LUFC Answers Trust Questions
Leeds United Supporters Trust Statement - Friday 18 October 2013
*Trust members questions to LUFC and answers*
For our last public meeting held on Wednesday 28th August 2013 we
invited our members to raise issues and questions they would like us to
ask the club. We have now received answers to some of those questions
which we are grateful to the club for providing. Please see below the
full list of questions we sent the club in addition to the reply we have
now received; we would appreciate your thoughts and comments by email to
chair...@lufctrust.org <mailto:chair...@lufctrust.org>.
*1.Supporters Liaison*
*Q. *Could the club give a little more detail about their short terms
plans, for example the next 12 – 24 months, it is thought this would
promote a little more confidence amongst supporters ?
*Q. *Many LUFC fans remain on banning orders issued by the previous
regime; will the new owners look at an amnesty and allow back those
previously banned often for very minor transgressions?
*2. Supporters Groups*
*Q. *Whilst communication with LUST and the LUSC seems much better some
of the RMCs are feeling ignored and left out of the loop, are there
plans to hold another RMC forum or improve communications with them?
*Q. *When will the previously postponed Fans Forum be held?
*3. Media Relations*
*Q. *What would be the possibility of launching an LUTV app for smart
phones?
*4. Local Business Relations*
*Q. *Are the club looking to pursue Mr Bates former Court case against
Admatch?
*5. West Yorkshire Police / Stewarding Relations*
*Q. *The stewarding at ER seems to have improved with the exception of
the ‘purple bibs’ who are regarded as confrontational and aggressive,
why do we need them and who do they answer to?
*6. Club PR plans*
*Q. *Many fans would like to see greater use of flags and banners in
sections of the ground usually considered to be ‘singing’ areas, would
the club welcome this to help improve the atmosphere and make ER a
fortress again?
*Q. *Could the pre-match entertainment be improved or extended to
attract greater ticket sales with say a DJ or local Bands being
showcased before games?
*Q. *Billy’s statue is bronze, can it please be returned to a bronzed
finish as many feel the painted look is tacky?
*Q. *Will the club work with LUST to promote better acknowledgement of
our fans serving in the forces and help make them feel included whilst
home from, or away on, active duty?
*7. Other Ticket initiatives*
*Q. *Long distance fans often have to pay premium travel costs, would
the club be willing to work with transport providers to negotiate cost
saving travel? (We know the FSF are already working on this very subject).
*8. Ticketing/Pricing Policies*
*Q. *Can the membership structure be looked at again to offer more
affordable husband/wife/family packages that will allow tickets to be
booked as groups?
*Q. *Match categorisation is still seen as prohibitive in terms of
affordable tickets and thus bigger crowds, can this be looked at again?
*Q. *Away Supporters tickets at ER are quite prohibitive and we believe
that this is causing other clubs to inflate prices for LUFC away fans,
can the club look into this, and perhaps review the situation?
*9. Football Investment*
*Q. *With FFP not being enforced until 2014/15 should the club spend and
bring in players who can push for promotion this season?
*Q. *What is the clubs strategy for attracting top class players to join
LUFC?
*Q. *What was the thinking behind loaning Steve Morison to Millwall? Did
it release funds to bring in another player?
*10. Financials*
*Q. *What is the gate needed for break-even with respect to the club’s
financial running costs?
*Q. *What sort of debts and liabilities does the club have?
*Q. *Has the club had its financial/business plan fully accepted by the
FL as required under existing FFI (not FFP) rules ?
*11. Youth Development*
*Q. *It is our intention to monitor the club’s actions regarding
development as it is an area with a proud history at our club that fans
hold dear to their hearts. We would like to get an understanding of the
club’s future plans.
*12. Non-Football Investment plans*
*Q. *Are the hotel and casino plans now scrapped?
*Q. *Why could Yorkshire Radio not have been sold, off rather than just
shut down?
*13. Ownership*
*Q. *The ownership structure still seems confusing, will GFHC clarify it
please?
*Q. *Lots of questions about the possibility of a supporter based share
purchase in the club, would the club be receptive to proposals?
*Q. *Who are the beneficial owners of the club?
*Q. *What sort of investment is being sought and from whom?
*Q. *Is there any truth in the Red Bull rumours?
*Q. *Many fans are still confused about the invest or sell position, it
seems clear David and Salem feel they have a long term strategy whilst
GFH policy seems to be a “sell at a Profit” one? What is the situation
in laymen’s terms?
*14. Plans for Elland Road / Thorp Arch*
*Q. *Who owns ER and TA and what are the plans to buy them back if any?
*Q. *What happened to the investment that was in the news before the
Brighton game to buy back ER and invest in the team? Was this just a PR
exercise to sell tickets?
*This week we received the following reply from the club;*
Hi Gary,
I hope you're well.
Please see attached questions that you sent through on behalf of LUST.
As you will note, the questions that have been answered are supporter
related questions and will hopefully give your member’s insight into the
club, as it stands.
On a separate note, please let me know when Martin next free and we will
look to get a date in the diary.
Kind Regards
Laura Bland
Leeds United Football Club Limited
Attached;
*Responses to LUST Initiatives/Questions *
*1. Supporters Liaison *
*Q. *Many LUFC fans remain on banning orders issued by the previous
regime; will the new owners look at an amnesty and allow back those
previously banned often for very minor transgressions?
/*A. *It is very difficult to give a 'blanket' response to this question
and say that we will release all bans. All circumstances and situations
surrounding the bans are all very different. /
/The disciplinary process was reviewed in advance of last season and we
introduced a scaling system; Low, Medium and High. Minor offences were
classed as low and did not receive a ban they just received a behaviour
agreement. Each case is treated individually./
*2. Supporters Groups *
*Q. *Whilst communication with LUST and the LUSC seems much better some
of the RMCs are feeling ignored and left out of the loop, are there
plans to hold another RMC forum or improve communications with them?
/*A. *//We have a RMC conference planned for November 2013 and have a
number of Leeds On The Road events planned for different locations
around the country. These events will give members of our RMCs the
opportunity to question key management figures – Brian McDermott has
pledged to visit as many as possible – as well as our ambassadors. /
/The Club are planning to engage and communicate more effectively with
all fans groups going forward. /
*3. Media Relations *
*Q. *What would be the possibility of launching an LUTV app for smart
phones?
/*A. *//We are hopeful that commentary will be availablevia smartphones
and tablets within a matter of weeks. /
/Perform, our service providers, are also working on a solution
regarding making paid-for video content available via
smartphones/tablets. The issue they are facing is protecting the content
from piracy./
*5. West Yorkshire Police / Stewarding Relations *
*Q. *The stewarding at ER seems to have improved with the exception of
the ‘purple bibs’, why do we need them and who do they answer to?
/*A. *//The Response Team (purple bibs) are present to deal with more
difficult and challenging situations. For example, for high profile
fixtures where there is potential for disorder, they may be situated in
the away section on the segregation line between home and away fans. /
/The Club employ the response team and they form part of the match day
stewarding arrangements. A number of the response team are individuals
employed by the Club and a number are recruited from agencies. /
/Their work can be challenging at times and we will guide them accordingly./
*6. Club PR plans *
*Q. *Many fans would like to see greater use of flags and banners in
sections of the ground usually considered to be ‘singing’ areas, would
the club welcome this to help improve the atmosphere and make ER a
fortress again?
/*A. *//This is an area that the club will review, although checks would
need to be made to ensure that the flags/banners are fire resistant and
carry the appropriate certificate. No poles would be allowed. /
/We have previously allowed a giant shirt to be passed around the stands. /
*Q. *Could the pre-match entertainment be improved or extended to
attract greater ticket sales with say a DJ or local Bands being
showcased before games?
/*A. *//We have recently launched the Family Zone in the East Stand as
part of our initiative to reach out to the younger generation. As part
of the Family Zone we have different acts perform every week. These
includes, bands, dance acts, face painters and many more. Scream, a
local band performed at the recent Bournemouth fixture. /
/Heineken, our official Beer Partner has also recently introduced
‘Fosters Live’ in the Centenary Pavilion. This consists of live acts and
entertainment performing every match day and is arranged by Heineken. /
*Q. *Billy’s statue is bronze, can it please be returned to a bronzed
finish as many feel the painted look is tacky?
/*A. *//When the statue was originally sculptured it wasn’t completely
bronzed, it had an off-white colour to it. In 2010 we were approached by
the sculptor who repainted the statue in a brighter colour as she
preferred this. We do not feel it would be suitable or possible to amend
this. //We will liaise with the sculptor./
*Q. *Will the club work with LUST to promote better acknowledgement of
our fans serving in the forces and help make them feel included whilst
home from or away on active duty?
/*A. *//I understand you have spoken with Stix and Laura Bland regarding
this and are in the process of arranging a meeting in early December. /
*7. Other Ticket initiatives *
*Q. *Long distance fans often have to pay premium travel costs, would
the club be willing to work with transport providers to negotiate cost
saving travel (we know the FSF are already working on this very subject)?
/*A. *//I am sure we could assist on this to try and reduce travel
costs. The Club could also link up supporters groups in the same areas
to try and reduce costs. This topic is on the agenda for the RMC
Conference in November./
*8. Ticketing/Pricing Policies *
*Q. *Can the membership structure be looked at again to offer more
affordable husband/wife/family packages that will allow tickets to be
booked as groups?
/*A. *//Ahead of the 2013/14 Season, following fans feedback, the Club
reviewed the membership packages and introduced a tiered membership
scheme. The new tiered scheme means a cheaper priced entry level for
Membership. /
/The Membership packages cannot be changed part way through the season,
but if LUST would like to send some ideas / suggestions through, I will
keep their feedback on file and review at the end of the current season. /
*Q. *Match categorisation is still seen as prohibitive in terms of
affordable tickets and thus bigger crowds, can this be looked at again?
/*A. *//Match categories are in place for this season and cannot be
changed part way through. The reason being is that they have to be
submitted to the Football League at the start of the season. The season
ticket prices are based on a certain number of Category As, Bs and Cs.
Therefore, we cannot change the pricing structure as this will affect
the value of the season/ /tickets. The season ticket must always
represent better value than purchasing tickets on a match by match basis. /
/As you will know, match categories are not announced at the start of
the season and are usually announced 4 weeks before the game. This
allows the Club the opportunity to review the circumstances of the game
before releasing the category. Before a match category is announced, the
Senior Management team take several factors into account. The Club
consider the costs to stage the game including the police bill, the day
that the match is to be played, the League position of the opposition
team along with other contributing factors. /
*Q. *Away Supporters tickets at ER are quite prohibitive and we believe
that this is causing other clubs to inflate prices for LUFC away fans,
can the club look into this and perhaps review the situation?
/*A. *//The Club's pricing structure is declared to the Football League
in advance of the season and this cannot be changed part way through the
season. As per League rules, you must charge the visiting fans the same
prices as per home fans in comparable areas. /
/We don't feel that the visitors arrangements at Elland Road is the
reason for other clubs to inflate prices for our fans when we travel
away from home. Our Ticket Office mangers speaks to all Clubs on a
regular basis. The main factor for high prices for our fans at away
games is purely down to the volume of tickets that we sell and
anticipated revenue for the host club. /
*ENDS*
*As stated earlier, we would welcome your feedback on
*chair...@lufctrust.org <mailto:chair...@lufctrust.org>
Supporters can also join more than 9,000 other Leeds fans and have their
voice heard as members of the Leeds United Supporters’ Trust by filling
in the form at www.lufctrust.org
_______________________________________________
Leedslist mailing list
Info and options: http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist
To unsubscribe, email leedslist-unsubscr...@gn.apc.org
MARCHING ON TOGETHER
