I am an addicted smoker and find it uncomfortable to go 1 hour 45mins + without a fag. I'm sure many other fans are the same. Could we have a smoking area so that those of us with this problem, could at least get a fag at half time.

As far as I understand it, I cannot leave the stadium at half time for a fag and come back in.. This is daft, if I go to see a play at Eden Court I can.. I'm a paying customer, what I do in the break and where I go, is surely up to me. Why can I not do so at TCS?

Do other clubs provide an area??

Edited August 16, 200916 yr by kiltarlity

An area could be cordoned off for smokers but it probably wont happen as it doesn't look good in front of kids at a sports venue.

It doesn't look (or smell) good in front of anybody anywhere!

It just defies belief that all these people with an addiction want special treatment off the club due to a dangerous addiction - what if I am an alcoholic, does that mean that I should petition for access to a bar at half time or during the match?

The snobs in the Kingsmills Suite get to enjoy that little perk....

Kingsmills Suite = now Kingsmills Club and open to all season ticket holders for a membership fee. No drink available during the game or at half time as the licencing laws forbid this. Alcohol available to purchase before and after the game only. No free drink, no snobs and not a cucumber in sight.

As Stevico says you can get outside for a smoke from the Kingsmills Cub at half time though

Kingsmills Club ye ok but what about the Season Ticket Holders that have kids, I include myself as I have 2 under eleven kids? Do I leave them at home? Is there a solution?

Just a thought as I was going to join but as in the dilema what to do with my kids

Kingsmills Club ye ok but what about the Season Ticket Holders that have kids, I include myself as I have 2 under eleven kids? Do I leave them at home? Is there a solution?

Just a thought as I was going to join but as in the dilema what to do with my kids

Heading a little of topic, but I'll answer your point. I have kids too and would like to get them in, certainly after the game. Our use of the Kingsmills Club will be limited due to the over 18 rule. The Supporters Trust have asked the question regarding kids and it is a stipulation of the licencing. We require a different licence to sell alcohol and it's granted on the condition it's over 18s only. If everything goes okay this season it may be able to be reviewed for the future, but for now that's the way it has to be I'm afraid. I know of a few people who would join if it was child friendly.

This really is an unbelievable situation, members of the Kingsmills club can get out for a fag at half time no prob.

Normal punters cannot.

Do members of the Kingsmills club get special golden match day tickets that don't have the words "No Readmitance" on them ? I don't think so.. !!

So if you are a buisness man who might invest in club we don't want to treat you like a prisoner, feel free to come and go! But if you are a normal paying fan who sits in the stands we will revoke your civil liberties and hide behind our small print terms and conditions.....

Edited August 21, 200916 yr by kiltarlity

Civil Liberties?

What the **** are you on about?

This really is an unbelievable situation, members of the Kingsmills club can get out for a fag at half time no prob.

Normal punters cannot.

Do members of the Kingsmills club get special golden match day tickets that don't have the words "No Readmitance" on them ? I don't think so.. !!

So if you are a buisness man who might invest in club we don't want to treat you like a prisoner, feel free to come and go! But if you are a normal paying fan who sits in the stands we will revoke your civil liberties and hide behind our small print terms and conditions.....

How many times does it have to be said that the Kingsmalls Club IS NOT like hospitality. It's a club that ANY fan can join, and in return for your membership fee you get a few added extras. If people are that desperate to smoke, then they too can join the Kingsmills Club and get the same benefits as other members and the fee you pay helps pay for the staff required to do things like man the door and control people entering and leaving the stadium.

And, Yes....they do have a "special" membership card, but it's black not Golden

Civil Liberties?

What the **** are you on about?

Freedom of movement!! The ability to come and go from stadium at my will.

CaleyD you are right, I could pay... but why should I? I'm not going to pay to have my civil liberties restored, I suggest this is a massive social injustice and very very wrong!

Edited August 21, 200916 yr by kiltarlity

You only have a "right" to be admitted to the stadium with a valid ticket and the club are perfectly within their "rights" to impose restrictions on people within the stadium. You are not being forced to go to games and you could easily exercise your "civil liberties" by choosing not to enter into a contract by purchasing a ticket with restrictions you do not agree to.

Being a non-smoker I admit that this subject is not very dear to my heart but I have read the comments and have one or two thoughts on the subject.

Civil Liberties - if you are allowed to leave the stadium of your own free will at any time where is the problem relating to civil liberty? I accept that this may negate your re-entry but I don't think you are at liberty to dictate to the club, their terms for your re-entry.

Films - are you allowed to exit and re-enter as and when you need a puff?

Despite the foregoing I do feel that the club could accommodate the addicts and make their afternoon enjoyment that wee bit better. Maybe it is the only enjoyment they may experience that afternoon.

Can't be difficult to use cloakroom tickets, steward manning one gate. If the re-entry demand means they lose part of the restart so be it, it will be similar to the pie Q problem.

.

If people are that desperate to smoke, then they too can join the Kingsmills Club and get the same benefits as other members and the fee you pay helps pay for the staff required to do things like man the door and control people entering and leaving the stadium.

So we should pay ?250 for the privilege of having a fag at half-time!

Do you seriously think this is reasonable? I didn't notice this as one of the benefits of joining. The fact is that the people who congregate at the front door to smoke at half-time are breaking the rules. Many of them are employees of the club, agents and journalists and therefore don't pay anything at all to attend the game.

Films - are you allowed to exit and re-enter as and when you need a puff?

It doesn't happen very often becasue films don't tend to have intervals. When they do, it isn't a problem. Same goes for the theatre, music concerts and clubs.

It's probably clear that i get very wound up about this issue. I think some people are being extremely unreasonable and i can't understand why. Smoking has been banned in enclosed public spaces. This is great for non-smokers who don't want their health and atmosphere polluted by cigarette smoke. Enjoy it by all means, but why complain when people want to smoke in a way that doesn't harm you?

If people are that desperate to smoke, then they too can join the Kingsmills Club and get the same benefits as other members and the fee you pay helps pay for the staff required to do things like man the door and control people entering and leaving the stadium.

So we should pay ?250 for the privilege of having a fag at half-time!

Do you seriously think this is reasonable? I didn't notice this as one of the benefits of joining. The fact is that the people who congregate at the front door to smoke at half-time are breaking the rules. Many of them are employees of the club, agents and journalists and therefore don't pay anything at all to attend the game.

Films - are you allowed to exit and re-enter as and when you need a puff?

It doesn't happen very often becasue films don't tend to have intervals. When they do, it isn't a problem. Same goes for the theatre, music concerts and clubs.

It's probably clear that i get very wound up about this issue. I think some people are being extremely unreasonable and i can't understand why. Smoking has been banned in enclosed public spaces. This is great for non-smokers who don't want their health and atmosphere polluted by cigarette smoke. Enjoy it by all means, but why complain when people want to smoke in a way that doesn't harm you?

I am again going to come back to my alcoholic point.

I am again going to come back to my alcoholic point.

Great. We'll just leave it at that then.

The ticket states that there is no re-admittance.

At present there is no legal place in the stadium where you can go and have a smoke. The club are very unlikely to spend money on providing an area where you are allowed to smoke because they have more important things to spend their money on.

If you allow smokers to leave the stadium, then you have to police those who go out, making sure that they are not given anything dangerous to take in or are otherwise doing things they shouldn't do. Then, because you have allowed the smokers out, the non-smokers are going to want to go out to, because why should the smokers be given special treatment right?

This then opens up a can of worms because it would probably escalate to the point where there is no way they can police it without spending more money.

I'm a non smoker but have sympathy for those who are.

The main stand has the open areas at each end without the roof, the North Stand has also got open areas at each end and opposite the main stand you have the area that was once terracing and also the singing section. Surely in a stadium the size of ours which is very rarely full even in the SPL, we can accommodate those people who feel the need to light up at half time. They would then not have to leave the stadium and cause any headaches to anyone. If they were to abuse this privilage it could be revoked but I cannot see them abusing anything but just being grateful that their plea was heard and their request acknowledged. Commonsense should surely prevail, they are not lepers but probably if they were they would get an area specially built for them!

An area could be cordoned off for smokers but it probably wont happen as it doesn't look good in front of kids at a sports venue.

It doesn't look (or smell) good in front of anybody anywhere!

Thats a bit anti smoki,

I miss the days where you could stagger around Barbarouskis and go home with fag burns on your clothes and arms, smokers with their backs to you at the bar holding their fags up at head height so the smoke goes over their shoulder and directly into your now stinging eyes and waking up in the morning with your clothes and hair stinking of smoke,so I bought shares in Imperial tobacco to even things up, good times.

Seeing patients outside Raigmore hospital with amputated legs due to smoking and still not giving up. bad times.

I gave up when I realised, I wasn't having a cigarette, the cigarette was having me. Its not cool to have your life dictated by a plant.

I'm a non smoker but have sympathy for those who are.

The main stand has the open areas at each end without the roof, the North Stand has also got open areas at each end and opposite the main stand you have the area that was once terracing and also the singing section. Surely in a stadium the size of ours which is very rarely full even in the SPL, we can accommodate those people who feel the need to light up at half time. They would then not have to leave the stadium and cause any headaches to anyone. If they were to abuse this privilage it could be revoked but I cannot see them abusing anything but just being grateful that their plea was heard and their request acknowledged. Commonsense should surely prevail, they are not lepers but probably if they were they would get an area specially built for them!

I believe that the stadium is considered one structure and as such, a full ban on smoking is in effect.

Isnt a football ground considered a public place? And by LAW smoking is banned in Public places?

I dont have a side in this arguement, im just saying.

If people are that desperate to smoke, then they too can join the Kingsmills Club and get the same benefits as other members and the fee you pay helps pay for the staff required to do things like man the door and control people entering and leaving the stadium.

So we should pay ?250 for the privilege of having a fag at half-time!

Do you seriously think this is reasonable? I didn't notice this as one of the benefits of joining. The fact is that the people who congregate at the front door to smoke at half-time are breaking the rules. Many of them are employees of the club, agents and journalists and therefore don't pay anything at all to attend the game.

Tend to agree with that, you do see a lot that don't actually pay for the privelage of somebody opening the doors for them having a fag , and it probably goes back to whats wrong with football at the moment in Scotland if you can afford to pay to join a club you can have a fag if not you can't.

Either it is a non smoking stadium or not !!!

If people are that desperate to smoke, then they too can join the Kingsmills Club and get the same benefits as other members and the fee you pay helps pay for the staff required to do things like man the door and control people entering and leaving the stadium.

So we should pay ?250 for the privilege of having a fag at half-time!

Do you seriously think this is reasonable? I didn't notice this as one of the benefits of joining. The fact is that the people who congregate at the front door to smoke at half-time are breaking the rules. Many of them are employees of the club, agents and journalists and therefore don't pay anything at all to attend the game.

It's currently only ?100 to join the Kingsmills Club (?10 for day membership at C*unty Game)....do I think that's reasonable price to pay to be able to go for a cigarette? If I was that addicted to something that I couldn't last under 2 hours without it, then yeah....I probably would see it as reasonable.

As it happens, I'm a smoker. I don't disagree with having a smoking area, I just think that as smokers are in the minority and as they should be able to go a couple of hours without a cigarette, then it's not entirely reasonable to be asking the club to shell out to accommodate us. I don't know anyone who doesn't go to football because they can't have a cigarette, so the club aren't losing revenue as a result of it. Also, at a time when the club are having to cut costs/staff then whining on about having somewhere to go and spark up is kinda getting the priorities a bit erse to elbow.

For what it's worth, I arrive at matches 90mins before kick off and generally don't get finished and out until about 20 or 30mins after the final whistle...with no break...and I manage fine without a cigarette. I might be starting to crave a bit of nicotine by the time I finish, but I'm not going cold turkey or turning into a raving madman as a result.....so I don't buy the "need" argument.

Those who go on and on about having to go any length of time without a cigarette are on a par with the kids you get stamping their feet in the supermarket because they've been told they have to wait until they're through the checkout before they can have their sweeties.....there's no reasoning with them and they think that the more noise they make the more likely they are to get what they want.

If people are that desperate to smoke, then they too can join the Kingsmills Club and get the same benefits as other members and the fee you pay helps pay for the staff required to do things like man the door and control people entering and leaving the stadium.

So we should pay ?250 for the privilege of having a fag at half-time!

Do you seriously think this is reasonable? I didn't notice this as one of the benefits of joining. The fact is that the people who congregate at the front door to smoke at half-time are breaking the rules. Many of them are employees of the club, agents and journalists and therefore don't pay anything at all to attend the game.

It's currently only ?100 to join the Kingsmills Club (?10 for day membership at C*unty Game)....do I think that's reasonable price to pay to be able to go for a cigarette? If I was that addicted to something that I couldn't last under 2 hours without it, then yeah....I probably would see it as reasonable.

While I agree with the rest of your post Don, yes I do think its excessive to pay ?100 on top of what the normal punter pay, this was a club (The Kingsmills) that was originally advertised at ?250 per season before it was reduced would this also be considered as good value for a fag at half time.

Edited August 21, 200916 yr by stevico1

If people are that desperate to smoke, then they too can join the Kingsmills Club and get the same benefits as other members and the fee you pay helps pay for the staff required to do things like man the door and control people entering and leaving the stadium.

So we should pay ?250 for the privilege of having a fag at half-time!

Do you seriously think this is reasonable? I didn't notice this as one of the benefits of joining. The fact is that the people who congregate at the front door to smoke at half-time are breaking the rules. Many of them are employees of the club, agents and journalists and therefore don't pay anything at all to attend the game.

Tend to agree with that, you do see a lot that don't actually pay for the privelage of somebody opening the doors for them having a fag , and it probably goes back to whats wrong with football at the moment in Scotland if you can afford to pay to join a club you can have a fag if not you can't.

Either it is a non smoking stadium or not !!!

I'm not saying it's right....I'm just making the point that if people are so desperate to smoke then it looks like there's a means by which they can get around the "rules" and do so. The separate door for the Kingsmills Club which allows people to go smoke is a product of the legislative requirements put in place which allow the Club to exist as opposed to it being a deliberate/intended perk....so it has nothing to do with their being different rules for different people.

If people are that desperate to smoke, then they too can join the Kingsmills Club and get the same benefits as other members and the fee you pay helps pay for the staff required to do things like man the door and control people entering and leaving the stadium.

So we should pay ?250 for the privilege of having a fag at half-time!

Do you seriously think this is reasonable? I didn't notice this as one of the benefits of joining. The fact is that the people who congregate at the front door to smoke at half-time are breaking the rules. Many of them are employees of the club, agents and journalists and therefore don't pay anything at all to attend the game.

Tend to agree with that, you do see a lot that don't actually pay for the privelage of somebody opening the doors for them having a fag , and it probably goes back to whats wrong with football at the moment in Scotland if you can afford to pay to join a club you can have a fag if not you can't○

Either it is a non smoking stadium or not !!!

I'm not saying it's right....I'm just making the point that if people are so desperate to smoke then it looks like there's a means by which they can get around the "rules" and do so. The separate door for the Kingsmills Club which allows people to go smoke is a product of the legislative requirements put in place which allow the Club to exist as opposed to it being a deliberate/intended perk....so it has nothing to do with their being different rules for different people.

Yes I know that Don you are not saying it is right but still can't get my head round as to how a stadium can legally allow some people out to smoke outside the club/stadium and not others because they pay an extra ?100 quid, particulary as some of those out smoking are not members of the club such as journalists.

Edited August 21, 200916 yr by stevico1

As it happens, I'm a smoker. I don't disagree with having a smoking area, I just think that as smokers are in the minority and as they should be able to go a couple of hours without a cigarette, then it's not entirely reasonable to be asking the club to shell out to accommodate us. I don't know anyone who doesn't go to football because they can't have a cigarette, so the club aren't losing revenue as a result of it. Also, at a time when the club are having to cut costs/staff then whining on about having somewhere to go and spark up is kinda getting the priorities a bit erse to elbow.

For what it's worth, I arrive at matches 90mins before kick off and generally don't get finished and out until about 20 or 30mins after the final whistle...with no break...and I manage fine without a cigarette. I might be starting to crave a bit of nicotine by the time I finish, but I'm not going cold turkey or turning into a raving madman as a result.....so I don't buy the "need" argument.

Those who go on and on about having to go any length of time without a cigarette are on a par with the kids you get stamping their feet in the supermarket because they've been told they have to wait until they're through the checkout before they can have their sweeties.....there's no reasoning with them and they think that the more noise they make the more likely they are to get what they want.

The bit in bold is the bit that's relevant. If there's an argument against allowing people to smoke at half-time then that's it. But i don't really think it would be too much hassle or expense to cordon off a small area (inside or outside the stadium) for people to smoke.

Edited August 22, 200916 yr by Caley Stan

Legislation requires that the Kingsmills Club have it's own separate entrance/exit, and that entrance must be supervised....thus allowing people to come and go in a controlled manner. People are not paying for the right to go out and smoke, it's just a "side-effect" of the legislation and one which anyone who wishes to smoke could make use of by joining the Kingsmills Club....as well as all the other benefits which equate to more than the cost.

Staff/Journalists/Exec Box users etc all use the main entrance....again the main entrance is supervised and this (as with the Kingsmills Club) allows people to come and go in a controlled manner. Also, when your in the Kingsmills Club you fall within the scope of licensing legislation and not necessarily stadium legislation and/or stadium/club rules.

In effect, those coming and going in those areas are taking advantage of the fact that the club need supervised entrances in these locations anyway, and are not incurring any additional expense by allowing people out to smoke. The number of people coming and going is also minimal and easily managed by those already there.

To provide the same/similar service to everyone would mean additional staff. You can't just have one gate to go in/out as if you provide for home fans you have to provide for away fans and if you supply for Main Stand you then have to provide for North Stand.....you're looking at a minimum of four people (one at each corner of the ground) to supervise the coming and going of people to external smoking areas....the next complaint would then be that people had to queue to get in and out and they should have more people covering it, then they'd be wanting catering facilities there because they didn't have enough time to go for a smoke and the go get a coffee to satisfy their caffeine addiction.......by trying to solve one complaint, you create a half dozen more things for people to kick up a stink about.

There's plenty of things I don't think the club do/have got right and I'm as quick as the next person to criticise, but I also realise that sometimes you just have to accept the fact that you can't always get what you want.....for good reason.

My involvement with This Website, The Trust and directly as a result of being The Announcer (and trying to improve the matchday experience), and the various ongoing proposals being put to the club from all these areas, has perhaps given me a bit more insight into the "thinking" of the club and I can assure you that if someone came up with a way of making this possible that didn't cost the club money or cause them any additional problems then they would be more than willing to listen. People might not agree with that mindset...I know I don't always agree with it, but like it or not, every penny counts right now and we don't have the same level of income as we enjoyed in the SPL that allowed the club to absorb the cost of "nice to haves".

Just so I don't get picked up on it again and accused of being "one of them"....when I say "We", I'm referring to the whole club which includes the fans and not "We" as in those viewed as being on the inside.