Thanks Pete. Is the separate Questions and Answers document also available?
Good point thanks malc
Questions For The Supporters Forum Meeting on the 21stAugust 2024
1. With road closures announced for this season after games, will some refreshment outlets stay open for a short period of time? (Coventry City London Supporters Club / Diamond Club / Rugby Supporters Club) – This is something we are discussing with the CBS Arena.
2. Will the club be discussing the possibility of special buses to/from Coventry Station/City Centre? Also, are the club in discussion with the train operator to amend the Saturday timetable to Coventry later than 16.50pm? (Diamond Club / Coventry City London Supporters Club/ Sky Blue Talk – Ongoing conversations have been taking place with the local bus provider to increase relationship. Supporter survey has also been issued to get feedback regarding locations for potential shuttle service on a matchday and the potential uptake. Conversations have also been taken place with the local train company and progress is being made in this area.
3. Is there a reason why an Adult supporter in the Family Zone cannot up-grade their adult ticket to another part of the ground without having to pay the Full matchday price? (Coventry City London Supporters Club) – If an adult wants to attend the game who has a season card in the family zone without a child they can list there ticket on the ticket exchange provided and then purchase a ticket in another part of the ground, they will receive a pro-rata credit for the season card element which will be used to offset part of the ticket price.
4. What is the latest on extending the current 5 year ground sharing agreement. (Diamond Club / Sky Blue Talk)Doug King update
5. Is there a delay on the second and third kits being announced? If so, why is this? (Sky Blue Talk / South Wales Supporters Club) No delay on announcement. All pre-planned.
6. Are there any plans for more work at Ryton? Is buying the connexion a consideration? Linked – Any plans for any changes to the academy? (Sky Blue Talk) Doug King update
7. Why was the Safe Standing not put in block 15 as this was the preferred location from the Supporters Survey? Any plans to add more safe standing and extend to other blocks? (Sky Blue Talk) – We fully understand the position with block 15, however, following conversations with all connected parties it was agreed on the currentinstall location due to the potential movement of supporters to the segregation position. The other consideration was a labour issue as a number of other clubs were looking at installing a similar product around the county so only a certain capacity could be installed. We are continuing to review as we want to ensure supporters have the best experience as possible.
8. Are there any plans to have a formal supporters consultative forum rather than what we currently have? (Sky Blue Talk) – This is something the club is reviewing. We need to ensure what we rollout is fit for purpose and is suitable in all divisions, we have just published our supporter engagement roadmap for the season and will continue to look to improve on what we offer as well as our current offering.
9. Has the roof been fixed in blocks 21/22 above disabled fans? (Sky Blue Talk) Not aware of this issue so we will look to review.
10. Are there plans to put match / season tickets on Apple Wallet and the Android version? (Sky Blue Talk) – An area which is currently being explored, along with stadium access system etc to help improve speed of entry but also supporter experience. We need to look at all options to ensure all accessibility needs are considered.
11. Will there be a season ticket exchange for all season ticket holders in the future , not just the family zone ticket holders? (Coventry City London Supporters Club / South Wales Supporters Club) – We are reviewing all options, however, in majority of clubs who use the ticket exchange this is normally turned on when the ground is sold out to general admission.
12. How many Season Tickets have been sold to date? (South Wales Supporters Club) -Final number will be confirmed once all sale deadlines have passed.
13. The Darmstadt away game was a big success, would the club look into maybe making it an annual friendlyalternating home and away with Darmstadt? (South Wales Supporters Club) – The Darmstadt game was a fantastic experience and it was great to see Sky Blue Fans mixing with the home fans, the feedback we received from all pre-season opposition was fantastic .
14. Home Shirt Quality. Issues with print quality, logo and sponsors lettering not straight and issues with lettering falling off after one wash. The club appear to have dealt with supporters who have raised concerns. However, has the club looked to improve the quality etc before the release of the Away kit and possible third kit this season?(Proud Sky Blue Members) - It’s great to hear that any concerns raised have been dealt with. We have had around 50 issues raised from over 14,000 shirt sales to date regarding slightly off-centre badges which in-turn has offset the alignment of sponsors logos. We have addressed this with hummel. Regarding washing there is rigid testing carried out as part of the production process to ensure this does not happen based on care label instruction and we have noted these on the website. We advise fans to always follow these care instructions to ensure this does not happen.
15. Can we have an up-date on the repairs to the Wall Of Fame bricks and any longer term maintenance plans? (Proud Sky Blue Members) - A working group is being set-up to discuss this sensitive area and what the options are open to us. We have done some short term maintenance as we had some blocks falling away from the wall.
16. Are the stadium seats due to be cleaned ahead of the Oxford game on the 16th August? It was noticeable during the pre-season games that there was a lot of bird droppings on seats and flaking paint on the floor? (Proud Sky Blue Members) We have raised this with the stadium, if any supporter is aware of any issues, please raise with a steward or text via the matchday text service.
17. Can more big screens be installed in the concourse to watch the game on if you are queueing for food and drink? (Rugby Supporters Club) – Something we can discuss with the arena.
18. Leaving Car Park C after the game has become a free for all. Can car park attendants be retained to cover the post game period to help with this issue? (Rugby Supporters Club)
Before the 2023 / 2024 season, Car Park C was upgraded with new car park lining and an increased capacity of 911 car parking spaces. Alongside this, the ANPR was upgraded on entry and speed bumps were installed to ensure vehicles registration numbers were correctly captured.
Last season, we trialled having a number of staff within the car park for exit and installed exit lanes for egress to this car park. Unfortunately, on a number of occasions, drivers got out of their vehicles and moved the temporary equipment we installed which led to further issues with driver behaviour.
For the 2024 / 2025 season, there will be a short road closure of the A444 but exit from Car Park C towards Coventry City Centre is maintained. As the A444 is closed there is minimal opposing traffic for this car park and as such the exit should flow better. This should relive the pressure within this car park and ultimately mean vehicular flow in and around the car park becomes more compliant.
Alongside this, the speed bumps have been removed from the exit as we have noticed the ANPR system is able to capture vehicles without having to reduce their speed to 5mph. This again should improve exit flow rates from the car park which should further relieve the pressure of 900 vehicles trying to exit the car park at once.
We will continually monitor the exit from, and driver behaviour, within this car park. We will review the exit times and vehicular flow around this car park following the Oxford United fixture on 16 August 2024 and see if there are any improvements that can be made.
19. Sky Blue International members (SBI)on average attend three to four games a season, some have now purchased season tickets despite only being able to attend a few games per season. Could a ticket exchange be set-up for SBI members to help more overseas Sky Blues fans attend? (Sky Blues International) - Something we can review.
20. Why can’t supporters take a bottle of water into the stadium? Why do the staff selling soft drinks have to try and rip off the top of the plastic bottle when most are now firmly attached? Holding a water bottle without a top is seriously annoying and can lead to spillages. (Coventry City London Supporters Club)
Bottles of water and bottle tops are not permitted due to the possibility of them being used as missiles.
If there is any medical requirements will be managed discretely by the stand managers.