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Every month, the members of the Magpies Trust meet at Victory Park and have their chance to vote on matters and ask questions directly to senior figures at the club & trust. Here's your questions answered for March 2023:
Q: Why do the club not publish about injuries?
A: Andy Preece talks about injuries after matches in YouTube videos. The club has stated the information is on the website but also admit the information is hard to find and we hope to make the information easier to find in the future.
Q: Why do they not have pints pre poured?
A: The club have in the past tried to pre-pour pints for half time, however they have then received complaints that the beer is flat. We The club have moved the card machine onto the bar inan effort to save a few seconds. The club have tried using extra staff but they have limited space and pumps so staff are waiting constantly for someone else to finish. - Zoe Elphick (Hospitality Manager).
Q: How do the club plan on improving the attendance/ building a relationship with fans?
A: The club are looking into pricing. The early bird season ticket will be released in the last 2 weeks of March. Also the club are going to offer a ticket for the last 5 home games for £55 which equals to £11 per game.
Q: As the money made from the FA cup run was used to pay off debt, could the club please explain why we are in so much debt?
A: If the FA cup run had been in any other season the club would have made double what they did. Most clubs are in the same position as us. The FA split the money 50/50. The Wigan and Peterborough matches actually lost money approx. £1200 each. The club made just short of half a million and was basically the only income that year which saved the club. The curtailed season cost the club £140,000 in lost game revenue alone. The club spent according to projections for the season and as 2 of the biggest matches were curtailed it was a big loss.
Q: Can we have an explanation on the plans going forward given the details of our current financial situation?
A: The club tried to carry the price increases on food and drink but had to put them up but only increased them a small amount. The biggest issue is energy bills the ground will need major investment to make it energy efficient but unfortunately the club can’t make enough money to make this happen. The club have managed to arrange a meeting with the council for the end of march with one item for discussion being the stadium lease.
The club have been in talks without side investment. The club have also been speaking to 2 parties in regards to2 potential club takeovers. One being more advanced than the other. The plan when they took over was to try and get the club in a better situation and sell the club within 5 years. Covid has badly impacted this plan and it is now 6years since they took over.
Q: Are the club looking to renew the lease to stay at Victory Park or looking for a new venue?
A: Part of the scheduled meeting will be talking about the lease as next week is the 5th anniversary of signing so just short of 10 years left which will be an issue in regards to grants. The club are always looking at both options but they both cost a lot of money.
Q: Could we form a partnership or groundshare with Euxton?
A: Euxton have been in contact regarding the use of our pitch while their 3g pitch is installed. With regards to Chorley FC going to Euxton Villa to ground share, their ground would not pass the Ground Graded needed for NLN.
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