Fans Panel Meeting
Monday 9th April 2018
Attendees: Phil Buxton, Barry Brown, Phil Scorah, Carol Green, Mike Lindley, Gary Fox, Scott Goddard, Stewart Thompson, Dave Stewart, Carl Hall, Gavin Baldwin, Shaun Lockwood, Ray Green, Jackie Green, Mark Hughesman, Jane Keightley
Apologies: Stewart Piper, Chris Scorah, Carol Lindley
Welcome
• CH welcomed everybody, thanked them for coming and approved the Minutes of the last meeting
Match Day Experience update
• MH advised that we are trying various things to continually improve the experience for all supporters on Match Days, especially children and will continue to offer pre-match and half time activities. We select children from the crowd to walk out with the players, give away posters and water bottles and will get the petting zoo back during the season. Tom Butterworth from Foundation is working with families to maximise their enjoyment at games
• CS sent an e-mail with his feedback and suggestions and commented that children are now asking their parents to bring them as they enjoy watching the games and being involved in the entertainment
• BB advised that two fans had requested that the players have not been in the family zone pre-match to mingle with the children since the first game. CH responded saying that due to injuries we have no excess players but when they are fit will be back on the concourse and in the kennel playing Xbox with the junior supporters
• SL confirmed that we definitely plan to have a Lion as a mascot by the end of the season and are in negotiations with a local company to sponsor it
• BB said that fans had noticed that the mascot wasn’t at Sunday’s game but James was away and we struggled to get someone else to wear the outfit. It is our intention to have the mascot at every home game going forward
Ticketing and Communication update
• SL advised that although season ticket sales are up from 200 to 650 we are still looking at ways of driving ticket sales including ‘4 games for £40’ and match tickets are selling well
• ML asked how many people with season tickets were at Sunday’s game as there didn’t seem to be as many attending as previous weeks. SL said he could find out but wasn’t concerned with peaks and troughs as we have had 3 home games during the Easter period so many families have been away. However we will keep an eye on attendance but it is renewal that is particularly important
• CG asked if tickets could be bought for the Featherstone and Bradford games from their own clubs and CH confirmed that they could and advised that tickets can be purchased either online or at the Ticket office for all forthcoming home games
• CH confirmed there will be no cash turnstiles going forward as it wasn’t cost effective to have two members of staff on duty with so few people paying on the gate. SG advised that he was charged senior rate at a recent game!
• MH had a conversation with a North Wales Crusaders supporter who said they have a similar attendance problem as the juniors were free so people weren’t turning up but it is our intention to encourage the young supporters to attend games to create long term fans which will ensure the future of the club
• SL confirmed that communication with fans had improved and they were now receiving 3/4 e-mails per week
• MH will send an e-mail regarding the 2 stage process to opt into receiving e-mails under the new regulations; you can select how you wish to receive information and what you would like to be sent. You can opt in and out at any time but need to be registered on the system by mid May. CG advised people to check their junk mail in case it goes straight there
• MH advised that we sometimes experience problems with the website much of which is controlled by the RFL but the recent issue with the home page has been resolved
• ST asked if we could stream games yet but MH advised that this was not logistically possible
Subsidised coaches for supporters for away games
• CH feels that supporters can get to games like York and Bradford quite easily but will look into subsidising a coach for a game further afield. It was agreed that supporters would be given 3 options – Whitehaven, Workington and London to determine the response to see if it was viable to organise a coach
• ML requested that we get the message out to all supporters to encourage them to travel by coach
• DS advised that it was no problem getting a train to the York game
Disabled parking
• CH advised that there would be no charge for disabled parking this season and if we do need to charge next year in line with stadium policy we will offer a package for parking, programme and half time draw ticket
• CH spoke to our Deputy Security Manager about the flow of cars on Match Days to keep queues to a minimum. Many people arrive 15 minutes prior to the start of the game so RG said we need to get the message to them that there are pre-match activities so to arrive earlier at the game to avoid waiting to park. The plan is to open the slip road on busier games like Featherstone and Bradford and have an A sign up as suggested by CS advertising the cost so people can have the correct money ready
• DS suggested announcing on local radio that there is pre-match entertainment to encourage supporters to arrive early
Questions from Barry Brown - SLO
• BB asked if there was a re-arranged date for the West Wales Raiders game and CH responded by saying it hadn’t been confirmed but potentially could be Sunday 13th May
• It was asked if there could be match highlights shown in the bar afterwards but it is not possible; they are not available until the afternoon after a game
• BB wondered if replica shirts could be available with the blue and amber bands so CH said we would ask FBT about the possibility and prices
• The prize draw money was £75 on Sunday as we sold more tickets. RG confirmed that just because the crowd is bigger doesn’t always mean more people buy tickets but we are in line with gambling regulations and always pay above the % required
• It was asked if we could have more Friday night games as the attendance is better than on a Sunday but that won’t be happening in the foreseeable future
• CH confirmed we would be using the West Stand on Sunday as there is a Wedding Fayre in the restaurant. The feedback was positive about using the West as the supporters and players like to better
• ST asked if it was possible to reserve seats on Match Days and people may be happy to pay. SL said that he would consider it for next season, perhaps in the Legends Club section of seating, perhaps reserving 20-50 seats depending on the amount required. It was suggested that if a supporter wanted a particular seat at every game they should arrive earlier
Any other business
• ST asked about the League structure and CH replied that at this stage we are not aware of what it is going to be. CH commented that the standard in the current League 1 is similar to when we were in Championship and the top 5 teams in League 1 could easily challenge the bottom 4 in Championship which has been proved in the Challenge Cup when 2 Championship clubs were beaten
• The question was asked about if it would make a difference in the Featherstone game if we have no Hull players but we do have one on loan who can play and we did well against Newcastle without the other Hull players
• CH was asked about attendances and anticipates a crowd of about 1,500 for the Featherstone game and a very good turn out for Bradford
• CH is working on the World Cup Bid campaign for 2021 with the council who will produce ‘Back the Bid’ posters and it will be promoted at future home games
• CH said that Kieron Cross could be out for 4-6 weeks with an injury but Jack Miller was coming back and we are actively looking in the market to see who is out there
CH closed the meeting by saying how he appreciated the Fans Panel members taking time out to attend and said he was happy that we are top of the league and with the positive things that are happening on and off the pitch
Date of next meeting
The next meeting will be on Monday 4th June 2018 at 6.30pm in Alick’s Bar
