Pompey beam back a success

And it could well return for Bristol Rovers next month, if the demand is there.

A total of 802 Blues fans were present at Saturday’s trip to AFC Wimbledon – taking up their full allocation of tickets.

That prompted the club to hire a satellite company for the match to be televised back at Fratton, with an entry fee charged.

According to engagement manager Micah Hall, around 800 fans turned up for the event, with food and drink also for sale.

There were teething issues with the Express FM commentary not working with the screening, but overall Hall has said the feedback has been ‘superb’.

And potentially, the beam back could be introduced once again for Pompey’s December 21 trip to Rovers.

Hall said: ‘The general feedback was absolutely superb. We’ve had a great response from people contacting us on Twitter with their views.

‘Fans seemed to enjoy the event, the food, the drink and Alan Knight’s opinions on the game. The only thing they didn’t love was the match itself!

‘We have learned a lot of lessons to make it better and cheaper and still achieve the same quality – and it is something we would consider staging again.

‘We are expecting around 950 tickets for the trip to Bristol Rovers, so it may mean we have another Fratton Park beam back.

‘But it would depend on the attitude of the home club, stadium tickets sales and the demand at the time.

‘Still, around 800 turned up on Saturday, which is pretty impressive considering it was organised quite last minute and we also had 802 supporters at the actual game.

‘The commentary issue was down to the satellite company, and that is being investigated, but we are pleased how it all went.’

Meanwhile, Hall believes the club broke even from the event – another consideration when deciding whether to repeat it in future.

He added: ‘At this stage, I would say we probably broke even.

‘Once the kiosk and bar takings are taken into account, I would have thought it balanced itself out.’

– NEIL ALLEN