Topic: Stadium Redevelopment
Following last week’s planning approval, what are the next steps for the project?
Club response: The club is delighted that its plan to redevelop the main stand has overcome another hurdle after being approved by the Rushcliffe Borough Council planning committee. It is not anticipated that there will be any significant difficulties in complying with the final stages of the planning process which relate to the formal completion of the Section 106 agreements and finalising the conditions attached to the permission.
The approval by the committee now means that the club can consult and negotiate in greater detail with construction companies and all other parties including supporters on when and how the construction of the development will be delivered. These are complex questions which also include a degree of sporting input. The club is not therefore able to commit to any specific timeline at this stage but, by definition, the planning permission itself is not open ended and is time limited so the project will need to be commenced within the foreseeable future. The club will be providing regular updates on the position as we move forward.
Topic: Ticketing and home memberships
Club statement on ticketing: Before responding to questions on ticketing in detail the club would like to emphasise that it previously committed to make only modest increases in prices for season card renewals and seasonal hospitality renewals for this season. This is in recognition for the support that these fans gave the club last season after such a challenging start to the campaign. In addition, away supporters are all subject to the maximum imposed cap of £30 per ticket. In view of the current capacity at the City Ground, the increase in away supporters and the obligations as regards player and staff and community ticketing, this means that in broad terms 83% of the supporters in the City Ground on a match day will be watching Premier League football at only a modest increase in the prices previously charged for Championship football. We believe that we compare very favourably with other Premier League clubs on the pricing for our home fixtures.
What rules or requirements prevented Forest from selling new season cards?
Club response: The Premier League rules state that a reasonable number of tickets must be available to purchase on a match-by-match basis. In addition, the club has to consider the impact of the stadium development and the accompanying reduced capacity that will bring. Furthermore, the club wants to make the possibility of watching the team a realistic possibility for as many supporters as possible as it is aware that many loyal fans cannot afford or commit to season cards for financial and other reasons. With the pre-existing level of season cards there are in the region of 4,500 to 5,000 tickets available for general admission for each match. This was felt to be a fair and proportionate number taking into account all the relevant facts and circumstances.
Were any dispensations possible to reduce the away allocation?
Club response: In simple terms no. The geography of the stadium is such that structurally and operationally we can accommodate an away following of 3,000 supporters. As such we had no basis for requesting any reduction under Premier League rules.
With regards to home supporter relocations, why can’t away supporters be moved from the Lower Bridgford?
Club response: The club considered a number of alternatives, but the only realistic option was to accommodate the away supporters in the Lower Bridgford stand. In addition, this option was the one which minimised the level of disruption to home supporters. The Lower Bridgford is the only viable option and the safest and most convenient area to accommodate away supporters. This is because the entrances to the away end are directly behind the coach park which is the optimum location from both an operational and safety perspective. Moving supporters into The Brian Clough Stand Lower was raised as a possible solution by supporter groups. This was not considered a viable option as logistically the disruption caused by this would far surpass the benefits. It would also have required structural work to the concourses and increased security outside the ground as away fans would be entering the stadium next to home supporters. Another option raised was to move away supporters across the Bridgford Lower, next to The Peter Taylor Stand. This would lead to away supporters entering the stadium through the Main Car Park, sharing turnstiles with home fans in Block’s A-C. In addition to this, the supporter journey from the coach park to the entrance would become impossible from a security and safety perspective. The club recognises the extent to which fans feel aggrieved when they are asked to give up what they consider to be their seat in the stadium. However it is of paramount importance that we can guarantee the safety of all those who visit the City Ground on a matchday and on the basis of this test the option selected by the club was the only one that was viable and resulted in the lowest level of detrimental impact to our supporters. Furthermore, our Ticket Office and Operational teams worked exceptionally hard to ensure that the impact on relocated home supporters was minimised.
What is the approach towards the pricing for tickets to individual matches for those unable to obtain a season card?
Club response: The club has sought to charge a fair price for the general admission tickets. Accordingly, our proposed prices are very competitive compared to other teams in the division, and particularly so for juniors and concessions. Our most expensive match ticket for an Adult for a Category A fixture is priced at £40. This compares to Fulham charging a price of £100 for tickets for the opening fixture and Under 17 tickets priced as high as £70.
Please can you clarify the club’s position on upgrading concession season cards?
Club response: The club continues to offer ticket upgrades for the 2022-23 season and does not understand the basis for these complaints. The club understands that these complaints have not been accompanied by contemporaneous evidence. The club continues to offer ticket upgrades for the 2022-23 season. This policy will remain under review for the 2023-24 season. Whilst many supporters use this facility in good faith it is regrettable that there is also evidence of abuse of this policy and the seat intended for the child has not been used in this way and has been used as a vehicle for reserving and then obtaining an adult ticket for selected matches. The reason the club has priced Junior season cards so competitively is to encourage as many children to attend fixtures as much possible. The current system does not achieve this objective and the show rate for Junior season cardholders for the 2022-23 season was significantly lower than for any other category of fan. Accordingly, the club will keep this system under review and will take steps to prevent the current abuse of the system. Low prices for children and young supporters was introduced with the best of intentions and is vital to the future of the club.
When will the online ticket exchange be launched?
Club response: The club hopes to launch the online ticket exchange at some point next week. The exchange will open as soon as the stadium is sold out for an identified fixture. Season cardholders who cannot attend a fixture will be able to recoup the pro-rata amount for their ticket should it be resold. This will be credited to their account and be used against the cost of their renewal next season. The club believes that the exchange is fundamental to resolving the current supply and demand for tickets among the fanbase. The club will ban any supporter whose season card (or indeed any other ticket) ends up in the hands of ticket touts. The club will not tolerate the financial exploitation of club supporters by other fans who have access to tickets which other loyal fans do not have and the ticket exchange is relevant to this.
Topic: Away memberships
What is the rationale behind opening up the membership scheme to more people and how were the numbers (400 Priority Plus and 5,000 total) decided upon?
Club response: This response needs to be considered in the context of the answer to the immediately following question also.
The club decided to adopt the new away membership scheme as we believe this to be the fairest way for supporters to attend fixtures away from home this season. The club understands the desire of fans to attend away games but much of the criticism of these schemes which has been aired on social media does not reflect the reality of the schemes and are based on false assumptions about the identity of the fans who attended away games last season.
The starting point is the desire of the club to reward loyalty and to recognise that the supporters who followed the team so brilliantly last season should have an appropriate degree of priority for away tickets this season. The first assessment the club had to make was to analyse and identify the cohort of fans who attended those away matches. It was clear from the evidence that, contrary to the assumptions of many critics of the scheme, there was no direct causal relationship between attendance at away games last season and the purchase of away memberships. It is immediately striking that 42% of all away tickets last season (not including the play off final) were purchased by fans who had no away membership. Furthermore over 50% of away members attended 10 or fewer away fixtures during the season and away members took up less than 50% of the average away allocation. In addition there were several hundred fans who did not have away memberships who attended more than the average number of fixtures attended by away members. It is also relevant that away memberships have never been sold on the basis that they granted rights to away tickets in future seasons. As such it would have been unfair to have created priority memberships which would have consistently purchased the vast bulk of away tickets based solely on previous away memberships.
As such it was felt necessary to extend the scheme beyond those who had previously purchased away memberships and give a better reflection of the loyal fans who went to the away games last season. This extension was not open ended and was limited to season card holders who, by definition, can only sensibly be considered to fall within the definition of “loyal” fans. The criticism that the scheme now permits “non loyal” fans to obtain away tickets is therefore unfair. It is also a reasonable assumption that the season card holders who wished to, bought the additional away memberships and were the same group that attended such a high proportion of away fixtures last season without possessing an away membership.
For the avoidance of doubt the rumour on social media that these tickets are being reserved for corporate members is completely false.
The final number of away members allowed in the new scheme was based on a fair assessment of what would happen if every away member tried to purchase an away ticket for every fixture. On that assumption (which would be the worst case scenario) it is more likely than not (based on the law of averages) that each away member who was not in the Priority Plus cohort would still be able to attend at least 56% of away fixtures (ie at least 10 games). This was considered fair.
As with all tickets for home matches any tickets obtained by away members which end up in the hands of touts will result in the away member who purchased that ticket being banned and losing their away membership rights. Furthermore, the club will consider disciplinary action whenever an away member purchases an away ticket with the intention of giving that ticket to another individual who would not otherwise qualify under the scheme and thereby undermines the priority system.
In devising the away members scheme the club conducted extensive research on the policies and schemes offered by existing Premier League clubs and the club believes that its memberships are comparative to clubs in a similar position.
Why was it decided to have just two levels of priority within the scheme?
Club response: The club felt it appropriate to specifically recognise the loyalty of the 400 supporters who had attended at least 18 of the 23 Championship fixtures last season (ie roughly 80% of the available matches). The Priority One Membership means that in broad terms (if all of the Priority One cohort take up their full allocation) the remaining 4,600 away members will be applying in varying proportions for around 2,600 tickets per fixture. On the basis of a 100% application rate this would give rise to a 56% prospect of purchasing a ticket (10 games). If the demand rate was 75% it would give rise to an 87% prospect (16 games). If last season’s rate of 50% was replicated some tickets would make it to general sale. In the circumstances the club considered that the creation of a third tier was neither fair nor proportionate.
It follows that the scheme adopted by the club was based on evidence rather than false assumptions and reflects the true nature of the fans who went to the away games last season. To the extent that fans in this cohort can no longer get tickets for matches this is not a reflection of new fans wanting to go to away games but is a reflection of increased demand within the group that previously went to the away games. If the fans within the away membership scheme apply for their tickets in good faith and do not make applications for games they cannot attend it is a fair assumption that no fan in this group will attend a lower proportion of games than they did last season.
What was the thinking behind removing loyalty points?
Club response: The club has created a new away membership scheme for the 2022-23 season. Having two away membership schemes running concurrently would cause unnecessary difficulties and complexities to what we believe to be a streamlined and fair system.
Could the club commit to reviewing the scheme next summer with input from supporters?
Club response: We will closely review and monitor the system throughout the season with the viewing to conducting a full, comprehensive review in the Summer. We will listen to feedback from supporters throughout the season and these will form part of the review. With the new challenges that arise from promotion to the Premier League we admit we will not get every single decision right, but we assure all supporters that every decision is made after considering the evidence in good faith.
Has the club reviewed the away schemes of similar Premier League clubs?
Club response: Thorough research was conducted prior to the promotion to ensure we were best placed to amend the scheme. A common issue shared by Premier League clubs is that the demand far outweighs the supply for a ticket. We were keen to ensure that the scheme reflected away support last season and did not become a closed shop. As a result the scheme was developed as described above.
Could ballots potentially be explored to ensure fairness (if fans are in favour?)
Club response: The club are open to discussing this once the current system has bedded in and a proper assessment can be made.
From next season, could a small number of tickets be held back for a non-away members ballot so that it isn’t a completely closed shop?
Club response: The club considers the current system to be fair but is open to discussing this as part of any review.
When will disabled supporters (and companions) be able to book away tickets online?
Club response: We are currently working towards seeing the effectiveness of this functionality. The difficulty we are currently presented with is being able to allocate the companion’s free ticket through the ticketing platform. The Ticket Office has made reasonable adjustment to allow these supporters to purchase tickets over the phone only. We are in regular contact with the Disabled Supporters Association and are currently looking to trial online home ticket purchasing for disabled supporters. Should this be successful, we will look towards this functionality for away fixtures also.
Can the ticket office put seat bookings together on request when purchased in separate priority windows?
Club response: We will endeavour to accommodate specific requests to help supporters sit with friends and family when possible. However, we cannot promise that we can do this for every fixture. It is important to note that most Premier League clubs do not take these measures to help supporters sit together.
Should the warning that away memberships will be removed if you attend less than three games be reviewed considering tickets are not guaranteed?
Club response: We will review this over the course of the season. However, as the season progresses, we have the utmost confidence that all supporters will have a fair chance to attend at least three fixtures.
Topic: Ticketmaster (added by the club following the meeting)
Club statement: The club is aware of complaints raised by supporters since the meeting regarding the performance of Ticketmaster in relation to the Everton fixture. The club has retained Ticketmaster for its ticketing function. As supporters will appreciate Ticketmaster is one of the leading global experts in ticketing. The club is in the process of putting together a series of scenarios from supporters who are dissatisfied with the service and will seek responses from Ticketmaster on those scenarios.
Topic: Financial approach to Premier League
Promotion to the Premier League has changed the financial landscape for the club. What is the new approach to finances and how does that tie into the club’s ambitions?
Club response: Following promotion to the Premier League after 23 years the club’s overriding aim as confirmed by Mr Marinakis after the play off final is to make every effort to retain that status. Membership of the Premier League results in significant funding for the club and these sums will be invested in the club and team. This sits alongside the investment in the stadium, the stadium development, the academy, the women’s team, the community trust and all other aspects of the club’s operation which has occurred steadily during the current ownership.
As the ownership and board have repeatedly shown during the past 5 seasons the club will be run within the financial rules applicable to the league in which we are playing and the financial stability of the club will not be put at risk. It also needs to be recognised that the biggest risk of all is to not try and compete. In addition the club faces the challenges associated with having a promotion squad which contained 5 loan players who regularly appeared in the team and a number of the playing staff who have left for various reasons. These need to be replaced. It follows that the number of signings is reflective of the specific circumstances which the club faces.
Topic: Fan dialogue
With the Fan-Led Review still to go through Parliament, could the club look to replicate the successful Steve Cooper fan evenings, potentially with non-footballing senior management? Would you look to do another filmed Q&A with the Trust in the coming months?
Club response: The club is open to this. A further filmed Q&A with the Trust will also be held.
Topic: Environmental sustainability
What plans, policies or initiatives are in place to ensure the club becomes more sustainable in its operations?
Club response: The club reviews operations and workflows to ensure it can continue to operate in a greener and more environmentally friendly way. In June, our partner E-on conducted a full energy audit across the City Ground and Nigel Doughty Academy campuses. The club is currently awaiting feedback from E-on and will put these measures in to practice in order to further the club’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint.
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We are also an affiliate of the Football Supporters’ Association and are now part of its Premier League Network, allowing us to feed into league-wide and national issues.