First Fan Meeting

[luke]

The first fan meeting was held tonight at the Pirelli, with Tom Davidson, Fleur Robinson and John Widdowson in attendance. A very productive evening with fans given the opportunity to discuss various suggestions, firstly for ways to increase the fanbase and then ways to improve the matchday experience.

There wasn't much discussed in terms of future plans, but there was a mention of digital ticketing, the new app and also a larger LED screen in the stadium - the evening was more for getting fans' opinions on different topics and then actioning on that.

I think there is going to be something on the club's socials at some point giving a rundown of the evening for anyone who couldn't attend, but it was a good night overall

[Ilson Brewer]

Jul 17, 2024 20:42:59 GMT luke said:

The first fan meeting was held tonight at the Pirelli, with Tom Davidson, Fleur Robinson and John Widdowson in attendance. A very productive evening with fans given the opportunity to discuss various suggestions, firstly for ways to increase the fanbase and then ways to improve the matchday experience.

There wasn't much discussed in terms of future plans, but there was a mention of digital ticketing, the new app and also a larger LED screen in the stadium - the evening was more for getting fans' opinions on different topics and then actioning on that.

I think there is going to be something on the club's socials at some point giving a rundown of the evening for anyone who couldn't attend, but it was a good night overall

Thanks for feedback Luke, much appreciated. And thanks to all that attended - hats off to you all.

[bartonyellow]

Out of curiosity- what were the fans proposals to increase footfall on match day ?

[luke]

Jul 18, 2024 8:23:36 GMT bartonyellow said:

Out of curiosity- what were the fans proposals to increase footfall on match day ?

There was quite a lot of different suggestions overall (each table had paper to jot down ideas and they were all collected at the end of each topic), but ideas  included:

- advertising in local schools (via emails and newsletters)

- family ticket offers

- trying to entice disillusioned fans of Premier League clubs (example of this on the night was for Aston Villa, as they have a 30k person long waiting list for season tickets, of which you have to become a member to even access, so could be thousands more on top of that)

- making the players more accessible to younger supporters in particular

- engaging with local schools and colleges with stadium tours linked to the curriculum

There was a few more I can't remember, hopefully someone else does, but everything was taken on board and listened to

[mikeyboy]

Jul 18, 2024 8:23:36 GMT bartonyellow said:

Out of curiosity- what were the fans proposals to increase footfall on match day ?

More seats needed (not a good experience standing in a decent sized crowd with kids), incentives for kids, tap more into East Staffs and South Derbyshire, attack the Derby (7,500 said to travel from Burton) and Villa fan bases. Apparently now you have to join as a member at Villa and pay a regular subscription even to be put on the waiting list for a season ticket. That came from a guy who comes to our games from Sutton Coldfield.
1056 season tickets sold so far, approx 400 from last season still to renew. If they do renew it would give us our highest number of season ticket holders since we came down from the Championship.

[mikeyboy]

Pitch was in good shape too:

[bartonyellow]

Jul 18, 2024 9:24:05 GMT mikeyboy said:

Jul 18, 2024 8:23:36 GMT bartonyellow said:

Out of curiosity- what were the fans proposals to increase footfall on match day ?

More seats needed (not a good experience standing in a decent sized crowd with kids), incentives for kids, tap more into East Staffs and South Derbyshire, attack the Derby (7,500 said to travel from Burton) and Villa fan bases. Apparently now you have to join as a member at Villa and pay a regular subscription even to be put on the waiting list for a season ticket. That came from a guy who comes to our games from Sutton Coldfield.
1056 season tickets sold so far, approx 400 from last season still to renew. If they do renew it would give us our highest number of season ticket holders since we came down from the Championship.

Fantastic- thank you.
I am always preaching to villa fans about coming down
The Pirelli. I mean, who wants to watch Bayern Munich and Real Madrid ?
On a serious note - I think we have all spoke about this at great length, and it’s a slow process as you are changing peoples habits. It takes time. Success on the pitch helps but it’s not the only driver. Seats will help as I think 3 sides terracing is too much. My lad is coming up to the age where I can take him and it would be more attractive knowing there will be more options than the main stand.

[andrewb77]

Burton Albion is nice club.
I come from Tamworth difficult to convince new fans from Tamworth.
To be honest there is plenty of room for kids at the front of the stand if you get there early. Most games.
Remember I think that was called the pop side at Derby County Base Ball ground. Dad always got there early with his sons.

[horninglowbrewer]

Not sure if I am missing something but where was this event advertised ? As I would have liked to have gone 🤔

[Fred Andrews]

I always assumed we sold more season tickets than that.

I suppose the last few years has scared a lot of regulars away though, maybe for good.

[mikeyboy]

What we need to expand the fan base, in my opinion:
1) Ambitious owners who want success.
2) Success on the field.
3) Excitement and attractive football.
4) Some street cred - shedding the ‘little Burton Albion’ tag.
5) More seats and a more attractive environment to watch in.
6) A better matchday experience - make it easier to buy food and drink.
7) A wider choice of food and drink.
8) Closer links with the brewing industry (our heritage) and other Burton companies - Pirelli, Marmite, Bovril etc
9) More pre match and halftime activities.
10) A bit of razzamatazz.

[mikeyboy]

Jul 18, 2024 11:12:40 GMT horninglowbrewer said:

Not sure if I am missing something but where was this event advertised ? As I would have liked to have gone 🤔

You had to register to go to the welcome meeting and then respond to the subsequent email to attend the focus groups.

[horninglowbrewer]

Thank you Mikeyboy for explaining how the event took place. I did go to the initial welcome meeting and received the email. But when I opened the email I found the questions very daunting to answer so would have missed the communication regarding last nights event.

[mikeyboy]

Jul 18, 2024 16:47:50 GMT horninglowbrewer said:

Thank you Mikeyboy for explaining how the event took place. I did go to the initial welcome meeting and received the email. But when I opened the email I found the questions very daunting to answer so would have missed the communication regarding last nights event.

That’s a shame horninglow brewer - I’m sure they would have welcomed you anyway. Maybe next time? Why not contact Jodie, the ticketing manager at [e-mail] she is incredibly helpful.

[horninglowbrewer]

Thanks Mikeyboy for the good advice. I agree I have met Jodie in the past and found her helpful.

[luke]

I don't think they turned anyone away on the evening, even if you weren't signed up

[ianmcgibbon]

Fan event this evening...

Key take aways:

They want to create a Fan Advisory Group - I assume this is the big Fan group that met tonight.

Fan Focus Groups - that wasn't explained, but focus groups need to be small and have a focus.

Fan Led initiatives - again not explained but Tom Davidson did reference the recent Fan led buy a banner for the Popside thing.

And a Fan Advisory Board - again not specific about this, but he said words to the effect of we want to do this not because the government is telling us to (see King's speech today) but because it is good thing to do. Early days, but it did not sound like it would meet the requirements of the 'shadow boards' recommended by the Fan Led Review.

Otherwise there was a good discussion of ideas, some very repetition of moans about tea bars and PA system etc, but quite a few other things came out.

Davidson was listening and articulate. Good signs going forwards.

On ground development, there was a bit of confusing (for me) discussion about away fans and seating in the main stand. Tom D was talking about options to not have away fans in the main stand, but unclear how he would achieve it, defo no commitment to stadium changes, yet.

As for food bars, it was the usual, it isn't good enough, but there no clear options to change it, yet. To be fair, it was a listening night for them.

Lots of written feedback was put down on the tables and collected, I wrote a lot! Hopefully, they will reflect on it.

One thing I did say directly was he and the board should get out of the main stand and try it on Popside and West stand to see how it sometimes is not great. He committed to doing that.

I also, mentioned a few times that a big crowd at the Pirelli is not a great experience for all fans, especially youngsters.

Thing is, this kind of 120 to 160 people in the room event is okay (but heard much of it before), but not detailed enough, you need to get into detail with the proper back and forward discussion in smaller focus groups. The question is how they will do this.

Finally there were many suggestions which were made under the old Supporters Liaison Group, that did allow for proper discussion and for ideas to be worked through, but the club didn't invest in supporting it in the long term. A load of the ideas from SLG were implemented, but there were still plenty on the cutting room floor.

Some good contributions from many tables, I hope people did as asked and left more detail by way of written notes on the tables.

Worthwhile, but they need to sharpen down and then feed back, a "you said, we did" approach and not just on the easy things.

[mikeyboy]

Jul 18, 2024 18:13:33 GMT ianmcgibbon said:

Fan event this evening...

Key take aways:

They want to create a Fan Advisory Group - I assume this is the big Fan group that met tonight.

Fan Focus Groups - that wasn't explained, but focus groups need to be small and have a focus.

Fan Led initiatives - again not explained but Tom Davidson did reference the recent Fan led buy a banner for the Popside thing.

And a Fan Advisory Board - again not specific about this, but he said words to the effect of we want to do this not because the government is telling us to (see King's speech today) but because it is good thing to do. Early days, but it did not sound like it would meet the requirements of the 'shadow boards' recommended by the Fan Led Review.

Otherwise there was a good discussion of ideas, some very repetition of moans about tea bars and PA system etc, but quite a few other things came out.

Davidson was listening and articulate. Good signs going forwards.

On ground development, there was a bit of confusing (for me) discussion about away fans and seating in the main stand. Tom D was talking about options to not have away fans in the main stand, but unclear how he would achieve it, defo no commitment to stadium changes, yet.

As for food bars, it was the usual, it isn't good enough, but there no clear options to change it, yet. To be fair, it was a listening night for them.

Lots of written feedback was put down on the tables and collected, I wrote a lot! Hopefully, they will reflect on it.

One thing I did say directly was he and the board should get out of the main stand and try it on Popside and West stand to see how it sometimes is not great. He committed to doing that.

I also, mentioned a few times that a big crowd at the Pirelli is not a great experience for all fans, especially youngsters.

Thing is, this kind of 120 to 160 people in the room event is okay (but heard much of it before), but not detailed enough, you need to get into detail with the proper back and forward discussion in smaller focus groups. The question is how they will do this.

Finally there were many suggestions which were made under the old Supporters Liaison Group, that did allow for proper discussion and for ideas to be worked through, but the club didn't invest in supporting it in the long term. A load of the ideas from SLG were implemented, but there were still plenty on the cutting room floor.

Some good contributions from many tables, I hope people did as asked and left more detail by way of written notes on the tables.

Worthwhile, but they need to sharpen down and then feed back, a "you said, we did" approach and not just on the easy things.

Thanks for that comprehensive feedback Ian - really good stuff.

[ianmcgibbon]

Jul 18, 2024 18:20:34 GMT mikeyboy said:

Jul 18, 2024 18:13:33 GMT ianmcgibbon said:

Fan event this evening...

Key take aways:

They want to create a Fan Advisory Group - I assume this is the big Fan group that met tonight.

Fan Focus Groups - that wasn't explained, but focus groups need to be small and have a focus.

Fan Led initiatives - again not explained but Tom Davidson did reference the recent Fan led buy a banner for the Popside thing.

And a Fan Advisory Board - again not specific about this, but he said words to the effect of we want to do this not because the government is telling us to (see King's speech today) but because it is good thing to do. Early days, but it did not sound like it would meet the requirements of the 'shadow boards' recommended by the Fan Led Review.

Otherwise there was a good discussion of ideas, some very repetition of moans about tea bars and PA system etc, but quite a few other things came out.

Davidson was listening and articulate. Good signs going forwards.

On ground development, there was a bit of confusing (for me) discussion about away fans and seating in the main stand. Tom D was talking about options to not have away fans in the main stand, but unclear how he would achieve it, defo no commitment to stadium changes, yet.

As for food bars, it was the usual, it isn't good enough, but there no clear options to change it, yet. To be fair, it was a listening night for them.

Lots of written feedback was put down on the tables and collected, I wrote a lot! Hopefully, they will reflect on it.

One thing I did say directly was he and the board should get out of the main stand and try it on Popside and West stand to see how it sometimes is not great. He committed to doing that.

I also, mentioned a few times that a big crowd at the Pirelli is not a great experience for all fans, especially youngsters.

Thing is, this kind of 120 to 160 people in the room event is okay (but heard much of it before), but not detailed enough, you need to get into detail with the proper back and forward discussion in smaller focus groups. The question is how they will do this.

Finally there were many suggestions which were made under the old Supporters Liaison Group, that did allow for proper discussion and for ideas to be worked through, but the club didn't invest in supporting it in the long term. A load of the ideas from SLG were implemented, but there were still plenty on the cutting room floor.

Some good contributions from many tables, I hope people did as asked and left more detail by way of written notes on the tables.

Worthwhile, but they need to sharpen down and then feed back, a "you said, we did" approach and not just on the easy things.

Thanks for that comprehensive feedback Ian - really good stuff.

Thanks, I should have clarified, I did write a lot and not always things I agreed with but on behalf of the people on our table.

Electronic advertising boards, new big screen, App was specially mentioned and linking that to discounts/loyalty. Fan zone/marquee pre game was there, REAL ALE got several mentions.

Also partnership with local businesses. At Stretton Social Club, we do well on match days as do several other pubs, the Beech for instance takes the pressure as being the 'away pub'. One of tge suggestions was working with those local businesses, not necessarily for financial gain for the club, but because it should be a partnership. Send us the adverts, publicity and we will share/ send out. Previously the club saw local businesses as an income stream, the 'breakfast club' idea. Your local pub/club can't afford that outlay.

Another idea was stadium tours for school kids, but we embellished that on our table and suggested if you are going to do it, you could link it to a curriculum lesson for the different key stages. Thing is that kind of thing does need detailed scrutiny and that is where you need your focus groups.

Safety and safeguarding in the ground for kids came up on our table, as did their behaviour when there. All good points

Lack of BME representation was clear, need to look at how to engage with those members of our community and I would add the eastern European communities too. Good point about people with disabilities too and these days we really should be encouraging more female supporters. We don't do too bad, but we should try harder.

That lived experience for board members is critical. Having enjoyed hospitality and indeed within the Directors Box (thanks to a competition win), they would have no idea what the queues are at the bar, snack bar or, on a few occasions to actually get in.

Big crowds do not necessarily make for good experiences.

The lack for Popsiders of anything a bit extra. ViP stuff is main stand only, historically the investment went to put all of that stuff on one side of the ground. If they could develop something on the Popside that was in-between VIP and slumming it...