£130 for pitch view room at League One soccer membership…however bosses insist curtains have to be closed through the match!
A football fan has been left fuming after he booked a £130 hotel room with a pitch view only to be told by bosses the curtains must be closed during the match.
Darren Dowling, 29, and his friend David Handling, 35, travelled to Blackpool excited to watch the League One side’s derby match against Bolton Wanderers.
The pair had each booked pitch view rooms inside the football stadium’s hotel expecting to be able watch the game from the luxury of their pad.
However when they arrived in their rooms Mr Dowling and Mr Handling were baffled to discover they were not allowed to watch the game at all.
And instead the friends found a letter from the hotel’s manager ordering them to keep the curtains in their rooms shut at all times throughout the match.
Mr Dowling described the situation as ‘bizarre’ and ‘ridiculous’.
He added that when they booked the rooms converted from former executive boxes there was no mention about the curtains rule.
Darren Dowling, 29, and his friend David Handling, 35, booked pitch view rooms at Blackpool FC Hotel only to discover the curtains had to be closed during the match
Bloomfield Road – Blackpool FC’s home ground. A spokesperson for Blackpool FC Hotel told the Daily Mail: ‘Guests staying in the rooms aren’t allowed to watch from the rooms due to EFL and FA regulations which prevents them from watching the game without a ticket’
He told The Sun: ‘A hotel with a pitch view and you can’t watch the game. We watched with the curtains open. What they gonna do?
‘The other thing is that on a non-match day it’s cheaper for the room so they’re putting a premium on the room during a match which you’re not actually allowed to watch.’
A spokesperson for Blackpool FC Hotel told the Daily Mail: ‘Guests staying in the rooms aren’t allowed to watch from the rooms due to EFL and FA regulations which prevents them from watching the game without a ticket.
‘They could also cause issues with fans stood opposite the window and it’s also against the law to drink alcohol in view of the pitch.’
The curtains rule is intended to minimise distractions for officials and players and keep in line with alcohol regulations.
And the Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol etc.) Act 1985 prevents the drinking of booze in view of the pitch at matches.
The Daily Mail have approached Blackpool FC for a comment
