Open letter starts:

Dear Wasps Supporters,

I hope you, your family and friends are all safe and well.

The last twelve months have been unlike any other we have ever faced. We’ve lived through numerous lockdowns, been forced to isolate from those we love, had our daily lives restricted in ways we never imagined and been unable to attend live sport for well over a year now. Even though matches have been taking place since last August, the impact of not having our fantastic supporters in the stadium has been felt by all of us – players, coaches and staff alike.

Clearly results haven’t been where we’d like them to be recently, with the men’s team unable to replicate the highs of last season. That’s been frustrating for all of us, as has the loss of key players to injury, but it’s part of the game and we’ll learn from the experience and come back stronger. We have a long term plan in place and inevitably there will be some bumps in the road. However, we are all excited at the potential of the squad, the wider coaching and backroom staff and have faith that we are on the right track. Our Academy is in good shape and we were delighted to add another eight under 18 players to our Senior Academy recently.

Despite the frustrations of not being as competitive as we had hoped this season, the ongoing support we have received from our fans has been incredible and is something that each and every one of us at Wasps are genuinely grateful for.

We will focus on finishing this season as strong as we can before starting to look towards the 2021-22 campaign and beyond. There is a huge amount of work going on behind the scenes to ensure we are well positioned to hit the ground running next season. An important part of our strategy will be the opening of our new elite training centre in Henley-in-Arden. The new site is currently under construction, pitches are being laid and, when complete in the summer, it will be one of the finest high-performance facilities in the game.

Away from the training ground, we are also cautiously optimistic about a return to normality at the Arena. We will of course follow the government’s roadmap, but plans are underway to reopen our conferencing, event facilities and hotel in the next week, and then the long-awaited return of you, our fans, soon after.

In line with government guidance regarding outdoor sporting events, we are now preparing for the return of supporters for our final home game of the season again Leicester Tigers on Saturday 12 June. These plans are currently being finalised and full details will be communicated once we have sign off from the various authorities regarding capacities and ticket allocations. We are anticipating being able to share this information shortly. I know the players can’t wait to see you all again and it will be great to finish the season in front of supporters.

We are well aware that we were unable to deliver three games this season, which we included as part of your Season Member Plus ticket, and the Ticket Office team will be in touch during the summer about these fixtures.

For those of you who have enquired, we kindly ask you to remain patient and to keep an eye out later this month for news on the launch of Season Memberships for 2021-22.

I would also like to take this opportunity to make you aware that the Club will be inviting supporters to join us this summer for the first in a series of fan forums. I’m keen to update you on both our on and off field plans, as well as give you the chance to meet myself and key members of the playing department to ask any questions you may have.

Thank you once again for your loyal support and look forward to seeing you soon.

Steve

Stephen Vaughan – Group CEO

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