da bet sport： Hampshire bosses apologise for the inconvenience and delays caused to spectators
da brdice： 07-Jul-2005Following the recent England v Sri Lanka match at the Rose Bowl, there was considerable criticism of the way that certain aspects of the game were handled. Wisden Cricinfo received more than 50 e-mails of complaint. We asked Nick Pike, Hampshire’s managing director, and Rod Bransgrove, the chairman, for their comments:We are under no illusion that, during the England v Sri Lanka match on Friday September 17, we failed to provide comfortable passage to and from the ground using the Park and Ride system. We apologise unreservedly to those spectators who were inconvenienced, but we have gained significant experience from their grievances. While it is of no comfort to those subjected to significant traffic delays or frustrating queuing times in the rain, we should like to offer the following explanation of events in mitigation and, more importantly, explain how we intend to correct these important issues in future.Park and Ride capacity
The existing Park and Ride site can accommodate about 5000 cars and has been operated very successfully for several events in the past. Its location, just off Junction 8 of the M27, is conveniently situated to the east of the Rose Bowl (which is located just off Junction 7) but it emerged that this was also the designated exit for the Southampton Boat Show, which is held in mid-September each year. While we are aware that the Boat Show draws significant traffic to the city, we were unaware that this traffic was directed by the police to leave the M27 at Junction 8. This problem was further compounded by the 10.15am start time for the Champions Trophy matches. Thus the local road infrastructure around Junction 8 was severely over-burdened during the peak period during the morning in question.By the date of the semi-final last Wednesday, September 22, the Southampton Boat Show had finished and local road conditions eased considerably. Some 9000 spectators attended the match and we have had no reports of difficulties or delays using the Park and Ride system.However, we are constantly seeking to improve our performance and we have already identified at least one additional Park and Ride site, this one being located to the west of the ground. Future major events will utilise at least two such sites in order to reduce the burden of the traffic at each one. In addition, we have decided that we will not host major daytime events in the future where there is conflict with the dates of the Southampton Boat Show.Queuing times
Queuing times for traffic to access the Park and Ride sites will be dealt with as set out above. However, it was clear that the most significant under-performance of the day at the England v Sri Lanka game was the lack of transportation for spectators returning to the car park. This inconvenience was seriously aggravated by the rain, which left many people waiting for some time in awful conditions.Our revised plans call for each of two or more Park and Ride sites to be in constant radio communication with each other, the ground and the coach/bus depot. This radio contact will enable flexible deployment of fleets of buses/coaches all day long. It is clearly not an option to have large parts of the fleet unavailable at any time of the day, and this will not be the case in future.In addition, we will liaise more closely with match officials in future in order to ensure that we are aware when they are considering abandonment. Half-an-hour’s notice of such a decision would provide us with the opportunity to summon the entire fleet for transfer to the Park and Ride sites.Rush hour
Rush-hour traffic is a feature of all stadia, particularly those in inner cities. The convenient location of the Rose Bowl just off the M27 avoids, to a large extent, the major city-centre rush-hour traffic, and events that commence at around 11am remain relatively untouched. As mentioned above, for the period in question the normal rush hour was increased by traffic heading for the Southampton Boat Show.However, we try to keep the local road infrastructure as clear as possible by discouraging parking on site in favour of our Park and Ride system. We maintain regular links with both the local council and the police in respect of all our plans.In the longer term, we hope to offer more day/night options at the Rose Bowl which, once again, reduces conflict with the local rush-hour traffic burden.Entrance gates/turnstiles
Both East and West Gates were open for access to the ground. There were big queues at peak times but this, as I understand it, is consistent with other grounds.Clearly the mandatory bag searches were a significant delaying factor, but this was an ICC requirement.Our longer-term plans include the construction of permanent turnstile entrances which should assist the passage of spectators. Bag searches, however, are becoming a more regular feature of major events in the UK.Stewarding
Once again the extent of stewarding in respect of implementation of ICC marketing strategies was outside our control, and was consistent at all grounds staging this tournament.It is unusual at the Rose Bowl to receive negative comments about our stewards, who are generally praised by our regular spectators. I can only assume that some of the large contingent of agency stewards were not as helpful as they could have been. At events over which we have control, we can ensure that stewards are briefed more adequately in this respect.Generally speaking, our stewards do not restrict spectators’ movement around the ground unless it is behind the bowler’s arm or otherwise distracting. Most seats at the Rose Bowl have a totally unobstructed view of the entire playing area. However, in future major matches we shall restrict such movement between overs.There was one issue with two stands that had been delivered and installed being slightly different to our plans and, therefore, our ticket manifest. All these spectators were moved to seats which were at least as good as or better than the ones originally allocated.Public-address system/announcements
As with several elements of the ICC Champions Trophy matches, we had limited control over the PA system or its announcements. We do believe better use of the replay screen as a form of communication should have been used, and will address this in future matches.Food and beverages
Having investigated the prices charged it is evident that these prices are similar or below comparable to international cricket venues or indeed local professional football venues. There was considerable choice for food, including seven bars, 15 food concessions together with the permanent Atrium bar, members’ bar, club marquee and India restaurant. We do believe, however, that our signage to the various catering facilities should have been better, and that in its current stage of development, a significant percentage of the above detailed outlets are open to the elements.Public facilities
We have re-checked the volume of toilet and washroom facilities provided and can confirm that the number of washrooms exceeded these required by legislation. What is now clear is that there was insufficient signage to the three main washroom blocks. This is something that we will correct for any future matches.In summary, we repeat our apologies for the inconvenience and delays caused to some spectators. We believe these issues can all be corrected and we have learnt from the experience. While it is tempting to rue the fact that had it not been for the weather, the early start and the Southampton Boat Show, most of the issues would not have come about, it is our firm commitment to address each issue, build on our experience and reaffirm our intention to offer the best one-day international facilities in the country.
