PPE Manufacturer Estimates Huge Costs For Sports Venues

As the Government announces sports venues could reopen from October, a leading PPE manufacturer warns that the costs of protecting football fans against the threat of COVID-19 could run into millions of pounds each week.

On average, 1,482,637 fans packed into venues across the UK every week during the 2018/2019 Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two seasons.

And online print portal Where The Trade Buys has estimated that even when these figures are halved to account for social distancing, that could still amount to around £1m each week on masks for fans alone.

Costs then continue to escalate when including protective wear for ticket collectors, programme sellers, food vendors and other staff onsite, along with additional PPE such as safety screens, signs and floor markings.

And now Gary Peeling, CEO of Where The Trade Buys, is suggesting that clubs start to stock up now, ready for the return of crowds to support their favourite team.

“Even with reduced capacity for social distancing, many sports stadia could be catering to tens of thousands of people when fans are allowed back into the stands,” said Gary.

“And if the guidelines for sports venues follows those for retail, then they are looking at huge costs in order to make sure they have enough PPE for supporters.

“With such large numbers moving in and out of the venue and surrounding areas, it’s going to be really important that the clubs across all divisions are prepared to protect both their staff and also fans who may well forget to bring their masks.

“The current situation is that we can’t be too safe and it’s now that clubs across all divisions need to start getting ready for the future.”