The Open Supporters Meeting will take place this evening (23rd May 2018) in the Bisley Suite, Rodney Parade. Doors Open: 6.30pm. Meeting Starts: 7pm.
This blog will be LIVE with updates from the Open Supporter Meeting from 6.55pm.
Summary
19:01
We are now live from the Bisley Suite at Rodney Parade.
19:03
We are beginning with a welcome from operational Chairman Gavin Foxall.
19:04
Gavin is introducing the 12 Trust Directors who are in attendance. There are: Gavin Foxall, Shaun Johnson, Colin Faulkner, Bob Herrin, Pete Madigan, Mike Everett, Kevin Ward, Mark Crook, Rob Santwris, and Ryan Courtney.
19:05
Gavin has thanked CEO Alex Tunbridge for his work and efforts since he has been at the Club.
19:06
Alex is now doing a Club Presentation which begins with an overview of the Season on the field.
19:07
We used 36 players which included 7 loans. The first team's disciplinary has improved and 6 scholars made their first team debut.
19:08
Alex is discussing the new transfer window which will now end the day before the Premier League Season and is already open.
19:09
We are now taking a quick look at the pre-season friendlies. We have matches against Championship Clubs organised and four of our Away Matches are already available on our "Fixtures Page".
19:11
A brief look at Retail. Generally the retail performance is much improved thanks to new products from FBT and the work by some of the directors. The negatives are that there have been two theft attempts.
19:12
In 2018/19 the Club Shop will be moving to where the Dragons Shop used to be.
19:13
Our match day attendance for 2017/18 was 3,492 which is almost 1,000 more people on average attending the matches every week! This is the highest average home attendance since Newport County AFC's return to the league.
19:13
The Club was awarded the Family Excellence Award for the second year in a row.
19:15
Newport County AFC were also the proud recipients of the EFL's staff engagement. Thank you to all the staff, volunteers, stewards and anyone who works and assists on a match day for helping us win this.
19:16
We came 37th out of all the EFL Clubs in terms of the Family Friendliness of the Club. This is not bad but we will look to improve next season.
19:16
Alex has now moved on to Ticketing.
19:17
A new ticketing system will be in place which has been signed up to for three years.
19:18
What does this new ticketing system mean?
* Increased opening hours
* New WRU Office (selling both Dragons and County tickets)
* We will have a booking history and can create loyalty points
* Among many other efforts.
19:19
Alex is currently reminding supporters that 1st June 2018 is the FINAL deadline to take advantage of the Loyalty Offer on Season Tickets.
19:20
There is a brief discussion about GDPR, what this means for the Club and our supporters.
Please see the article which went out earlier today for more information about GDPR.
19:23
We are having a brief overview of the Academy which includes the Academy's announcement earlier today that they have achieved a EPPP Catergory 3.
19:26
There is a brief overview of the continuing fantastic work being done by the County in the Community team.
19:28
Commercial: Rebecca Hemming took over the commercial role just after the Leeds match; however, she has recently been taken seriously ill and is on sick leave.
The Club's directors and staff have been pulling together to work on the commercial interests of the Club.
19:30
"This has been a season of learning, growth and success on and off the pitch."
Alex recaps a Season which has been forged under the idea of One Club One County.
19:37
Shaun Johnson has now begun the Supporters Trust presentation.
19:39
We begin with a finance review which is addressing: the £350k loss in 2016/17 due to contractual pay-offs and the position of the team, changes in manager; increase in WRU staging costs; ongoing contributions to the Desso Pitch; lower than anticipated replay income.
19:43
We are in a better financial position than we were last year.
19:44
We will continue to review the finances and ensure that the commercial income increases as well.
19:45
We have become a lot better at forecasting our expected financial expenditure and knowing when the difficulties and easier times will hit.
19:46
For context, Shaun is highlighting the context that the average loss for a Football Club in League Two is 506k
19:52
We have now handed over to Mark Crook.
19:52
Mark has said: "I'd like to make it clear that we are coming to you in the most robust financial situation we have been in since my involvement in the Club".
19:54
The Trust contribution to the Club has been less than £30,000 in 2016/17.
The Club has relied on Cup runs and Player sales which we cannot do in the long term.
19:54
However, this is not doom and gloom as the Club is in a good position.
19:55
We now must look at how we make a viable future for this future Club.
19:56
Kevin Ward is now taking the microphone and has begin by praising the work of the Supporters Trust in the past few years.
"Apart from the money owed to Les Scadding, the Club has no debts which is virtually unheard of for a Football Club".
19:57
Kevin is now addressing the question: Do the people of the City want professional sport in the centre of Newport?
19:59
There are a sequent of events that have led us to ask this question:
- WRU increase in cost base
- Looming end of Rodney Parade agreement in 2023
- The positive publicity the city recieved from the Cup run was staggering
20:00
The value of the Club is almost more highly thought of outside Newport than inside the City. This can be seen by the EFL awarding us the most engaging club, away supporters believing they get a great experience at Rodney Parade, the Cup Run.
20:01
Many Club will likely be envious of the fantastic location of Rodney Parade.
20:01
Colin Faulkner has taken the microphone to discuss the Supporters Trust Model.
20:03
There are around 1500 members but the Trust is not generating enough money. Therefore, the Club will be entering a period of consultation with a survey being launched online after the meeting and in the Ticket Office from 10am tomorrow.
This period of consultation will finish on the 4th July.
20:04
Feedback from the Survey will be collated and reviewed by the trust in July.
20:04
Rob Santwris has now taken the microphone to address the question: What have we done?
20:05
Rob is now talking about the Commercial side of the Club.
"You, the supporters, can really help us. You know the product, you can help us sell this product to commercial partners."
20:06
Rob has also readdressed the points Kevin Ward has made about a discussion with the Council around Sport in the City and how important that might be.
20:07
How can you help?
Firstly, complete the survey so we can have that feedback.
Secondly, if you can contribute more please do.
20:08
Rob has asked for supporters to "tell us, don't talk about us" - if you're not happy with the experience, call me and hopefully we can sort it out.
20:08
Gavin Foxall is summarising the meeting.
20:10
We are now breaking for 5 minutes before the Q&A begins.
20:25
Ryan Courtney is hosting the Q&A Section of the evening.
20:26
The first question is whether there are any plans for Bar Amber?
20:27
Gavin: The building is condemned from the Fire Officer. We are currently waiting for a response from the FAW on a proposal put to them. If that doesn't happen, then we will look to other options and create a base for the first team.
20:28
Question from the floor: Depending on the result of the survey, if most people go for Option One (stay as we are) or any option is that a mandate to the board and then they will persue that option?
20:33
Colin: The survey is open to all supporters, not just Trust members. The most popular option and feedback will be looked into and discussed within the board, decisions will be run past the board.
Shaun: There's no rush at the moment but if there's an overwhelming response for one of the options then obviously we will need to take that in to account. If we continue to put money in to the Club, what does that mean in terms of selling?
The consultation will form part of the overall review.
Mark: Another part of this is viability. It's not a straight choice of ownership, it's about viability and stability.
Kevin: It costs you £10 a year to be an owner of a football Club. We've already seen that that isn't enough. Perhaps it should be £10 a month, suddenly the Club is raising money.
20:34
Question: What is the stratergy of the WRU? Are they here to drive us out?
20:39
Shaun: The WRU side. We have a good relationship and feel they have been fair. We are discussing with them the cost of a match day. Rodney Parade charged us less. But the desso pitch was a great investment.
The long-term agreement is ongoing as we look at the whole model, the location.
20:41
Ryan: I have been asked a question from someone who didn't want to ask a question in front of the room: "What does Newport Council do for Newport County?"
Gavin: We meet with the council on a regular basis and discuss a number of challenges and positives. They're engaging sport consultants, city plan.
Will they help us if there's something that the Club are doing to put us on the map? Yes, an example of this is the Turn the City Black and Amber campaign.
20:43
Question: We hear that we have contributed to the Desso pitch and fixtures in the ground? We can blame the Council for the fact their are no signs pointing you to the ground but who can we blame for the lack of "Newport COunty" once you're in the ground?
20:44
Gavin: We are starting a debate around "what does this look like in the future"? Do I think we can have more of a presence around the ground, yes. And that's a discussion as we go forward.
20:44
Question: I thought the Cup Run had secured the Club for the next three years, is that not the case?
20:45
Shaun: The football money, cup money, and player sales can only get us so far and if we want to progress, then the investment needs to increase.
20:47
Question: The first point is about Bar Income and need to recieve more bar income.
The second point is that the supporters will not want to lose the Supporters Trust - what is amount per month the Trust would need to put in to make the Trust Viable?
20:49
Shaun: We think around £10,000 a month to make the Trust viable. At the moment, the trust contribute around £40,000 per year.
20:50
The Trust Survey gives supporters an opportunity to answer questions around what they are able to contribute and the Directors have asked supporters to answer this after the meeting.
21:01
We are now taking the final question.
Question: Surely the long-term aim is that we look for our own stadium and I wondered if the board thought that way?
And are there collective thoughts on what option we should take going forward?
21:04
Kevin: To answer the question on the stadium, no we haven't discussed this in any great detail. There isn't a huge amount of land out there.
For the second question: I wouldn't like to say my preference as we don't want to influence the survey.
21:05
Gavin has thanked everyone in the room for their attendance and questions.
21:05
The meeting has now closed. The Trust Survey will be available shortly.