THE press box at Court Place Farm was vandalised over the Easter weekend.

Oxford City estimate the damage to be between £500 and £1,000 – with the higher figure being their insurance excess.

At a time when finances are stretched during the coronavirus lockdown which has closed the facility, it is an unhelpful additional expense.

Paul Lyon, City’s finance director, said: “Someone smashed up our press box at the weekend.

“People are probably bored, but that’s no reason to come in and cause damage.

“We are totally frustrated about that.”

Yesterday the National League thanked the Premier League for advancing their solidarity payments three months early.

It is part of a £125m package from the top flight, but only £2m filters down into the non-league divisions.

And City’s share will not last long.

Lyon said: “We get £13,000, which is roughly a fortnight’s wages.

“It helps things now, but they’re not giving us anything we wouldn’t have had normally.”

Although City are optimistic about weathering the coronavirus storm, Lyon believes budgets across the board will be lower next season.

He said: “I think there will be a big adjustment in terms of wages and transfer fees.

“It might take a number of years to come back again.”