Local business are excited to welcome back Wednesdayites for the new season

Pub owners can’t wait to raise a toast with returning Sheffield Wednesday fans in the new season.

Many supporters boycotted matches at Hillsborough last term as they protested against now former owner Dejphon Chansiri. Although it was a painful decision, Wednesdayites rallied to financially starve Chansiri of their hard-earned money, which ultimately led to him putting the club into administration.

But a bright future potentially lies ahead after US consortium Arise Capital Partners, led by David Storch, completed a takeover of the club in May. Fans have liked what they have seen so far from the new owners and have shown their support by snapping up season tickets, with a record-breaking 22,786 sold in the first phase of sales. With senior executive positions being filled - something fans have long called for - and with signings being made on the pitch, there is plenty of optimism ahead of the new campaign.

With attendances down last season, so were takings for local businesses, who found themselves scrambling to pay bills and cutting staff numbers. They understood why fans chose to stay away but are delighted and relieved to see them flocking back to S6. Finally, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Garry Fisher is tenant of The Old Crown and a season ticket holder at Hillsborough. He has been running the pub for almost nine years and has a big Wednesday tattoo across his back. “The losses from the club’s administration last year has put me in a lot of trouble with rent and stuff, utilities,” he explained. “Takings were down by half, at least, but my rent stayed the same, rates stayed the same, utilities stayed the same. It has been a big loss for us. It has been very tough, in arrears for more or less everything. We still got quite a few coming in, obviously you have got your regulars that come in, but sometimes it is also you passing trade, new customers, that you lose out on.”

Wednesday will be playing in League One next season and a lot of their matches are likely to be shown on Sky Sports. Fans have already been inconvenienced, after it was announced their first home league game against Bradford City will be played on a Thursday night rather than a Saturday at 3pm. The change makes it awkward for people to attend due to work commitments and many might have to opt out of a pre-match pint or two.

“We were looking forward to the first home match of the season and then they go and move it to a Thursday,” Garry said. “So it will be back down to similar sort of takings as we were getting last year. Half of my expected take, at least. Fans returning will definitely give us a boost next season, we just don’t want the kick-off times being messed about again.”

Murphy Underhay, general manager of The Shakey pub on Hillsborough corner, told a similar story of having to make tough decisions last season. Despite actually being a Blade, he is buzzing for Wednesdayites to pack out his boozer.

He said: “It will be massive, certainly on the back of last season where trade was massively down, footfall was massively down. I am probably the most excited I have been for a new season in the 25 years that I have been here. On a normal matchday we were probably looking at a 50% drop last season. The amount of staff I had, I had to cut that in half. As soon as you start doing that you know you are having a problem. I think it affected every business around the area, not only the pub trade but your local takeaways and sandwich shops, a lot of them being independent, it will have hurt them massively. We have still had people coming to the pub before the games, just obviously not in the numbers that they have done previously.”

Murphy shares the view that moving the Bradford match to a Thursday evening is far from ideal. It will no doubt still be a crackling atmosphere for the Yorkshire derby, but it might not be as big of a payday as pub owners were hoping for.

“It is very disappointing,” he explained. “I would have liked to have opened up early on the first matchday on a Saturday, get everyone in and build an atmosphere. Thursday night, it is not going to be as good. I still think we will get massive numbers coming out for it with the signings they have made and the support that they want to give. Wednesday fans are a dedicated bunch, they will turn up no matter what day they play that first game on. Unfortunately, I think we will see a lot of the Saturday games get moved to more midweek games, which again will have an affect on takings overall, but I think it will still be better than last season.”

Natalie Briggs, general manager of Park Hotel and a Wednesday fan herself, has been in the business for 11 years and described it as a ‘rollercoaster’ of emotions. She told us that they had to employ three or four people fewer than they normally would but again they all appreciated the motive behind fans staying away.

"We had a rough football season,” she said. “We did not employ half as many people. We just didn't need them couldn’t give them the hours. We had a massive hit. And the mood was not there either because people just went home after the matches. It was a difficult season. Everybody understood the need for such measures like the boycotts."

Interestingly, despite the season being a month away, Natalie said that they have been planning for the new season for quite some time. Like other businesses, they are gutted about the Bradford fixture change, explaining that it has ‘made them think’ about their estimations when it comes to matchday takings.

"We are preparing now for matchday to cater for more amount of people,” she told The Star. “We are looking at how we can service more people and keep it in good spirits now matter what the scoreline is. We have got to think outside the box.”

The cold pints will never have tasted so good next season.