CUSG meeting summary - East Stand Offices, Brunton Park, 15.01.18
Attendance – Simon Clarkson (Chair, London Branch), Alastair Woodcock, John Kukuc, Mike Routledge (CUOSC), Kate Rowley, Keith Elliott (CUSAT), John Ireland (West Cumbria Travel), Barry Carter (Disabled Fans’ Group), Nigel Clibbens, Phil King, Nigel Dickinson (CUFC)
Apologies – Keith Ward (Scottish Supporter), Jim Mitchell (CUOSC)
Minutes of the last meeting were accepted.
Items of action from last meeting included in the minutes.
Ground/Stewarding
A banner had appeared at the Sheffield Wednesday match. Later there was an altercation and a supporter was ejected. This individual was not banned for this incident, pending completion of the proper judicial process. He has since been at the Crewe match but is the subject of ongoing criminal court proceedings.
A bottle was thrown from the Crewe section in the East Stand during Saturday’s match. The club will pass CCTV footage to Crewe for them to address the issue with their supporters.
Improvements have been made to the luminosity of the floodlights and these have recently come into use.
Some remedial work is required in the Warwick Road End due to leaks in the roof.
Three stewards are now looking after disabled supporters. Kate & Barry put on record the excellent performance of these stewards.
Provision of a big screen at the Waterworks End was in hand but installation was unlikely before start of next season.
Catering/Bars
Issues arose during the Accrington game, but these have since been addressed and corrected, due to operational changes.
A meeting had been held with ABM personnel to address ongoing service. Alcoholic drinks for the time being were still being decanted from bottles into plastic cups to eliminate the risk of drinking in view of the pitch.
Flags
Acquisition of flags put on hold due to other more pressing issues.
Marketing
The club’s website and social media outlets were performing well and a lot of content was being put online. Phil stated the club was looking at altering the mix of content on offer, with a view to providing more marketing and promotional information.
14,000+ fans were now being contacted regularly via email.
The club’s IT systems were not unified which meant some people appeared in different databases held by the club’s various departments. Phil said this would be addressed as part of ongoing improvements.
The club had a reciprocal arrangement with Cumbrian Newspapers allowing it one advert per week.
Attempts to put advertising on a big display adjacent to Hardwicke Circus had been unsuccessful due to the facility being fully booked until February.
Some fans had complained about the ticket office being closed on Tuesday 2 January. This had been notified in November and on other occasions but the club accepted they should have provided a reminder over the holiday period and on the day.
Ticket initiatives were at the planning stage for February/March.
EFL Meetings
The EFL had four meetings to be attended by the club coming up during January and February. Finance Meeting 18/1, then a Commercial Meeting, a League 1 and League 2 club meeting and finally an all club meeting in February. A change to the transfer window was being proposed for consideration at the meeting of all clubs to be held on Feb 22. This would potentially bring it into line with the Premier League window which will close before the start of the season in early August. The issue of 3G pitches will also be considered.
Finances
Unchanged with £2,280.21 in the CUSG bank account.
Supporters’ group projects
CUOSC had indicated support for the provision of a Fan Zone adjacent to the West Stand.
CUSAT said they would provide funds for the new lens to be purchased by the media department
CUSG would target further improvements to the Sunset Suite.
Items of interest
Disabled Group
A council rep had enquired if the club had a disabled policy. The club does have a policy. This will allow the Disabled Group to apply for grants.
The raffle at the Forest Green match had raised £145. A £200 donation had helped take the amount in the bank account to £845.
The county council could be in a position to source a bus shelter for away disabled supporters.
West Cumbrian Travel
Reported reduced numbers travelling.
CUOSC
Involved with meetings regarding Keith Curle, ABM and ongoing stadium development plans. Council also involved with the latter.
Any Other Business
The club was progressing kit designs for 2018/19. A number of alternative designs and colour options for the next season’s away shirt where shared to get feedback from CUSG.
There was some support for a yellow away kit for next season. Overall, the favoured choice was purple, followed by yellow. There was little support for white. The Club would seek samples for further consideration.
Next meeting – 26.02.18