Hundreds snap up Wembley tickets (From York Press)

York City fans snap up Wembley tickets

5:28pm Tuesday 10th April 2012 in Sport By Dan Bean , dan.bean@thepress.co.uk

FOOTBALL fans have begun snapping up tickets for York City FC's trip to Wembley next month.

The first tickets went on sale today for City's FA Trophy Final against Newport County on May 12.

Bootham Crescent season-ticket holders queued in the cold and rain today to secure their seats for the game, which will be City's third appearance at Wembley in four seasons.

Sophie Hicks, York City director, said sales had been strong, with many of City’s 1,000 season ticket holders turning out.

She said: “It’s been a very busy day, and we’ve sold about 650 or 700.

“This game is not scheduled at the moment to be televised or streamed on any website, so as it stands at the moment, the only way to see this match is to be there.”

About 60 people queued across the car park before the ticket office opened at 10am, with transactions overseen by a representative from Wembley, but some left the ground without making a purchase, when they were told the only seats available were behind and close to one of the goal ends at the stadium.

Robert Long, who has held a season ticket with the club since 1979, said he was so disappointed with the way tickets had been distributed, and walked away from the queue before booking a seat.

Mr Long, 58, said: “I think a lot of people are unhappy with the situation. The majority of people there were about my age, and the majority of them didn’t want to be behind the goal. It wasn’t made clear on the website.

“I’ve already got train tickets booked with the wife and didn’t want to take her and stand with the young and exuberant supporters behind the goal, we want to sit down and enjoy the game, not spend it all on our feet.”

The club has been allocated about 15,000 tickets, but Mrs Hicks said the club had been unaware of the exact location of the initial ticket blocks until the Wembley representative arrived.

She said: “The initial blocks for sale, which have been recommended by Wembley, are deemed as the best sites for creating a positive family atmosphere on the day.

“We apologise if any inconvenience has been caused to supporters that wish to be positioned specifically in alternative blocks, however we’re operating under Wembley guidance and we were not aware of these arrangements before today.”

Mrs Hicks said the club is not in a position to sell other areas at the moment, as it would incur stadium hire charges and stewarding charges for areas which could remain largely unoccupied, but as the current areas filled up, more seating would be made available to the club.