Following the feedback that 'Push The Boundary' have received, alongside their own observations, they feel it is now the time to conduct another survey ( https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3QVHBZ9 ) as follows:
We have all seen the news regarding the closure of the North Stand in recent weeks and at this stage, it would appear there is no sign of a resolution to this issue. As we have stated on many occasions, the main people who are suffering as a result of this closure are the dedicated fans of this club. This stand offers the best facilities in the ground and supporters are having to be moved to other areas of the stadium, an area they didn’t choose and with facilities of a lower standard. There is also the consideration that the match day dynamic has totally changed along with pre/post match arrangements for fans.
We have received constructive feedback from areas of our fanbase as well as the club about the food, drink and programme boycott we arranged as well as the full match boycott that took place for the Carlisle game. We knew at the time that this was a divisive measure and it was not a decision that we took lightly but these actions resulted in a meeting with the club, something we don’t feel would have happened otherwise.
The decision to boycott would put financial strain on the finances of the club, we understand this but to counterbalance this, we feel certain decisions made by the owner and the board and other senior members of staff in the last 2 years have arguably put much more strain on our finances than any decision we as a group could make personally.
The current saga relating to the North Stand is another example of this. No resolution of this will almost certainly impact whether fans choose to renew their season tickets next season, and this will impact directly on the finances of the club.
Our last survey indicated the following:
- 65% of current ST holders would either not renew or were unsure
- 98% of non-ST holders were unlikely to buy a ST for the 2020/21 season
- 34% of North Stand ST holders would definitely renew for the 2020/21 season
We want to try and ascertain the exact impact of this so we can advise the club in the hope that they will reconsider their refusal to reach a positive outcome on the situation regarding the stand given the potential impact it may have. We know how difficult it is to get lapsed fans back into the stadium and we want to avoid this at all costs.
The decline in attendances this season is there for all to see and we fear this will continue into next season. We have added some analysis for attendances on our website link at http://pushtheboundary.co.uk/season-ticket-survey-20-02-2020
This is for all away games this season in comparison to last season, the caveat being:
- not recording games against teams newly promoted or relegated. It is a comparison against teams we played last season
- No results for games when the away attendance couldn’t be found (Stevenage & Swindon)
This shows that away attendances are down 43% on last season. This is a scary statistic. Attendances at home games (home fans only) are down on average by 780. This is a decline of circa 30% and we feel this is not just down to on the field issues. We fear this could decline even further in the 2020/21 season. We have seen with our “You are my Oldham...” feature the love that people have for this club and it is great to read through them all and we desperately need the club to understand that this club is so much more than just the product on the pitch, it’s family, friends, community and passion.
Please take time to complete this short survey and have your say. Once we have the results back we shall use the information as follows:
- Approach the club to advise them of the results
- Approach media outlets who may be interested in our plight
- Inform regulatory bodies of the issues we face in the hope we can accelerate the re-opening or the stand
- Make informed decisions about our next steps following your input in conjunction with plans that we already have
Rest assured we will leave no stone unturned in trying to improve the experience that fans have on a match day. If you have any specific ideas, comments or suggestions please let us know at info@pushtheboundary.co.uk
Reclaim The Faith
PTB