The latest meeting of the Fans Consultative Forum took place at Ashton Gate on September 25th.

Fans liaison officer David Lloyd (DL) chaired the meeting and member Roy Veale provides the minutes below.

INTRO

DL opened the meeting by stating that the club very much valued the contribution of the FCF. He pointed out that both the Club's Membership Scheme and Season Card swipe entrance, recognised as major achievements, had both been discussed and contributions taken on board, from the committee before they had gone 'live'.

FCF

Moving forward and potential of new members, DL asked if they were any members of the committee who watched from the 'East End'. There was one. DL said the club was keen to have all areas of the ground represented and would welcome anyone who would like to be considered for this committee to e-mail him at david.lloyd@bcfc.co.uk with their details.

FAMILIES

DL advised that the club were keen to improve on bringing more families to Ashton Gate. There is a Football League initiative that rates clubs on their performance in this area (we are currently about mid-table) and the club was looking to the likes of Norwich, who are seen as an example of 'best practice'.

A good discussion ensued and the following were suggested:-
• Potential for free tickets for under-7's
• More 'Quid a Kid' games
• Family designated games
• Greater use of 'one-off' sponsorship of games - for example in USA often the first 5,000 in might receive a gift from the sponsor.

DL welcomed the ideas and promised that they would be borne in mind as the club were committed to improving this area and that there would be initiatives trialled at various times of the season.

OTHER BUSINESS

Something that has featured at previous meetings and was raised again was the subject of promoting Healthier eating. While the club had no intention of tampering with the traditional offerings! More options were to be trialled. As part of this discussion the potential of various products that were both 'healthy eating' and perhaps with a link to a player were debated.

The idea of a specific areas of the website for young supporters was raised which could feature general interviews, for example a player discussing his diet and what he eats healthily, etc. Also the potential of interactive games was raised.

The subject of the club's Open Day was raised and while everyone agreed the idea was excellent; DL confirmed they would look at where things could have been better. Communication was emphasised as the key issue.

Also raised was the subject of birthday cards for the City Redz. The number of members had been the criteria for membership increased dramatically and DL offered to investigate with a view to ensuring any 'teething' problems had been addressed.

PA in the Wedlock Stand - DL had taken the opportunity of standing in this area prior to the Doncaster game and agreed the sound system was poor. He explained that when the commitment had been made to update the sound systems (successfully) elsewhere in the ground, this area was not seen as necessary as, at the time it was not envisaged being used a lot.

As well as not providing a reasonable sound system to both our own supporters there is another essential reason why this is examined fully. For 'Health & Safety' reasons alone the club needs to ensure it can communicate speedily and clearly to all areas of the ground. DL confirmed he will raise this to the appropriate executives of the club.

Pocket Money Items in the shop - The view was expressed that many of the products were of an extortionate price and out of reach of kid's pocket money. DL confirmed, within the strict boundaries set by space and security, the intention was to stock lower price items in the run up to Christmas.

The issue was raised regarding supporters leaving before the end of the game and in particular those that loitered in the gang ways. DL recognised the issue and the fact that despite several initiatives to address the problem, we were still short of an acceptable solution. He did say though he would look at the issue of the area for wheelchair supporters which were affected by this.

The point was made that you are allowed to bring in soft drinks in plastic bottles with tops on, but if purchased in the ground the top was removed. DL acknowledged this and confirmed the club would look to change this starting with drinks purchased in the family enclosure.

The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 6th.