Port Vale Friendly Behind Closed Doors

Rovers’ final pre-season game to be played behind closed doors due to Vale Park maintenance issues……

Port Vale Football Club has today issued a statement which confirms that their two upcoming home pre-season friendlies, including the one against Rovers on Saturday 11th August will now be played behind closed doors.

The Staffordshire based League Two club have said that the decision is an enforced one and cited their inability to carry out the usual maintenance work at Vale Park during the closed season due to their prolonged period in administration.  It was also stated that the club are working closely with Stoke-on-Trent City Council to ensure that the two parties have agreements and safety certification in place prior to the Capital One Cup fixture at home to Burnley on August 14th with an announcement to be made nearer the date but is just unfortunate for Rovers fans that the work will not be completed four days sooner in time for the friendly game.

In the statement on the Official Port Vale Website, Club Secretary, Bill Lodey, said…….

“This is not a situation we have taken lightly and I would like to apologise to all of our supporters, who I am certain will be bitterly disappointed.  In an ideal world, the work on the stadium would have been completed well in advance of the new season but as we have been in administration, we simply haven’t been able to do this.”

“The period of administration has been – and continues to be – incredibly difficult for everyone connected to Port Vale and the staff are included in that. We are simply not ready. Our priority is to ensure that we are fully prepared for the Burnley game and that is what we are all working towards.”