Post by QPR Report on Mar 8, 2010 14:41:42 GMT
Football League
SHORTLIST IN FOCUS: FAMILY CLUB
Posted on: 08.03.2010
The 2010 Football League Awards take place on Sunday 14th March and all this week in the build-up to the prestigious ceremony we will be focusing on those in contention to receive awards on the night. Football League clubs are going to great lengths to attract the next generation of football supporters to grounds. Here we highlight those that are leading the way and whose efforts see them in contention to be named 'E.ON Family Club of the Year'.
E.ON FAMILY CLUB OF THE YEAR
JUDGING CRITERIA:
Between August and December 2009, each club was visited by selected families undertaking a mystery exercise. This, together with specially targeted pricing for families, such as The Football League's Fans of the Future initiative, participation in the Enjoy the Match Campaign and information relating to the child safety and family comfort, will be considered in the awarding of Family Excellence status. Only clubs receiving the Family Excellence Award were eligible for the Family Club of the Year Award. To help judges reach their decision on the Family Club of the Year, each club was asked to provide a submission on why they felt they should achieve the Family Club of the Year for their division.
CHAMPIONSHIP SHORTLIST:
CARDIFF CITY:
Cardiff City is a club that have continually put a vast amount of effort into being a 'family club'. This is reflected in their pricing structure of tickets, offering under 9's free season tickets and offering a £40 family ticket for 2 adults and 2 children. Also in the last three years, Cardiff have seen a big increase in season tickets with over 3,500 adults and children now enjoying the facilities of the Family Stand. The Family Stand at Cardiff is the stand most often close to full capacity and the focus is on increasing this stand further. The mystery visit noted how enjoyable the general atmosphere of the game was while they felt safe throughout, a key element to families attending football matches. What is pleasing though is that the club are not resting on their laurels and have many exciting plans for the future. For example, they hope to install a supervised Playstation area that will allow adults with young children the opportunity to engage in other activities, whilst the parents continue to watch the match either from the stands or on TV's displayed in the area. This would really add to the already fantastic family matchday experience on offer at Cardiff City Stadium and it is innovations like this that mean Cardiff continue to be a leading club in this area. The judges certainly felt that the future looks even brighter given the number of planned family innovations on top of the already fantastic current match day activity.
COVENTRY CITY:
Coventry City has developed a new family zone at the Ricoh Arena to ensure families attending games there have an enjoyable and entertaining experience as possible. The area allows parents to entertain their children pre-match in a safe environment and the judges in particular picked up on this and really praised the establishment of this area. Coventry City encourages families to attend match days through their ticket pricing structure with a discounted family ticket and under 7's attending for free. Another incentive used by the club to encourage families is their participation in 'Tickets for Schools' Campaign which offers tickets directly to schools at a reduced price. Now, once families get to the Ricoh Arena with the new family zone together with the continued great use of the club mascot they get to watch the game in a safe and fun atmosphere that makes them want to come back time and again.
READING:
Reading have put into place some fantastic family friendly programmes within the Madejski Stadium to make attending a match a truly family event. The focus on children attending football matches in a clean, safe and friendly environment is clear throughout everything they do, while alongside this their ticketing initiatives such as under 5's go free, special match ticket promotions and group discounts for families make it very accessible. Their participation in the Enjoy the Match campaign has gone above and beyond, while they also run a very successful Young Royals Club which has benefits of match tickets for just £1. The mystery home and away visits were practically faultless and highlighted the attentiveness, friendliness and knowledge of many members of staff including those at the food kiosk. Also, of particular note, was the fantastic way the club's mascot, Kingsley the Lion, engaged with the children before and during the game. The judges praised Reading's comprehensive, warm, friendly and tremendously well organised match day with lots of innovation including the mini pundit and the away family area. Overall, the effort put in by everyone at the club has been the key to developing the strong family ethos that is so clearly evident.
LEICESTER CITY:
Leicester City has managed to transform the family experience at the Walkers Stadium with fresh initiatives to make the matchday an enjoyable experience for families. Such initiatives include the 'Guard of Honour' which allows children the opportunity to welcome players onto the pitch and to have a look behind the scenes. Also Leicester provide a range of special activities such as face painting to keep children entertained in the Family Stand. The dedication of the staff was acknowledged by the mystery visit, who highlighted that club personnel took time to engage with families to take on board how their experience could be improved. The judges particularly noted the improvement of the stewarding shown by the club to the extent they are leading the way in this area and this is shown throughout the comments from the mystery visit. The extra mile Leicester City has gone makes them extremely worthy of this nomination and rightly able to claim they are a true family club.
PLYMOUTH ARGYLE:
The activities undertaken by Plymouth Argyle to ensure a fun filled family day experience at matches are more than deserving of being highlighted. The mystery visit was undertaken when the club was staging a popular themed day, including lots magical wizardry in their entertainment activities. Children were able to purchase themed cakes and sweets for the pocket money price of £1, while there was a mascot on hand to engage with the children. Aside from these specifically themed activities, Plymouth has many other ongoing incentives that encourage families to attend matches. Such examples are that adult season ticket holders can claim a second free season-ticket for an accompanied child under 10, while a regular innovative idea is that children are invited to leave their mark at the stadium by planting a handprint on the walls! A particular element that the judges picked up on was introduction of free 'football special' buses where people show their match tickets to the bus driver and get free travel as this helps family groups in particular get to the game. As well as free bus journeys, Argyle has teamed up with First Great Western rail to offer fans £6 return fares to home games. All these elements and more help to ensure that football can be watched in a friendly, fun, family atmosphere at Home Park, making it one of the best places in the country for this.
PRESTON NORTH END:
The focus for Preston North End lies upon creating a community spirit at match days. This has been highlighted by the innovative idea that parents can drop their children off on matchdays and rest assured they will be looked after following the creation of a family room which includes a pool table, a Nintendo Wii and a tuck shop. This allows families and children a safe and entertaining place to go before, during and after the match. As one judge commented it was "great to see an area where families can go with activities to do, for home and away fans". Preston North End also runs trips for children and families to destinations such as Blackpool Tower and Pleasure Beach and a local Wetland Centre prior to the match. The mystery visit highlighted the pocket money friendly gift shop where children could afford to purchase memorabilia, a stand out item being a DVD for only £2.50. Overall, these fresh ideas alongside with the existing family values installed within Preston North End, all contribute to an outstanding family day out at Deepdale.
LEAGUE 1 SHORTLIST:
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN:
The projects that Huddersfield Town have introduced and developed this season make them a worthy nominee for Family Club of the Year. Recently launched at The Galpharm Stadium is the new 'Family Information Centre' which is situated outside the Stadium and offers families attending matchdays a first port of call for any information they may need before the game. Also catching the eye of the judges was the 'Fantastic Family Stand' which not only lives up to its name by offering fantastic value for money season tickets aimed at families but also has activity such as face painting, jugglers, free-gifts, balloon modellers and interactive branding that includes a chance for children to measure themselves against the team's goalkeeper! Activity is not limited to the stand though with a great variety of entertainment that takes place on matchdays including themed matches, games for children and a range of half-time entertainment. The Club have teamed up with 200 schools in a successful '7's scheme' where children on their 7th birthday are invited to a game, with three further complimentary tickets and given a free replica shirt. The mystery visit to Huddersfield particularly picked up on the very visible presence of the Enjoy the Match campaign with stewards giving out stickers to children. By adding a whole range of new activity and initiatives it is clear that Huddersfield have really built upon their already solid foundations as one of the leading family focussed clubs around.
MILTON KEYNES DONS:
The mystery visit to Milton Keynes Dons resulted in a long list of positive attributes about the club and the family experience they provided! The match day experience started positively from the offset as they noted they were extremely impressed with the ticket office who identified they were a new family and told them everything they needed to know - just one example as to how the family focus is right at the heart of everything the club does. Judges picked up on the family focus surrounding Johnstone's Paint Trophy matches with them implementing the early kick off time of 7pm specifically so young children can attend. The judges also picked up on the fact that projects, such as 'watch the players train' events which take place during summer holidays and the Young Dons Christmas Party, were successful in attracting young fans. This is reflected in statistics supplied by Milton Keynes Dons such as 85% of 16 year old season ticket holders in 2008/09 went on to renew as 17-21's for season 2009/10. Also 30% of season ticket holders are aged under 16, emphasizing the clubs commitment to constantly improve its welcome to families. Overall, Milton Keynes Dons clearly has strong family focus and as a club can be rightly proud of their achievements in this area.
NORWICH CITY:
Norwich City continue to be one of the leading lights when it comes to families and football and so it is no surprise that the mystery visit to Carrow Road resulted in over 15 real 'highs' of attending the club as a family, an impressive result. Included in these 'high' points were the great deals available on family tickets, with under-12 season tickets at just £25 and under-16s only £50. The family area is also one of the largest around with 7,500 seats, which is 29% of Carrow Road's capacity! Also strongly emphasised from the visit was the family atmosphere outside of the stadium. Goody bags were available outside of the ground at a reasonable price to encourage children to purchase them while also outside was the club's mascot who does a fantastic job engaging with children. This set the 'family atmosphere' from the outset, starting the visit on a great note which lasted throughout the game. This does not just happen by itself though and is a result of the hard work put in by the club. In 2009 the club introduced 'open training sessions' which gave children the chance to watch players train, being interviewed, signing sessions as well as prize draws. This proved to be very successful and as a result the club plan to hold more sessions. All this contributes to a matchday experience that the judges felt just oozed family appeal.
SOUTHEND UNITED:
Southend United has, this season, provided more family based activities than ever before. A key initiative is their schools partnership where over 30,000 children were invited to come along to a game with their parent/s, out of this over 3,000 families have attended and 100 new family season tickets have been purchased. These impressive statistics show the development of Southend United's focus on the family. The club also holds themed days for children such as Halloween and Christmas where children are encouraged to wear fancy dress and can take part in half time competitions on the pitch as well as several family days. The judges were very impressed with the strong junior membership which now has over 3000 members and has been developed further with the new 'teen blues' club which now has over 500 members. In summary, Southend United have really impressed with their family focussed work this season and it is something that is clearly paying dividends.
SWINDON TOWN:
Swindon Town have put a lot of effort into making The County Ground as family friendly as possible this season. They have introduced the opportunity for children under 10 to attend matches for free, a manned matchday information point, improved stadium signage and specific themed match days which are designed to attract families to the club. The themes include 'The Beach Party' which encouraged fans to attend matches wearing bright beach clothes, with prizes going to the best dressed and 'The Generation Game' which encourages 3 generations of a family to attend matches at concession prices and then participate in a half time 'Generation Game'. The mystery fan visit to Swindon noticed the use of the 'families first' logo displayed throughout the ground which enables speedier, hassle free access to the ground for families. The visit also picked up on the great atmosphere throughout the game which was very much enhanced by Rockin Robin, the club Mascot who performed a dance in the centre of the pitch and who actively engaged with both home and away fans. The judging panel felt that Swindon have rocketed upwards in terms of their family focus in the last two years and the difference is quite remarkable - they are now thoroughly deserving of being considered a genuinely family friendly club.
LEAGUE 2 SHORTLIST:
BARNET:
Barnet helps to encourage families to attend games by offering discounted tickets in the family stand. A family of 2 adults and 2 under 18's can attend for just £30. The club are now introducing a new initiative for next season with under-14s able to buy a membership for £18 to cover all 23 home League 2 games. As well as these ticketing initiatives, Barnet put on specific events to encourage social inclusion and a sense of community, specifically through their annual Community Day which they encourage families to attend with many different activities available such as various football challenges and stalls. The mystery visit took place on one of Barnet's 'fun days', which was based around 'Help for Heroes' and had a marching band and the mascots were out and about and engaging with the children, a particular highlight for the families that attended. The judges felt the club offered a great family experience - a lot of warmth and the visiting families were quite taken aback by friendliness. This sums up the experience reported at Barnet and the fantastic family nature of the club.
ROCHDALE:
Rochdale has been leading the way on the pitch this season but off-the pitch they are matching the team's efforts when it comes to attracting families to Spotland. The ticketing structure of Rochdale is particularly family focused with under 7's season tickets being free and family tickets being just £20 with an additional child only £5. Rochdale have also introduced a 19 and under ticket at a discounted rate to accommodate school leavers, apprentices and students. The interaction with the local community allows Rochdale to issue free tickets to participating schools and groups to encourage children and their families to attend matchdays. The mystery visitor predominantly noted the genuinely helpful nature and friendless of the staff right across the board from the turnstile operators to the club shop staff. The staff went towards making the family that attended feel safe and so welcome that they stated they would definitely be making a return visit. A particular element noted by the judges was Spotland hosting a Kabbaddi match which they felt "bought the community together" and just an example of the real family ethos that can be found at Rochdale.
SHREWSBURY TOWN:
Shrewsbury Town actively encourage family attendance at the ProStar Stadium with an adult ticket and 2 under 11's costing only £17. Once people get to the match though it is clear that the staff at Shrewsbury are heavily involved in helping to create a family friendly atmosphere on match days. This includes the playing staff as well as non-playing players spending time pre-kick off engaging with fans in the family stand which seats over 700 fans. Alongside this the club also have a dedicated Away family area, something which drew particular praise from the judges. The mystery family visit that took place was very positively reviewed with two aspects of real note - the club shop was well stocked and included many items for children to purchase with their pocket money, while the way the mascot engaged with fans and threw sweets out to children in the crowd was of particular note. The Enjoy the Match campaign was extremely prominent with posters throughout the stadium, including in the club shop and the visitor noted that not once on their visit was bad language heard. The judging panel expressed that Shrewsbury had offered a consistently excellent family experience since moving to the new stadium and this year had improved yet again. Overall, a great effort and rightly once again among the best.
www.football-league.co.uk/latestnews/20100308/shortlist-in-focus-family-club_2245681_1987744
SHORTLIST IN FOCUS: FAMILY CLUB
Posted on: 08.03.2010
The 2010 Football League Awards take place on Sunday 14th March and all this week in the build-up to the prestigious ceremony we will be focusing on those in contention to receive awards on the night. Football League clubs are going to great lengths to attract the next generation of football supporters to grounds. Here we highlight those that are leading the way and whose efforts see them in contention to be named 'E.ON Family Club of the Year'.
E.ON FAMILY CLUB OF THE YEAR
JUDGING CRITERIA:
Between August and December 2009, each club was visited by selected families undertaking a mystery exercise. This, together with specially targeted pricing for families, such as The Football League's Fans of the Future initiative, participation in the Enjoy the Match Campaign and information relating to the child safety and family comfort, will be considered in the awarding of Family Excellence status. Only clubs receiving the Family Excellence Award were eligible for the Family Club of the Year Award. To help judges reach their decision on the Family Club of the Year, each club was asked to provide a submission on why they felt they should achieve the Family Club of the Year for their division.
CHAMPIONSHIP SHORTLIST:
CARDIFF CITY:
Cardiff City is a club that have continually put a vast amount of effort into being a 'family club'. This is reflected in their pricing structure of tickets, offering under 9's free season tickets and offering a £40 family ticket for 2 adults and 2 children. Also in the last three years, Cardiff have seen a big increase in season tickets with over 3,500 adults and children now enjoying the facilities of the Family Stand. The Family Stand at Cardiff is the stand most often close to full capacity and the focus is on increasing this stand further. The mystery visit noted how enjoyable the general atmosphere of the game was while they felt safe throughout, a key element to families attending football matches. What is pleasing though is that the club are not resting on their laurels and have many exciting plans for the future. For example, they hope to install a supervised Playstation area that will allow adults with young children the opportunity to engage in other activities, whilst the parents continue to watch the match either from the stands or on TV's displayed in the area. This would really add to the already fantastic family matchday experience on offer at Cardiff City Stadium and it is innovations like this that mean Cardiff continue to be a leading club in this area. The judges certainly felt that the future looks even brighter given the number of planned family innovations on top of the already fantastic current match day activity.
COVENTRY CITY:
Coventry City has developed a new family zone at the Ricoh Arena to ensure families attending games there have an enjoyable and entertaining experience as possible. The area allows parents to entertain their children pre-match in a safe environment and the judges in particular picked up on this and really praised the establishment of this area. Coventry City encourages families to attend match days through their ticket pricing structure with a discounted family ticket and under 7's attending for free. Another incentive used by the club to encourage families is their participation in 'Tickets for Schools' Campaign which offers tickets directly to schools at a reduced price. Now, once families get to the Ricoh Arena with the new family zone together with the continued great use of the club mascot they get to watch the game in a safe and fun atmosphere that makes them want to come back time and again.
READING:
Reading have put into place some fantastic family friendly programmes within the Madejski Stadium to make attending a match a truly family event. The focus on children attending football matches in a clean, safe and friendly environment is clear throughout everything they do, while alongside this their ticketing initiatives such as under 5's go free, special match ticket promotions and group discounts for families make it very accessible. Their participation in the Enjoy the Match campaign has gone above and beyond, while they also run a very successful Young Royals Club which has benefits of match tickets for just £1. The mystery home and away visits were practically faultless and highlighted the attentiveness, friendliness and knowledge of many members of staff including those at the food kiosk. Also, of particular note, was the fantastic way the club's mascot, Kingsley the Lion, engaged with the children before and during the game. The judges praised Reading's comprehensive, warm, friendly and tremendously well organised match day with lots of innovation including the mini pundit and the away family area. Overall, the effort put in by everyone at the club has been the key to developing the strong family ethos that is so clearly evident.
LEICESTER CITY:
Leicester City has managed to transform the family experience at the Walkers Stadium with fresh initiatives to make the matchday an enjoyable experience for families. Such initiatives include the 'Guard of Honour' which allows children the opportunity to welcome players onto the pitch and to have a look behind the scenes. Also Leicester provide a range of special activities such as face painting to keep children entertained in the Family Stand. The dedication of the staff was acknowledged by the mystery visit, who highlighted that club personnel took time to engage with families to take on board how their experience could be improved. The judges particularly noted the improvement of the stewarding shown by the club to the extent they are leading the way in this area and this is shown throughout the comments from the mystery visit. The extra mile Leicester City has gone makes them extremely worthy of this nomination and rightly able to claim they are a true family club.
PLYMOUTH ARGYLE:
The activities undertaken by Plymouth Argyle to ensure a fun filled family day experience at matches are more than deserving of being highlighted. The mystery visit was undertaken when the club was staging a popular themed day, including lots magical wizardry in their entertainment activities. Children were able to purchase themed cakes and sweets for the pocket money price of £1, while there was a mascot on hand to engage with the children. Aside from these specifically themed activities, Plymouth has many other ongoing incentives that encourage families to attend matches. Such examples are that adult season ticket holders can claim a second free season-ticket for an accompanied child under 10, while a regular innovative idea is that children are invited to leave their mark at the stadium by planting a handprint on the walls! A particular element that the judges picked up on was introduction of free 'football special' buses where people show their match tickets to the bus driver and get free travel as this helps family groups in particular get to the game. As well as free bus journeys, Argyle has teamed up with First Great Western rail to offer fans £6 return fares to home games. All these elements and more help to ensure that football can be watched in a friendly, fun, family atmosphere at Home Park, making it one of the best places in the country for this.
PRESTON NORTH END:
The focus for Preston North End lies upon creating a community spirit at match days. This has been highlighted by the innovative idea that parents can drop their children off on matchdays and rest assured they will be looked after following the creation of a family room which includes a pool table, a Nintendo Wii and a tuck shop. This allows families and children a safe and entertaining place to go before, during and after the match. As one judge commented it was "great to see an area where families can go with activities to do, for home and away fans". Preston North End also runs trips for children and families to destinations such as Blackpool Tower and Pleasure Beach and a local Wetland Centre prior to the match. The mystery visit highlighted the pocket money friendly gift shop where children could afford to purchase memorabilia, a stand out item being a DVD for only £2.50. Overall, these fresh ideas alongside with the existing family values installed within Preston North End, all contribute to an outstanding family day out at Deepdale.
LEAGUE 1 SHORTLIST:
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN:
The projects that Huddersfield Town have introduced and developed this season make them a worthy nominee for Family Club of the Year. Recently launched at The Galpharm Stadium is the new 'Family Information Centre' which is situated outside the Stadium and offers families attending matchdays a first port of call for any information they may need before the game. Also catching the eye of the judges was the 'Fantastic Family Stand' which not only lives up to its name by offering fantastic value for money season tickets aimed at families but also has activity such as face painting, jugglers, free-gifts, balloon modellers and interactive branding that includes a chance for children to measure themselves against the team's goalkeeper! Activity is not limited to the stand though with a great variety of entertainment that takes place on matchdays including themed matches, games for children and a range of half-time entertainment. The Club have teamed up with 200 schools in a successful '7's scheme' where children on their 7th birthday are invited to a game, with three further complimentary tickets and given a free replica shirt. The mystery visit to Huddersfield particularly picked up on the very visible presence of the Enjoy the Match campaign with stewards giving out stickers to children. By adding a whole range of new activity and initiatives it is clear that Huddersfield have really built upon their already solid foundations as one of the leading family focussed clubs around.
MILTON KEYNES DONS:
The mystery visit to Milton Keynes Dons resulted in a long list of positive attributes about the club and the family experience they provided! The match day experience started positively from the offset as they noted they were extremely impressed with the ticket office who identified they were a new family and told them everything they needed to know - just one example as to how the family focus is right at the heart of everything the club does. Judges picked up on the family focus surrounding Johnstone's Paint Trophy matches with them implementing the early kick off time of 7pm specifically so young children can attend. The judges also picked up on the fact that projects, such as 'watch the players train' events which take place during summer holidays and the Young Dons Christmas Party, were successful in attracting young fans. This is reflected in statistics supplied by Milton Keynes Dons such as 85% of 16 year old season ticket holders in 2008/09 went on to renew as 17-21's for season 2009/10. Also 30% of season ticket holders are aged under 16, emphasizing the clubs commitment to constantly improve its welcome to families. Overall, Milton Keynes Dons clearly has strong family focus and as a club can be rightly proud of their achievements in this area.
NORWICH CITY:
Norwich City continue to be one of the leading lights when it comes to families and football and so it is no surprise that the mystery visit to Carrow Road resulted in over 15 real 'highs' of attending the club as a family, an impressive result. Included in these 'high' points were the great deals available on family tickets, with under-12 season tickets at just £25 and under-16s only £50. The family area is also one of the largest around with 7,500 seats, which is 29% of Carrow Road's capacity! Also strongly emphasised from the visit was the family atmosphere outside of the stadium. Goody bags were available outside of the ground at a reasonable price to encourage children to purchase them while also outside was the club's mascot who does a fantastic job engaging with children. This set the 'family atmosphere' from the outset, starting the visit on a great note which lasted throughout the game. This does not just happen by itself though and is a result of the hard work put in by the club. In 2009 the club introduced 'open training sessions' which gave children the chance to watch players train, being interviewed, signing sessions as well as prize draws. This proved to be very successful and as a result the club plan to hold more sessions. All this contributes to a matchday experience that the judges felt just oozed family appeal.
SOUTHEND UNITED:
Southend United has, this season, provided more family based activities than ever before. A key initiative is their schools partnership where over 30,000 children were invited to come along to a game with their parent/s, out of this over 3,000 families have attended and 100 new family season tickets have been purchased. These impressive statistics show the development of Southend United's focus on the family. The club also holds themed days for children such as Halloween and Christmas where children are encouraged to wear fancy dress and can take part in half time competitions on the pitch as well as several family days. The judges were very impressed with the strong junior membership which now has over 3000 members and has been developed further with the new 'teen blues' club which now has over 500 members. In summary, Southend United have really impressed with their family focussed work this season and it is something that is clearly paying dividends.
SWINDON TOWN:
Swindon Town have put a lot of effort into making The County Ground as family friendly as possible this season. They have introduced the opportunity for children under 10 to attend matches for free, a manned matchday information point, improved stadium signage and specific themed match days which are designed to attract families to the club. The themes include 'The Beach Party' which encouraged fans to attend matches wearing bright beach clothes, with prizes going to the best dressed and 'The Generation Game' which encourages 3 generations of a family to attend matches at concession prices and then participate in a half time 'Generation Game'. The mystery fan visit to Swindon noticed the use of the 'families first' logo displayed throughout the ground which enables speedier, hassle free access to the ground for families. The visit also picked up on the great atmosphere throughout the game which was very much enhanced by Rockin Robin, the club Mascot who performed a dance in the centre of the pitch and who actively engaged with both home and away fans. The judging panel felt that Swindon have rocketed upwards in terms of their family focus in the last two years and the difference is quite remarkable - they are now thoroughly deserving of being considered a genuinely family friendly club.
LEAGUE 2 SHORTLIST:
BARNET:
Barnet helps to encourage families to attend games by offering discounted tickets in the family stand. A family of 2 adults and 2 under 18's can attend for just £30. The club are now introducing a new initiative for next season with under-14s able to buy a membership for £18 to cover all 23 home League 2 games. As well as these ticketing initiatives, Barnet put on specific events to encourage social inclusion and a sense of community, specifically through their annual Community Day which they encourage families to attend with many different activities available such as various football challenges and stalls. The mystery visit took place on one of Barnet's 'fun days', which was based around 'Help for Heroes' and had a marching band and the mascots were out and about and engaging with the children, a particular highlight for the families that attended. The judges felt the club offered a great family experience - a lot of warmth and the visiting families were quite taken aback by friendliness. This sums up the experience reported at Barnet and the fantastic family nature of the club.
ROCHDALE:
Rochdale has been leading the way on the pitch this season but off-the pitch they are matching the team's efforts when it comes to attracting families to Spotland. The ticketing structure of Rochdale is particularly family focused with under 7's season tickets being free and family tickets being just £20 with an additional child only £5. Rochdale have also introduced a 19 and under ticket at a discounted rate to accommodate school leavers, apprentices and students. The interaction with the local community allows Rochdale to issue free tickets to participating schools and groups to encourage children and their families to attend matchdays. The mystery visitor predominantly noted the genuinely helpful nature and friendless of the staff right across the board from the turnstile operators to the club shop staff. The staff went towards making the family that attended feel safe and so welcome that they stated they would definitely be making a return visit. A particular element noted by the judges was Spotland hosting a Kabbaddi match which they felt "bought the community together" and just an example of the real family ethos that can be found at Rochdale.
SHREWSBURY TOWN:
Shrewsbury Town actively encourage family attendance at the ProStar Stadium with an adult ticket and 2 under 11's costing only £17. Once people get to the match though it is clear that the staff at Shrewsbury are heavily involved in helping to create a family friendly atmosphere on match days. This includes the playing staff as well as non-playing players spending time pre-kick off engaging with fans in the family stand which seats over 700 fans. Alongside this the club also have a dedicated Away family area, something which drew particular praise from the judges. The mystery family visit that took place was very positively reviewed with two aspects of real note - the club shop was well stocked and included many items for children to purchase with their pocket money, while the way the mascot engaged with fans and threw sweets out to children in the crowd was of particular note. The Enjoy the Match campaign was extremely prominent with posters throughout the stadium, including in the club shop and the visitor noted that not once on their visit was bad language heard. The judging panel expressed that Shrewsbury had offered a consistently excellent family experience since moving to the new stadium and this year had improved yet again. Overall, a great effort and rightly once again among the best.
www.football-league.co.uk/latestnews/20100308/shortlist-in-focus-family-club_2245681_1987744
