Fans Forum 8/7/04
The following is a series of brief notes taken for the first R&DFC Fan’s Forum held in the Kimberley Suite at 7:00p.m. on 8/7/04. Apologies in advance if I have missed anything, but I was trying to pay attention & write at the same time, something us builders are not renowned for!!
The forum was chaired by David Suddens C.E.O., with Stephen Griggs chairman & Alan Wright the new financial director also present. Apologies were made for Ernie & Stewart Robson who were both forced to miss the event due to illness.
There was a good attendance with approx. 240 supporters present. David advised that he would explain the current situation & would then answer all questions afterwards.
With the aid of Dean Howells operating the powerpoint presentation, David proceeded to run through the financial figures, etc for the past 4 seasons. This did not make good reading, turnover was approximately £2 million a year, whilst large expense being incurred by players wages & bonuses, rent/rates, stadium upkeep, administration costs, programme costs, etc, resulted in circa £2.5 million loss per season. This deficit was having to be funded by Max & Stephen.
During this similar period the Griggs Group’s business interests took a down turn, dropping to a £60 million loss during 2002-2003. Thankfully things seem to be picking up for the business now though, with hopefully profitable times ahead.
On the back of the Groups troubles the banks began putting pressure on Max to remove the burden of the football clubs losses & it was agreed that Max would cease sponsorship in July 2004. Hence the club was put up for sale.
Things had to change to save the club as by February 2004 no new owners had come forward & costs had not been reduced. Something needed to be done quickly as by March/April the club were weeks away from administration. Something that Max & Stephen did not want, as they wanted to safe guard both the club & the local businesses, that would have been affected by this. That is why management changed & players had to be released. The board was faced with the choice of keeping the players & staying up, but possibly putting the club into administration or hoping that the remaining players could get the few points that we needed for survival.
There have been 6 serious enquiries to purchase the club, but all raised issues that proved impossible to overcome;
- Could the losses be eliminated? It was demonstrated that with control & cost cutting they could be reduced.
- Could the land be purchased for nothing or very little? As the land is owned by the Griggs Group, the banks would not permit an asset to be given away.
- Would Griggs continue to fund the losses by sponsorship, etc? Some sponsorship was offered, but how can you offer to cover the losses of what would become somebody else’s business?
- Would Griggs give warranties/guarantees over any future losses/shortfalls? This again would be impossible to agree to. How do you guarantee something that you have no control over when it is no longer your club?
- Max asked for a guarantee that football would always be played at Nene Park. No body would commit to a long term agreement, again as banks would be involved, would they lend money against a piece of land that had little value because football was guaranteed to be played on it! This was obviously very difficult to negotiate.
3 serious potential buyers came forward, each deal broke down due to one or a combination of the above issues.
Administration had & would have been a distinct possibility, due to the lack of new purchasers, had it not been for Max & Stephen approaching the banks with a plan to keep the club going. New management would be needed to implement & control new, tighter budgets. Thankfully the banks agreed to extend the sponsorship.
The prediction for the forthcoming season’s financial performance was discussed & at present the clubs loss would be reduced to a predicted loss of £850,000. This is being achieved by reduced players wages & bonuses, cutting costs in other areas such as programmes, etc, to look to maximise revenue by utilising the clubs facilities & increased ticket prices, etc.
Programme costs were given as an example of an area that has to be reviewed, with £81,000 being spent & £38,000 income from the sales last season! This situation cannot continue & David is looking into reducing the number of pages to cut costs & of course the free programmes to season ticket holders has had to stop. Other areas are also being investigated.
Max has always had a wish to build an asset for the local community, providing fun & football, there is no denying that that is exactly what he ahs acheived.
There is obviously now a new board established, made up of David, Stephen, Alan & with the hopeful addition of 2 other new directors who will come from a football background to bring experience.
It was confirmed that the board will welcome a representative from each of the Supporters clubs to attend board meetings & obviously Ernie & Stewart Robson will also be involved.
The fans forums will be held every 3 months. Stephen advised that the involvement of the supporters is important to the future of the club.
David concluded the opening presentation & asked for questions from the gathered supporters. A flurry of raised hands followed & the honour of being the first R&DFC supporter to ask a question at the inaugural fan’s forum fell to Mr. Red Dragon!
The rent & rates outgoings was queried with David explaining that the large part of this figure fell to rates. The 250 year lease still exists on the club & a peppercorn rent is paid to the land owner, the Griggs Group.
The budget for players wages & bonuses has been reduced by £1.4 million & Ernie is working to a budget of £1 million for the season.
The issue of charging a fee to park was raised as a way of generating revenue for the club. It was confirmed that the club are going to set a charge, but the figure has not been set yet. This was a popular suggestion with those attending.
A further suggestion to offer permits for car parking to be paid up front was made.
The quality of the programme was queried, if the programme is reduced to 32 pages, taking out the adverts, would there be enough room to get club information in? David advised the club are looking at ways of resolving this issue.
A question was put forward on behalf of the Patrons & sponsors of the club, they still await confirmation of package prices for this season. David advised that a Corporate event had been arranged for 14/7/04, he apologised for the delay in the announcement, but obviously due to the uncertainty of the clubs situation this had had to be delayed. It was also queried that should the package prices prove to be too expensive the discounted season ticket price would have been missed, David confirmed that in this event the discounted rate would be offered to those interested in taking them up.
It was confirmed that all other previous directors of the club had resigned, including Max.
The issue of Strikers not being opened during the Euro’s following England’s exit was discussed, as again this was a potential source of revenue. David agreed that the facilities must be used to maximise income, but currently the bar is costing the club money to run.
Could the club look at utilising Seasons Bistro as over spill from Strikers bar on matchdays? The club are investigating ways to improve the situation.
Suggestions were made that the community should make more use of the facilities the club has to offer.
David was asked if the club will appoint a new marketing manager to assist in increasing revenue. He confirmed this is something the club are considering, but could not confirm any details at present.
A suggestion was made that season ticket holders could be offered a chance to upgrade their ticket at selected matches to corporate. This could be done on a discounted rate to encourage use of the facilities, as was demonstrated at the R&DFC v Man Utd youth match. This would be considered.
The issue of ticket allocation affecting the ability for family groups to be accommodated together was raised & wether Block EB could be retained for home fans only next season to make available more seats.
A suggestion was made from one of our Bedford supporters that the club should look to advertise more in the Bedford area, possibly via the free papers. There is a large catchment area untapped at present by R&DFC & they are not receiving information about the club. David acknowledged that the club must look to increase it’s catchment area. Other areas were suggested, Wellingborough, St. Neots & Huntingdon, even Kettering!!
It was suggested that the club look to utilise the supporters skills. Amongst our support there are people willing & able to offer help in many areas. David accepted this offer & agreed that this is a way forward.
A plea was made by a supporter for further voluntary help with maintenance, etc around the club & for anyone prepared to offer help to come forward. This led to a thank you to Jane Corby for all her efforts behind the scenes, giving up a lot of her own time to stay & help out & supervise the work. This was met by a round of applause from everyone present & rightly deserved too!
Is the club still up for sale? David still get’s regular approaches from interested parties, however at this moment the intention is to get the club stabilised & hopefully with the Grigg’s Group’s business improving, we can become settled, however the situation will be reviewed if necessary.
Will cost cutting affect the playing side of the club? David advised that ultimately football is what the club is all about & it is not the intention to interfere with this. The budget has been set & with the excellent facilities available it is hoped that loan players may be tempted to the club as needed to bolster the squad.
The youth set up is seen as a key element to the club & will continue unaffected also.
Stephen stated that our current situation is being experienced by many other clubs also at present & is not just restricted to R&DFC. With realistic wages & spending the clubs finances should improve.
Could the club afford to gain promotion? David accepted that this could be a problem, but efforts had been made to address the bonus & wage structure that had resulted in previous problems & hopefully this would help reduce the impact.
Following last season’s trial with early opening of the Airwair concourse for away fans, should the club consider trying this again as many of the clubs have visited previously & with a bit of advertising will remember how good the facilities are & will hopefully make use of them early. David noted this.
Is there any plan to develop or sell the surrounding land or facilities? At present there are no plans to develop the land. The club are looking to maximise the potential of the facilities. For example could the Sports Centre be opened as a public gym? Possibly talk to the council over utilising the facilities.
Can the club not use the free pullout “Guide” section in the Evening Telegraph to advertise forthcoming fixtures at Nene Park, as our neighbours do? David asked Mark Lea, who was present, to oblige!
Can the club utilise the ticket data base to target catchment areas? Everything will be considered to improve attendance.
We have sponsor a player, could we have sponsor the manager? The suggestion was for a raffle to be held to win the sponsorship of Ernie for a month, with the chance to meet Ernie, etc & get your name/picture in the programme.
Will Radio Diamonds be running this season? David did not want to discuss this as he is reviewing the situation at present.
When Brian Talbot left did the gate increase? No evidence that the gates went up or down.
There is an easy pay scheme available to help with the purchase of season tickets, spread over 6 months, which incurs a small handling charge. Those interested should contact Nikki or Alison in the ticket office.
Will the club be accepting credit cards again? Alan Wright advised that the club is currently in talks with the service provider & are hoping to have the facility available in approx 2 weeks.
Can the Docshop look at increasing the range of stock held, e.g. Dr Martens footwear, etc? David agreed this is an area that needs to be explored possibly introducing other brands & ranges.
A supporter with a catering background queried how such good facilities were losing money & asked why the club had chosen to use Lindleys? David answered that at the time that Lindleys were appointed there was no alternative. The deal actually offered a guaranteed income to the club.
Could the players be involved more to help promote the facilities, such as kids party packages with a guest player attending? David stated that Ernie had agreed that the players would become more involved in helping the club in promotion work, etc.
Will the club look into selling some of our good young players, to raise income? If there is interest shown in a player then it would have to be considered.
Some supporters do not have access to a computer & would like to put forward ideas & questions to the club? Supporters can forward their suggestions, questions or ideas to jane Corby at the club by phone 01933 652000, e-mail jane.corby@airwair.co.uk or if you would like Pigman or myself to put them forward on your behalf at one of the regular supporters meeting, please post them on the message board for our attention.
Why was Rodney Jack allowed to leave? David made a tongue in cheek response that the club had been inept! It had been noted that Rodney’s commitment to the club seemed in question. The club knew he was wanted by Oldham & he wanted to go, following some negotiations with all parties involved it was decided that he should be allowed to go, to save his £100,000+ wages from the budget.
David & Stephen concluded the forum by thanking everyone for their time, suggestions & questions.
Another forum will be arranged in 3 months time. If you are interested in the future of your club & would like your say then come along.
Hopefully the above will help the supporters to have a clear understanding of why certain events had to take place at the end of last season. If costs hadn’t been cut when they were we may not be here now!
I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank Stephen, David, Alan & all those supporters & staff that made the effort to attend last night. I think it was a successful event & is surely a positive step forward.
Bring on the football!!!!
Airwair Diamond
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