SLO UPDATE Disabled Season Tickets & Visually Impaired

There have been a couple of queries/ mentions on the above topics recently. Having liaised with the club i can confirm :

Previous to April 2017 the disabled corner stand and the disabled sections within OR5, OR2 and OR1 were priced at a ‘fixed’ rate. This pricing structure pre-dates my time here so I don’t know why it was a fixed price or who implemented it. We also only used to issue disabled season tickets and carers within the official disabled access areas. This policy was overturned circa 2013 and the decision was taken to issue disabled and carer tickets anywhere in the stadium.


This is where it gets complicated! If a disabled supporter chose to sit somewhere in the stadium that wasn’t a designated disabled area they were charged standard pricing for their chosen stand. So anyone who qualified for a concession ticket (senior, child etc) paid the relevant price for their disabled ticket. If a disabled supporter didn’t qualify for an age related concession they paid the full adult price for their chosen stand. Of course this is exactly as it should have been but we were now left with two different pricing structures under the same ticket bracket as those within designated disabled areas were still being charged a fixed price. Supporters were issued with a free carer ticket regardless of which area they were in.



We consulted with Level Playing Field who looked at our pricing structure. Whilst we had done nothing wrong for charging a ‘fixed’ price they did strongly advise we should make a change of policy and charge those in disabled areas a variable price based on age as we do in all other areas of the stadium. Therefore, in the interests of fairness and equality, we changed the pricing structure at the start of the 2017/2018 season. We wrote to all existing season ticket holders within designated disabled areas towards the end of March 2017 to explain the findings of Level Playing Field and advise them that the transition would be phased. Those who qualified for an age related concession would have the change implemented immediately as they would be making a saving. Those who would see a rise in their season ticket as their price was based on an adult ticket in the CK Beckett South Stand were told that we would honour the previous ‘fixed’ price for them for the 2017/2018 season but that from 2018/2019 all tickets for disabled areas would be based on standard pricing in the CK Beckett South Stand. Feedback from supporters involved was very good and all seemed to agree and be pleased with the changes. Those who would see a rise in the cost of the ticket appreciated the fact they had been given 12 months prior warning that their cost would increase the following season.


There is no visually impaired section of the ground.
All visually impaired fans can sit anywhere in the ground and they will be provided with a free earpiece to receive commentary and a free carer ticket to accompany them. The commentary is i understand not available when the game is on TV.

I trust that the above can clear up any misunderstandings

 

I think that is a good and thorough explanation.

 

Hi @Bondy are the club actually looking to provide a better match day experience going forward for families etc?

We don't even get named on the following from the EFL despite many much smaller clubs than us being commended.

https://www.efl.com/supporters/family-excellence/family-excellence-award-201617-winners/

 

Menai Tyke.

BFCST and Ben Mosley, on Tuesday, will be starting to complete a mural the full length of the Ponte Concourse, ready for next season. In addition, Football In The Community should have completed the display on the East Stand Lower, for the start of the season. This should at least give a better "feel" to the concourses.

The Supporters Trust already provide football facilities pregame for youngsters in the Academy as well as liaising over flagbearers and mascots. Also they run the half time pitch entertainment.

I understand that the club are reviewing the family stand offering, so hopefully, changes will be seen next season.

I am confident that the catering provision will improve for next season.

In view of relegation, i would expect that some improvements may be delayed, however, overall i would expect the overall offer to be improved.

Fans at Oakwell are reluctant to come early to games, and whilst you can say that is due to the offering prematch, a balance of costs etc has to be achieved.

 

It really is a balance and to put the other side across I'm not sure what kind of match day experience would get me at the ground any earlier. I like to go for a few beers with friends some of whom I only see on match days. My match day experience is the game itself. That's what I go for and I'm not too interested in much else.
I no longer buy a programme, I don't buy any food or drink in the ground.
Half time is often a trip to the toilet. I watch the game and I go home. The main factor is wether I enjoy the day is the result.

 

The Supporters Trust run the half time entertainment? If that’s the case then is it possible that suggestions can be made to improve it?

 

What the club needs is a fanzone outside the ground like is seen now at a few places. Needn't be expensive. A mobile beer point, some rope barriers, a stage (and a weekly booking of some local band) / mobile big screen. Something to add some atmos outside the ground so people will hang around and spend money on ale to the benefit of the clubs tills instead of the pubs in tarn.

 

Wouldn't work. Novelty would soon wear off. Most of the season is played in cold and dark. Getting fans out of a nice warm pub, drinking a reasonably priced pint in a glass, to stand in the cold outside Oakwell pre game, to be charged nearly four quid to drink out of a plastic pint cup isn't going to happen. Most folks I imagine before coming to Oakwell would rather watch whichever Sky game is on.

 

Manchester has more rain than Barnsley and yet theirs is packed every week.

 

We also don’t have fans travelling from all over the world to attend one single game who want to soak up every last bit of the atmosphere in and around the ground like they do with both Manchester United and Manchester City. Completely different ball game.

 

That's true but I thought they were popular with the local fans too?

 

A better matchday experience would be a heater under the seat like the home subs bench at Old Trafford (and probably many others), a comfy padded birdshite free seat like MK Dons offer and regular victories to enjoy.

 

Also get some proper beer in not the cats pee they serve now and an in house bookies

 

How have we come to that conclusion? By a handful of blokes from the supporters trust thats been watching them for 40 years and seen nothing better? I hope they are asking for views from a much larger part of the fanbase than the trust.

 

Isn't there a supporters bar which has to have security on the door constantly turning people away because the number of people wishing to arrive early outstrips capacity?

 

Not really a supporters bar, more a council activity room.

**** me, within one sentence we’ve worked out what we need, to get supporters to the ground early, a supporters bar, maybe the spare space in the east stand could accommodate it? Amazing that, a few minutes it’s took whilst the supporters trust are still sussing out how many varieties of bitter to put on...

I can’t wait until they proper get into this club these foreign owners and finally get us into the 21st century.

******* supporters trusts, stroll on.

 

Majority likely want to sup "cats pee"

The main point likely is to offer a large enough and warm enough area for people to have a beer without being treat like alcoholics or pissheads wanting to cause trouble

 

Best place I've come across is Notts county when they opened up for us when at forest .

That was a decent place

 

Bondy, is there anything that can be done with the commentary for when the tv cameras roll up?

It's something I've mentioned on here before, and it's definitely something that needs ironing out.

The match commentary is an absolute must to blind supporters and needs to be available for every single game.

 

Daft question but what is the reason that it doesn't work when we're on TV?