Why did all Debenture members receive a season extension during the pandemic?
Government restrictions during the pandemic meant that all of the home fixtures in 2020 post Guinness Six Nations, and the 2021 Guinness Six Nations home matches, had to be played behind closed doors. This meant that we were unable to offer our Debenture holders the tickets for which their Debentures guaranteed them rights to.
As such, the RFU made the decision to give all Debenture members a season extension on their Debentures at the time. For example, this meant that if the rights period under your current Debenture is due to expire on 31st August 2024, then we have extended this to 31st August 2025.
How does this affect the renewals process?
Unfortunately, this extension has meant that we have had to ask our Debenture members to renew their seats far earlier than we would have liked to. This decision was taken as part of our short-term recovery plan following the pandemic.
Debentures are an incredibly important part of the funding of Allianz Stadium and in turn the revenue generated from games held are invested in rugby union at all levels.
The RFU continues to navigate through the pandemic and manage losses of £145m. Running the Debenture renewals as planned is an important part of that recovery.