Notes From The MSC / Club Meeting

Held at the Den - 2nd August 2007

Present: Andy Ambler (MFC Chief Operating Officer), Bob Asprey (MSC Chairman), Ted Robinson (MSC Vice-Chairman), Graeme Smale (MSC Secretary), Mark Holland (MSC Committee). Apologies for absence were received from Stewart Till (MFC Chairman).

Season Tickets And Memberships

Andy stated that the club was up to date with the posting out of season tickets. To date 4,700 have been sold, more than last season. Hopefully the total will pass 5,000 by the end of August. All of last season’s season ticket holders and members had been written to at least once. Memberships are currently being processed. If anyone has not yet received their season ticket, then contact the ticket office asap.

New Home and Away Kits

It was agreed that the club’s inability to launch sales of the new shirt until July 31st was very disappointing. It was mainly caused by the change of manufacturer to Bukta, and so hopefully will not be repeated next season.

As it is customary for a new away kit to be launched later than a new home kit, this launch will be in a few weeks time, as long as the stock has arrived.

Sale of Discounted Tickets for MSC Members

Now that MSC members receive a £2 discount on matchday tickets if bought in advance, it is hoped that advance ticket sales will increase. Graeme wanted an assurance that tickets for ALL matches that have gone on sale will be available whenever the ticket office is open, which has not always been the case in the past. Andy gave this assurance commenting that he wanted to make it as easy as possible to sell as many tickets as possible. Andy also indicated that he would consider opening the ticket office outside usual hours if a reasonable demand could be demonstrated. Furthermore, Bob suggested that a ticket terminal could be placed in the club shop, which would kill two birds with one stone, and Andy undertook to investigate the technical feasibility and the cost.

Fans Forum

Final arrangements for the Fans Forum were agreed. It was to be in Arry’s Bar as the Lounge was being let out for a conference, and there was space for 150 fans. A PA would be available, Willie and a player would take questions for the first hour, and then Stewart Till and Heather Rabbatts would take questions thereafter. The Bar would provide space for some 150 supporters.

Stewart was thanked for ensuring that a player would be present.

South London Radio

Plans for a radio show featuring Millwall had stalled as SLR had failed to secure the sponsor they need. Both MFC and MSC are keen for this to be revived if a solution can be found. George Lampey and Dave Hart were thanked for trying to get the show off the ground.

Catering And Kiosk Operations

Andy confirmed that the catering at Millwall is staying in house, but that the matchday kiosk operations have been contracted out to Lindley Catering.

This followed the survey carried out by MSC the results of which had been presented to the club in May. He also confirmed that the police have agreed to the sale of bottled beer, which should significantly improve the speed of service. Unfortunately at the friendly against Southampton, some fans were caught taking bottles into the seating areas, which is against the law. If this problem continues, the police will withdraw sales in bottles and we will be back to square one. The MSC agreed to help the club publicise this. Bob and Ted asked whether bottled bitter can be stocked as fans have requested it. this will slow the kiosk operation down again as the club would have no alternative but to return to draught beer. On Peter Heard’s suggestion, Andy was asked to make another attempt to find a bookmaker who would set up min the stadium, which his predecessor had never succeeded in doing.

Buy A Player Scheme

The MSC had had some initial thoughts about establishing some kind of ‘buy a player scheme’, to which supporters could contribute on a monthly basis, as has happened at some other clubs. Andy responded saying that as long as the scheme was transparent, secure and professionally run then the club would offer any help it could.

Pay On The Day at Away Games

Bob explained that this is a perennial frustration for fans, as away clubs are unwilling to announce Pay on the Day facilities in order to maximize advance ticket sales and consequently know how many away fans will be travelling. Whilst it was recognized that the decision was made by the home club and the home police authority, Andy agreed to ask the question and to ensure that the answer was clearly communicated in as timely a way as possible.

Planned Events For ‘Arry’s Bar

Andy was very supportive of Paul Burkmar’s idea of staging events for fans in ‘Arry’s Bar before home games, and was keen to promote the Bar for the viewing live Sky football before games if an MSC event was not taking place. He was considering discounting drink prices for the first hour in order to help get people in early. He also agreed to the MSC’s suggestion of offering simple food, such as rolls and pies, at simple prices. Furthermore he confirmed that the club would provide tickets for former players who agreed to carry out question and answer sessions, and that the club would ask former players who were coming to games at the club’s invitation to become involved in such events.

Ticket Promotions

The MSC had made a number of suggestions regarding ticket promotions and Andy indicated that these would be discussed at a later date as such initiatives would likely be employed later in the season

Sierra Leone

This fixture was discussed in the light of many fans being unhappy about the way the game appeared to be hijacked by a promoter with a wider agenda. MSC pointed out that more supporters would have attended the game if the event had not had the political attachments. This point was acknowledged.

Date of next meeting

Thursday 13th September.