Matters to raise - SLO meeting 13/03/14

[Linz]

These are the points that were raised at the last meeting. I didn't attend but Foxy will give you a run down of what was said and we'll chase up any outstanding points or responses you're unhappy with.

* Feedback on ticket deals from season ticket holders - mixed. Will query value of season ticket v. on the day prices and try and get some figures for you.

* Stewards getting in the bloody way, particularly in game v. Walsall.

* Reaction to Annie's Bar.

* PA system in Westfield Corner.

* Ticket office hold message including more info about buying online

* More notice of categories of games - are these fixed at the start of the season? Should games even be categorised.

* Standards of stewarding - over-zealous in away end, too lax on smokers in home ends, not protecting staff.

Points to take to meeting on 13/03/14:

* Stewarding v. Nottm Forest

* Clarification on who is responsible for the segregation - a lot of wasted seats

Anything else?

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

These are the points that were raised at the last meeting. I didn't attend but Foxy will give you a run down of what was said and we'll chase up any outstanding points or responses you're unhappy with.

* Feedback on ticket deals from season ticket holders - mixed. Will query value of season ticket v. on the day prices and try and get some figures for you.

* Stewards getting in the bloody way, particularly in game v. Walsall.

* Reaction to Annie's Bar.

* PA system in Westfield Corner.

* Ticket office hold message including more info about buying online

* More notice of categories of games - are these fixed at the start of the season? Should games even be categorised.

* Standards of stewarding - over-zealous in away end, too lax on smokers in home ends, not protecting staff.

Points to take to meeting on 13/03/14:

* Stewarding v. Nottm Forest

* Clarification on who is responsible for the segregation - a lot of wasted seats

Anything else?

Getting southern Blades who use public transport to the 1/4 final

 

[Pedro Verde]

The £10 offer for the Bristol City game was not well publicisied at all. Ive had the occasional E mail before but didnt get one for this game and I dont go on the official site
They really should publicise stuff like this a lot more

 

[boo radley]

Seeing as they will not support students who have supported the Blades for years by giving them the same offer as Sheffield students for those games, can we at least have these games allocated at the start of the season with the category A,B,C games.

 

[MiserableBlader]

"Feedback on ticket deals from season ticket holders - mixed. Will query value of season ticket v. on the day prices and try and get some figures for you."
ST is a bargain!
Can't believe you keep getting extras as well!

Can't believe that STH's are querying the bargain they get in comparison with the rip off match day prices - assuming you can actually get in on the day, and not at half time as has happened to me at games.

 

[MiserableBlader]

Complaint from me about previous seasons.
Lack of action from stewards about vitriolic abuse of home players with absolutely disgusting language and 'look at me' grandstanding.
These people have to be quietened immediately and/or ejected before inflamed true supporters have to act on these morons.
Screaming obscenities at the top of your voice (in general, let alone at your own players!) from a standing position throughout a game should not be tolerated.

 

[Linz]

Getting southern Blades who use public transport to the 1/4 final

Bit after the event seeing as the meeting in on 13th!

 

[Linz]

Can't believe you keep getting extras as well!

I believe the argument is that "bring a mate for a tenner" deals don't actually benefit the ST holder. And it was brought up that a number of ad hoc £10 deals appear to have taken place this season, diminishing the "value" of a ST.

I think the Club's response was that a ST was still the cheapest way to watch... but Foxy has the notes.

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

Bit after the event seeing as the meeting in on 13th!

Didn't realise

 

[Linz]

Didn't realise

Will make the point about kick off times though - I'd hazard a guess that "tough" might be the response!

 

[diplomat]

The £10 offer for the Bristol City game was not well publicisied at all. Ive had the occasional E mail before but didnt get one for this game and I dont go on the official site
They really should publicise stuff like this a lot more

I agree with this. Even tho I'm a ST holder I always try and make sure I bring someone along for these as I like to support it and no lapsed fan has an excuse not to come along for a tenner.

I also don't like the OS so wouldn't know unless someone makes the effort to tell me. An email. An announcement via Radio Sheffield. An announcement via the Star. There are so many easy and free ways to add a couple of thousand on the gate for such occasions.

(Before anyone says the radio or Star has a cost, it really shouldn't if you just ask Shield/Walker to mention it as news)

 

[Selly]

I agree with this. Even tho I'm a ST holder I always try and make sure I bring someone along for these as I like to support it and no lapsed fan has an excuse not to come along for a tenner.

I also don't like the OS so wouldn't know unless someone makes the effort to tell me. An email. An announcement via Radio Sheffield. An announcement via the Star. There are so many easy and free ways to add a couple of thousand on the gate for such occasions.

(Before anyone says the radio or Star has a cost, it really shouldn't if you just ask Shield/Walker to mention it as news)

The club have both twitter and Facebook pages! but irritatingly use them to simply link to content on the Official S(h)ite in many occasions. This means you only see the first few words of the headline, which isn't a great way to advertise.

The fact is that if we are still locked into the premium TV contract, we shouldn't be using social media to point towards another website. I don't want to click through. I want the information on my screen.

Of course I could mention a blades site that has the same and does the social media thing very well, but I don't want Foxy getting a big(ger) head than he already has...

 

[Pedro Verde]

I agree with this. Even tho I'm a ST holder I always try and make sure I bring someone along for these as I like to support it and no lapsed fan has an excuse not to come along for a tenner.

I also don't like the OS so wouldn't know unless someone makes the effort to tell me. An email. An announcement via Radio Sheffield. An announcement via the Star. There are so many easy and free ways to add a couple of thousand on the gate for such occasions.

(Before anyone says the radio or Star has a cost, it really shouldn't if you just ask Shield/Walker to mention it as news)

I would have probably brought someone along if Id have known
A good advertisement would be to put it on here for a start then there is Twitter or Facebook (I dont really use those either)

 

[Linz]

A good advertisement would be to put it on here for a start then there is Twitter or Facebook (I dont really use those either)

We'll mention the fact that they could be using wider advertising better, but we'll also point out that we would be happy to advertise any ticket deals if they'd include us in the loop.

 

[HeCanDoMagic]

Half time scores on the big screen would be welcome.

 

[Sothall_Blade]

What was said about Annie's Bar as a matter of interest?
It does seem very popular, which is good, but are the club making good money out of it?
The hotel is not owned by the club while other food/drink outlets such as The Tunnel Bar and the ground itself are.
Do the club have a favourable profit-sharing arrangement in place?

 

[boo radley]

Can we ask some questions about segregation, seeing as it seems people who sit in the westfield are penalised when other teams come and bring a following that means we have to give up that end?
Our ground holds 32702 officially How much does the upper tier hold on Bramall lane and likewise the lower tier.
Other clubs seem to manage getting their grounds segregated right. why can't we?

 

[Rodley]

I like the Sheffield U Tube thing. More stuff on this with a bit of insight into players etc would be welcome.

 

[Damski]

Change the goddamn hold music for the ticketline.

 

[Blade56]

With regard to ticket offers I would like to see a development scheme to get new young fans to matches every week e.g. £25 ST if bought with 2 Adult tickets or free ST for 7-10 year olds if buying with a brand new adult ST. This fosters new support rather than pack,a few extra in on odd occasions.

Stewards- should stop feckin early leavers (and arrives) from standing in front of seated fans and from hanging around the exit watching rest of match when leaving early. I have written to club about this and they have put more mature stewards at exit but they still don't make people LEAVE once they have made their way to the exit.

 

[oaklandrdblade]

With regard to ticket offers I would like to see a development scheme to get new young fans to matches every week e.g. £25 ST if bought with 2 Adult tickets or free ST for 7-10 year olds if buying with a brand new adult ST. This fosters new support rather than pack,a few extra in on odd occasions.

Stewards- should stop feckin early leavers (and arrives) from standing in front of seated fans and from hanging around the exit watching rest of match when leaving early. I have written to club about this and they have put more mature stewards at exit but they still don't make people LEAVE once they have made their way to the exit.

Season tickets for U13's, accompanied by adult, cost for the first time in 5 seasons this year, only £30 in the previous 4 they have simply had to pay £10 to join Junior Blades, which gave them shed loads of stuff as well.

 

[Northyorksblade]

Any news on what happened at the meeting?

 

[drinksmat]

One for the next meeting please. Can you ask if they ever intend to link Super Draw membership to the online ticket office. As an exile I joined Blades Revival (!) as a means to support the club from afar but also give me some hope of getting a ticket to games where there were allocation issues given I live a 3 hour drive from Sheffield so don't get to games that often. The current Wembley ticket scenario is a perfect example of why this doesn't work - if I want to use my SD membership on the 29th then I need to go in person to the ticket office..... Oops. If the online ticket office could be aligned with the SD membership that would be the ideal solution. I asked about his some years ago and was told they were "looking into this" but have heard nothing since. Thanks

 

[Northyorksblade]

I have the same problem, though not as far away as you. You can do it by post and include your superdraw tickets

 

[Hartley Hare]

I would like to suggest that more loyalty points should be awarded for away game tickets or bonus points for attending a certain number of away games in a season.

This would reward travelling supporters, who spend a lot following the team, and will help fans from out of town to accumulate points, which helps when the time comes to purchase big match tickets like Wembley, or big FA Cup games like Villa this year or play-offs etc.

At the moment 100 - 150 points are awarded for an away game. That means attending over 150 games to get first shout on tickets with the current loyalty system. It would take years to accumulate that total and cost over £10,000 in expenses.

I don't know if anyone else agrees but this would help me in any event.

HH

 

[SwissBlade]

I would like to suggest that more loyalty points should be awarded for away game tickets or bonus points for attending a certain number of away games in a season.

This would reward travelling supporters, who spend a lot following the team, and will help fans from out of town to accumulate points, which helps when the time comes to purchase big match tickets like Wembley, or big FA Cup games like Villa this year or play-offs etc.

At the moment 100 - 150 points are awarded for an away game. That means attending over 150 games to get first shout on tickets with the current loyalty system. It would take years to accumulate that total and cost over £10,000 in expenses.

I don't know if anyone else agrees but this would help me in any event.

HH

Presumably because money goes into the oppositions coffers

 

[Foxy]

At the moment 100 - 150 points are awarded for an away game. That means attending over 150 games to get first shout on tickets with the current loyalty system. It would take years to accumulate that total and cost over £10,000 in expenses.

Wouldn't keep you in the same position?

I have roughly 20k more points than I needed for first dibs on Wembley, assuming I didn't stop going away and continued to renew my season ticket... My points would get higher by the proportion yours went up by, which would achieve either me having an even larger excess of points or you having the same gulf in points which is your original problem?

 

[Hartley Hare]

True, that is a different perspective.

I suppose it would do no good if everybody had 20,000 points. I also appreciate that the box office use the points to spread the burden on the ticket office when demand for tickets is super high.

How many points does a season ticket carry?

HH

 

[metalblade]

The loyalty system does not reward new fans who have no chance of ever catching up. We could have a ST holder for one year who goes to every game but when the big game turns up the guy who went years ago but does not go since we dropped into League One still has more loyalty points and get first dibs on the big game tickets. A rolling say 5 year count for e.g would be a lot fairer and reward the fans that attend now rather than years ago and only show for the big games.
I'm not knocking the loyalty system it is good but it could be tweaked to be even better, these are the same arguments we have had for years but the club has done nothing to address the little bits that are unfair.

 

[alcoblade]

The loyalty system does not reward new fans who have no chance of ever catching up. We could have a ST holder for one year who goes to every game but when the big game turns up the guy who went years ago but does not go since we dropped into League One still has more loyalty points and get first dibs on the big game tickets. A rolling say 5 year count for e.g would be a lot fairer and reward the fans that attend now rather than years ago and only show for the big games..

Good point.

UTB