After following & contributing to the discussion around the post “Get your house in order – some challenges football clubs need to tackle to succeed”, I thought I give you some insight into the entertainment side of football & give you the opportunity to get involved and to make a difference.
One of the biggest challenges facing all sports major venues, events & rights holders is how do you get the fans to the stadium earlier and keep them later?
Hospitality guests typically arrive 3 hours before kick off and experience a stadium tour and a pre match meal. On screen is the ‘Early Kick Off’ game. Other pre match highlights include the delivery of the team sheet and a run down of the starting 11 from the resident MC!
But what about the masses? The 20,000 die hard season ticket holders who come religiously every week and watch their 11 heroes do battle on the pitch.
How do you change their pre match routine? They park the car at 1pm, walk to the Pub, have 3 pints and then leave for the stadium. 10 minute walk, 10 minute queue, 5 minutes to seat and just 5 minutes to kick off! How do you break a cycle that is both comfortable and engrained in a fans match day routine?
So what can be done? Let’s have a think about some options that could work…
Past Players / Legends
Done. Works well but how many seasons can you offer the same match day routine?
Upcoming Pop Bands
Nice idea – how many fans are interested in these bands? Do they fit with your audience?
Family entertainment
Great idea – what does this mean in practice? Is this Ant & Dec or Barney and Friends?
Kids entertainment
How do you accommodate this requirement when 95% of your audience are adults no kids?
Cheer Leaders
Popular in US Sports. Not as impressive in Super League good effort? Entertainment or titillation?
Players
On a match day they are Out of Bounds. Their preparation for the match cannot bedisturbed, so no chance of them engaging on match day
So what can we add to the party? What’s new? What changes the UK football fan match day routine? How do we appeal to females and family as well as the bloke who has had five or six pints? How can we link it to social media?
I’d love to hear your ideas in the comment section. The best ones will get invited to see their ideas in action at Elland Road next season.
Marching on Together!
Paul Bell is the Director of Commercial Affairs, Leeds United and can be found on twitter under @belgie123
Related posts:
- Get your house in order – some challenges football clubs need to tackle to succeed
- How football clubs can use mobile & social media to their advantage
- Guest blog: Mobile SMS – The Undisputed King of Applications by Michael Marlatt
- Q&A on English Premier League sponsorship
- Guest blog: Why communities need Managers by Bill Boorman
Twitter: ryanmurrant
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I can’t imagine how challenging this must be for clubs. How to break that cycle? Do the fans want to break to break it? I quite enjoy the frantic race from the pub, to the ground, toilet, coffee, seat in that order. That said i’d be open to things going on outside the ground. Penalty competitions (get an old keeper involved, not David Harvey though he’d scare the kids!!!) skill skoolz (like on soccer am) but for fans. Could you do either of them and have heats throughout the season? Maybe home fans against away fans would be away if doing it? Naturally you’d have to put a juicy prize on as a reward.
Twitter: james_mayes
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What about more use of social media for fan engagement? As a starting idea, half-time poll for dive of the half, best shot, or most ridiculous haircut? Could be run on facebook or twitter pretty easily …
Twitter: ashread14
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Hi Paul,
Interesting post. As a season ticket holder at a Championship club my matchday routine is as follows: arrive at the ground around 1.30, get inside, watch the early kick off in the bar, grab some food, get into seats about 10 minutes before kick off, and that’s been the routine since we’ve been in the championship – in the Premier League we’d get out in the stands earlier to see some of the superstar players warming up.
One thing that the club does is they run small sided games for kids on the training pitch behind the family stand which is great, but I’m not sure how many teams would have the facilities to do this?
They have also tried the cheerleader route, which was largely ineffective! And also do a keepie uppie competition before kick off with a fan from each stand taking part and the best two taking part in a final at half time, which is good fun, but again probably not enough to break the pre-match routine of many fans.
I have a few contacts who work in baseball over in the US, I’ll speak to them to see what they do as baseball games are ran as more family orientated events, would be interesting to see if any ideas can be applied to football.
Also, there are definitely some ways you could tie in social media to encourage fans to get to the stadiums earlier, I’ll have a think about that and it’s something we can chat about.
Twitter: johnbarnes2010
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Interesting ideas!
Do you champion any matchday hashtags on twitter such as #InEllandRd etc.? It could be a great way of engaging with fans.
I really like the idea of fan driven penalty shoot out competitions. Could you run it in conjunction with local teams in the amateur leagues perhaps? Or better still with home and away teams, if only you could unify the whole league to do something!? Either way if you do there would have to be something to ‘win’. Such as free flights for the team from Netflights etc.
http://www.twitter.com/johnbarnes2010 – ‘back the bid’
Some nice ideas starting to develop, but none of them will pull in 10,000 fans an hour earlier? The ideas need to be commercially sound. not just nice ideas…keep thinking folks…
Twitter: ryanmurrant
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Ok then, i think we have to look at some way of rewarding the fans for coming in. What about a free pint, pie, pepsi if you are in before 2pm? Or voucher for money off food/drink/club shop/ticket at the next game if they are in before 2pm? Then they are in to watch the aforementioed penalty shoot outs? Commercial and fun?
Ryan – this is a more commercially sound idea and think it would certainly help to get them to the ground earlier. At Leeds we have LUTV playing through the concourses pre match so may work. We could also speak to our Beer Partner regarding the vouchers for a free pint! What about any other entertainment ideas pre match.
I am also interested in the social media applications, what could be done pre match? Team Line Ups? score predictors? How do we use 4square to our advantage??
Twitter: ryanmurrant
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Hi Paul,
I would say that bluetooth would be the best way initially? You could send the teams this way and maybe even the aforementioned vouchers, to be then be redeemed at the counter. This would then start encouraging the fan to use and recognise the value of social media?
“Turn on your bluetooth and receive your Leeds feads……!!!!”
Hi Ryan
I like this idea and can see the commercial benefit of such a scheme, but is Bluetooth the best delivery mechanism? I was one of the first to introduce Bluetooth into football at Portsmouth and it never really took off? Is there any recent stats to show how Bluetooth messaging is progressing? If positive trend then it might be worth me revisiting.
Thanks for your input.
Paul
Twitter: ryanmurrant
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Hi Paul,
I went for Bluetooth as I thought it would be less daunting for people like my dad. He would embrace Bluetooth as it’s fairly simple but if I mention four square to him and his mates they will start calculating!!
I would think that Bluetooth is easily accessible for a larger audience especially? Any reason why the Bluetooth did not take off? What was on offer when you tried it?
Could you introduce other things through twitter where fans can get involved with sending their pictures which can then put on the screen during the game? Prizes on offer for the “funniest” photo? Or for wearing the most Leeds United merchandise. Maybe fans can vote throughout the game for MOM etc? Could you put related Leeds questions up during the game for fans to tweet/text with the answer? Get them to put their seat numbers on the answers, play the John Charles stand against the east stand, results at the end of the game. One person from the winning stand wins X (maybe work something from here to keep them in after the game)
Granted we don’t want to take peoples eye off the match as that’s why they are there but it could be a great way to get people engaged?
Twitter: FelixWetzel
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Hi Paul,
Thanks for your guest blog, which is really insightful, and thanks for letting us get involved.
Here are a couple of questions that I’d like to be answered as it helps with the idea generation:
1 – Who are the most valuable (in financial terms) segments in your match day attendance?
2 – Do you want to attract more of those?
3 – What is their behaviour?
Getting an idea of your target segment and a value propositions of your clients will make it easier to come up with ideas that are useful for you: For example, if it’s families, go witht the family entertainment, even though the hardcore supporters won’t love it – every club needs them, every club wants them and they are the heart and soul, but they’ll come anyway, no matter what the entertainment.
Some other thoughts:
1- I appreciate that players in the squad are out of bounds – but surely the injured players or players that didn’t make the squad are available. So let’s use these.
2 – I like Joe’s comment about Germany – maybe instead of everything happening at the stadium work with the city outside of the stadium and put some of the entertainment down there – similar to the Fanmeile at the World Cup.
3 – Let’s increase social media connection – i.e. – play Leeds fans around the world in pub xy z before kick off…any idea that doesn’t cover social media, is not worthwhile.
4 – Put mobile at the heart of your entire communicatin strategy.
5 – That’s more football wide – but let’s have a longe half time break instead of rushing like made for 15 min, let’s do 30 minutes.
I look forward to your answers.
Felix
Thanks for the post, its a good debate.
In its simplest form we have two core groups of fans – hospitality guests and the fans in the stand.
Hospitality guests arrive three hours before kick off and enjoy their pre match meal and entertainment. Our current pre match entertainment is provided by our resident MC supported by Leeds Legends such as Paul Reaney, Norman Hunter, Allan Clarke and Mick Jones, so we are extremely lucky in that regard. However we need to keep the guest entertainment fresh, the same thing each week could get a bit repetitive.
The ground starts to fill up from 2pm. It would be great to get more people in earlier. The earlier they get to the stadium the more beer they drink, more food they buy and average spend per head increases.
We have our club channel LUTV broadcasting from 12pm and that provides a level of entertainment. We also show the early Premier League game before our game.
One of the injured players also does a pre match Q&A in the members bar (up to 2500 members pre match) so we are fortunate that we can access injured players – this doesn’t happen at other clubs.
I am interested to learn about the different ways we can use social media in and around the game,. Average attendances will probably be over 25,000 next season. How many of these do you think will be Twitter savvy? Is there and stats on usage levels of Twitter across the UK? Sports fans?
I dont really want to look at getting people in towns, I would like to get them to Elland Road early. This is the conundrum we have to crack.
Twitter: FelixWetzel
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Paul,
What segmentation and value proposition has been established within the two core groups, so that we can identify the most profitable? That’ll help tailor the entertainment and engagement accordingly.
Felix
Hi Felix
Thanks for the post.
The commercial game changer would really come if the crowd, the masses came earlier. Corporate guests already come around 3 hours before kick off and enjoy our hospitality.
An average fan currently spends around £2 per head on average based when at the stadium. If we could get 10,000 people in earlier, spending £1 more each, over 23 games and suddenly we have a significant commercial uplift.
This is where I would like to keep the debate.
I am keen to explore further the use of social media throughout the match experience and how we utilise the technology
I look forward to your thoughts…
Paul
Hi Felix,
I think your final point undermines the argument and demonstrates a desire to utilise communication and social media that overrides its actual purpose; to change the structure of the game to accommodate secondary entertainment is the wrong path. We are not talking American sports ‘days’.
It is not hard to get things right with football fans, but lots of clubs go out of their way to get it wrong; Leeds United have been spectacularly good at getting things wrong over the past few years, including the chairman using the term ‘so-called fans’ to refer to people who don’t support the club on his terms.
At the moment, when fans are wary of the intentions of the regime running the club, they are less likely to want to put money into it above and beyond the already expensive ticket price.
Twitter: FelixWetzel
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Hi Chris,
Thanks for your comment. What are your suggestions on how a club can enrich the experience for the fans and attract new fans?
Felix
Hi Felix,
I think the club has to look at two core groups: the fans who meet their mates, drink too much beer, enjoy (or endure) the game and then go off out in Leeds, and; families who will need entertaining beyond the confines of the 90 minutes’ action on the pitch.
People don’t want to hang around after full-time, so it is a case of getting people in before the game, as mentioned elsewhere.
For the first group, Leeds have done well to introduce Billy’s Bar and Howard’s Way, but it is still a joke trying to get to the bar. You can put whatever entertainment you want on before the game, but this group of fans will want to have a drink. It’s in the club’s interests to make it easier for fans to spend their money at the bar before 3pm. (At half-time, it’s nigh-on impossible – but that’s not to countenance extending the break!)
Families will buy into the entertainment and novelty ideas more – but it has to extend beyond hit the crossbar and penalty shoot-outs involving Tom, Dick or Harry plucked from the stands; only their immediate friends and family will be remotely interested. At a stretch you could have a penalty shoot-out between a Leeds supporters’ team and the visiting team’s fans.
If there is some sort of ex-player/academy player involvement it would automatically generate more interest, and former Leeds players abound at Elland Road on a matchday.
As ER is the only place fans can buy merchandise other than online, the club shop is arguably the busiest place around 2pm onwards, so the club is making money from different fans each week in that capacity.
Above and beyond all this, I think the club really has to make efforts to make fans feel more valued; we don’t. The chairman has made it abundantly clear he is only interested in fans who support on his terms. Of course it will be about getting more money from fans as the bottom line – but treating them with contempt won’t achieve that.
Paul could be the best commercial director in the world, but until the mentality of the people above him changes, he will have his work cut out.
Hi Paul.
It’s an old chestnut of a problem. I remember looking at it 20 years ago for my club. The same ideas came up then as now. And unfortunately they still won’t be strong enough to change the ingrained behaviour of fans.
I think it’s worth thinking about before and after the game separately…
Pre-match, fans have rituals that are hard to break. So could you go to them instead of trying to get them to come to you? Using insights we have about fans, we know they like to socialise in small groups where they have their own identities – which they lose once they get lost in the herd at a stadium. They like to focus on the match (not ogling cheerleaders or watching kids taking penalties). Could you use social media to play to their individualistic anticipation of the match? You could set up match-focused prediction leagues, fantasy leagues, sweepstakes or straight betting – all accessed via mobile.
Post-match feels like a time you could more easily persuade some fans to linger – for a pint or two after the game, watching manager and player interviews, watching highlights. The idea of the ground as a venue for debate and dissection of the match could hold cachet for fans – an Elland Road ’606′ – built in reputation through social media.
That’s all for now. As it happens, I plan to be at Elland Road next season for Watford’s visit. (Spending as little time there as possible!)
Cheers,
Olly
Thanks for the post Olly
We look forward to welcoming you to Elland Road next season!
I would be keen to learn more about your fan insights, and how we can develop the social media side of things pre and post match.
I have been thinking about the way we get Twitter into the match day routine – can comments be moderated so that we can post Tweets onto the Giant Screen?
I look forward to your comments…
Hi Paul,
“How do you break a cycle that is both comfortable and engrained in a fans match day routine?” – I don’t think you will! So, I reckon a better strategy would be to think how you can engage with the fans (die hards, families, fair weather fans, fans abroad…all of them) on the other 6 days of the week and keep them in your ‘virtual ground’ for as long as possible.
Setting the participation barrier too high, ie expecting people to leave the pub and come in the gound to watch a few cheerleaders cobbled together from the local youth centre or to get a free pie is never going to happen. So don’t concentrate on that…match day routine is almost religious to most of your fans!
However, its getting easier to provide richer, more relevant content and interaction with your fans through channels like social media and commercial partners will always follow the eyeballs and want to be where your fans are…physically and virtually.
Thanks for the post Ed.
I wonder if the fan comfort cycle is a result of years of poor pre match entertainment offered by Sports Clubs in the UK??
Interested on your thoughts on content delivery pre match…let me know what you had in mind!
I think that is certainly a factor! Also, football in the UK is a tough one as most of the fans (generalisation I know!) don’t see it as a family day out…its far more serious than that!
They are there for the game. Other sports where there are relaxed alcohol laws in the ground and the fans mingle in a more ‘friendly’ manner lend themselves better to entertainment and a more US game experience.
That said, you have great content at your disposal and delivering that to the fans on their terms, in the format they want it is very do-able through mobile and social channels. Spending some time doing a research/listening piece could also give you the chance to ask the fans what they want in terms of enterainment which would limit the risk in any activity you decide to run.
Drop me an email/call if you want to chat about it…
Hi Guys,
Foursquare looks like becoming the next cool thing, or maybe it already is!, how could a football club use this to its best advantage?
Love to hear your insights on this subject
Paul
Twitter: ashread14
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Hi Paul,
Man City recently had an experiment with Foursquare: http://www.mcfc.co.uk/News/Club-news/2010/May/Check-in-at-City-vs-Spurs-with-Foursquare – I’m interviewing them about their results over the next week or so…will keep you posted.
Personally I prefer Gowalla as a location based service, it has some great features and was recently used by the NJ Nets for a promotion: http://vaynermedia.com/2010/04/early-proof-that-geolocation-marketing-will-succeed/.
Location based networks are still taking off and compared to other networks have a fairly small user base, it may be that geolocation only really takes off when Facebook and Twitter roll out some location based services.
For a football club, you’d need to give fans a real reason to use Foursquare/Gowalla, as many of your fan base won’t currently use these apps. Gowalla offers the users opportunities to pick up objects when they “check-in” to a venue, so you could offer the opportunity for fans to pick up a free programme, beer, etc.. when they check into Elland Road (obviously not all would be winners)! The possiblilities are endless, a lot of it would depend on what your goals.
Ash.
Hi Paul,
How about introducing something like this? We could rate the players via SMS and at half time the player with the lowest score, let’s say it’s Tresor Kandol, could stand on the centre spot with a piece of meat on his head whilst a bird of pray swoops down upon him. Or a gladiatorial duel. Worst two players fight it out to the death, no shin pads allowed.
…and don’t forget to charge the fans a premium for this. On top of the season ticket, merchandise, food, travel, LUTV subscription, match-day programme and so on, I’m not sure we pay quite enough money to watch Billy Paynter and the Mighty Whites. Actually that would be quite a good band name. How about we have the players form their own jazz ensemble? I can see Richard Naylor on sax now.
All the best,
Matthew
Why was my comment deleted or do Leeds United not want to listen to their audience? I would like a kestrel.
I’ve had a season ticket at Elland Road for over 10 years. In my opinion the less, the better. Naive and cringeworthy ‘ideas’ (cheerleaders, pop bands, text votes etc) are, at Elland Road, doomed to fail. and quite rightly. You won’t pull in an additional 10,000 fans an hour early like that…cheap beer, good food (and what we have at the moment is disgusting), large screen televisions (if another game is on) and meet and greets with old/current players work. When the game is on, football fans (oddly enough) watch the game, talk to their friends and sing. At half time, people want to eat, or go to the toilet. That’s that.
If you think social media is going to pull in fans and generate revenue, you’re wrong.
Felix – with regards to ‘some other thoughts’ number 5, are you serious? This is an issue for the governing body of football (FIFA), not you.
I’d say a great start would be to not have crap beer with interminable queues at the bar, and to have someone other than Ben Fry and his sycophant routine hosting proceedings.
He talks at us like we are all 12 and with learning difficulties.
Oh, and half-time could offer something a whole lot better than winning a pizza if you hit the crossbar.
From there, anything is possible.
Dear Paul,
- Pre-Match interviews on the pitch with legends/ past players on the pitch.
- LUFC Academy 5-Aside matches for 30 mins before the game. It’d give the audience a chance to get to see some of Leeds upcoming talent, as well as providing them with experience and exposure to playing in front of large crowds.
- Short documentary (between 5-10 mins) to be produced by the folk at LUTV and aired matchday with the history of Leeds vs. Whoever we happen to be playing. Results, stats, Footage, Insights from players perhaps.
- More space and quiet pre-match so fans can get songs going.
- LUFC On this Day… information to come up onto giant screen. Previous results and landmarks which have happened in years gone by.
Jonny
Thanks for these constructive ideas, really like some of these and could see these working on a match day. If we were to do the Legends interview, what time would you recommend? 2.15pm?
if you want people in the ground earlier, stop being greedy and drop the price of the beer, its not the best beer in the world, hey its not even the best beer in 1/4 mile radius of the ground. ,As someone who runs a hostelry frequently, i can tell you the beers pretty much overpriced crap on match days, but hey, anyone who tastes it can tell you that
drop the price of the beer and food, people have already over reached their finances with travel and ticket costs
Paul,
I would suggest that one of your major issues when lookig to address this problem is that so many of Leeds United’s fans come from out of town. Getting to the ground an hour early for some is not feasible. I travel from London to home games and am at the mercy of trains and busses, not to mention the scramble for affordable fares.
In addition, as Matthew states above, we go there to watch the game, to get involved for the 90 mins and to catch up with mates. Not stereotyping, but over a pint is usually the way we do this.
You have to identify the audience, if the male 18 to 40 bracket are not getting there early, what would be seen as a progressional step? Getting them to Billy’s bar or Howard’s way? The facilities are small and will no where near cater for 10,000 extra fans.
The pavillion suite last season (or the season before) was a step in the right direction, but again it suffered by having only a small bar area. Why not have a fast track bar? Bottles only? Allieviate queues. Why not have a beer and a burger or pie and a pint deal in there? Give people a reason to alter their beheviour, not revolutionise it.
Print facts – illustrate that on an Elland Rd match day 20,000 pints of beer (or what ever the number is) are drunk – quantify it, 20,000 pints @ £3 a pop makes £60,000. How many acadamy players will that fund? Whose wages will that pay for?
Do you expect 10,000 extra fans to want to get there early, take up their seat, read their prgramme and watch the pre match entertainment? You will not cause a revolution, you may affect change by small steps.
James thanks for your ideas and comments. The new centenary pavillion is currently getting developed and will be able to cater for twice as many fans pre match on match days, making it easier for you to enjoy a pint with your mates at the ground
Jonny has some good thoughts, I love the LUFC Academy 5-Aside matches idea, and more integration of LUTV to the new big screen with past results, highlights, stats etc
Thanks for your comment Breakbeat. The ideas around the big screen have been well received by several fans.
Twitter: TBG2005
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Some excellent recent comments from Leeds fans on here. Good to see.
A start would be made on engaging the club’s core support by heeding the above advice on price, quality and openness. You can deploy social networking all you like, but as long as the club’s chairman shrouds it in secrecy, fans’ scepticism will continue to reign over their spend at Elland Road.
Yesterday’s decision to charge LUTV subscribers an additional £5 per game to watch pre-season friendlies not only irritates them, but represents a missed opportunity to attract new subscribers on a trial basis.
My advice to you, Paul, would be to work on developing Leeds United’s existing fanbase instead of milking its loyalty.
Twitter: FelixWetzel
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Thanks for the comment. You make a very good point: social media only works within an open and transparent environment.
Felix
Twitter: TBG2005
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Thanks, Felix. An open & transparent environment is exactly what we fans have been demanding from Ken Bates’ Leeds United. All we get is more, increasingly expensive, club-branded media which welcomes supporters with one hand while keeping them out with the other.
It’s support on its terms alone that Leeds United wants or, as the chairman described the 3000-strong Supporters Club of Scandinavia yesterday, all you are is a “so-called Leeds fan”.
It’s these aspects of the club that deter me from subscribing or buying anything besides my match ticket. To do otherwise would be to condone attitudes I don’t hold with, and I’m proud to be independent in this small respect.
For Paul Bell to fully engage with Leeds United’s support, his job goes way beyond hiring cheerleaders.
Totally agree. Marketing should be about keeping existing customers happy as well as attracting new ones (in the case of LUTV).
Leeds fans are some of the most loyal in the country, staying with the team even when the players don’t perform on the pitch. We pay some of the highest season and matchday ticket prices, we buy the membership, we pay for LUTV, we buy programmes, shirts and other merchandise – this should not be taken for granted. For the past few seasons, what pleasures has being a Leeds fan brought us? Any pleasure that we have had has come from moments on the pitch-mainly from a certain Mr Beckford. I don’t feel that I have been rewarded for my loyalty. So asking to pay even more for ‘extras’ on LUTV is a load of crap.
I think the big screen in the stadium could be utilised better, I do like the montages, but I’d like to see something else too, perhaps more interviews, maybe a behind the scenes look at what actually happens at Elland Road and TA. Or even showing a significant past match- an old game from the Revie era or the Manchester United game, the Bristol game too.
Jenny thanks for your comments regarding the big screen. We do show past matches on the screen before games, along with interviews from the previous week in the build up to kick off. Montages have received very positive comments and we will explore this.
Twitter: petersatweeter
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Felix, you haven’t a clue.
Football with a half an hour half time break. The game is in a sad place if people like you have got their grubby hands on it.
As for Paul Bell, you’re a bit of an embarrassment talking about LUFC’s commercial activities in such an open forum.
If you want to know what the real fans think then try logging onto message boards instead of burying your head in the sand with the rest of the marketing types of here, nothing but vacuous statements. This thread has improved no end with realistic suggestions since real football fans got involved.
The main reason I choose to spend the few hours before kick off away from the ground is because the quality, variety, and price of the food and beer is so terrible.
I would much prefer for the money I spend on 5 or 6 pints and some food to go to the club i support but I refuse to pay a premium for a flat pint in a plastic cup served to me by someone who has no interest in what they are doing and no concern about the quality of the product.
Have you actually had one of the burgers on a match day? They are kept warm so long the bread bun becomes toast, they are dry and the option of ketchup is not even available. The pies are the lowest quality pies I have ever had. Improving the quality of the products on offer for a start would encorage people to come in that bit earlier. The staff emplyed on a matchday are pathetic, to get a pint at half time in the NE corner I come down to the bar 10 minutes before the end of the half to ensure I can get a drink and finish it before the start of the second half, if I came down on the whistle I wouldn’t get served before the second half kicked off. I wonder how many people don’t bother at all because of this? Get the basics right before looking at all this multi-media rubbish, you will find it makes a hell of a difference.
Dean thanks for the comment. Serving high volumes of people at half time is a challenge for most football Clubs and something we will continue to look at. Plastic glasses are a legal requirement for us so can’t change that – Becks 4 is also an excellent, premium beer. What other food options would you like to see at the ground?
The problem at leeds is that a significant proportion of fans are resentful of the cost of supporting the club as it is. To have to spend even more time in the stadium, investing yet more money into the ken bates black hole is about as appealing as a pre-match arse kicking.
Social media is undoubtedly significant, yet the real beauty of it is the honesty and humour. Anything that passes through an official club channel ends up so steralised and devoid of truth that there is no reward I reading it.
The silence is deafening now that real ‘stakeholders’ or whatever the hell fans might be referred to as have posted their observations and posed intelligent questions.
And social media on the big screen? It would be entertaining, that’s for sure.
@fan1: ‘Where does the money go?
LUFC: ‘Moderate that one, Dewsy.’
@fan2: ‘Where is the warchest?’
LUFC: ‘Get that off the big screen, now.’
@fan3: ‘I love that you are charging LUTV subscribers to watch friendlies.’
LUFC: ‘We can use that one – just take out ‘that you are charging’ and ‘subscribers’.
Think you’re missing the point with regards to the food. It is not so much the range but the quality. It’s not good enough. After visiting Norwich last season, I wouldn’t consider looking at what is served at Elland Road.
Hi Paul
Thinking of using twitter & the big screen before games: LFC have had considerable success with asking fans to send their post-match report via twitter. The winner being posted to the official site.
You could start with a similar competition but the prize could be to post live (twitter) commentary during the next live game. So after showing a series of the entrants on the big screen, you would announce the winner, say 1hr before kick-off. The winner’s match commentary may then be moderated in real-time before posting. A dedicated hashtag could be used for each fixture to allow fans to respond to that commentary etc.
Prior to the game you could also post a hashtag to allow fans to tweet about what they are doing now – that may be having a pint, reading programme, taking pics inside & outside the ground, their journey to the ground etc etc. Again it may need moderating before being shown but could be good for a mix of fan types (more hard-core, families etc).
Jeff – thanks for your input, you are thinking along the same lines as myself. It’s great to see positive, constructive suggestions! That’s the whole point of my guest blog, to see what ideas fans themselves would like to see and what areas are actually of interest!
Twitter: petersatweeter
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Jeff, wouldn’t it just be easier to just watch the game?
I have read most but not all of the posts so please excuse me if I have repeated what anyone has said. If you sell ‘beer tokens’ with match tickets you could have a beer tokens only fast-track service. Simply swap tokens for bottles of beer. If the tokens worked out at a comparable price or better than the pubs around the ground (buy 3 get one free?) you would have a whole bunch of people who have committed themselves before they turn up to drinking inside ER and may well buy more beer when their tokens have run out. If nothing else, they may also buy food.
I know if I could buy 4 for the price of 3 and be guaranteed an express service inside the ground, I certainly wouldn’t put up with the queues and discomfort at local pubs.
Technology and tacky entertainment won’t get people in. A value for money, customer friendly bar will.
Also, I bring my kids regularly and if kids were allowed a half hour coaching session between midday and 2pm, I’d definitely turn up early so the kids could take advantage of that. Then I’d collect them and take them to their seats.
I currently take them to Soccer City so they can have a kick around while I have a pint.
Other ideas:
Have a cash machine inside each stand, making a small charge for withdrawals.
Have a club shop and ticket office window in each stand so people can queue for merchandise and forthcoming fixtures once inside. They won’t then wander off to the pub after they have made their purchases.
There…a new viable routine without insulting the intelligence or testing the loyalty of your average fan. Get in the ground, buy your bits and pieces with smaller queues, go for a value for money pint and get it in less than 5 minutes. Then all you need to do is find a spot near a screen showing LUTV or Sky Sports or find a bookies while the kids (if you have any) get to train on the pitch at ER.
Twitter: FelixWetzel
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Hi Phil, thanks for this really constructive & creative comment. I think there are some fabulous ideas in there.
Phil, some really good ideas here mate – thanks for your comments. We have introduced some new hospitality for families – check out the legends lounge viewing deck info on the official site. Prices are from just £76+VAT for adult and child, this includes pre match meal, chance to meet Lucas The Kop Kat and Leeds Legends (Reaney, Clarke, Hunter etc) great seats behind the goals, watched from inside the warmth of the new viewing deck. I will take on board your other ideas…Thanks again,
£76 + VAT for 1 x adult and 1 x child…..I can usually get tickets for 2 x adults and 2 x kids for circa £80.
Which do you think would be my preferred option if (as usual) I take the wife and both kids?
I don’t want to sit inside eating prawn sandwiches, I don’t want to spend time with a mascot and I don’t want to meet my heroes (I may be disappointed). I don’t want to be insulted with ridiculous, overpriced ‘hospitality’. If you want me (and my sort) in early, give us what we like. We like what we get ‘outside’, so you need to bring the outside in. You know we like it because we have been doing it 3-4 hours before kick off for years on end. It’s tried and tested, why over-complicate things?
Twitter: TBG2005
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“Technology and tacky entertainment won’t get people in. A value for money, customer friendly bar will.”
Well said, Phil. I already have one more reason to spend even less time at Elland Road on matchdays this season, and his name is Neil Hudgell: http://tinyurl.com/37269cj
The beer token idea is startlingly close to an April Fools stunt I once considered about the club issuing its own currency with Ken Bates’ face on, but I can see it working. I can’t, however, imagine it ever offering the value for money you’re hoping for.
Paul, since you clearly aren’t interested in anything on here or twitter which resembles criticism of existing club policy, may I invite you to indicate to fans how they are able to engage with you on such matters?
Twitter: Webeatscum1_0
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You could just recognise that, for many, the non-ER bits are just as much a part of the match day experience as is the match. I enjoy me pre-match beer and food at the pub and look forward to the ifs and buts and maybes before heading down to ER. I prefered the build up in the 70s when there was no pre-match entertainment and the crowd were left to build their own atmosphere. Personally, I avoid all the laid on ‘entertainment’!!
I really like Phil’s (Dad’s) idea of these beer tokens. I would also suggest having the crossbar challenge pre match about an hour prior to kick off with the usual prize of a box of Domino’s pizza or whatever it is.
Another idea is that you could have Simon Grayson addressing the fans around this time. I saw it done at Bolton Wanderers when Sam Allardyce was in charge (I was in the Leeds end) and there were loads of fans already in the ground.
You could also attach speakers outside the stadium so people can hear and possibly become more inclined to see what the fuss is all about.
Let me know what you think.
Josh