Fans have say on home match day experience
A total of 580 Town fans responded to last month’s All Together Town fan survey which gave HTAFC supporters the chance to feedback on elements of the home match day experience.
The survey, which was the first phase in the new on-going All Together Town supporter consultation process, asked fans to rate the most important match day experience issues for them, sought suggestions for improvements and invited supporters to take part in continuing online and face-to-face dialogue.
The results are clear. Supporters have identified match day ‘atmosphere’ as the most important issue for them, while match day stewarding and the price of food and drinks were joint second in terms of priority on average.
Respondents were also given the opportunity to suggest ways they thought each issue could be improved, as well as give their views on how the Club can encourage new supporters to attend games and get lapsed fans back to match days.
370 supporters have signed up to be part of the All Together Town online opinions panel and they will be contacted by the Club via email to give further feedback on specific subjects, while 96 supporters have asked to take part in the Voices Panel: the face-to-face forum that will see the club working together with fans on identifying exactly what can be done to make things better.
Huddersfield Town Chief Executive Nigel Clibbens explained:
“Firstly I would like to thank all the fans who took the time to fill out the survey.
“The results clearly show that match day atmosphere is highest on the agenda for the majority of fans across the board, not just in certain stands, and therefore it will be the first topic we will look at in more detail.
“There are a number of factors affecting match day atmosphere including music, entertainment, attendance and location of home fans to name a few.
“Some of the suggestions our supporters have made can be quickly and easily implemented by the Club; a list of these will appear on htafc.com in the coming days. Other issues are far more difficult and will require input from other parties, in particular KSDL, the Stadium operating company.
“Those supporters who have put their names forward to take part in the face-to-face Voices Panel and assist us in looking at ways to improve the match day experience will be contacted next week with the aim for the first meeting being held in mid-November.
The Fan Experience Company’s Mark Bradley, who is advising the club on the ‘All Together Town’ supporter engagement, was impressed at the survey results, commenting:
“I’ve worked on a few similar projects at other clubs and I don’t recall such positive feeling from supporters towards their Club.
“Ratings for the ‘how likely are you to recommend HTAFC’ and ‘how valued do you feel by HTAFC’ questions are extremely high and, to me, they reflect an underlying acknowledgement that the Club is already on the right path.”
The Huddersfield Town Supporters Association added:
“Not surprisingly, Stadium atmosphere is a clear top priority for fans and it will be important to see the Fans’ Panel explore options for improving this. Stewarding is also clearly a concern to some and it is now time to discuss this more closely. HTSA welcomes the opportunity to participate further in the progress of All Together Town and looks forward to some effective Fans’ Panel meetings.”
To view the full ATT survey findings in further detail please click HERE.
