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Angered Southampton businesses have told the Echo they face lower trade this weekend and next season after the club were expelled from the Championship play-off final.
Many businesses had arranged supporter travel and pubs had increased staffing and stock in anticipation for Saturday’s Wembley showpiece.
Alex Gregory, a spokesperson for Southampton Away Travel, an independent business providing travel to away days including the London play-off final, said the uncertainty of the club’s fate has has extended beyond the football club itself.
He said: “The uncertainty alone had already caused a huge impact.
“It is not just the football club affected — it is transport operators, pubs, cafés, hotels and many other businesses that benefit when supporters travel in large numbers” he said.
Paul Le-Moigne, owner of The Grapes (Image: Paul Le-Moigne)
Despite the disruption to their business, the company confirmed that their focus remains on looking after their customers properly.
Meanwhile, pubs near the stadium said they had prepared for an increase in trade before the fixture was cancelled.
Steve Woods, owner of The Chapel Arms, says his pub had increased stock orders and staffing levels in expectation of the Wembley crowds.
“We were geared up stock wise and staff wise,” he said.
“It’s their wages that’s now not getting put towards their rent, their food, their bills.
“Now we’re gonna take a reduction, it’s gonna be a chunk of money that’s not there, that could have been put into improving and developing the area.”
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Major football events make up a large part of annual trade for many pubs and bars, Steve said, adding: “It’s 50% of the trade for the year.
“We tend to get a good crowd on the build up, we open early for those going on the coaches which we won’t be doing now.”
Paul Le-Moigne, owner of The Grapes on Oxford Street, had also arranged staff rotas in preparation for the event.
He said: “It’s a bit annoying really, because obviously we’d done the rota here, people were expecting to come in early because it was obviously going to be busier.
“It’s quite difficult to tell your staff that they’re going to get less hours than they were.”
There are also growing fears about public reactions surrounding the expulsion, with pubs and bars being a hotspots for this.
“I was just hoping that next season people won’t use this against Southampton.
“I don’t really want to see people get upset and the pub be a target for fights and stuff.”
The loss of major football events is particularity damaging at a time when pubs are already under financial pressure.
Steve said: “The pub trade is under threat, it’s under pressure from over taxation and under supported by the government.
“So having events like this on the calendar and then suddenly being dropped last minute is pretty big, it’s just not on.”
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