Last night's fan meeting

Courtesy of Sue on Hull City Fans Forum on Facebook...

So last nights meeting, I will try and give a basic view of the meeting and will publish the official minutes once received.

Mr Keslar had to be away to attend another meeting but opened by talking about their first two years in charge and how happy everyone is with the positivity around the stadia and how things are going. lots of plans in place moving forward. Re stadia development, stated that plans have been drawn and very positive with the council to the pre applications submitted. plans being drawn for public consultation and club also speaking to experts re a sports clinic for use by club and community.

Academy, aware of some folks concerns re players leaving, in a nut shell academy games are there to assess players, there are no gains to winning every week, no prestige, no trophies and nothing at stake. recent changes are that players no longer kept of long term contracts as aim is to nurture players that are going to be good enough for top championship/epl status, if not up to it, players are released but are helped to find another club to realise their dreams. players are effectively assests and the academy is there to produce the best. no one person makes the decisions, their are 24 personal involved. will be better explained when the minutes are published but thats my take on it.

Membership and pricing. In a nutshell its what most of us will expect, prices will rise next season for membership and ticket sales but this will be kept to the minimum as club are aware that some folk do struggle, talk is on 10 to 15 per cent. a new system will also introduce digital membership for mobile phones, though folk can still have a card if they so wish. price increases will be released probably next week (Acun didnt want to do it but has had little choice)

Stadia Maintenance, toilets, etc etc. club are endeavouring to keep on top of repairs (from vandalism etc) painting and repairs around the ground are on going and will continue throughout the pre season. lighting is still an issue in places but this is down to the council, the club are still on at them, club have been changing a lot of the "yellow" lights to bright white to try to help matters. All TVs on the concourse have been changed with brand new ones and some staff members have been tasked every matchday to ensure they are switched on and working. New flags are on order to replace those around the ground.

Buses/Bus times, club has no control over stagecoach/bus services but will make representation

Traffic, steps forward to create a working group to come up with solutions as council wont entertain traffic management and club are not empowered by law to do it independently. this is a top of the list item.
Smoking/Vaping in stadia, fans are asked to point out culprits to steards and if stewards ignore the issue then the fan should note their coat number and report the issue stand/block/area etc to the club via the text message system (which appears on the big screen) or via email. Likewise any issues with toilets, lack of facility etc should be reported, firstly to a steward who can call up for a cleaner or via the text number/email. If the club dont know about issues then they cannot act on it. So if something isnt right Report it.

W12 issues with groups of lads cutting through into North stand behind the DJ's platform (when they dont have tickets for North) this will be implemented by the club to prevent this happening. stewards to be put in place

TigersTV, subscriptions are currently dictated by the webhost and payment provider, negotiations are ongoing to have differant payment plans and discounts for next season. watch this space.

Atmosphere/songs/chants on big screen. Again a working group to be set up to come up with ideas and a plan to get the stadium rocking though things have improved the club are on side with improvement.
Dugout Bar, Plans to refurbish have been re visited after minor setback re sponsors, but work will be done and will be ready for next season.

There will be more advertising for the U21's and the younger players will be getting more involved with fans at events, in tigers arena etc etc. at the end of the day, they may be our future first teamers so will be more involved as are the first team lads.

Points system Was put in place for the Leeds game as tickets were limited and club knew there would be high demand, the points system was deemed the fairest way and will continue for remainder of season. It was said that Leeds has been the only game that the full allocation has gone before being put on general sale, Cardiff is a prime example of that will tickets readily available on general sale. Going forward we wait and see

In relation to disabled and ambulant fans and way tickets, every away game the hosting club is contacted to ensure easy access aisle/suitable seats are greyed out and not shown available so they can only be sold to our disabled fans, they never sell out. Wheelchair access at away games has not posed any issues and are always available as never sell out.

Sensory Room The club are totally committed to ensuring facilites are in place for those that need it, plans are on going and a sensory room shold be up and running for next season. The club are working hard for our disabled and fans with special needs and have a dedicated member of staff working hard with the DSA. A survey will be out soon for those fans to have their say and give feedback.

Mmebers moving seats. there will be a 2-3 week period pre season for members to move if they so wish, though this can be done anytime during the season. One fan asked why they couldnt buy membership in Upper West 11, basically the end blocks of upper west have been kept for ticket sales as these are also used for invited groups, eg School children, grassroots clubs, rather than mixing them in with regular fans/members, in the other blocks.

Bottle tops. to be reviewed at end of season, club understands fans concerns but tops being thrown had become a problem, appears to have calmed down now so is up for review. I pointed out the hygiene issues and the"capri soft pouch drinks" and trying to juggle without spilling when carrying food. A couple more "drinks only" kiosks have been put in place ready for tomorrow to eliviate queues at some concourse outlets. Hoppers are being ordered to hang on walls to feed the milk, sugar,sauces etc. to free up shelf space. instead of rotating menus above the queus, static menus are to be considered and to ensure each queues only shows food that is available at that outlet (eg some advertise crumble when its not being sold at that kiosk)

Pre Season tours/Friendlies. Club agreed they need to be broadcast to fans much earlier and not a week before travel, to give fans time to make arrangements. Also beneficial to some staff members to get an early heads up. Acun and Tan to be consulted re this.

Not getting points at tiger leisure (some fans missed out when they didnt have card with them) Implemented today, missing points can now be claimed when a fan didnt have their card, but this will be done same as a returns policy, so basically 28 days after purchase to claim missing points. This will of course not be an issue next season when membership goes digital and is on your mobile phone !

Right Im going to stop there, a few other minor issues discussed but will update when the minutes are out.
Hope this helps

 

Assed by Mark who was also in attendance..

I would add, that on the subject of the academy, Tan said that the business model the club is running they cannot wait for 2, 3 or 5 years for the next rolling raft of players to come through under the normal conventional system that other clubs used.

In order to bring through only the finest quality they are accelerating the process, for instance in the U21 games they are playing U18 players. This is to evaluate how the U18 players cope with more developed opposition. Many won't make it but there are a handful that shine ahead of their time and as such they are brought on.

As Sue has said the players rejected are looked after and helped to find other clubs but Tans aim is to bring through top quality and although acknowledges it's disappointing for those that don't cut it, the club benefits by finding an early crop of talent ahead of its time to work with.

Regarding the Youth training, Tan said that ALL levels train as the first team. No varying tactics or formations between age groups. It's the same club training mentality throughout.

Obviously that means when players move up and down the gears they are totally switched on to the game plan, positions, tactics etc and hit the ground running at any level from day one.