as best we could. Inevitably, in a very dynamic
situation, not every member of our match day staff will have access to as
much information as we would like but, in the difficult circumstances we
were facing, the club has done the best it could to minimise inconvenience
for supporters.

In my long experience in football, the Albion's transport planning on
behalf of its supporters is far in excess of anything I've ever seen. I
have however passed on the specific comments you have made about the
stewards¹ reaction to the congestion for further investigation by our
Transport Manager.* I can only apologise that your particular situation
was not as well managed as we would have expected and, again, I¹m sorry
that you were inconvenienced.

Thank you for your support.


Kind regards, Paul



Paul Barber
Chief Executive

LamieRobertson said:

Are people copying in Barber? As surely he wouldn't be happy about all this....i see some people are tweeting..all well and good at the time, but i would be following it up with a letter/email

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You're right of course but it's a sad reflection of things that PB has to be involved just to get some attention

Good luck with getting the Transport Manager to investigate carparking issues. From my experience there surely cannot be a more smug and condescending employee at the club.

Can't help but feel for Paul Barber.
It seems he has become the only port of call for fans hoping to get a response from the club on any topic
What is most impressive is that he continues to respond positively.

I don't think I'd ever consider trying to park at the ground, it always looks a nightmare. I park near London Road train station, have a bite to eat and a pint at the Open House then train it. I drive from South Wales.

Doesn't help those who need to park at the Amex, but it might be an alternative for those who don't.

Here is my reply to the email I sent. Looks very similar to Green Cross Code Mans!!

Dear Stadiumboy

Thank you for your e-mail.

I am very sorry that you experienced a delay to your journey and to accessing the university car park last night.

There were a number of travel-related issues. The extreme weather conditions caused train services to be massively disrupted leading to more people choosing to use their cars than normal. There was both flooding and an accident on the A27 and a broken down bus (not one of ours) caused delays for some people entering the university car park.

Our car parks were indeed very busy - compared to a typical match day (we have less spaces available to us for evening matches) but they were not completely full or indeed oversold. Unfortunately, it does appear that one or two of our stewards provided information to supporters that was incorrect and which clearly did not help an already difficult evening.

The vast majority of fans were inside the stadium for kick-off. We can tell this from our stadium access system. Unfortunately, and as you readily appreciate, the movement of between 20-30,000 people towards a football stadium in rush hour and during a period of extreme weather conditions where train travel disruption and increased car movements are compounded by accidents and break downs are a (thankfully) rare but very unfortunate combination of circumstances. I am afraid that the delays some people experienced last night were entirely outside of our control.

The club did everything in its power to communicate the likely transport issues (that we were aware of) well in advance of last night’s game, to provide advice to supporters travelling to the game, and to minimise any issues on the night as best we could. Inevitably, in a very dynamic situation, not every member of our match day staff will have access to as much information as we would like but, in the difficult circumstances we were facing, the club has done the best it could to minimise inconvenience for supporters.

In my long experience in football, the Albion's transport planning on behalf of its supporters is far in excess of anything I've ever seen. I have however passed on the specific comments you have made about the stewards’ reaction to the congestion for further investigation by our Transport Manager. I can only apologise that your particular situation was not as well managed as we would have expected and, again, I’m sorry that you were inconvenienced.

Thank you for your support.

Kind regards, Paul

stadiumboy said:

Here is my reply to the email I sent. Looks very similar to Green Cross Code Mans!!

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Yes indeed.

One can only hope that he has passed on the relevant information from each email, otherwise it's all a waste of time.

I emailed the Transport manager last August on a parking matter.
Still waiting for a response.........

severnside gull said:

Can't help but feel for Paul Barber.
It seems he has become the only port of call for fans hoping to get a response from the club on any topic
What is most impressive is that he continues to respond positively.

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And that he bothers to respond at all to people who don't even put their real names on the email.

trueblue said:

And that he bothers to respond at all to people who don't even put their real names on the email.

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I changed my real name to my nsc name for my post on here. I assume stadiumboy did the same.

Can I please 'whoosh' you?

Green Cross Code Man said:

I changed my real name to my nsc name for my post on here. I assume stadiumboy did the same.

Can I please 'whoosh' you?

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What if trueblue was being facetious? The right to whoosh would belong to him.

Unless you are double-bluffing now, of course.

Goldstone Rapper said:

What if trueblue was being facetious? The right to whoosh would belong to him.

Unless you are double-bluffing now, of course.

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Ha ha. That's true.

I'm embarrassed now. Or maybe I'm not.:what:

There is a problem with stewards not checking passes as I know several people that have parked at the Uni without a valid pass and also Taxi/ mini cabs that are not picking people up and just park up and go to the game.

Green Cross Code Man said:

Yes indeed.

One can only hope that he has passed on the relevant information from each email, otherwise it's all a waste of time.

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I hope you also sent a copy of your email to the transport manager?

His name and email address is on this thread.