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Cockle43

Manager⭐
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(Was) Back home on the North Bank now back in W.
Please find copied below the minutes from the latest Supporter Groups Forum meeting held on 8th February 2017 to keep anyone who's interested in the loop.

SOUTHEND UNITED SUPPORTERS GROUP
Committee Meeting at the Shrimpers Bar
7.30pm 8[SUP]th[/SUP] February 2017
In attendance; Chair Ken Jarvis Shrimper Zone; Dan McEvoy Blue Voice; Lesley Hicks Shrimpers Trust; Ken Taylor Travel Zone; Trevor Harp Shrimper Zone; Keith Baker Essex Police; Daren Posnack Shrimpers Trust.
Apologies from Ron Alexander Disabled Supporters.

Ken Jarvis stated that Ron Alexander had asked Ken if he could bring up at the meeting of the problem of supporters standing at home matches and blocking the view of disabled supporters in the West Stand in particular. The Chair asked Keith Baker if they could liaise with David Jobson to see if security stewards could cure the problem.

Mike Davis
submitted a point as to the continued problem as seen at the Scunthorpe game of smoke bombs being used from a group of Blues supporters.
Keith Baker stated that they are sure now who the group are and are waiting now to witness them in the act via CCTV.
Ken Taylor said there is also a worry that these individuals are rolling the smoke bombs under the seats so that other fans may be blamed when they are set off, Keith said they were aware of that and there would be evidence as to who has set them off.
Keith Baker also stated that there are new ways of detecting pyros before they are brought into the ground. Also stated they can also cause personal injury and crowd issues.

Keith
stated that the Police had worked with Southend United safety officer and club bans had been issued to individuals involved in ASB (anti social behaviour) Police has not issued football bans.
Working with ASB youth supporters with engagement and education. Arresting and applying for football banning orders are a last resort.

Ken Taylor
mentioned that there had also been an issue of drinking out in the street. Keith Baker stated it only happened on big match days at the Blue Boar when away fans found the pub overflowing, in general the Doorman are very good in maintaining good order on the premises. Keith also stated that the problems at the Blue Boar had in fact only happened once this season.

Mike Davis mentioned the poor state of the entrance to the West Stand outside of the turnstiles. It appears not to be cleaned up after a number of match days. A number of plastic drink bottles, food cartons and wrappers have evident for a number of home games. Not a very good advert for the ground and newcomers. David Jobson to be informed.

Ken Taylor
stated that at the last meeting that Commercial Director Danny Macklin agreed to investigate the problems with toilets and the speed of serving drinks at half time.
Danny accepted a request to tour the stadium to in order that the problem areas could be pointed out. As a result the ladies and gents toilets that serve the East Blacks/Greens have been refurbished, and all other stadium toilets will be considered for refurbishment. No information yet as to how the serving of drinks can carried out in a quicker manner in the West Stand. It was stated that it would be difficult to offer other areas because of the licencing laws. An open vote has been carried out as to what other beers (from our current suppliers) supporters would like to see offered.

All of the committee were concerned over the general state of the ground and the general customer service on offer.

Other issues were late selling of programmes on the West Side of the ground and the problems with Tannoy system in the same area.

Dan McEvoy
mentioned that the next home game was a kid’s day and perhaps streamers/balloons could be handed out to the youngsters but they have little or no funds available. Ken Jarvis stated that he would talk to a marketing company known to him to see if they could help with price and short notice.

Mike Davis
was thanked for undertaking the task of the minutes and all were informed why the Club had to view the last minutes first.

It was also agreed that in future the minutes would be agreed by the Committee and could then be circulated to individual groups members.

It was agreed at the close of the meeting to invite Danny Macklin to the next meetingand the next date would be Wednesday 12[SUP]th[/SUP] April 7.30pm.

Meeting closed at 9.15

MJD

ACTION POINTS
Dave Jobson; To be informed of untidy appearance of entrance to the West Stand.
Tannoy system in West Stand still giving issues
Security to be informed of fans standing up in front of disabled fans
Ken Jarvis; To talk to Outstanding Branding about balloons and streamers for next home game.



As always, McNasty and myself welcome any feedback or issues that you feel need to be aired at the Forum.

As you can see we are making some headway on some issues, slowly but surely, and the forum is a useful conduit as the issues are discussed, in an open and honest manner, between the supporters groups, the club, and the Police with the club's dedicated Police Football Liaison Officer, PC Keith Baker, regularly attending.
 
Thank you for publishing these minutes. On the issue of standing supporters blocking the view of disabled fans, it is not just registered disabled supporters who suffer the problem. I wouldn't qualify for disability registration but I am unable to stand still for long periods or to get up and down from my seat too easily these days, so I sit close to the corners of the stands where there are rarely any of the standing supporters to get in my way on the somewhat rare occasions when I attend matches. I fully understand a lot of fans' preference for standing to watch the match (as I always did when I was a young man) and feel that clubs should pursue the idea of providing safe standing areas at all grounds.
 
FF is still year's away if ever.

Spoke to Danny as he asked me for input.

Ideas are as follows.

Away fans have zero catering as far as I know...thousands of visitors are without food and refreshments.

Remedy...purchase couple of porta cabins ,join them together,fit out with tables and chairs and hey presto we have an away cafe!..secondhand cabins can be purchased very cheaply...I reckon the start up cost of everything including fitting a kitchen maybe £5000...this would be recouped in one season IMO.

Car park catering van owned by the club...park it next door to the programme hut....easy money.

South upper t bar selling cold drinks crisps sweets and sandwiches ,rope off the queuing area to stop congestion.

I understand the Hall is falling apart...but how many home fans attend each season 140,000 plus currently....how many of those would spend a fiver or tenner or even more on decent grub or snacks?
 
FF is still year's away if ever.

Spoke to Danny as he asked me for input.

Ideas are as follows.

Away fans have zero catering as far as I know...thousands of visitors are without food and refreshments.

Remedy...purchase couple of porta cabins ,join them together,fit out with tables and chairs and hey presto we have an away cafe!..secondhand cabins can be purchased very cheaply...I reckon the start up cost of everything including fitting a kitchen maybe £5000...this would be recouped in one season IMO.

Car park catering van owned by the club...park it next door to the programme hut....easy money.

South upper t bar selling cold drinks crisps sweets and sandwiches ,rope off the queuing area to stop congestion.

I understand the Hall is falling apart...but how many home fans attend each season 140,000 plus currently....how many of those would spend a fiver or tenner or even more on decent grub or snacks?


You are right, I have often thought that away supporters are poorly treated. Always thought that Wycombe have the right (cheap) idea of creating a beer tent for away fans
 
You are right, I have often thought that away supporters are poorly treated. Always thought that Wycombe have the right (cheap) idea of creating a beer tent for away fans


Exactly.

Let's say 10,000 visit us each season(that figure is averaging under 500 per game) 10% buy 2 bottles of beer each(plastic) that is 2000 bottles per season at £4 a pop=£8000 just on those figures....2 bottles are just over one pint,I reckon the total sales could be 10,000 bottles even more...add the food cafe thing then the income could easily be very tasty.
 
Exactly.

Let's say 10,000 visit us each season(that figure is averaging under 500 per game) 10% buy 2 bottles of beer each(plastic) that is 2000 bottles per season at £4 a pop=£8000 just on those figures....2 bottles are just over one pint,I reckon the total sales could be 10,000 bottles even more...add the food cafe thing then the income could easily be very tasty.

Wow, Mrs B where do you get free beer to sell? I'd keep it quiet.

#don'topenabusiness
 
Wow, Mrs B where do you get free beer to sell? I'd keep it quiet.

#don'topenabusiness


Spain....2 litres of San M.....99 cents....profit profit profit:winking:

Flog to away fans £5 per pint..the mark up is eye watering.
 
Exactly.

Let's say 10,000 visit us each season(that figure is averaging under 500 per game) 10% buy 2 bottles of beer each(plastic) that is 2000 bottles per season at £4 a pop=£8000 just on those figures....2 bottles are just over one pint,I reckon the total sales could be 10,000 bottles even more...add the food cafe thing then the income could easily be very tasty.

Headline figures are always very tempting until you start looking at the real figures.

Cost of a premises licence £100-1200 depending on rateable value.
Porta-cabin or tent has to be purchased or rented (tent probably not viable as would have to be erected/taken down every game adding to costs - too tempting for the local vandals with a Stanley knife handy). Porta-cabin rental for a vandal proof 32'x9' canteen is approx £60 per week including VAT, for 40 weeks that's £2400.
Electricity for cooling/heating, lighting, let's say £5 per week, that's another £200.
Wages for staff, let's say three for 3 hours each on each match day, let's say we get a couple of cup ties worth opening for plus League that's 25 matches, pay minimum wage which varies on age, from 1st April £5.60 for 18-20's, £7.05 for 21-24's, £7.50 for over 25's, we'll average that out at 1 employee per wage band, average is the £6.72. So, we've now got staff costs of 25 matches x 9 hours x £6.72 = £1512
We're now up to a total of £4212, with a minimum licence fee.

Now you've got to look at the logistics of supplying the utilities to the installation, water and electricity will need to be provided plus base to stand porta-cabin on. Let's say £1000, no real idea but it seems a reasonable figure, so we're now up to £5200 ish.

Now you've got to look at stock, a bottle of 330ml Budweiser is currently wholesaling at £0.82p per bottle, Adnams' Ghost Ship wholesales at £1.50, let's say 5000 bottle of each (5000 x £0.82) + (5000 x £1.50) = £11,600.

So we now have a start up cost, for a 32' x 9' porta-cabin, staffed by 3 people for 25 matches per season selling 10000 bottles of beer coming in at £16800.
So if we manage to sell 10000 units at say £3.00 a pop then the profit could be around £13000, so just enough to pay for one or maybe two players for a week.....

I'm sure I've missed some costs out somewhere but I think that's a reasonable guesstimate.:unsure:
 
Last edited:
Thank you for publishing these minutes. On the issue of standing supporters blocking the view of disabled fans, it is not just registered disabled supporters who suffer the problem. I wouldn't qualify for disability registration but I am unable to stand still for long periods or to get up and down from my seat too easily these days, so I sit close to the corners of the stands where there are rarely any of the standing supporters to get in my way on the somewhat rare occasions when I attend matches. I fully understand a lot of fans' preference for standing to watch the match (as I always did when I was a young man) and feel that clubs should pursue the idea of providing safe standing areas at all grounds.

Safe standing is certainly in our minds going forward towards the new stadium, :smile:, however as things stand, sorry about the pun, there is no way that safe standing can be incorporated as the current Football League ground regulations and the laws governing Football League grounds do not allow for safe standing areas. There is much work being done by the Football Supporters Federation on this and pressure is being applied on MP's and Government to try and get this changed, let's just hope it is before FF comes on stream, I think the chances are quite good of me being able to ice-skate across Hell to the opening of the new stadium so we may be OK.:smile:
 
Safe standing is certainly in our minds going forward towards the new stadium, :smile:, however as things stand, sorry about the pun, there is no way that safe standing can be incorporated as the current Football League ground regulations and the laws governing Football League grounds do not allow for safe standing areas. There is much work being done by the Football Supporters Federation on this and pressure is being applied on MP's and Government to try and get this changed, let's just hope it is before FF comes on stream, I think the chances are quite good of me being able to ice-skate across Hell to the opening of the new stadium so we may be OK.:smile:

Anybody wishing to stand now won't be able when the stadium is built! Need somewhere to park their hoverboards:whistling:
 
Headline figures are always very tempting until you start looking at the real figures.

Cost of a premises licence £100-1200 depending on rateable value.
Porta-cabin or tent has to be purchased or rented (tent probably not viable as would have to be erected/taken down every game adding to costs - too tempting for the local vandals with a Stanley knife handy). Porta-cabin rental for a vandal proof 32'x9' canteen is approx £60 per week including VAT, for 40 weeks that's £2400.
Electricity for cooling/heating, lighting, let's say £5 per week, that's another £200.
Wages for staff, let's say three for 3 hours each on each match day, let's say we get a couple of cup ties worth opening for plus League that's 25 matches, pay minimum wage which varies on age, from 1st April £5.60 for 18-20's, £7.05 for 21-24's, £7.50 for over 25's, we'll average that out at 1 employee per wage band, average is the £6.72. So, we've now got staff costs of 25 matches x 9 hours x £6.72 = £1512
We're now up to a total of £4212, with a minimum licence fee.

Now you've got to look at the logistics of supplying the utilities to the installation, water and electricity will need to be provided plus base to stand porta-cabin on. Let's say £1000, no real idea but it seems a reasonable figure, so we're now up to £5200 ish.

Now you've got to look at stock, a bottle of 330ml Budweiser is currently wholesaling at £0.82p per bottle, Adnams' Ghost Ship wholesales at £1.50, let's say 5000 bottle of each (5000 x £0.82) + (5000 x £1.50) = £11,600.

So we now have a start up cost, for a 32' x 9' porta-cabin, staffed by 3 people for 25 matches per season selling 10000 bottles of beer coming in at £16800.
So if we manage to sell 10000 units at say £3.00 a pop then the profit could be around £13000, so just enough to pay for one or maybe two players for a week.....

I'm sure I've missed some costs out somewhere but I think that's a reasonable guestimate.:unsure:


Secondhand cabin .........................£750/1000
Hard standing behind north stand.....£0
Calor gas equipment secondhand ....£500
Secondhand generator....................£500
Secondhand tables and chairs..........£300

Costs around £2/3 grand

Potential customer base.....10,000/15,000 for just 23 days....how many customers does the average greasy spoon cafe in 23 days,and they pay full time wages...utilities,rates blah blah blah.
 
I have given the pre-match marque bar at Wycombe and also staff dispensing beer in plastic cups between the car park and turnstiles, as an example to what can be done. However it would be very unlikely that a licence be given at Roots Hall. You may recall that at Wycombe you have to go past security staff at the outer entrance to get to the marque. At Roots Hall there are many ways to gain access to the car park. However I still intend to pursue this at future meetings as I believe the expense to rectify this situation could be recuperated fairly quickly, where there is a will there's a way.

I've always thought that the club fall short of making the most of sales on match day they could and should do better at earning more per head from those home and away fans attending. I for one know that I spend more cash at away grounds than at home, but you have to give good service and provide what the public want.
 
I have to sometimes question as to whether the West stand is the most appropriate place for supporters in wheelchairs. They have spaces at the back of the West stand and with all respect most of the wheelchairs these days are quite large and bulky and hence they little room at the back of the stand especially where there is queuing for the food bar. I have many a time been pushed into some of the wheelchairs and I think the only safe way to accommodate would be to take out a back row of seats and hence this would make the gangway at the back easier to walk along.
On another note I get particularly aggravated by some supporters who think it is ok to stand in the middle of the stairs to stand and chat. Are they not meant to be kept clear?
 
Secondhand cabin .........................£750/1000
Hard standing behind north stand.....£0
Calor gas equipment secondhand ....£500
Secondhand generator....................£500
Secondhand tables and chairs..........£300

Costs around £2/3 grand

Potential customer base.....10,000/15,000 for just 23 days....how many customers does the average greasy spoon cafe in 23 days,and they pay full time wages...utilities,rates blah blah blah.

Now you've bought all that you're missing out the costs of maintenance and yearly safety testing, you will still also need water, for sanitation to meet environmental health standards, plus electricity for lighting. Licensing is still required plus a way of controlling customer capacity as that will be a licensing stipulation.

If you can make a proper, fully costed, business case then I'm sure Danny Macklin will be all ears as 'pop up' venues around the ground was/is something he has been looking into.
My scenario above was just a 'back of fag packet' guesstimate to indicate what is involved, it truly isn't just a simple as some will make out.
Also don't forget there is competition just up the road from a pub selling draught beers at £3 a pint plus a fish and chip shop and kebab shop so the pricing has also got to be right.
 
Now you've bought all that you're missing out the costs of maintenance and yearly safety testing, you will still also need water, for sanitation to meet environmental health standards, plus electricity for lighting. Licensing is still required plus a way of controlling customer capacity as that will be a licensing stipulation.

If you can make a proper, fully costed, business case then I'm sure Danny Macklin will be all ears as 'pop up' venues around the ground was/is something he has been looking into.
My scenario above was just a 'back of fag packet' guesstimate to indicate what is involved, it truly isn't just a simple as some will make out.
Also don't forget there is competition just up the road from a pub selling draught beers at £3 a pint plus a fish and chip shop and kebab shop so the pricing has also got to be right.


Forget about the booze ATM.....tea/coffee mark up is far superior.

Generator does the cabin's lights.
Use large water containers.

Costs for 1 cup of tea around 20p...sell for £1.50....easy money.

Imagine if we reach the championship...potentially 40,000 customers....crazy not to give them what they want.

Sometimes I think the club doesn't want to make money.
 
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