Return of Fans – FAQ

In the UK, a ‘social bubble’ is a group of people from the same household, that do not have to social distance from each other and who are therefore permitted to sit or stand together in a sports ground.

It is also permitted for members of a ‘support bubble’ to mix with their respective social bubble without social distancing, therefore also sit or stand together at a sports ground.

Note: this definition is subject to regular review.

In the UK a ‘support bubble’ is defined as a coming together of one household already forming a social bubble, plus either one other adult who lives alone, or one other single parent with children under the age of 18 (in which case those children will also be included within the ‘support bubble’).

At this current moment in time, ticket ballots for home matches at The Breyer Group Stadium are only open to 2020/21 Season Card Holders. We are grateful for the continued support and dedication shown by our Season Card Holders and we will prioritise them when trying to get fans back into the ground as safely and as quickly as possible.

Any Season Card Holder can enter any of the ballots, whether you wish to attend an O’s game on your own or as part of a group of up to 6 (all people in your group must be Season Card Holders and you must all be part of the same social bubble.

Non-Season Card Holders can not currently enter ballots to apply to attend matches at The Breyer Group Stadium but we will continue to work closely with local authorities to try to get all O’s fans back in the ground as safely and as soon as possible.

Season Cards will not go back on sale until the capacity restriction allows all current Season Card Holders to attend matches. The current capacity restriction is 2,000 people including fans, staff and players.

– The Borough of Waltham Forest has been placed into tier 2. This means that our capacity is limited to 2,000 at The Breyer Group Stadium. That capacity limit applies to all staff and players as well as fans in the stadium.

– Owing to phenomenal 2020/21 Season Card sales of over 3,600 the Club has introduced a fair and transparent ballot system. Our priority is to welcome back as many Season Card Holders as possible in the safest possible way.

– Each home game (including the Papa John’s Trophy game versus Bristol Rovers on Tuesday 8th December) will see a new ballot system introduced.

– Season Card Holders will be asked to complete their entry into the ballot. Each ballot will have a short time-frame between opening and closing owing to the administration involved to co-ordinate a workable seating plan for each game that critically facilitates social distancing

– Season Card Holders are encouraged, where relevant to select a lead booker for a group of up to 6 people who will enter the ballots on behalf of that group

– Please note a separate ballot will take place for each home fixture. Once the deadline has passed, the Club will notify successful Season Card Holders via email. That email will include further information on the COVID-19 protocols and procedures that the Club is following and the requirement for each attending spectator to ensure we follow those.

– Within 24 hours of the fixture, successful Season Card Holder applicants will be emailed a digital match ticket for each person applied for. IT IS ESSENTIAL these tickets are either printed OR kept on a mobile device. At the gates, tickets will be scanned by staff

– Please note any duplicate tickets will be refused entry. We therefore urge fans to not reproduce their ticket as in doing so will restrict access to only the first person to present the ticket

– Those Season Card Holders un-successful in any ballot (or who opt not to enter that ballot) will still be able to gain access as part of their Season Card package to the Club’s enhanced streaming service, Orient Live (home league games only).

Those who are unsuccessful in a ballot will be able to still access the enhanced streaming service. This will be available for Season Card Holders as part of their package and for £10 per game for non-Season Card Holders.

Those who are unsuccessful for one ballot will be given priority to attend the next match they apply to attend, subject to availability.

Any Season Card Holders who are unsuccessful in any match ballots or choose not to enter any match ballots will still be able to stream the relevant matches via Orient Live as part of their Season Card.

All Season Card Holders who attend a match will not be able to access the Orient Live stream complimentary.

Fans who reside in a Tier 3 area are unfortunately unable to attend matches at The Breyer Group Stadium (currently in Tier 2) due to current Government guidelines restricting the movement of residents from Tier 3 areas.

As a Club, our priority is to be able to welcome back as many LOFC Season Card Holders as possible back to The Breyer Group Stadium in the safest possible way. As a result, it will be necessary for the Club to allocate seats in other areas of a stand or even a different stand. We thank Season Card Holders in advance for their understanding with this. We will do everything possible to keep this to a minimum.

In Recent months the East Stand has undergone a series of safety inspections, as a result of these inspections some remedial work needs to be carried out over the coming months. Whilst this work is in process, the capacity of the East Stand may be affected.

For the rest of the season, the East stand may be subject to temporary closures as a result of extremely high winds, in the event of this happening, this will be communicated to all at least 24hours prior to any event.

Had we opted for that process it would have meant that social bubbles would have been split up therefore reducing capacity and the number of Season Card Holders who could attend.

Furthermore, there will be many fans unable to attend a specific fixture who would then take up a seat we could have otherwise occupied.

Owing to the tight timeframes between fixtures we encourage fans who have been successful for a particular game ballot who are now unable to attend to inform us by emailing [email protected] – however, we will not be able to re-allocate those seats (unless the entire group is now unable to attend) owing to the need to ensure we have social distancing between seats.

Under no circumstances can tickets be transferred to anyone else unless they are within your social bubble AND they are a Season Card Holder within that age category. For example, a child ticket cannot be used by an adult. Checks will take place at the gates.

You are not permitted to travel from an area of a different level of restriction as London.

For example:

If London is in a restriction level of Tier 2, you are not permitted to travel to The Breyer Group Stadium from an area that’s restriction level Tier 3.

If there were to be a sudden change in restriction tier in London, the Club will communicate with fans as swiftly as possible once we have received communication from the council.

Issued tickets may become invalid in the case of a restriction tier change.

Gates will open two hours before kick-off but we urge fans to arrive as early as possible to help ensure a smooth and safe process when allowing fans into the ground.

Should we be informed of any returned/cancelled tickets (not when only part of a social bubble application is returned) we will seek, where time allows, to allocate those to previously un-successful Season Card Holders.

Since the start of the 2020/21 season, the Club has made use of the Legends’ Lounge for the visiting team. This aids social distancing and allows us to be compliant with COVID-19 rules.

Unfortunately, as a result, the Legends’ Lounge seating area and bar will remain closed for the time being. Those Season Card Holders will be able to apply in the ballot in the same way – Legends Lounge Season Card Holders will receive the same opportunity/chance to attend as other Season Card Holders.

The Club will communicate with Legend Lounge Season Card Holders who are successful in a ballot in the New Year with regard the option of a part-refund being given for any games they were requested to sit elsewhere.

The Club will provide streaming access to Season Card Holders unsuccessful in any game ballot. The Club also introduced a new policy to provide fans with the option to apply for credit – please visit www.leytonorient.com/2020/11/11/2021-credit-scheme-announced/ for more info.

A support bubble is a close support network between a household with only one adult or a household with one adult and one or more people who were under the age of 18 on 12 June 2020 in the home (known as a single-adult household) and one other household of any size.

We urge wherever possible for each Season Card Holder to keep within their social bubble however if for example children within your social bubble are unable to attend an evening game we appreciate that your group application will change.

At this moment in time, fans are not permitted to travel to away matches within the EFL. Any fan who attempts to gain entry to an away game will be refused entry.

Alongside government advice, we urge where possible for Season Card Holders who have been successful in any ballot to avoid travelling via public transport.

The Club have been working behind the scenes to ensure that The Breyer Group Stadium is adhering to all COVID-19 protocols. This includes:

– Each person attending the stadium should only enter provided they are not displaying any COVID-19 symptoms which include (but not limited to) high temperature, continuous new cough and/or a loss of taste and/or smell.
– Not travelled outside the UK in the last 14 days
– The wearing of facemasks will be mandatory for ALL spectators unless you have a medical exemption. Stewards will be instructed to insist on mask-wearing (except those exempt) at all times including whilst sat in their seat. This policy is introduced to reduce the risk of transmission
– Temperature checks will be conducted by LOFC stewards – anyone displaying a temperature of over 37.7 degrees will be instructed to leave the stadium and the area – there will be no secondary testing on that day of anyone displaying a temperature on or above that level. This policy is only being introduced to protect fellow fans and staff
– A large number of hand sanitising units
– The blocking off of some urinals and cubicles in toilet areas
– A well sign-posted one-way traffic system
– Encouraging fans to take their seats swiftly after arrival and to only leave their seats to use the toilet or in an emergency up until the end of the game – when leaving your seat for the toilet please ensure you continue to wear your face mask and follow as much as possible social distancing guidelines
– Fans will be discouraged from moving seats
– At the end of the game fans will be asked to leave the stand row by row, starting from the front. This will help reduce the numbers of fans in any area at any one time

The wearing of facemasks will be mandatory for ALL spectators unless you have a medical exemption. Stewards will be instructed to insist on mask-wearing (except those exempt) at all times including whilst sat in their seat. This policy is introduced to reduce the risk of transmission.

So we can improve the speed of entry until further notice entrance will be via the gates rather than turnstiles. This helps reduce touch points and allows for easier scanning of tickets.

Yes, the Club has provided additional hand sanitizing units and soap dispensers. Furthermore, within each toilet certain cubicles and urinals will be marked off to aid social distancing.

– Yes, so that we can ensure a fair and transparent process a separate ballot will be conducted for each home game.
– Season Card Holders who are not successful in a particular ballot will receive priority over those who have been successful (provided they have applied in time via the ballot) for the next game.
– Please note applications for cup games including the Papa Johns Trophy game versus Bristol Rovers on Tuesday 8th December will involve a separate ballot. The result of that ballot will have no bearing on ballot allocations for league games. Priority will, however, be given for Cup games to Season Card Holders prior to any public sale.

– So we can focus on the introduction of new policies and ticketing system the Club will operate for the Bristol Rovers & Newport County games with a click and collect service only. Further details of this will be announced via the Club’s website and social media channels.
– We urge fans to use this service or opt for home delivery as we gear up for a busy Christmas period – now’s the time to get ready for the festive season and treat yourself and loved ones to an Orient present or two!

So we can accommodate as many Season Card Holders as possible, as safely as possible the Club has taken the decision for all home games up to and including the visit of Salford City of Saturday 2nd January to not open up the catering units/bars. Had we opted to open these units it would have restricted crowd numbers further owing to the requirement of social distancing in all areas including the concourses and bars.

The Club, for now, will suspend the Club’s ground regulation on the importation of plastic bottled non-alcoholic drinks. These can be brought into the ground for consumption. Please note the restriction of glass remains. We ask fans to be considerate when bringing food into the stadium to ensure the entrance is not delayed and that gangways are not blocked.

So we can reduce the risk of transmission, for now, the Club will continue to offer the digital programme for fans. Additionally, further details will be announced on how fans can order a physical copy of matchday programmes.
Furthermore, the Club will restrict the sale of fanzines etc within the vicinity of the stadium – this is only being introduced to reduce risk and protect fans and will only be a temporary measure.

To aid the flow of fans gates will open 2 hours prior to kick-off.