REPORT ON MEETING BETWEEN LISR/LISC

HELD ON TUESDAY 25^TH FEBRUARY 2003

AT LONDON IRISH, SUNBURY

 

 

Those attending:

 

LISR           -        Conor O’Shea, Managing Director

 

LISC           -        Patrick Tahany, Annette Delaney, Sarah Newton, Paddy Green, Ken Emerson, Ken Armstrong, Claire Gosney, Alan Murphy

 

Apologies were received from Trevor Dolan, Fionnuala Tighe, Chris Weldon, and Pauline O’Connor.

 

The meeting started at approximately 9.10.

 

Welcome & Introductions

 

The Chairman welcomed Conor and the various committee members to the meeting and thanked them all for attending.  Sarah Newton was also welcomed to her first meeting as the new LISC Hon Treasurer, her appointment having been confirmed earlier the same evening.

 

LISC Role

 

The Chairman outlined that LISC’s aim is to seek to achieve constructive communication with the Club, which doesn’t mean we will always be in agreement, but by doing so would give the Club the opportunity to hear the views and understand the interests of the supporters.  These aims we hope to achieve by means of full and frank discussion.  Supporters are the lifeblood of the Club but recognise that although we have a role to play we do not have a God-given right to be involved in the commercial decision making within the Club (i.e. the buying or selling of players as a core activity) but we are, and should be considered as such, a sounding board with members who are willing to help the club in any way we can.  In the past it has become apparent that we have been given less than accurate (and even misleading) information.  We now look forward to a more up front working relationship and Conor and his team.

 

Communication

 

The Chairman indicated that there was concern amongst the Supporters with regard to the lack of communication/notification from the Club, other than by way of the ‘Official’ website, as regards the 2.00pm kick off time for the forthcoming Powergen Semi-Final.  It was felt that it would have been appropriate if Jon Salinger had informed LISC so that we could have discussed how this information might be passed onto supporters’.  We had also arranged a number of activities around the kick-off time (including the departure and pickup times for the coaches and a car park party) and the Club should have been aware of the work that LISC had to do as a result of the changed kick-off time.  

 

Conor explained that the time change also came as late notice to the club and was occasioned by BBC Grandstand scheduling.  Nevertheless he took on board the point about communicating with LISC. 

 

The Chairman reiterated that LISC would like to get to a position where the Club could call and tell us what’s happening (i.e. not to be afraid to give us the negatives as well as the positives). 

 

Semi-Final Ticketing

 

LISC advised Conor that there had been disappointment expressed the at supporters’ inability to get block booking at Kassam Stadium.  In doing so it was recognised that, to some extent, this was out of the control of LIRFC as Reading FC handled ticketing.  Conor agreed and confirmed that the sale of the tickets was completely out of the Club’s hands but it was something that would be looked at for the future. 

 

On the subject of ticketing Conor said that to date the club had not quite been able to sell its full amount of the 5,000 seat allocation.  This was disappointing as if we were successful on Sunday we would have 30,000+ supporters’ at Twickenham. Discussion ensued about the price of tickets and the LISC reported that it was ironic that for the final last year tickets were only £2 dearer than they are in the North/South stands on Sunday and this, coupled with live TV coverage, might well be acting to discourage attendance.  Conor said that ticket pricing for the semi-final was completely out of the club’s control but it was nevertheless of concern.

 

As regards ticketing for the final, Conor said that after last year’s semi-final they had a meeting with the RFU about the ticketing and were advised there were no block booking arrangements. Conor said that the Club has a plan in place if we reach the finals this year to achieve block booking for the supporters.

 

Joint Promotion of London Irish by LISR/LISC

 

Conor stressed the benefits of sponsorship and reported that the Club, with the assistance of Abigail Findlay who is currently incapacitated and  working from home, are compiling a list of firms to target in the London/Reading area as potential sponsors for Corporate Hospitality, Player Sponsorship, and Academy etc.  The Club recognised the benefit that the LISC and the supporters could bring through their ability to gain introductions to personnel in these companies. At the moment, contacting companies by cold calling is not proving very successful and having a contact name within a company might make the task less soul destroying and perhaps, at the end of the day, more fruitful.

 

The Club’s main areas of revenue going forward are from Sponsorship, Ticketing, Corporate Hospitality and Merchandising.

 

 

As an aside, Conor recognised the efforts that the LISC had made to represent the supporters views about retaining the post match craic and indicated that for so long as he is in charge of the club’s affairs there will be a band for post-match entertainment. He reiterated his belief that the club’s reputation is built around enjoyment and fun and this must be maintained.

 

Season Tickets

 

The LISC tabled the concern felt by many members that the season ticket holders were unhappy about the free tickets, 2 for 1 deals etc, both because it devalued the benefit of a season ticket and because the offers seemed to be exploited by away supporters when they were expected to pay top prices at away games for seats which often gave restricted views. Conor reported that the Club is still working on the ticketing structure for the 2003/2004 season and it hopes to announce further details at the St Patrick’s Day match. The LISC were able to table a number of ideas for increasing the value of the season tickets gained from experience at other clubs and one idea was to introduce a stage payment Direct Debit system. All present acknowledged that the Club’s ability to offer this would depend on whether the Madjeski operation could cope with this.  It was confirmed that the Supporters Club Membership Forms will be included in Season Ticket Packages when they are sent out by the Club.

 

Commitment to Social Events

 

(a)  Quiz Nights – Pauline O’Connor has proposed arranging two, one in Sunbury and one in Reading with the first one possibly to take place week beginning 24^th March.  Conor has asked that we give as much notice as possible if we would like players to attend.   Wednesday Night would be preferable as it is the players’ day off on Thursdays. 

(b) End of Season BBQ (Exiles Day) - Conor suggested it would be better if this was arranged for beginning of the new season i.e. sometime in July/August rather than end of this season 

(c)  Player of the Season/Alternative Awards – It was agreed that this will take place after the Bristol game on 10^th May as opposed to at the beginning of the new season.

 

AOB

 

The current ticket sales for the St Patrick’s Day Match indicate that there could be a record crowd for the game against Harlequins,   The pre and post entertainment was discussed and the LISC enthusiastically supported the Club’s suggestion that this should take the form of a traditional St Patrick’s day event, so that, for example, in place of a marquee the event would take place in an open area, with a covered stand available for the band. The Guinness mobile bars would form the sides of the “auditorium”.

 

There will be a pre-Season tour to Ireland and Conor confirmed that as soon as the details are known he will let the LISC know so that we can organise a tour for the supporters. He reported that the players and staff really appreciated the travelling support to Ireland last year and hoped that the next season’s tour would be as successful.  Discussions are continuing but the possible venue is Ulster.

 

LISC asked Conor if we could have a team at the Henley 7’s.  He reported that, unfortunately, this is not an option due to the risk of pre-season injuries.

 

Conor reported that both the club and the JC SALSA fund had been overwhelmed by the support shown for the Benefit match scheduled for 6^th March at the Stoop. Many players who had played with – or against – JC over the years were anxious to show their support for him and the cause, although some were constrained by international or other club commitments. The current indications were that the game would produce a useful contribution to the fund.

 

Conor refused to be drawn on the state of the Club’s finances but he did concede that the Club was facing a number of the same financial pressures as all other clubs in the Premiership. Furthermore, the size and shape of next year’s squad (and the coaching arrangements) were not yet finalised (although it was vital to maintain the quality of the squad)  and it would not yet be appropriate to discuss the Club’s thinking on these issues.   

 

Conor concluded the meeting by expressing the view that during the season he would like to have regular (say 6-weekly) meetings with LISC, as they provided the best opportunity for the Club to hear the views of the supporters  All present signified their agreement to this.  Annette Delaney is to contact Conor and the committee to agree a date for our next meeting early next week, it being agreed that it was worthwhile waiting until after the semi-final before finalising this.

 

There being no further matters for discussion the meeting ended at approximately 10.50pm.