In attendance from the Club were, Ryan Sparks (RS) – Club CEO
Representing the Trust was, Manny Dominguez (MD) – Chair & Carl White (CW)
Apologies were given from Paula Watson (PW), Director of Operations, Justin Bret (JB) – Trust Vice Chair, and Matthew Pickles (MP) also from the Trust.
Bantams Supporters Trust met with the Club on Monday 10th Feb.
The last meeting with the Club was on the 18th of November 24, 3 months ago.
This meeting covered a lot of ground in all matters we wanted to know more about and there was more of a sense we felt part of a process. So, without further ado lets dive into it.
Season Tickets and Matchday tickets
The Club felt that they were not at a stage where they had come to an agreement about next year’s season ticket prices.
Like in November’s meeting, the Club reiterated their concern that there are challenging rising costs they must contend with, such as an increase in rates, utilities and minimum wage, National Insurance etc – overall between £350,000 and £400,000. For example when it comes to renewals, the Sports Ground Safety Authority (SGSA) who yearly provide safety licenses to stadiums charge a fee based on the capacity of the stadium. It costs £17,000 (a recent increase) and it was felt this is unfair and that the cost should be based on what the position of a club sits in the pyramid. This figure used to be less than £500.
Matchdays are dependent on season ticket holders, and the Club lost between 600 – 700 season ticket holders from last season. However there has been an increase in the numbers who buy match day tickets, largely due to the recent success of the team.
The Club said that it is committed to providing affordable season ticket prices and will consult the Trust and Supporters Board on its’ proposal for next season.
The Trust stated that it felt its free tickets to schools in disadvantaged areas of the city was commendable and its £3 for its community tickets to encourage a new generation of fans is excellent as well.
The Club talked about its Community Takeover, as part of the EFL’s Community Weekend, for the MK Dons game on the 22nd of Feb which will be in the TL Dallas (Bradford End) stand, but there would be lots of activities in the main (Morrison’s Family) stand. The Club are making a lot of effort to reach ‘the EFL Family Excellence status’ hoping to reach gold this year. 15 out of 92 EFL clubs will achieve Gold. Last year the Club achieved bronze. A ‘secret shopper’ takes a visit to make the judgment call. There has been an emphasis about trying to make family entrance clearer and the children’s areas more colourful and providing more kiosk options.
Matchday ticket prices
We asked about them as we mentioned that even at our level in League Two, away match prices are certainly creeping up well above £25 and nearing £30 at some.
Admin fee added to telephone sales
There was a feeling of inevitability from the Trust about the answer. When the admin fee came about there was quite a bit of disquiet about It. The Club response was that it should’ve been brought in in the summer, but technical issues delayed its’ implementation. Before they did this many fans were ringing up and not getting seen to. It was said most clubs already have a telephone admin fees now and Ticketmaster has taken up a very large part of the ticketing market. Even Wembley sells tickets via Ticketmaster.
Since the admin fee has been implemented, there has been a 50% drop in calls, but it means ticketing staff are answering more ticketing queries or calls regarding technical help rather than just selling tickets over the phone. Most supporters buy online now.
Atmosphere and examples at other Clubs
The Trust raised the issue about the atmosphere end in B block and asked if the Club could’ve consulted better. It was said that however the Club had consulted.
Newcastle was raised from the Trust viewpoint how the atmosphere section had done well at St. James’s Park, where flags were being waved all-round the ground at the start of a game against Bournemouth recently, and other Clubs have something similar. There was some good discussion around this, and it was concluded that every club has its fan culture – flags and banners and creating that fan ultra effect has largely come from mainland Europe where it is still cheaper to attend football at top level matches, and it is still being tested out a little in the UK. It will improve as more clubs implement railed seating, but football must remain affordable to the masses. It means that ordinary supporters (that want to create the most noise) don’t feel priced out. The Premier League must lead by example but by today’s standards it is going in the opposite direction in terms of ticket prices.
It has been over 25 years since fans have had the choice to stand at Valley Parade and most home regulars much prefer to sit, and the atmosphere comes when we win games, but when there is an atmosphere, it doesn’t always project to be audible in all areas of the ground. At Newcastle there is a choice of railed seating in the away end, high in the gods and for home supporters in the Gallowgate end where traditionally the atmosphere had come from.
Club Business Strategy (with regards to fan engagement)
We asked for an update on fans’ surveys, in particularly on how supporters feel after the game and feeling valued. The Club would get back to us on this.
Improving our structured dialogue / Fan Engagement
First, we looked at the Trust’s proposal – statement and additional wording and amendments to go on the Club’s Fan Engagement Plan (FEP) below.
The intention for this is for the Club to show equal parity between the Supporters Board and Supporters Trust when engaging with supporters’ groups. In the FEP the Club has a quote / statement from the SB Chair, has all the month in the year it meets with the SB and is included in in its consultation when it comes to ‘Heritage Assets’.
Trust proposed Chair quote /statement:
"Bantams Supporters Trust very much welcomes the Club’s Fan Engagement Plan. It shows the Club is committed to involving supporters in its development and growth as a football club, all of which continue to improve.
There has been a huge emphasis around fan engagement in recent years, and the fan-led review (a process of consultation with the Football Supporters Association (FSA) along with affiliate supporters’ trusts) was a prerequisite for an incoming Football Governance Bill.
We have gauged the Club’s views over recent years about the many key aspects of football such as FSA proposals within the Fan-Led Review, the Governance Bill, and national issues such as TV revenue and redistribution as well as, of course the concerns that affect Bradford City supporters.
We value the Club’s readiness to engage with us and we look forward to working closely on initiatives that bring supporters together and Bradford’s diverse community together to ever improve and enrich the Club’s fan engagement process."
Quarterly meeting arrangement
Also, in keeping with a quarterly arrangement of meetings with the Trust, it would be good to see that in writing on the FEP by adding February, May, August and November for meetings with us on the Fan Engagement Calendar. Obviously, these are a guide and would be 'subject to change"
Additional proposed text amendment on Heritage Assets
On Heritage Assets, it says, "...will involve thorough consultation with the Supporters Board." If you can add, "...and Bantams Supporters Trust"
The Club said it would investigate getting these added.
What is Fan Engagement?
Supporter engagement is a means of giving fans a sense of being closer to the club. A close association encourages and strengthens loyalty. It is a term that has come to encompass everything a club does to communicate with its supporters.
Clubs will be required to publish a FEP on an annual basis which will be overseen by a senior Club official. This requirement builds on the work clubs are already undertaking with supporters including hosting two meetings or fan forums each season to get their views on key issues faced by supporters and clubs.
Stoke City’s FEP is the best example of a template all clubs should aim towards.
Other meetings the Trust would like to attend as part of a consultation process
The Trust explained that it is not always practical in getting a full picture of certain aspects of what the Club does where the Trust would feel the benefit in sharing ideas and feeling consulted at these structured dialogue meeting.
Governance meetings, which are monthly where we send a delegate to, shows good practice at involvement of groups in discussing Inclusion, Equality and Diversity ideas and Community events to attract new layers of supporters to watch City for example.
Other meetings we would like to attend on an ad hoc basis to see how things are moving and how we can add to the discussion are:
Restorative Justice, Crime Reduction, Police – we last met the Club on this specifically over 2 years ago.
Sustainable Football – environmental impact which should include improving public transport, encourage car sharing etc. and broadly speaking the Club reducing its carbon footprint and encouraging fans to do the same. Every year there is a Green Football Weekend.
Catering – we last met Doug, from Tiffin’s on discussing options for supporters and prices over 2 years ago.
Mid-Year Fan Engagement / Consultation
We looked at an FSA model guidance paper to go carefully go through it, as it is this time of the year that our affiliate organization is gathering date ahead of its structured dialogue with the EFL.
The Trust feels it has:
The Trust has with the Club:
The Club says it will look to have something published as a record of meeting with the Trust.
Fans Forum on Radio Leeds
The Trust asked why the Club was set to have its Fans Forum not in front of fans especially when there had been a great improvement in form on the pitch, which had moved the attention away from perceived off the field issues.
The answer was that it was for continuity. It was done last season, and it had worked well it was said. There is going to be a forum in front of fans in the summer as there was last year, and that an in the studio forum on the radio gave an opportunity for fans to ask questions who may not have an opportunity to do so at a live open forum with supporters. It was added that it would be 2 hours long and would be published online.
Football Governance Bill Update
The FSA was at the heart of 2021’s Fan-Led Review of Football Governance which made a range of recommendations to strengthen the game’s governance – most notably the commitment to introduce an independent regulator.
The Bill, which has cross-party is currently going through the ‘Lords’ at the moment, but the Club remain unconvinced the outcome will have the desired effect – that the Premier League will accept redistributing its wealth to help even out the wealth distortion that currently exists within the English football pyramid, and that there is a likelihood that there will be a watering down of the Bill.
The Trust feels that there may be an element of truth in this given the amount of ‘U’ turns the Labour government have done since being elected given what they campaigned for to the electorate before the election. It’s clear they are listening to big business more than its traditional voters.
The other aspect of this Bill was to seek legal ways of preventing Clubs from leaving the leagues to create a European Super League.
But we shall see what comes out. There may be some lobbying of MPs from supporters’ groups when the Bill reaches the ‘commons.
EFL Sky Deal
It was explained from the Trust, we and other supporters’ groups on the FSA’s EFL fans network are monitoring away ticket prices in conjunction with the rescheduling of matches.
The FSA’s recommendation for giving notice for rescheduling is 12 weeks, and Sky’s is a minimum of 4 weeks. In some instances, Sky is breaking their own commitment of notice. The reason the FSA’s recommendation is a much longer period is to take into consideration travel and hotel bookings when fans plan for away trips.
It’s clear that most fans prefer a 3pm Kick Off.
The Club said that it opposed the original fixture of a Doncaster Rovers away on a Monday evening.
Maintenance Costs
The Club said that maintenance costs are an on-going challenge. Although the stadium is modern, it is still over 25 years old and as a result needs on-going maintenance to the building. More than £70k has been spent on the pitch and drainage.
Ownership
The Club said that the rental cost is more than £500K, though there is sponsorship income from Flamingo Land. We discussed a hypothetical idea of fans raising part of the funds needed for the Club to own the stadium it outright. It was thought not to be viable.
Any Other Business
The electronic (LED) advertising hoardings situated behind the goal at the Bradford End were raised, because at the last game, there were many supporters who thought they were too bright, obscuring the goal-mouth action. They were previously in use at Fratton Park. It was said that they would pay for themselves as sponsorship partners would buy into them. The lighting was said to be turned down for the next game.