As Jubal mentioned in another thread earlier today there was a meeting held last night between several members of the Cove and Sydney FC to discuss a range of things related to the Cove and the Club generally. Below is a summary of the issues discussed and some of the outcomes from the meeting.
In attendance
Cove: Jubal, Jaza, Kaiser, Demented Freak, Jaksar, Ozzieshane & Gourjess
Sydney FC: Stefan Kamaz (CEO) and Ken Sharp (Chief Commercial Officer)
Memberships
Last year we had 7800 members, the club is aiming for 9000 this year. Cove membership was around 1100-1200. Advertising blitz will kick off shortly initially promoting memberships but then promoting specific games. It was noted that this target was somewhat optimistic given the on-field performances last season however Stefan commented that in previous economic downturns there had been increases in memberships, across numerous football codes.
SFS storage space for flags & banners & gameday access
The SCG Trust has offered storage space at the SFS for us to store our banners, flags, pullovers etc in between games. Weve agreed that this would be of great assistance to us however we need to clarify with the SCG Trust when we will be able to access the room and who will have access to the room. Club is aware that we would want to be satisfied with access and security before accepting the offer. We will be discussing this with the SCG Trust at a meeting in the near future.
Youth League/W-League home game convergence
The draw for NYL hasnt been finalised however the club is looking at getting as many NYL games as curtain-raisers for home games, there will probably be 3 W-League games as curtain-raisers too (much to Jazas disappointment) and the club has also agreed that if the draw permits, a team of Loko All-Stars may play as a curtain raiser against another supporters team and/or a celebrity team, nothing certain yet. Any other NYL games would likely be hosted at Manly or Seymour Shaw again.
Security issues
Probably the biggest talking point of the night, we had lengthy discussions around how the security at Home and Away games was last season, what the problems we had and how we felt these issues could be resolved or better handled. In summary:
- Security at home games has been very good, no major issues and we have a good relationship with the supervisors on the ground on game day.
- Significant issues at Gosford, generally security is over-the-top for a fixture with next to no history of trouble. Club will be raising our concerns when they meet with security/police/FFA.
- Security at Newcastle is also over-the-top, hoping to resolve the ban on flag poles before we're next up there.
- Some issues in Brisbane, specifically with Roar fans entering into the away bay to cause trouble.
Cove 'Meet the Coach' event
Idea floated about having a BBQ after a training session, possibly at the SFS, where Cove members are invited to watch training and then chat with Larry the Bench & the squad after the session. Looking at it maybe being on a Thursday night. Agreed this could be a good idea and club will let us know when, possibly before the season starts. Emphasised that the more notice we got of the date, the better the turnout.
Fans Day
Fans Day is at the SFS this year on 2 August, running from 10am to 1pm. Parking at Moore Park will be free, people will be able to walk through the tunnel and dressing rooms, unsure whether they will be able to do anything on the pitch as there is a League game scheduled for the Monday. Banners and pullovers put on display, possibly at the Cove End. Cove will be able to sell merchandise like we did at last year's Fan Day.
Club organised travel & accommodation
Club has looked at organising bulk discounts for flights, buses and accomodation to certain away games to encourage away support. Discussed how most Cove members organise flights and accommodation and how much we generally pay. Packages may not be viable for regular season games when people can often get cheap airfares compared to charter rates, however it may work out better value for finals games, especially long distance games like Perth or Welly where booking airfares with one weeks notices would be extremely expensive.
Club also approached a coach company for quotes for coaches to away games. We said that Gosford wouldnt really be viable given how easy it is to get the train there, Newcastle is best for coaches due to location and train times. The quote for Newcastle is cheaper than the rate the Cove has paid previously so well look into that further. Quote for Melbourne/Brisbane/Gold Coast works out cheaper than what most people would pay for airfares, may be viable if theres enough interest from people in a lower-cost way to get interstate. Adelaide by bus would not work, 16 hours each way on a coach would be shit, especially compared to 2 hours on a plane.
Pre-match happy hour(s) at SFS
Idea floated by SCG Trust to offer cheaper beer at the bar behind the Cove pre-game, sort of a happy hour arrangement. We said it depends on the specific pricing as to whether it would be popular but noted that some people were looking to move away from the Cook as a pre-game venue. Emphasised that we would not force people to go to specific pre-game venues, its up to the individual supporter as to where they want to go, however if the prices offered by the SFS were good enough this would possibly be a popular pre-game option for people.
Using Star Citys new sports theatre for away game events.
Star City have built a theatre in the complex (not attached to the gaming floor) specifically for watching sport. Holds approx 300, has the biggest HD screen in Australia apparently. Theyre looking at offering it to Sydney FC fans for away games, including cheap beers and food. We commented that people have had bad experiences watching games at Star City previously, especially from an atmosphere point of view, although being separate from the gaming floor might fix this. Noted that we currently have a great relationship with the REH for away games and that a lot of people like going there for games. We said this idea might work, most people would probably be willing to give it a go, but again it would be up to the individual to decide whether to go there for away games.
Banner space at Cove End
Something to raise in our meeting with SCG Trust, we would like as much ad-free fencing as possible at the Cove End for hanging banner etc. Club agreed, also noting that the SCG Trust were also seeking ideas from the Cove on how they could help improve the facilities and features at the Cove End. To be discussed at a meeting between the Cove, SFC and the Trust along with any the other ideas & issues related to the ground.
Q&A session with CEO
The CEO forum is rather stagnant; Stefan is more than willing to do a semi-regular Q&A session where people send questions to Jubal, collated and forward to Stefan for answers about the club and the team. Stefan also said he is always happy to respond to emails (non-abusive) from fans, commented that he did get a fair bit when Kosmina was sacked.
Corica retirement
Club is in discussion with Bimbi about his retirement and possibility of some sort of tribute/testimonial. Nothing concrete yet although we said we would like as much warning as possible as we would want to do a tifo at his last game if possible.
Merchandise
Club noted that any official merchandise purchased by mail order directly from the club (as opposed to online from the website or from a retail outlet) would result in the greatest share of profits going to the club so it would be appreciated if anybody looking to buy the new seasons strip or any other official merchandise should buy it this way. We noted that given numerous people would probably want to buy the new jersey we would look to set up a bulk purchase through the Cove Shop to make this cheaper for people and to help support the club. Ken also noted that the sizing for the new jerseys has become bigger, people should probably order one size smaller than normal and that the specific measurements for each size would be available online.
Additional comments
We did discuss a number of other issues, such as cancelled friendlies with EPL teams/Shanghai, but we can't go into specific details for obvious commercial reasons. I would make particular emphasis about the official merchandise, the club really only gets peanuts from the sale of this stuff so ordering it through the club is a really easy way to ensure they get the highest proportion of your money rather than it going to a middleman.
I would also like to reiterate a point made about the Cove's relationship with the club and management. We are obviously extremely pleased that we can have such a good relationship with the club and the SCG Trust as it means we can resolve any issues quickly and efficiently and we can help by giving the club our opinion about a wide rage of issues from the point of view of the club's supporters. HOWEVER we are an independent supporters group, we never have and never will be the mouthpiece for the club nor the club's lapdog.
I'd also like to thank Stefan, Ken and the others who attended the meeting for giving up their own time on a weeknight to do this for the greater good of the Cove.
As I mentioned earlier, we will be meeting again with the SCG Trust and the club before the beginning of the season, so if there is any issue or suggestions you would like to be raised, please mention it in here or drop an line to either Jubal or myself in the next couple of days and we'll see what we can do.
