LEEDS POLICE BILL TOPS £25,000
Posted on: Thu 02 Oct 2008
Carlisle United today expressed deep concern about the rising cost of policing matches at Brunton Park after being charged £25,000 plus VAT for the previous home game against Leeds.
The club has no choice but to pay the bill after Cumbria Police rated the fixture as their highest risk Category C+, which meant it required the appropriate set level of cover, which included more than 70 officers and as well as motorcyclists and other crowd control measures.
Leicester City's visit on Saturday December 13 has already been designated as another C+ fixture, which will mean a further £25,000 police bill for the Blues, while the clash with Millwall on the final day of the season on Saturday May 2 might also come under the same category, depending on promotion or relegation issues at that stage.
While the police are happy to allow some of Carlisle's lowest-risk Category A home games to go ahead with minimal cover in addition to nearly 100 of the club's own stewards, several other matches have already been identified as Category B or C, which will require the appropriate higher levels of policing. These costs are: Cat A - just under £2,000; Cat B - £6,800; Cat C - £10,125.
The Blues say their concern about the policing costs facing the club over the whole season is becoming so serious that it now plans to raise the matter at a meeting with Carlisle MP Eric Martlew and with the Football League.
United's managing director John Nixon said: "It is getting extremely worrying. The figures now involved for policing matches at this level are the sort that will put clubs out of business. The police charges are just going up and up and up.
"The £25,000 plus VAT police bill for our Leeds game has completely wiped away the profit we were looking to make. It would have been even worse but the original figure of more than £28,000 plus VAT was reduced after discussions with Cumbria Police.
"Compare that to last year's League One fixture at home to Leeds, when our policing costs were less than £7,000, rising to £21,000 for the play-off game here.
"So now we are taking it further and involving our local MP and the Football League. We just cannot afford to sit back and let this situation continue. We have real concerns.
"We fully respect the issue of public safety and we want to continue working with Cumbria Police but we feel the costs we are being presented with are now becoming a grave problem. It should also be pointed out that not all the public order issues on match days are always of the club's making or indeed football's."
This Saturday's home game against Tranmere Rovers (kick off 3pm) is rated as a low risk fixture.
The club has no choice but to pay the bill after Cumbria Police rated the fixture as their highest risk Category C+, which meant it required the appropriate set level of cover, which included more than 70 officers and as well as motorcyclists and other crowd control measures.
Leicester City's visit on Saturday December 13 has already been designated as another C+ fixture, which will mean a further £25,000 police bill for the Blues, while the clash with Millwall on the final day of the season on Saturday May 2 might also come under the same category, depending on promotion or relegation issues at that stage.
While the police are happy to allow some of Carlisle's lowest-risk Category A home games to go ahead with minimal cover in addition to nearly 100 of the club's own stewards, several other matches have already been identified as Category B or C, which will require the appropriate higher levels of policing. These costs are: Cat A - just under £2,000; Cat B - £6,800; Cat C - £10,125.
The Blues say their concern about the policing costs facing the club over the whole season is becoming so serious that it now plans to raise the matter at a meeting with Carlisle MP Eric Martlew and with the Football League.
United's managing director John Nixon said: "It is getting extremely worrying. The figures now involved for policing matches at this level are the sort that will put clubs out of business. The police charges are just going up and up and up.
"The £25,000 plus VAT police bill for our Leeds game has completely wiped away the profit we were looking to make. It would have been even worse but the original figure of more than £28,000 plus VAT was reduced after discussions with Cumbria Police.
"Compare that to last year's League One fixture at home to Leeds, when our policing costs were less than £7,000, rising to £21,000 for the play-off game here.
"So now we are taking it further and involving our local MP and the Football League. We just cannot afford to sit back and let this situation continue. We have real concerns.
"We fully respect the issue of public safety and we want to continue working with Cumbria Police but we feel the costs we are being presented with are now becoming a grave problem. It should also be pointed out that not all the public order issues on match days are always of the club's making or indeed football's."
This Saturday's home game against Tranmere Rovers (kick off 3pm) is rated as a low risk fixture.
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