Our FA Cup second round tie with Yeovil Town is set to take place on Saturday 2nd December 2017.
With deliberation going on as to whether the game can be moved to the Friday night or Sunday, the Staffordshire Police and the FA have confirmed that the game can go ahead on the Saturday afternoon, with a 3 o'clock kick-off.
Originally, it was felt that the game would not be played on the Saturday afternoon as neighbours Stoke City had a scheduled game against Swansea City, and Port Vale and Stoke City had not played on the same day since 1984 and have not kicked off at the same time since 1982.
Also the club could not move the game to the Friday evening as there were already events taking place at the club that evening that the Club were committed to.
Further, playing the game on a Sunday was a consideration given the clash with Stoke City but Manager, Neil Aspin, was keen not to play the fixture on the Sunday as Vale have progressed to the knock out stage of the Checkatrade Trophy and are scheduled to face Shrewsbury Town at Vale Park just two days later on Tuesday the 5th December.
Following the draw, Club officials contacted Staffordshire Police with a request for them to consider whether Port Vale could go ahead and schedule their FA Cup game against Yeovil Town for a 3pm kick-off on Saturday the 2nd December, knowing that Stoke City were already scheduled to face Swansea City at the same time.
Staffordshire Police gave due consideration to this request and gave their agreement and support for both games to go ahead at the same time. Port Vale Football Club would like thank Staffordshire Police for their assistance and consideration in this matter.
Other considerations in staging the FA Cup game on the same day as Stoke City playing centred around staffing resources, as a significant number of match day staff are employed by both clubs, these include, stewards, turnstile operators, catering and kiosk staff.
Unfortunately, as a result of the two games being played at the same time, this means that the Bycars Stand and the Corner Stand at Vale Park will not be open for the FA Cup fixture versus Yeovil Town. This will help the Club in its deployment of staff for this game.
We understand that this may serve as an inconvenience to season ticket holders and those of you who proudly support the Vale from the aforementioned stands, and we offer our sincerest apologies.
We hope that you understand the Clubs reason for closing these two stands and we thank you for your co-operation at this time, and hope that you will still come to the game and cheer on the boys into the third round!
All other stands; Lorne Street, Railway Paddock and Railway Stand will be open to home supporters. Hamil Road stand will be open for visiting supporters.
Ticket prices for this match will stay the same from the first round tie, and the prices are shown below.
Adults: £12
Concessions: £6
President Seats: £20
Executive Boxes: £200 including VAT (8 People).
Please note that President Seating tickets and Executive Boxes will be offered to season ticket holders a week before going on general sale. All will be contaced in due time.
Further, there will not be any cash gates on the day of the fixture.