Minutes of the recent Meeting between LISC and LI

The meeting started at 7.35pm

Richard Sanderson (CEO) represented LISR.

LISC was represented by Patrick Tahany, Annette Delaney, Claire Gosney, Ken Emerson, Chris Tampsett, Pauline O’Connor, Fionnuala Tighe, Alan Murphy, Paddy Green and Chris Weldon.

Apologies were received from Trevor Dolan and Ken Armstrong.

The Chairman thanked everyone present for attending and asked that everyone briefly introduce themselves for the benefit of Richard Sanderson.

RS said there was no good news to report yet. Over the last few months’ companies have been slashing their advertising/marketing spends with a knock on effect to attracting sponsorship for sporting events across the board. There have been some offers to take over role of title sponsor but these have not been considered as the sums on offer were bordering on theft. Companies are looking for heavily discounted opportunities. To spread the risk LISR are focussing on attracting smaller companies rather than large organisations to ensure we reach our sponsorship target.

LISR were hoping to use the Reading FC dome as a clubhouse. However the sum that Reading FC wanted for the use of this facility, and the terms of the contract that they wanted to impose on LISR, were such that this option was not viable. Other options, such as the marquee used on St. Patrick’s Day, is expensive and it very difficult to recoup the cost.

As an aside RS said that despite efforts having been made by LISR it has not proved possible to reschedule the St. Patrick’s Day match to Saturday 15^th March 2003.

LISC enquired as to the rumour that LISR were culling the Le Cheile band. RS said that it is proposed to reduce the band’s attendance for certain matches (4 in total). Currently the Craic costs in the region of £5,000. This is not viable for the less well-attended matches. However, the Craic will be open and music will be provided (possibly by a DJ). LISC asked to be fully consulted as regards any other matches at which post-match entertainment will not be provided as London Irish is seen as the most hospitable Premiership club. It is therefore important that some form of entertainment is provided at all games.

RS said that in addition to the Craic, JC’s and The Windsor Lounge would be available. The Windsor Lounge provides a different sort of environment but it is accepted that this may not be to everyone’s liking. Another concern is the hotel bar prices that may discourage attendees.

RS acknowledged the concerns raised by LISC about the current price of Guinness in The Cowshed. Reading FC/the caterers did not consult LISR before making an unexpected increase in the price of a pint of Guinness. On making enquiries the caterers response was that there had been no increases for three years. Other issues included the lack of experienced staff; Guinness pints pre-poured and then left standing too long, insufficient pre-poured pints on St Patrick’s Day and the fact that JC’s ran out of Guinness at 4.40pm at the Wasps game, which resulted in this facility being closed.

LISC also asked LISR to endeavour to have input into the catering contract as the existing contract (held by Alexanders) is due to expire at the end of next June.

RS accepted an offer from LISC to provide match day experience feedback and suggested this is done via Annette Delaney

LISC put it to RS that generally its chaotic with all the London Irish merchandise being concentrated towards one end while the other end is largely made up of Reading FC merchandise. In response RS said that London Irish will soon be taking over more space in the shop and this might ease the current congestion.

LISC also raised members concerns about the price of some items (notably the London Irish polo top at £25.00). RS agreed that pricing is a cause for concern. However, this is made up of the Kooga price to its retailer and overheads. As an example London Irish have to pay Reading FC 10% of its retail income. In addition, London Irish offer a 10% discount to its season ticket holders. Both of these factors reduce the overall profit margin.

There is a good range of women and children’s clothes coming out nearer to Christmas as the focus is on selling more leisurewear due to the saturation of the available shirt market. The Kooga shirt supplier contract expires at the end of the season and a decision as regards the supplier for next season will be made at the end of the month. Once this decision has been made designing for new season will then start so as to try and ensure that replica shirts are available at the start of the season and not sometime afterwards.

More subtly branded clothing is also planned in a general drive to build on the LI brand. The club is also looking to have their products in upmarket independent sports shops. In mid-November there will be a Powergen Cup print, signed by the team on sale.

LISC asked if the LISR had any plans to open a shop of their own in, say, Reading town centre. RS said this would likely cost in excess of £50,000, which meant this was not feasible at present. However, there are plans afoot for a Christmas joint venture stall in the Oracle or Savacentre in Reading.

LISC mentioned that although the CD is now in the shop but is not being marketed very effectively. In response RS explained that this was because LISR had been let down by a supplier tasked with providing a CD display stand.

LISC congratulated LISR on The Blarney, which is understood to be well received by supporters. LISC has an ongoing dialogue with Jon Salinger over issues of content. It was suggested that Beefy’s Blarney might be resurrected, or that something like ‘A View from the Dressing Room’ might be provided so as to create a direct link between the team and the supporters. This would help manage the information and rumour machine.

LISC commented that programmes are still causing a bit of a stir. In the Northampton programme Edinburgh were made welcome! RS said that programmes are produced by Dunwoody Sports Marketing with Andrea Bray/Paddy Lennon sharing the editorial content. It was suggested that a third party entity proof reads the programme it goes to press, as we don’t always see our own mistakes.

LISC also commented that recently supporters had received a copy of ‘Up and Under’ only to discover all the competition closing dates had expired. Although the club acknowledged this, and the closing dates were extended, this nevertheless was embarrassing. In addition, several complaints had been made about the absence of flyers in the recent LISR mail shot.

Attendances are down generally but RS said this was not attributed to pitch performance. It is not thought that the new Wasps ground location was a factor in this. Generally, RS said the LISR target was 9,500 per match. Currently we are averaging only 8,000. In part this is due to the East Stand Season Ticket Offer, which means there is now less walk up supporters’.

LISR have a series of initiatives planned to boost attendance. These include a Reading 107 FM advertisement featuring Barry McGuigan; a promotion in the Express Newspapers for ‘Rugby Virgins’ which it is hoped might fill the South Stand with up to 4,000 who are new to rugby and who might become hooked and return on a regular again. LISC commented that the two for one offers were a good idea. However, the choice of matches did not appear sensible as they were for what would normally be well-attended matches (i.e. Gloucester and Northampton). Generally, there is ongoing dialogue with Andrea Bray/Jon Salinger as despite what we are told no one ever sees any information regarding the games in the local Reading area papers. Having said that Conor’s column in the Reading Chronicle has been very well received.

RS noted the comments made by LISC and said that LISR were of the view that they also need to get better advertising in the West London area. However, this is an expensive exercise.

LISC offered to participate by way of a smaller focus group in the marketing/planning for the St. Patrick’s Day match with the aim of breaking the current Premiership attendance record. RS agreed that this was an excellent idea and welcomed this offer. Arrangements and a date for this are to be arranged by Annette Delaney after the Dinner Dance and hopefully before the end of November.

LISC raised this on-going issue as it is of general concern to some supporters’. It was accepted that Sunday Games are here to stay for this season but LISR were asking to work closely with Reading FC to see if next season some Saturday fixtures might be possible. Unfortunately this might be easier said than done as it requires co-ordination between the FA and the Premier Rugby/the RFU, which is no small feat.

The LISC Dinner Dance was briefly discussed. There are almost 200 supporters attending and a big night is planned. LISC thanked the club for its generous prize donations and asked if the Powergen Cup could be made available at the Dinner Dance. In response RS said he could not see why not and agreed to make enquiries.

There were no other matters for discussion.

The Chairman thanked RS for attending after an otherwise busy day. In response Richard said he welcomed the opportunity to meet in this forum.

The meeting ended at 8.45pm