Gary Sweet says Luton’s board will always put match-going fans before television companies, but concedes the ‘sad day’ of playing behind closed doors may be the only option to get the current season completed.
Matches have been suspended for more than a month as the Coronavirus pandemic sweeps through the nation, with the game’s governing bodies have agreed to extend the season indefinitely.
That would suggest there is an appetite to complete the current campaign, which sees Town facing a Championship relegation battle in the final nine games.
Last week EFL chairman Rick Parry outlined a proposal to complete the season within 56 days, once it is safe to do so, and that games may have to be played behind closed doors to achieve that.
Sweet said: “I feel it would be an incredibly sad day if we ever had to play a game behind closed doors. Football for us, for me, is a spectator sport, it’s a live spectator sport.
“We are one of those clubs that, despite the minority value of live football supporters, versus broadcast value that we get these days, we will always put live football supporters ahead of broadcasting companies, when it comes to our loyalty or our love and adoration. Whatever you want to say, is that we do believe that football should always be alive sport.
“So, it will be an incredibly sad day if we ever have to play behind closed doors, but it is also more important that we do try to complete this season.”
No decisions have yet been made on how to finish the season, with players not allowed to even return to training until May 16 at the earliest.
But if games are to be played behind closed doors, Sweet said: “Ultimately, that’s not going to be Luton Town’s decision, we are bound by the regulations of a competition and if the competition says we have to do something in a certain way, then ultimately we have to do that or risk being excluded from that competition.
“So, while the Football league is a collective of 72, currently 71 shareholders, and effectively we run it, there are 71 different opinions around the table and you do need an executive board to take that lead sometimes and we’re relying on them to come up with a solution that is going to enable us to finish the season.”
The issue for clubs of playing games behind closed doors is generating revenue without any fans and Sweet said: “I think it presents an opportunity whereby we could use broadcasting to try and get some income, but that’s going to nothing comparison.
“You can’t buy a burger and a pint and executive hospitality package, those elements that do give us a significant amount of profit on a match day are going to be gone and, try as we might recover some of that, it’s not going to touch the surface.”
