Guests staying at Blackpool FC Stadium Hotel risk being hit with fines of up to £2,500 simply for looking out of their pitch-view bedroom windows during matches.
The hotel, which is run by the Radisson Individuals chain, stipulates on its website that visitors in Executive Pitch View rooms must draw their curtains a full 90 minutes before any home fixture begins and keep them shut for the duration of the game.
This requirement applies despite room rates being pushed up on match days, with guests paying £137 per night for accommodation that converts what were once hospitality boxes into bedrooms.
One journalist who recently stayed at the hotel during a Blackpool versus Bradford City fixture received no advance notice about the curtain policy when checking in at 1.45pm, just over an hour before kick-off, according to the Telegraph.
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A receptionist confirmed the potential penalty when contacted by telephone, warning that guests could face the substantial fine if caught watching the action.
The only paperwork provided with the room key detailed checkout times and breakfast arrangements, with no mention of the viewing restrictions.
There was no warning notice and the curtains remained open, offering an unobstructed view of the Bradford players warming up, according to the publication.
A member of staff told the paper: "Oh, did you not have a letter in your room telling you about the match?"
Guests staying at Blackpool FC Stadium Hotel risk being hit with fines of up to £2,500 simply for looking out of their pitch-view bedroom windows during matches
|Blackpool FC Stadium Hotel
The employee acknowledged the hotel does not actively enforce the rule, they said: "Yeah, so we don't really police it as a hotel, but you absolutely need to draw the curtains. Apparently, you could be fined £2,500 if you're caught."
The seemingly absurd rule does have foundations in existing legislation.
The Sporting Events Act 1985, now more than four decades old, prohibits the consumption of alcohol within sight of the pitch at matches in the top five tiers of English football.
Hotel rooms overlooking the playing surface, where guests could theoretically crack open drinks, may therefore breach this law, potentially resulting in a level three fine of £1,000 if prosecuted in a magistrates' court.
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Executive Pitch View rooms must draw their curtains a full 90 minutes before any home fixture begins and keep them shut for the duration of the game
|English Football League regulations compound the issue by requiring anyone watching a live match to have a valid ticket, with violators facing fines and possible bans.
The Unauthorised Entry to Football Matches Bill, currently progressing through the House of Lords, could add further penalties to the equation.
The approach stands in stark contrast to Bolton Stadium Hotel, another Radisson Individuals property, where guests can watch matches from their pitch-view bedrooms without closing curtains, though drinks are banned from balconies and stewards are present throughout games.
The £220 room rate there appears to include balcony seating tickets.
This requirement applies despite room rates being pushed up on match days
|The confusion surrounding Blackpool's policy has attracted attention this month, with hotel customers complaining the restrictions blindsided them.
On the match day in question, the pitch-side rooms appeared largely unoccupied, potentially resulting in a loss of revenue for both the club and the hotel.
One local supporter, Mike from Wrea Green, offered a blunt assessment in the car park after watching his team lose.
He said: "£137 for that? I wouldn't be drawing the curtains to watch them at the moment anyway."
Blackpool FC has been approached for a comment.
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