Minutes of Meeting held on Thursday 1st February 2007

Agenda.

1. Welcome

2. Confirmation of attendance and apologies for absence.

3. Minutes of previous meeting.

4. Matters arising

5. Chief Executive update to include Block N section.

6. Match day atmosphere and entertainment to include

a) Singing Section
b) Supporter Drum
c) Outside the Stadium entertainment.

7. 2007-2008 Season ticket campaign

8. 2007-2008 Season kit

9. Catering Report

10. Any Other Business

11. Next Meeting

In attendance

Tim Davies Andrew Neville
Chris Tinbergen Peter Jones
Linda Barron Ellen Bale
Andy Gubbins Chris Gubbins
Kevin Bunney Andy Wilford
Simon Winfield Kevin Bourgault
Alan Digby Cliff Ginnetta
Jamie Treadwell Simon McCarthy
Andrew Hunt Tony Elsby
Dominic Manning

1. Tim Davies welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2. Apologies for absence had been received from Lisa Hunt and Raj Kumar.

3. The minutes of the previous meeting were confirmed as a true and accurate record.

4. Matters arising :

Roadshows are being planned -details will be advertised
Sub committees had met regarding season tickets and kit for 2007-2008 season.
Foxlot - fans requested to continue to contact Supporter Hotline 0116 229 4555 or foxlot@lcfc.co.uk. Carey York is leaving the club and the Foxlot will be dealt with by Andrew Corcoran.
Jo (LCFC Steward) had been awarded the employee of the month.

PJ advised the meeting that Carey York was leaving LCFC and she wished to pass on her thanks to the committee and wished everyone well.

5. Tim Davies said that the club is continuing the takeover discussions with Mr Milan Mandaric but that everything was looking positive. He sympathised with lack of information being sent to supporters but stressed that the club are bound by the rules of the City Code.

A copy of a letter that had been sent to all season ticket holders in Block N was available for discussion.
The club has an opportunity to possibly sell additional tickets above the normal maximum allocation to away supporters at selected matches and this maximised revenue which is essential to the club. The view of our fans was being sought. PJ reported that over 90% of the fans that had replied would be prepared to move if the club wished to take up the option of selling additional tickets to our visitors.
Views were taken about the minority of fans that have expressed a wish not to move. It was agreed that all personal requests should be met and open dialogue continues with all our fans. Derby County and Birmingham City appear to the most likely matches where away support may exceed the normal allocation. It was stressed that no decisions either way has been taken and all feedback is being taken into account as our fans, particularly our season ticket holders are our lifeblood.

6. Jamie Treadwell had been invited to the meeting having contacted Tim Davies regarding the possibilities of setting up a 'singing section'. Along with his four colleagues they expressed a wish to try and help improve the atmosphere on match days. They had the full backing of the club and the meeting to trial a 'singing section'. TD gave his commitment on behalf of LCFC to the trial and to assist with the advertising.

AN showed the meeting a plan of the stadium and after discussion it was agreed to allocate an area at the back of N block. This is between Marks Electrical Family Stand and the away seating.

The group of fans will have use of a drum which will be kept at the Stadium and used on matchdays. The Coventry City match on February 17th will be the first match.

There was a positive reaction to the stalls and entertainments outside the Stadium on The North Stand brick weave. It was thought that some supporters would not be aware of the entertainment if they entered the stadium by the roundabout off Aylestone Road side.

7. CT spoke about season tickets for next season -2007/08. He thanked the committee members that had formed the sub committee to discuss. It meant that with the club takeover talks still ongoing, the earliest season tickets would be on sale would be March 2007 and we would inform supporters once we had further information. Different payment schemes will be considered and TD said that 'Direct Debit' schemes are part of the future plans for payment.
CG asked about the targeting of the two Leicester Universities. CT explained that both De Montfort and Leicester University are contacted regularly with different offers and incentives. The Varsity Match is due to be played soon at the Walkers Stadium and there will be an offer to link it to the match Coventry City (17th February 2007).
DM asked why a cup ticket(s) could not be included in the season ticket package. TD explained the financial implications on the club with a percentage of the gate receipts (including all season ticket holders) having to be split with the away club. This can lead to LCFC losing money from staging a home match and gave an example when this was the case in recent seasons when we played Crewe Alexandra and £85,000 was paid to our opponents despite a low attendance and cheap tickets.
LB asked about the price of Fulham tickets and a general discussion took place into ticket pricing for LCFC and football in general.

8. PJ thanked the members of the committee that had formed a sub committee to discuss the kit options for next season. The kit for 2007-2008 season is still being discussed with interested parties.

9. Kiosk Service report -.

PJ thanked the committee members that had reported their findings over a 5 match period from 16th December 2006 to 1st January 2007. This included 3 home matches and 2 away at Hull City and Southampton. The report forms part of the ongoing discussion with Lindley Catering to improve the quality of the service in public kiosks. There are concerns about the queuing times and the quality of some staff to carry out the work. The possibility of a soup option and beer being served from 'Tom Toms' (containers on back packs) will be discussed with Lindleys.
PJ said that curry would be available at selected locations in the Alliance and Leicester Stand v Luton Town along with a mobile trailer on the concourse serving hot drinks and pies.

10. Any Other Business.

CG asked if the queue at the ticket office before kick off could be arranged differently. There is confusion as to who is actually in the queue and the possibility of barriers being used will be considered. AN and CT will look into this and report back at the next meeting.
AD had heard that Ipswich Town was charging a higher price for LCFC fans than their own fans for the match on 10th February. This will be investigated.
AN outlined the decisions that had to be taken when considering the date change of the match v Cardiff City at Ninian Park and sympathised with fans that had made plans to travel for the Tuesday.
JT asked about the reserve team not playing competitive matches. AN explained that LCFC had been effectively along with all other non Premier League teams been removed from the Premier League Reserve League for this season. In conjunction with other Championship Clubs a decision had been taken to play 'training matches', particularly due to a small squad size.. A number have taken place, the most recent v Nottingham Forest.
CT gave an overview on the TeamCard and how the Club was looking at introducing more local partners to the scheme.
PJ said that the club will continue to send out the message that the stadium is 'smoke free'.
AN said that the home match v Birmingham City had been re-arranged for Tuesday 17th April 2007.
AG asked that the public address and stewards are clear in the organisation of a ' minutes silence'. There were examples of fans moving up and down the steps whilst the silence was in progress at the remembrance fixture.
TD stressed that the club are always pleased to hear from the fans and will continue to listen to concerns and any new ideas as exemplified by the 'singing section'.

11. Next Meeting - to be advised.