We met with the Club on 29th December to discuss a number of concerns from both ourselves and Trust members.
Details regarding the investment have already been covered in a statement we issued last week on our website, and we will keep supporters updated as much as we possibly can throughout this period.
The meeting took place with Dale Chairman Simon Gauge and Dale COO George Delves.cFollowing those discussions regarding investment and finances, we discussed how in the medium to long term, things are looking very positive. Much has been discussed regarding the Fan Led Review over the past eighteen months since Tracey Crouch MP compiled her report, and things are looking much more positive in this respect. With so many changes at Government level and pressure from the Premier League, it’s been very much in, out, in, out since its release but things are looking more positive than ever before and as such this will lead to an increase in revenue for lower league clubs.
We discussed the need for the Club to have its own training ground from both a footballing and financial point of view, as if we were to acquire facilities of our own within the Borough of Rochdale, there would be a saving of half a million pounds for the Club. This was something that other similar sized Clubs within the Division do not have to spend putting us at an immediate disadvantage financially. The Club are actively looking at addressing the lack of training ground and this was significantly more than just the pipe dream that it has been historically.
Action: Club and Trust to discuss this further, with the Trust to offer any support that in can in helping the Club secure a facility that matches the needs of the Club. The Trust will provide further details to members at the appropriate time.
We raised the continued issue of the lack of a cash turnstile at the ground and the subsequent lengthy queues at the ticket office in the half a hour before kick off at games. There has been reports of supporters walking away when they see the queues and opting not to attend the game. Whilst this has been raised repeatedly in the past, the issue is not going away.
The Club stated that they needed to have a proper discussion with our ticketing partners and those at the Club who work on ticket sales to see what can be done. As things currently, with the scanners and software involved and the reports that are required to be submitted to the EFL regarding the breakdown of those attending, it is not possible to run a cash turnstile on matchdays. As a follow up to that, we discussed that we could not recall seeing any grounds in League Two so far this season that had offered cash turnstiles.
We raised the idea of a second outlet for tickets on a matchday to avoid the queues that build up between 2-30pm and 3pm. The queues were off putting to supporters, and that feeds the perception that it is difficult to get into Spotland on a matchday. More work can be done to publicise the ease with which tickets can be purchased online
Action: The Club to do a full review of the ticketing system and admissions before reporting back at the end of February.
We raised the concerns of the matchday kiosks and the lengthy queues. It is almost impossible to get any food from the kiosks without missing some part of the match with the size of the queues. On one hand, this is a real positive as it shows the appeitite for what is sold at the kiosks, but if people can’t get served, then it prevents money coming into the club. Also, there were reports at the Boxing Day game of the kiosks running out of particular options very early into the game. Whilst it was a bigger home crowd than usual, this was to be expected for a Boxing Day fixture.
The Club stated that the kiosks were now fully outsourced but would feed this back to our catering partner. There is a member of staff from them at every one of the Operations Meetings for home games, where the expected number of attending supporters is discussed. As it happens, the actual attendance for the Hartlepool game was within 50 of what had been predicted at the meeting.
Action: The Club to feed this information back to the catering partner.
On the subject of queues, there were problems in the Dale Bar at half time during the Hartlepool game with many supporters unable to get served. Whilst it may have been a bigger issue than normal on the Boxing Day game (there were 2/3 members of staff who didn’t turn up), a better system is required to meet the demands of half time. It is possible to pre-purchase drinks for half time, but this requires improvements in terms of publicising this option and delivering on it. As things stand, we again have supporters wanting to hand over money to the Club but unable to do so.
Murray was full of praise with Anthony who was running the bars now and how pro-active he had been, and would speak
The Club were very keen to increase the usage of the bars as this was an important revenue stream for the Club. Improvements had been made to the venue including its new sign (this was not a Club expense). So far this season, this is an area that has surpassed expectations with the money that has been brought in with matchday revenue and weekday usage. One revent event had brought £5,000 over the bar.
it was stated that this was one area where supporters could help by ensuring that when they have any events coming up, they host them at the Club.
We discussed the possibility of the Club hosting regular Sporting Dinners at the Club tapping into other people in the town who might not support the Club. In addition to increasing revenue, this was a way of introducing them to the Club and offering them incentives to attend matches. The Club noted examples at other local Clubs who had offered similar events and this was something they were keen to introduce.
Action: Trust to speak to the Bars Manager at the Ratcliffe to see how half time can be improved to meet the demands of the supporters.
We continued the discussions regarding the Fanzone that operates on a matchday and whilst there had been real steps forward in terms of drinks promotions and the live broadcast throughout the bars of the televised BT Sports Premier League game, it was still nothing more than your average pub, and ten home games into the season, there was still no food available. We discussed the possibility of perhaps providing access to the kiosk at the back of the main stand before the turnstiles opened as a way of offering food. The only requirement from this would be opening up one kiosk two hours earlier and providing a steward to prevent this being a way of sneaking into the ground, The benefits of this could also see a reduction in the queues during the game if it allowed people to get their Football Food earlier.
Actions: Possibility of opening up the kiosk earlier to allow access to be looked at.
We had been contacted by a Trust member who had raised the lack of internet access in the Dale Bar before games. There was no wifi available and it was almost impossible to get any sort of 4g coverage in there.
The Club were aware of the issue and this is a project that they are working on and hope to be completed in the Summer. With the facility increasingly being used on a daily basis, it was necessary to have such faciltiies available.
Actions: Club to solve this problem during the Summer.
We raised the issue of the lack of push in the retail side of the Club in the run up to Xmas. This was a side of the Club that was not bringing in as much revenue as it had done historically based on the five year figures supplied to shareholders at the AGM with last season bringing in even less than it had during the behind closed doors Covid Season.
The run up to Xmas had seen hardly anything introduced which would have been seen as your usual stocking fillers, with just a calendar of the current playing squad that had little appeal given on the field matters. We cited the example of the scarf order the Trust made twelve months ago which allowed us to give away a large number of scarves to junior supporters, with a further 100 sold to supporters to finance the deal. Fans were happy to purchase such stocking fillers on an annual basis, and new lines such as this could lead to purchase of other items whilst in there. However, there was nothing available.
Equally, aside from an Ian Henderson shirt giveway, there had been nothing to entice people into the shop in the run up to Xmas such as late night opening, management signing sessions etc.
One of the issues of the current kit deal is the time scale for reordering. There had been a recent re-stocking of Club shirts, but this order was put in back in August for it to appear two weeks before Xmas. The new kit manufacturer will have a much quicker turnaround for things like this.
Actions: Club to take on all points raised and to introduce a bigger range of stock as part of the new kit supplier deal. Club to engage with supporters in next few weeks regarding kits.
We have been contacted again regarding supporters being allowed out at half time to smoke. Whilst this was coming from a very small number of supporters, this was something that was very important to those supporters. In terms of logistics, this shouldn’t be overly difficult to manage and was something that other Clubs in League 2 offered. If this could be introduced, it would also cut down on people smoking in toilets inside the ground.
Action: Trust to speak to Ground Safety Officer about finding a solution to allow supporters to smoke at half time.
It was discussed at the Shareholders AGM a couple of months ago that the Club were looking into working closer with the fanbase, by offering positions that supporters could volunteer for. The Club stated that they were very close to finishing the details behind this scheme and it will be launched at some stage in January.
Action: Club to publish details of the Voluntary Scheme in January.
We discussed a Fans Forum for the Board and Management team to be held in the first week of February.
Action: Club to confirm the availability of the management team before agreeing a date.
Finally, the Club had been visited recently (Doncaster home game) as part of the EFL’s Family Excellence Award Scheme. This works in a way similar to a mystery shopper where the EFL send someone as a fan to experience the Club on a matchday. The report was shared with us and it places the Club as midtable in relation to their visits to grounds in League Two this season.
There was plenty of praise for the Club within the report, but there were also areas in which improvements can be made. We have already supplied the Club with some suggestions that will address some of the keypoints within the EFL’s report but it is our intention to take a lead of this and host a meeting at Spotland towards the end of this month / start of next month to meet with families to take feedback from those most impacted. We will announce this via our website and our social media channels as soon as we have a date in place.
Action: Trust to host meeting with Dale supporting families at end of January before compiling and publishing report with recommendations for the Club.
This was originally sent to Trust members on Sunday 1st January in our Trust newsletter. It costs just £5 to join the Trust and to receive the Trust newsletter. You can join today by clicking here.