OXFORD City are aiming to break their attendance record for the second time in five months when they face Eastbourne Borough tomorrow.
Ross Jenkins’ men are at home for their Vanarama National League South play-off eliminator, with a place in Saturday’s semi-final at Dorking Wanderers up for grabs.
Tickets have been on sale just over 48 hours, but hundreds of fans have already booked their place for the clash at Court Place Farm.
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And City hope they can beat the ground’s record competitive attendance of 1,208, set against Slough Town on Boxing Day.
“Sales are going fantastically well,” said Andy Gate, the club’s head of media and fan engagement.
“We’ve got our fingers crossed for another record crowd for a competitive game.
“It’s been a super season on the pitch, but it’s been super off it as well.
“The community has got behind us and people have enjoyed coming here.
“To get another record crowd, or even in four figures, would be unheard of. It’s down to everyone’s hard work.”
City began Saturday’s season finale at Bath City knowing they could end up facing Eastbourne tomorrow, Chippenham Town on Thursday or Havant & Waterlooville on either evening in their eliminator.
It meant the club could not start selling tickets until the date and opponent were confirmed, but they still shifted about 400 by 10am yesterday.
Gate said: “We didn’t know who we were going to play, so I had three ticket events ready to go.
“As soon as I finished the post-match interviews it was straight up to the press box to get the tickets out.”
It has already been a bumper season of attendances at Court Place Farm, with average gates increasing by 61 per cent compared to 2018/19, the previous full campaign with fans.
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City are aiming for their fourth four-figure crowd this term and Gate explains the impact goes far beyond the first team.
He said: “We’ve got a good business model here.
“There are other revenue streams, but football’s the bread and butter.
“It’s a massive boost as we’re competing against full-time teams, so every penny counts – not just on the football side but on the community side, too.
“When people buy a ticket it also goes towards running the youth teams or projects to help the community.
“It makes so much difference.”
Tomorrow’s game is all-ticket, although fans are advised to buy online beforehand to prevent delays on the night. Season tickets are not valid, while there is no crowd segregation.
Gate is hoping for a decent smattering of Oxford United supporters, with their club’s season over.
He said: “We’ve had tweets from United fans saying they’ll be coming down.
“I genuinely think there’s room in this city for Oxford United to be a Championship club and Oxford City to be a National League premier club, and for both teams to thrive.”
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