Final plans are in place for our first Brentford match in front of fans at the new stadium to take place this weekend. Our game against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, 5 December, kick-off 3pm, will be watched live by Bees fans at the stadium, subject to any further changes from the authorities.

Everyone at the Club is aware of how big a moment this is, especially for fans that spent many years watching us at Griffin Park and have been, like us, disappointed that they have not been able to see matches in person since March. Many thousands of fans are desperate to get in to the stadium to watch games as soon as possible. Currently Government regulations restrict us to just 2,000 supporters per match.

We would love to have all our fans with us on Saturday, but of course that is not possible. We know that whichever route we take, some will miss out and there will be disappointment from those who cannot attend. We have consulted BIAS (Brentford Independent Association of Supporters) and Bees United, ahead of finalising plans. The graphic below explains how we are prioritising access to tickets for Season Ticket Holders (STH) that have frozen their Season Tickets.

For clarity, those who live in areas with tier three Covid-19 restrictions will not be able to attend and fans that replied to our survey saying they do not want to attend at the moment will also be excluded. Supporters booking tickets won’t have to pay now for any tickets – instead the pro-rata amount will payable as part of the renewal process for next season’s Season Ticket (2021/22).

Our Premium Seat Holders and Dugout Season Ticket Holders are being contacted separately. We expect all Season Ticket Holders to be able to attend one in every five Championship matches (based on the current 2,000 limit not changing). Cup games are being treated separately and more information on this will be available in due course. Further details on how to access the stadium, what it will be like inside and any parking options available will be sent out later in the week to those attending.

The 2,000 supporters allowed to attend matches include all Season Ticket Holders, those in The Dugout and Premium Seat Holders. Club Partners and guests are included within the 2,000 but essential staff or anyone working at the game are excluded from this total. The number of tickets available is being split by the Club along the following lines – 82.5 per cent Season Ticket Holders, 7.5 per cent Dugout Season Ticket Holders, 10 per cent Premium Seat Members.

Emails will be sent to fans on Tuesday 1 December to enable them to start booking tickets and we will telephone those we do not have email addresses for so. As we stated last week, to book – and sit with – other Season Ticket Holders that live in your household, they must be in your Friends and Family group on our ticketing system and have chosen to freeze their Season Ticket. Full details of how to add people to your Friends and Family group are provided here.

Please keep an eye on your emails tomorrow, Tuesday 1 December, to see if you can book tickets for our first game. Those who are not eligible will also receive an email giving as much information as we can about when they may be able to book tickets but this will be a rough guide as the numbers booking can change for each match).  If you are a Season Ticket Holder for the 2020/21 season and have not received your email from the Club, please fill in our online form. If you have any queries, please email us at [email protected].

We fully appreciate this is a difficult and challenging process and some fans are going to be disappointed and frustrated they are not in the first tranche of attendees. Please be assured we share these frustrations and will do everything in our power to make the process as smooth as possible.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.