Open Meeting at the ground - Monday 13 May 7.30pm

[Paula_G]

Pre-season friendlies
We expect to play 6 or 7 friendlies. Those confirmed so far are:

• Tuesday 9 July Colchester United (home)
• Saturday 13 July Marine (away)
• Saturday 27 July Crystal Palace (home)

I see it’s been announced that Palace are sending a team to Bristol City the same afternoon as they come to us which is a little disappointing but on the plus side the crowds against them have always proved excellent & I see no reason for that to change.
Eagles heading to Ashton Gate

 

[Dulwich Mishi]

I see it’s been announced that Palace are sending a team to Bristol City the same afternoon as they come to us which is a little disappointing but on the plus side the crowds against them have always proved excellent & I see no reason for that to change.
Eagles heading to Ashton Gate

I think they were always planning to send their Under 23 side to us.

 

[liamdhfc]

Thanks. Hopefully the shareholders list should be updated then as the last published one is still out of date.

The shareholders list needs to be published with the Confirmation Statement and will be filed accordingly with the updated list. For new shareholders, we are awaiting one final transaction to be finalised and certificates will be issued. This is merely to ensure that everything is done at the same time.

 

[Moroccan Sunset]

I think what's missing in the point about ambition/crowds/potential ceilings etc is prices. It's fine to say we've got crowds that are equivalent to some lower level league teams, but we have admission prices at not that much more than half the price and so actual income is going to be much lower. General misgivings about higher level football aside I think that's a key point - if we're aspiring to that sort of level at some point prices will have to rise substantially and that's not something I'd like to see.

Completely agree. The higher we go, the higher the prices will get. Surely this completely flies in the face of everything we've tried to build in the last 4/5 years.

 

[ftg6]

Enhancements to ground for forthcoming season
It is hoped to add more steps of terracing before the new season starts. This could mean building up the existing steps behind each goal or adding steps along the St Francis Road side. The consensus seemed to be that improvements behind the goals would be preferable. There is a possibility of adding more cover behind the goal(s)

Hope all of this comes true. Don't miss mitcham at all but did love them terraces. Even that game that was called off after 10 minutes was a fun experience... behind the goal at Champion Hill it would have been horrendous.

 

[Paula_G]

I think they were always planning to send their Under 23 side to us.

That’s always been the case though a little bit of me was hoping they’d be off to foreign shores rather than a hop down the M4

 

[Paula_G]

Completely agree. The higher we go, the higher the prices will get. Surely this completely flies in the face of everything we've tried to build in the last 4/5 years.

It’s the Catch 22 of creating a successful club... it may be to the exclusion of some fans who were here when nobody was here but sure that has already happened

 

[scousedom]

Completely agree. The higher we go, the higher the prices will get. Surely this completely flies in the face of everything we've tried to build in the last 4/5 years.

Worth re-stating just how cheap we are at our level. Lowest prices, lowest concessions, broadest definition of concessions. This is the benefit of depth of support.

Not disagreeing that prices rise as the level of League rises, but the Club should be commended for keeping things so cheap and accessible. There will be plenty of clubs in the step below charging the same or more.

 

[PartisanDulwich]

Interesting to see in the Brixton Buzz report of the meeting that the Club was working on the basis of 2,100 average home gates next season

That will undoubtedly require a lot of hard work to secure, and shows the importance of pricing ( I am a strong supporter of our pricing structure), promotion, community events and whats going on, on the pitch

Likewise, the fact that we will need to ensure good attendances in bad weather was also seemingly raised (Truro we were 500 down) and that has a significant impact on our takings in attendance and in the bar

all very interesting and all seemingly things point to things at the Club moving in the right direction - which shouldn't be taken for granted given the times we live in

 

[Moroccan Sunset]

View attachment 171109

Worth re-stating just how cheap we are at our level. Lowest prices, lowest concessions, broadest definition of concessions. This is the benefit of depth of support.

Not disagreeing that prices rise as the level of League rises, but the Club should be commended for keeping things so cheap and accessible. There will be plenty of clubs in the step below charging the same or more.

Oh absolutely. Not pointing the finger of blame at the club - it's this ludicrous law of the leagues that you have to charge a minimum amount for a ticket. If a club can run sustainably at, for e.g. £8 a ticket, then I don't see why the league a) have the right to bump the price up or b) feel the need to interfere. Complete madness.

 

[scousedom]

Oh absolutely. Not pointing the finger of blame at the club - it's this ludicrous law of the leagues that you have to charge a minimum amount for a ticket. If a club can run sustainably at, for e.g. £8 a ticket, then I don't see why the league a) have the right to bump the price up or b) feel the need to interfere. Complete madness.

Far from a minimum they should be stating a maximum.

 

[Paula_G]

I believe the whole thing with pricing might well be linked with Financial Fair Play & assuring that the bulk of income is derived from turnover as opposed to cash injections from sugar daddies

 

[Cyclodunc]

It really doesn’t rain that much in London.

 

[blueheaven]

Thanks to those who took the time to take notes and post them up here - really interesting to read.

I'm a bit surprised that it seems there was no discussion around what the contingency plan is, if/when planning permission isn't granted for a new stadium. Presumably Meadow will know what they plan to do if this happens, even if the club doesn't? While the club is currently in the position of turning a profit, I'd hope that a decent percentage of that money is being kept in reserve so that there would be a fund to help keep the club alive in the event of a worst case scenario occurring with the ground?

 

[Dulwich Mishi]

Thanks to those who took the time to take notes and post them up here - really interesting to read.

I'm a bit surprised that it seems there was no discussion around what the contingency plan is, if/when planning permission isn't granted for a new stadium. Presumably Meadow will know what they plan to do if this happens, even if the club doesn't? While the club is currently in the position of turning a profit, I'd hope that a decent percentage of that money is being kept in reserve so that there would be a fund to help keep the club alive in the event of a worst case scenario occurring with the ground?

I think we need to talk as if we hope the planning permission will be granted. To look positively toward the future, anything else will have a negative effect. I am sure the directors have a Plan B contingency but I am also sure it won’t be pretty, not to mention what Meadows would do if they don’t get permission. As far as u am concerned the only way our Club can thrive both on the pitch & off it working with our local community is through a return to us playing in a stadium on Greendale. Without that I one hundred per cent believe our Club is fucked.

 

[Pink Panther]

Interesting to see in the Brixton Buzz report of the meeting that the Club was working on the basis of 2,100 average home gates next season

That will undoubtedly require a lot of hard work to secure, and shows the importance of pricing ( I am a strong supporter of our pricing structure), promotion, community events and whats going on, on the pitch

We need to remember that early season Saturday home attendances have traditionally been the lowest of the season. We've only had one four figure attendance for the first Saturday home game, which was around 1,100 against Staines two years ago. A home game in early August may well fall short of 2,000, and there are also likely to be one or two midweek league games early in the season which always attract smaller crowds than Saturday fixtures. I'm sure we will make it up as the season wears on.

As for the pricing structure, I'm all for the single match promotions and initiatives for schools and community groups etc., but I really don't understand the ongoing concessions for people in certain areas of full time employment when we were locking the gates on a capacity crowd at some games. I've no idea what the take up is for these concessions and I'd like to think those on a decent salary are choosing to pay full price.

 

[Paula_G]

To be honest from recollection when I was operating the turnstiles only recall one individual claiming the Red Light Concession for NHS staff etc who might be classified in the “Can afford full price” bracket. Individual was a senior consultant at Kings. From a personal point of view I’ve always regarded the Emergency Services concession more as a “Thank You” anyway.