Concerns were raised by both the Trust and supporters questions about the promotion of matches. At the time of the meeting, we had only had two league matches all season at Spotland in which there had been in excess of 2,500 home supporters – both of which had come at the start of the season, and whilst we had seen great numbers in the Cup fixtures, the bread and butter of league football was not seeing any significant improvement. Given the fact that we have had an outstanding team and home form has been through the roof, it was asked what could be done to improve matters.
The board said that it would be easy to make excuses for the lack of home attendances and it was a concern that they shared. A number of things had been put into place already, such as the reduced admission for under sixteens – which has seen a significant rise in this age bracket, but overall it was hoped that attendances would be higher. The Trust detailed some of the initiatives that they’d looked at, including a “Retweet campaign” for the Oxford home game which reached a potential audience of over 30,000, and a rallying call by the Trust Chairman in the Observer. The Trust offered to work with the club with a view to further promotion of games, perhaps in the longer term, and the club were happy to take any help on board with this.
Concerns had been raised by supporters about the admin fee of purchase of tickets over the phone. It was said that taking telephone orders was a lengthy process. However, the club said that they would be looking at introducing Online Ticketing for the 2014-5 season, which would address previous supporters concerns, and they hoped that this move would be a successful one. The technology is already available at the club.
A question from a member was raised about the fixture board, and its lack of updates in terms of advertising the next fixture. The club held their hands up and admitted that a mistake had been made with the board and the Dagenham game, but assurances were given that the same mistakes would not be repeated.
Discussions took place with regards to the Player of the Season evening that will take place following the Cheltenham game. This would be a joint initiative between the club and the Trust, and following a similar pattern to last year. One concern from last year was the poor performance of the PA which meant that many supporters could not hear what was being said unless they were right at the front. Assurances were given by the directors that someone had been out and fixed the Dale Bar PA, so there would not be a repeat of last year’s. It was agreed that the event would be a fundraiser for Grow4Joe – the charity set up following the news of Joe Thompson’s cancer, and it was hoped that the event would raise in excess of £1000 for the event.
A further fundraising event would be held on the evening of Maundy Thursday, where Keith Hill would speak to supporters in the Dale Bar. Similar events have proved to be very successful when held at Rochdale Cricket Club, and with morale at a high, it’s hoped this could be taken advantage of for an excellent cause.
A query was raised that following the Exeter v Rochdale game, Exeter had managed to put together a lengthy highlights package as part of their Player subscription service and it was wondered whether something similar could be looked at for the Dale Player. A number of views followed, but it was felt that the time spent putting together such a highlights package could not be justified. It was generally felt that the output by the club online is the best that it has ever been.
A member’s question mentioned the under sevens season tickets that are available free of charge, and whether these could be automatically when the renewals come out and to all under seven Trust members. The club said that the system shouldn’t need this putting in place, as it becomes very easy for people to renew for Under 7’s. Once birth certificates had been shown, the details would be stored on file to ease the renewal process.
The increase in crowds for the Cup games was raised, with respect to what could have been done to retain some of the supporters. Both games had home support in the region of 5,000, with the subsequent home game returning to the usual 2000+. The option of handing out vouchers to encourage people to return through a reduction in admission for the next game was discussed, but the reality was that this could lead to ill feeling amongst season tickets and simply act as a discount for those who would have attended anyway. Members of the Trust stated that as season ticket holders they wouldn’t resent such a scheme. It was agreed that as part of the work between the Trust and the Club, it could be looked at what could be done to retain the support of a floating fan.