Kent threat as fan rages over Covid fees row

A KENT member is threatening to take his county to court for refusing to repay his £280 subscription fee for this fan-free season.

- Graham Otway and Paul Martin

Other counties will be watching any subsequent court action closely because they could also be made to hand back cash to supporters under ‘case law’ should the Kent member succeed.

At The Kia Oval, for instance, that could cause problems as Surrey have a total of 13,500 members paying a range of annual fees up to £238 each.

And last winter work started on a new £26m stand at The Oval which is part of a wider £50m development plan which Surrey hope will eventually see their seating capacity increased to 28,000 to transform the venue into the western hemisphere’s largest cricket ground.

A letter circulated by Kent chairman Simon Philip to all Kent members told them: “The club simply cannot afford to repay £331,000 to members currently, without bringing the financial strain to breaking point.

“The committee and executive appreciate that this is an approach that will fall on stony ground with some members and we empathise with that view. However, we must be guided by the overriding objective of getting the club through this crisis to a sustainable future and taking this course of action supports that.

“Clearly, there will be some cases of hardship that have arisen as a result of personal circumstances changing during the pandemic. Members to whom this applies should approach the club and we will consider such situations individually and in confidence.