The Xcel bars reopened for Saturday's home game after assurances on fan behaviour, and are meant to stay open. The Swans lost 0-2 and have taken no points.

The bars at the Elmbridge Xcel Sports Hub were open again for Walton and Hersham FC’s home game on Saturday, a week after being shut for one.

Elmbridge Borough Council added a statement to its running Xcel page on 4 September. It says Places Leisure and the council confirmed the bars would open for the 5 September fixture “following discussions with Walton & Hersham FC and assurances around fan behaviour”. It adds that the intention is for the bars to stay available for future home matches.

That answers the question our report of 4 September left open. The closure was for one game, not a standing ban.

What was closed, and why

The bars were shut for the home game against Dorking Wanderers on 29 August. The council said the club had been sent a letter after allegations of intimidating and abusive behaviour by a small number of supporters towards Places Leisure staff at the two previous home fixtures.

Two points hold from that statement and still hold now:

  • these are allegations. Nobody has been named, charged or found to have done anything.
  • the catering vans outside stayed open throughout, so the closure covered the bars inside the Sports Hub only.

Walton and Hersham FC has published nothing about the bars on its own website, before or since.

Three things the statement does not settle

The council’s wording is that all three parties “continue to work together to agree future arrangements that support the club’s long-term development”. Left open, as they were in August:

  • the hire agreement. The council says the existing Key User agreement stands. The club says the terms need resolving.
  • the bar income. The club offered to run the matchday bars itself and guarantee Places Leisure £250 a game. Places Leisure says the bars generate a modest monthly income after staffing, running and maintenance costs. Only Places can see the actual figure.
  • the lease. The Deputy Leader’s written reference to “alternative sites as a potential relocation” has not been withdrawn or explained.

We set out the underlying dispute, the £300,000 the council spent on the 3G pitch and the £82,000 Places Leisure put into the bar, in August.

On the pitch, it got worse

Ebbsfleet United won 2-0 at the Sports Hub on Saturday. That is seven league games and seven defeats.

Date Opponent Home or away Walton and Hersham Opponent
Sat 8 Aug Folkestone Invicta away 1 5
Sat 15 Aug Maidstone United home 0 3
Tue 18 Aug Dagenham home 0 2
Sat 22 Aug Chesham United away 0 2
Sat 29 Aug Dorking Wanderers home 1 4
Mon 31 Aug Tonbridge Angels away 1 5
Sat 5 Sep Ebbsfleet United home 0 2

Three goals scored, 23 conceded.

Walton and Hersham goals after seven National League South games Bar chart. Goals scored, 3. Goals conceded, 23. Seven games played, seven lost. Seven games, seven defeats Walton and Hersham FC, National League South, 8 August to 5 September 2026. Goals scored 3 Goals conceded 23 Source: Walton and Hersham FC first team results. Graphic by Elmbridge News
Every figure here comes from the club's own published results.

Kevin James and Julian Charles left on 31 August. Wayne Andrews and Ruben Gaspar took training and the team on Saturday on an interim basis while the club looks for a permanent manager. Bromley goalkeeper Dillon Addai is at the club on a one-month loan.

The next home game is not for a fortnight. Saturday 12 September is away at Truro City.

What it means for you

If you go to home games, the bars should be open. The council’s statement is that the intention is for them to stay available, not that they are open for one match only. It is an intention, not a guarantee, and the arrangements behind it are still being negotiated.

If you use the Sports Hub for anything else, nothing has changed. The dispute is about matchday bar operation and the club’s hire terms. The pitches, the leisure complex and the car park are unaffected.

If you swim, the car park is the thing to watch. Hurst Pool in Molesey closes today for its £1.45m refurbishment and transferred customers are being sent to Xcel. The council’s advice is to use the Sports Hub car park when the main Xcel one is full.

The Sports Hub is a council asset, so the terms it lets it on are public business. Our planning news page tracks the other decisions the council takes about land and buildings in the borough.

Sources