WORCESTER Wolves’ home BBL Championship clash against Surrey United was forced to be postponed tonight (Friday) because of traffic problems.
A strong crowd arrived at the University of Worcester Arena before the home side were informed the Surrey team were stuck in heavy traffic en-route to the Arena and that the match was unlikely to start before 9pm.
After long consideration, the Wolves management team decided it was for the best to postpone the match as it was unfair for the fans to have had to wait that long as well the prospect of a late night finish.
The match will be now rescheduled on a later date, which is yet to be announced.
Wolves’ President Mick Donovan said the situation was disappointing but the decision was made in the best interests of the Wolves fans.
“We received a telephone call at around half-past six, saying that Surrey were having problems with traffic and were caught up in London,” he said.
“We monitored the situation, speaking with the BBL, and the estimated start time for the game was thought to be, at the earliest, around 9pm.
“We had a crowd of over a thousand already here and felt it was unfair for them to wait that long. There were a lot of youngsters here, so a finish time of around 11pm would not be ideal, meaning we had to make a decision to postpone the game.
“It’s obviously very disappointing as a lot of people had made a lot of effort tonight. We had children who came dressed in superhero outfits and we were hosting several birthday parties and corporate groups, so, from a club perspective, it’s really disappointing.
“Everyone who came along was given the option of a ticket for another game, or a full refund, with the majority choosing to take a ticket for another game.
“The players stayed on court for over thirty minutes, we gave gifts to the children who came along for birthday parties, they’ve had their pictures taken with Wolves players, and we’ve invited them all to come back again.
“We’re all really disappointed. The spectators were up for it, the team were up for it. It’s one of those things that was outside of our control, but we’ve done our best to manage the situation.”
Wolves will hope to shake off the disappointment of events tonight when they face the Leicester Riders tomorrow (Saturday) away from home.
