FROME Town could break its attendance record for a league match, with a free ticket giveaway for the first game of the new season next week.
The club – looking to bounce back from the past 16 months – has announced that their opening game of the season against Highworth Town in the Southern League, on Saturday 14th August, will be free to attend, as part of an initiative to encourage the local community back to live sport in Frome.
And they are hopeful that they could break their Southern League attendance record for a league match, which currently sits at 617 with the all-time record for a league game of 1,600, set at a Western League match against Cinderford Town in 1953.
The free ticket giveaway has been made possible by the generosity of IMS Ltd – who support a number of sports teams across Frome – who will cover the cost of a ticket for every person that comes to the match.
Frome Town FC’s chairman, Derek Graham said, “It’s fantastic to be able to welcome fans back into our ground to see competitive football. This wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our partners and especially IMS during the lockdown. We hope that the town embraces this wonderful offer to bring their friends and families to the match, and enjoy an amazing local company giving back to the community.”
IMS Limited’s Ian Regler added, “We at IMS, hope that everyone in Frome gets behind the club and attends the match, whether you’ve been to a match before or not. As a local business, we have long been a supporter and partner of Frome Town and other sports teams across Frome. It’s our pleasure to make this accessible to all.”
The discussion about the free match event has already sparked conversations about whether the town could set a new attendance record for the club.
With the all-time record at 8,000 people for a FA Cup match against Leyton Orient, the existing stadium limits of 3,000 would not permit these heights to be reached again.
However, the club’s league attendance figures could see the match feature in the top 10 list.
Frome Town’s current highest league attendances are:
29-08-1953 v Cinderford Town 1,600 Western League
27-08-1955 v Dorchester Town 1,320 Western League
02-04-1955 v Yeovil Town 1,200 Western League
28-08-1954 v Stonehouse 1,200 Western League
07-05-1979 v Paulton Rovers 800 Western League
01-01-2010 v Paulton Rovers 617 Southern League
26-12-1967 v Bristol City 600 Western League
27-09-2017 v Hereford 531 Southern League
17-04-2017 v Chippenham Town 552 Southern League
With over 100 tickets already claimed, anyone looking to attend the ‘Back to BA11’ match should claim their tickets on the club’s website.
Visit www.weareba11.com for more information.
