Walk on music Stop messing about with Fanfare snd Timerider and get the timings right like in the old days with Fanfard as they emerge from the tunnel then Timerider as they’re walking on . It seems the people tasked with organising this aren’t fans so get someone that is IMO . Food The fast food vans around the ground seem to know how to get a big queue down quickly so maybe get them involved somehow . Entertainment Deffo something for the kids ,Toby and Tina Tyke . Venue We’ve been wanting a proper social as a club fir sometime imo , it’s a big task for a voluntary body over a period however well intentioned it’s forced to put a strain on them .
Let's sticky it once it starts to disappear of the page. I don't think people neccesarily notice sticky threads otherwise.
Venue Bring Redfearns back permanently to run through the enitre season, so at least there’s somewhere to go during the winter months. But keep the outside fanzone during the better weather, and make that the main hub for singers/talkers etc. So there’s alternatives & nobody will get turned away or have to queue because it’s reached capacity. Food Food vans with a wide range of food around the ground outside. Doesn’t have to be many just enough scattered about, & better alternatives inside the ground with plenty of stock & staff serving. Entertainment As far as half time entertainment goes it doesn’t really matter as most people use this time to go for a slash, or get another drink or food etc. so once the app is up & running that would be a good time to address half time entertainment. Pre match I would have a couple of different things out for the little kids, bouncy castles, a mini football pitch, other inflatables, but in good weather. Can we not get them trucks back that house the Xbox consoles with FIFA maybe?
Venue I like the idea of Rimmingtons in the East Stand but I'd like it to be free entry. That coupled with Redfearn's opening back up would mean that the only Stand without a Bar would be the West Stand. Maybe alter that Pukka Pie stand area near the bogs.
Health and safety risk - inciting people to become unsteady. Christ, they've called of matches before now so that people don't slip on a bit of frost.
Matchday / Half time entertainment (all we need is some good Yorkshire Brass Band music pre-match and for the players to walk out to.)
Food I'd like to see pop up street food vendors. Creates less of an overhead on the Club, while having flexibility to offer variety. I appreciate this is going to be more expensive, but I also think there are plenty of people willing to pay 2 or 3 quid more, for decent food served quickly. For me we should be doing 'The Social' on match days, not non match days. As for the standard offering, personally it's not necessarily the product for me, it's the service. The queues are ridiculous and I just don't even bother now. As long as the queues are as long as they are, the product on offer isn't going to make a difference to me. They need to sort the queues. Whether it's more staff, more training, more tills, more urgency, a manager in charge, all of the above. Go to Oakwell Sandwich. Tiny shop and only one till, yet they run it like clockwork. Kids Entertainment Consider outsourcing it to a company who knows what they're doing (and enjoys it). At the moment it's based on volunteers. There's zero interaction with the kids. On Saturday I spotted one person, who promptly kicked us all out at 2.30 and was literally switching the lights off around us. I assume it was a fan, who probably wanted to get to their seat. Timetable of events. Have a schedule, with a 'theme' for each matchday, so kids know what's coming, and can start getting excited about being there. Could be literally anything. Face painting, cartoonists, balloon artist, arts/crafting, FIFA etc. etc. Some music. It's currently cold, and dark, and quiet. The atmosphere in there very much echoes the atmosphere in the stands! On Saturday, I heard more parents effing and jeffing in conversation between themselves, than I heard kids having fun. Could do 'silent disco', where kids can have their own headsets eSports. We've just launched an eSports partnership. Let's get this into the Kids Zone (I don't mean FIFA 2017 on a knackered PS3 between 50 kids). So many things we could do here. Kids competitions, spot prizes, age-group events. Refreshments. Have something to eat / drink in there. Even if it's basic hot / cold food and drinks. Player meet & greets. Get some players in, to meet the kids, take photos, sign shirts and balls etc. Get the youth players in to talk about career progression. I get this has to be managed around pre-match prep, but I think 10-15 mins every match an hour or so before kick-off, should be doable. Half time entertainment A space in the stand for kids to go, would be good. Mini penalty shootouts, crafting stations etc. Tbh it's only 15-minutes, so I don't personally think this is such a big deal. Probably more a case of being able to get something to eat/drink in a timely manner. Drink There needs to be better selection of real/craft ale IMO. If Fan Zone can do it with BrewDog and Acorn, the Club should be able to. Again though, serving times have to get better, with serving at most if not all bars. Pre-poured / quick pour machines. Dedicated drinks only kiosks might also be a good idea, for people who only want a pint. Fanzone Having it outdoors is always going to be a barrier. If it's staying outside, it needs a semi-permanent structure to provide some shelter, e.g. gazebo, tipi-tenting, heaters. Also needs way more seating. Genuinely think if it's done right, it would be brilliant. You can then introduce street food, pop ups etc. Large screen for showing mid-day kick-offs I think the other things you try to do, keep doing - players, board guests, red all over, singers etc. Venue Create some colour. Have displays around the walls in the concourses. Celebrate our Club and our history. Made a start in East Lower, but needs to be throughout the stadium. Get genuinely engaged with community. Create partnerships with local business, college, STEM, charity, diversity groups that make it into the stands. Have expos in the concourse on matchday. Around the ground I don't park in the Club car park, because getting out is always absolute chaos. Seems to take even longer to get out, than it does to get a pie. There doesn't seem to be any type of active traffic management after the match, which results in lots of very angry motorists and pedestrians pipping and shouting at each other. Not sure what the answers are, but at the very least I would have traffic management in place after the match, to control the flow of traffic leaving.
Exec area I don't get to many games, for obvious reasons. When I do, my brother and I go into one of the suites. It used to be the Legends Suite, but as we don't want a meal, we use the Premier Lounge. I understand that with the place only been open a few days per year, it is difficult to have a wide selection of beers, especially cask / microbrews. However, the only option is ice-cold John Smiths, which is not pleasurable to drink. As such, we've given up drinking totally at the ground, except for tea and biscuits. Depending on the weather, we usually walk down from my brother's place and pop-in the Old No 7 pre-game and then the Fanzone. After the game we wander through town, calling at a few places on the way home. To sum up my rambling journal entry, I wish they had a better beer selection.
Venue/Drink: Used to really rate Redfearn's. Only issue being it wasn't big enough. Like others have suggested it was warm, decent seating, the TV worked and was generally a good experience. Could the club explore making that area under the Ponty End bigger? Though I'm not sure what is actually under there to the right of the box office. Was always a decent pint in Redfearn's too with the guest ales and reasonably priced. No way would I pay £4 or whatever it it for a flat pint in the Ponty End when I can get a decent pint in Wetherspoons for roughly half the price.
Supporter Experience Slightly aside from the matchday experience but very much a supporter experience idea... The club have thousands of members. They struggle to lower the costs of membership but could they offer benefits to offset that cost and make membership more appealing. With those thousands of members, they potentially have bargaining power with companies. Imagine a discount at certain fuel stations. A discount (5%?) at a supermarket. A discount on insurance. Restaurants. And so on. Everyone wins. The season ticket holders get discounts to offset their ticket cost. The club sells more tickets. The companies get the custom of thousands of people.
Venue Standing area.. rear half of ponty. Then all the "sit darn"ers can sit darn with a un restricted view in the lower half while those behind can get sumert going.
One thing that does my nut in is where the players walk out. Walk out and back in where the away fans are, away team get all revved up from their fans. Our players probably getting stick walking in and out. Either sort the west stand out to a lot better standard so the players can walk out there again or do something with the north side of west stand and make it a singing section or sumat. Would create atmosphere also.
Or create a covered walkway in the north west corner so players can walk into the corridor of the west stand and come out of the old tunnel. I'm sure I've seen that somewhere else
Give casual pay on the day fans a better experience. Cheaper admission and not allocated the worst seats in the house. It's an absolute no brainer. We want to make casual fans permanent fans.
There's probably a good reason why it can't be done but if it could it really would massively change the atmosphere. I think the slow walk across the pitch harm's the atmosphere far more than people realise
A winning team that plays entertaining football and won't be broken up at the first sign of a bit of cash is all the match day experience I need. I live about 2 miles from Oakwell so I eat before I set off and when I get home I don't drink when at football matches despite BFCs many attempts to drive me to it. Not interested in any entertainment pre match or at half time I just want to be entertained by the team during the match. Boring opinion I know but the FOOTBALL is all that matters to me.